Dear New Friends, Colleagues and Students,

Warm greetings to everyone in our University of Florida community in Gainesville and at UF locations across the state and beyond.

It is a wonderful honor to be your new interim president.
 
UF is a distinguished university, with schools and colleges spanning nearly all of human knowledge and justifiably boasting a vast and profound impact on this state, the nation and the world. I am in awe of the UF community and inspired by this opportunity to join with you.

In the months ahead, I plan to spend much of my time listening — to you, and to alumni, donors, lawmakers and other partners — to learn more about the ethos, culture and many endeavors of this most admirable university.

My overarching goal is to build on this exceptional foundation and make us even better. By developing and adding outstanding programs, nurturing talented faculty and staff, and offering students ever deeper and more varied ways to learn and grow, we will amplify UF’s impact and further burnish its national and international reputation.

I will do my utmost to support our deans, department chairs, faculty and staff, as well as our undergraduates, graduate and professional students. Making permanent appointments to several key leadership positions will be at the top of immediate priorities.

Most of all, I look forward to meeting and learning from you. The academic and athletic excellence and expansive scope of UF, from its marvelous land-grant tradition to its leadership in AI education, drew me to this institution. I am eager to experience the people responsible for these and other distinctions whom I now serve.

I am exceedingly grateful to Board of Trustees Chair Mori Hosseini, Vice Chair Rahul Patel and the trustees for their vote of confidence. I look forward to working with the Florida Board of Governors and Florida's state and federal legislators to advance UF’s mission and impact on this state and on the nation.

I and my wife, Dr. Maureen O'Reilly-Landry, wish everyone a terrific year ahead. It is great to be a Florida Gator!