Welcome to a New Academic Year

September 2, 2008
 

Dear Rutgers Students:

Welcome—or welcome back! I join with Chancellor Margaret Marsh in wishing you every success as you begin the 2008–09 academic year.

We celebrate several pieces of recent good news. Last month in China, School of Law student Renee Hykel proudly represented the United States as she competed in the women's lightweight doubles scull during the Olympics. Earlier in the summer, we received word from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that Rutgers has earned reaccreditation with high marks. And U.S. News and World Report once again ranks Rutgers–Camden among the top three regional public universities in the north.

The new year brings new opportunities at Rutgers–Camden. For example:

  • Our new School of Law facility matches the excellence of our faculty, students, staff, and alumni, and will continue the law school's upward trajectory as a premier national public law school;
     
  • We welcome the first students, recruited from across the nation, into our new MFA program in creative writing, offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences;
     
  • We welcome the inaugural class for the four-year undergraduate program at the School of Business, which advances our business school from an upper-division undergraduate program to a fuller, more comprehensive experience;
     
  • Work has begun and will continue through the spring to transform the gymnasium into a state-of-the-art recreational facility that will serve the entire campus community.
     
  • A series of academic events on human rights is being planned on all three Rutgers campuses to mark the 60th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

I hope the year is one of great opportunity for each of you. To our newest students, I welcome you to Rutgers and know that you will have a rewarding experience. To our returning students, I hope that you enjoyed a pleasant summer and that this will be an especially fulfilling year.

One final note: I will present my Annual Address to the University Community on Friday, September 19, at 1:10 p.m. in the Rutgers Student Center on College Avenue on the New Brunswick Campus. Following my remarks, I will take questions from the audience and asked by email. You are welcome to attend the address or see the webcast via my website.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey