Holiday Video Message from President Todd DR. TODD: As 2008 comes to a close, we should use this moment for reflection and for renewal. The last 12 months have been a difficult time for all of us. A substantially weakened economy has taken a toll on countless lives across Kentucky and the rest of the United States. The newspapers and the internet and the evening news chronicle the hardship and heart-break brought by the economic storm that too many of our fellow Kentuckians are facing. And the blow is often harshest for those least able to weather it - those with limited educations and job skills and low incomes. They are the ones that a better education system in Kentucky is designed to reach. Our efforts have been worthy and our work has yielded progress, but there is much more work to do. We learned this year that your University of Kentucky is not immune to the financial crisis that surrounds us. The weakend economy has caused the state of Kentucky to reduce the support it provides to us, and even more reductions are visible on the horizon. In many places around the United States, circumstances such as these will cripple progress. Ambitions will stall as institutions use tough times as an excuse to limit themselves to simply surviving the current storm as best they can. But that cannot be – and it will not be – our response. As I told our Board of Trustees earlier this year: We cannot give in to the temptation to sit idly by, waiting for better days. If we do, we resign ourselves to being facilitators of an unacceptable status quo instead of seizing our distinctive role as a vehicle for improving economic conditions. If this University is not working, every day, to build sustained economic prosperity in Kentucky, that prosperity will never arrive. Our state needs us today, more than ever before. In this demanding hour, when many of the institutions of the United States falter and fail, your University remains sturdy against the winds of this temporary storm. We must respond to this moment of economic crisis by continuing to be a beacon of hope and a pathway to economic opportunity. We must respond to the needs we see all around us with an invigorated sense of purpose. We must respond to this moment of uncertainty with confidence in our capacity to make better what suffers and make secure what is at risk. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had it right more than a half century ago: “The only thing preventing the realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. We must move forward with a strong and active faith.” There is no under-stating the difficulty of this moment. But there also is no under-stating the toughness of your University. This year may have borne witness to a series of storms, but the diligence and dedication of our students, faculty, and staff will allow us to emerge from these trying days intact and on the move. And as we move forward, we will bring with us the state we serve. In the Czech Republic, they celebrate Saint Barbara's Day at this time of year. Saint Barbara often is invoked as a protector against storms. As part of their traditional homage to this patron saint, people will cut branches from cherry trees. The branches are placed in a warm corner in the home in the hopes of coaxing blooms in the coming days. These blooms are a sign that the family will enjoy good fortune in the New Year. In the current storm that surrounds our economy, we will continue to nurture the blooms that signal the better days that lie ahead. DR. TODD: During this season of counting our blessings, we want to thank you – the members of our UK family who mean so much to so many across the state, nation, and the world. MRS. TODD: We wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday season, and we hope your new year is filled with peace, prosperity, and purpose.