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|UT Arlington Office of the President
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
February 2, 2004
Good morning!
This is my first official day as president of The University of Texas at Arlington.
I am both honored and proud to have the opportunity to join the university community and to serve in this important leadership role.
My wife Sally and I have spent the past week on campus meeting new friends and colleagues and have felt warmly welcomed. In fact, we already feel at home. We’re in the process of looking for a house and hope to be fully settled in the next few weeks or so. Sally will be finishing her work at Michigan State University during February and will join me full-time in early March.
I’m looking forward to meeting with faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the community in coming weeks. Please be patient with me as I learn to put names with faces and become more familiar with the campus. If you see me on campus looking lost, please don’t hesitate to point me in the right direction!
You can count on me to be a motivated student of UTA customs, history and culture. Even more so, Sally and I intend to become active participants in the life of the university.
I’ll be asking lots of questions and seeking your advice and input on all kinds of things. In that spirit, I’ll be organizing a number of strategic conversations both on and off campus. I expect to have more details to announce soon. In the meantime, please know that you’re invited to write me anytime with your thoughts, ideas or suggestions at jds@uta.edu.
UTA is an outstanding university with a proud history and strong traditions. That’s very encouraging to a new president. I’m also impressed with the UTA motto: “Expect Great Things.” High expectations are the first step toward achieving greatness. It’s important to expect great things to happen at UTA because I know already that there is greatness within our university. I’ve seen it in the women and men I’ve met so far. And I expect to see much more “greatness” in the months ahead.
Let me add one more thought: “The best is yet to come!”
Have a great day, and I hope to see you soon.
Jim
James D. Spaniolo
President
