Dear members of the University of Rochester community,
I’m thrilled to join the University as your provost this Friday. While I am new to the University and to the Rochester area, I have already had the pleasure of meeting and working with many of you, and I am truly impressed with the passion and commitment so many of you feel for this great institution. Your dedication to the Meliora mission—to making our communities and the world ever better—makes me even more excited and honored to be here with you.
Like you, I believe that our drive to make the world ever better starts right here at Rochester. To truly live our mission requires us to act with intention and to collectively create the conditions that will make us the model of what a future-looking research university can be.
Moving our University forward will take time and attention from all of us. I am grateful for the opportunity to support President Mangelsdorf and her efforts to address some of the top priorities for our institution. With your help, we will build on the foundations of the strategic planning process led by Interim Provost Peyre, and we will be guided by the many voices that participated in those early stages of the plan, including those of our students, faculty, staff, and Board of Trustees.
Perhaps most importantly, as provost, I believe it is my job—and the job of all University leaders and community members—to build and nurture the conditions that make our University the best possible place for students, staff, and faculty to learn, discover, heal, and create. I know that is why I’m here. I would argue that is why you are here, too.
I am eager to roll up my sleeves and get to work with you on moving our University forward to its next successful chapter. To begin our work together, and to ensure open and ongoing dialogue, I will be holding regular office hours when any member of the University community can meet with me. We’ll soon distribute a schedule with sign-up instructions. In the meantime, I’ll be holding down a table on July 5, 12, and 19 at “Tasty Tuesdays” from noon–1:30 p.m. Just drop by and look for the yellow and blue balloons!
I would like to thank Sarah Peyre for her remarkable work. Her efforts and her unwavering care for this institution and everyone in it are a testament to her leadership and character. Speaking personally, I couldn’t have asked for an easier transition into this role. I look forward to working with Sarah as she returns to her role as dean of the Warner School.
Finally, these past two years have been trying for us all, and I know that the burdens of the pandemic have not been borne equally. But while I am a realist, I am fundamentally an optimist at heart and I embrace the words of Lauryn Hill, who sings that “after winter must come spring.” I look forward to working with and for you so together we can plant the seeds that will grow tomorrow.
Thank you, all, for your continued dedication and commitment to the University. I hope our paths cross soon.
Meliora,
David
David Figlio
Provost and Gordon Fyfe Professor of Economics and Education