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Aug.
22, 2001 -- (Lexington, Ky.) --
Welcome to a new day at UK.
It
is a new day at the university in so many areas, it
is difficult for me to know where to begin to tell
you about them.
As
Tim Robinson, UK Student Government Association President
said at a recent Trustees meeting, you really need
to "take a walk" -- both literally and figuratively
-- around the university to see all the changes that
are occurring on this campus designed to give us the
most modern campus possible where we can conduct our
primary mission of pursuing knowledge.
I
challenge each of you to take advantage of the opportunities
a new day at UK presents.
Students,
I urge you to work hard in your classrooms to achieve
the most productive learning experience possible.
And
faculty, I want you to know that a new University
administration supports your every effort.
Let
me tell you about a few UK changes I think you will
find interesting:
* I officially became UK's 11th president Sunday,
July 1. That certainly was a new and very special
UK day for my family and me. On that day, Patsy and
I and our children, Kathryn and Troy, began moving
into Maxwell Place, the traditional home of UK presidents.
*
Speaking of Maxwell Place, soon you will be able to
take a self-guided stroll through the Maxwell Place
grounds. The hours will be posted in the near future.
*
New places students can congregate on campus have
been designated and are in the process of being landscaped
in many student areas such as the Kirwan-Blanding
Complex and the courtyard of the North Campus residential
halls. Other changes include new benches on the Patterson
Office Tower Plaza and more to come. Enjoy a hotdog
or drink from the vendor's cart at the plaza while
you are chatting with your colleagues. Carts will
also be at other locations around campus.
*
Very soon, too, we hope to tell you about an exciting
new "cyber cafe" in the Student Center where you can
enjoy Starbucks coffee and work on a laptop computer
using wireless technology.
*
The cyber cafe is just one of the many places on campus
where this highly desirable communications technology
will be placed this year at UK.
*
The record amount of construction you see around campus
(some $330 million worth) may pose some modest inconvenience
to you, but please be patient. When completed, the
work you see under way on new and renovated facilities
-- including the venerable Administration Building
-- will provide a much improved campus at which you
can comfortably do your work and study.
*
One of the places I encourage you to visit on your
own "walk," is the major new addition under construction
at the Seaton Center. This new facility will be outfitted
with the very latest in fitness equipment when it
is completed in the spring.
I'm
proud and excited about this new day at UK. I'm confident
you share my enthusiasm. I also want you to share
your opinions with me.
I
mean that. From casual student gatherings on the POT
Plaza to more formal settings like the Faculty Senate
meetings, I intend for all of us to continue a dialogue
about how we can reach the goals the citizens of the
Commonwealth of Kentucky have set for us.
Have
a great semester.
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