Dear campus community,

One year ago, in response to the threat from COVID, we urged students to leave campus, told thousands of employees to work remotely and scaled back university operations. By the end of the day on March 16, 2020, all classes were online.

None of us could have imagined the year that followed – a year of masks, Zooms, physical distancing and countless other challenges, but also one of remarkable resilience as we learned to live and work in the midst of COVID.

Today, with the pandemic in retreat, I want to express my gratitude to each of you for all that you accomplished in this historic year.

Faculty, because of you, students are completing a year of learning and life-changing experiences, and UF is excelling in research, scholarship and serving communities across our state. Staff, I am grateful to you for your amazing work to support our university’s mission throughout the pandemic. Students, thank you for your strength, patience and hard work amid unprecedented disruption of your college experience. UF Health colleagues, thank you for your national leadership in enabling us to work, learn and live safely.

To appreciate the scale of your achievements, I encourage you to visit our timeline of the past year’s milestones https://reflections.coronavirus.ufhealth.org/.

While we must remain vigilant and continue to follow UF Health and CDC guidelines, there is every reason for optimism. With vaccinations becoming more available and new positive cases lower, we are looking forward this year to the university’s return to fully normal operations.

Again, thank you. Having experienced your work, energy and remarkable spirit during COVID, I can’t wait to see where you will lead UF next.

Warmly,

Kent