Dear Toreros:

The start of the fall semester is one of my favorite times of year as our campus springs to life with the promise of new beginnings.

It is wonderful to welcome everyone back. Over the summer, our faculty members have been conducting research, sharing scholarly advancements in their fields and honing what they will bring to their students. Our students have been working at summer internships, studying abroad and participating in acts of service throughout the region, across the nation and around the world. And our dedicated administrators and staff have been busy preparing for the upcoming academic year.

Over the summer we also made exciting progress on the construction of our new Wellness Center and Basketball Practice Facility, being built adjacent to the Student Life Pavilion. The three-story, 80,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in the fall of 2024 and will provide all students with the programs, experiences and support services necessary to achieve their full potential.

I’d like to extend a special welcome to our newest undergraduate and graduate students. Our incoming undergraduate Class of 2027 is one of the best academically prepared classes in the university’s history. Members of this class come to USD from 43 states, 25 countries and three U.S. territories. This year, 43% of those students are Catholic, 50% identify as a student of color, 22% are the first in their families to attend college, and 28% are fluent in a language other than English. This class represents inclusive excellence at its best.

Our law and graduate programs are also welcoming students from all over the world, who are eager to immerse themselves in programs that prepare them as professionals as well as engaged and active citizens ready to address humanity’s urgent challenges.

We were pleased to see that over the summer USD received accolades from several organizations. For example, The Princeton Review named USD the No. 2 most beautiful campus in America, No. 3 for best quality of life on campus, No. 9 for green matters, based on our conservation efforts, and the No. 10 best-run college in the nation. We also remain ranked by Washington Monthly magazine among the top five universities in the country for our commitment to public service — based on the number of students who volunteer in the community, the percentage of students who are registered to vote and the number of graduates who serve our country in the military or through national service, such as the Peace Corps.

As we begin this new academic year, I would like to take a moment to center our new mission, vision and values statements, adopted by the Board of Trustees this past May. Thanks to the wonderful work of our writing group led by Vice President for Mission Integration Michael Lovette-Colyer, and the feedback of hundreds of members of our campus community, these statements are crafted with the utmost care and represent our true north. They inform the decisions we make and the paths that we take. They express what we do and who we are.

Our new mission statement reads, “We are a contemporary Catholic university, grounded in the liberal arts and anchored along an international border, advancing academic excellence to create a more inclusive, sustainable and hopeful world.”

Our new vision statement declares, “Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love.”

Infusing our campus and our communities with love and doing what we can to make the world a better place is at the heart of this institution.

One of the primary values we hold dear at USD is respect for human dignity. We seek to affirm the dignity of every person and strive to create a culture of respect and inclusivity. In our interactions with each other, in our classes, in our service to the community, and beyond, the start of a new year provides us with the perfect opportunity to recommit ourselves to just and ethical conduct, and upholding and respecting the dignity every human being deserves.

To our students, I encourage you to seek out faculty or staff members who can accompany you on your journeys. Join a student club or organization to strengthen your connections and enhance your student experience. Join your fellow Toreros in cheering on one of our sports teams or consider joining me for a morning walk. Whatever you do, show up in all ways — show up to your classes and study groups, show up for others in our Torero community and show up for events and experiences that will help you succeed and thrive. Please take care of yourself, your peers and your friends by making healthy choices.

However you choose to engage; be courageous, be kind, and enthusiastically embrace every opportunity you’re given. Make the most of all that it means to be a Torero. And finally, always remember to lead with love.

Peace,

James T. Harris III, DEd
President