Dear Toreros,

Welcome to the new academic year! It was such a joy to welcome our law students a couple weeks ago, and to see our new and returning students back on campus over the weekend. Thank you to the many members of our community for coming together to welcome our newest Toreros and their families during this special season of events, programs and celebrations.

I also want to extend a warm welcome to our new and returning students joining us through our online programs or who are studying abroad. Whether you are completing your programs here in San Diego or around the world, I hope you feel the Torero spirit and know that USD is always your home.

I hope you found time for relaxation, rejuvenation and new adventures over the summer. If you were watching the Olympics, you might have seen Brooke Raboutou ‘23 receive the silver medal for Team USA in sport climbing. Also, alumnus and NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick ‘05 is currently orbiting the earth at the International Space Station as commander of the SpaceX Crew-8 mission. From San Diego to Paris to outer space, Toreros are making their marks and serving their communities with distinction.

In June I had the wonderful experience of walking the Camino de Santiago with alumni, students and friends of USD. Over 6 days and 100 kilometers, our group of pilgrims prayed, conversed, celebrated and reflected together.

The strong sense of community we developed during our Camino experience was accomplished because we took the time to truly accompany others along the way. That required spending time together and listening to each other, in a deliberate way. As expressed in the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, “…grant that I may not so much be understood as to understand…” With each step we took, and mile we traveled, we came to a greater understanding of each other’s lived experiences by both speaking and listening - sharing our joys and comforting each other in our struggles.

Toreros, I encourage us to bring that same sense of deliberate listening and accompaniment to the academic year before us. As we look ahead with excitement and anticipation, I recognize it is against a backdrop of a polarizing election season and continued suffering at home and around the world. Let us support each other in respectful dialogue, explore topics with conviction and compassion, work for peace and lead with love.

I’m grateful for the wonderful work of several members of our community to put together a full program of events and resources meant to engage our community around topics of civil discourse and respectful dialogue. As a university, it is our responsibility to encourage our community members to actively participate in civic life. You can learn more about upcoming events and find additional resources and articles on the Toreros Together for the Common Good website.

One of our great traditions at USD is to gather for our annual Mass of the Holy Spirit, planned for Thursday, September 12 at 12:15pm in The Immaculata, where we will worship together and pray for peace in our world.

We are also continuing the process of developing USD’s new strategic plan. After the success of Envisioning 2024, I am looking forward to solidifying the goals and initiatives that will define our next strategic plan, building from the four cornerstones our planning and writing groups developed last year. More to come on next steps in the weeks ahead.

I wish you the very best as you begin classes and engage in all the wonderful opportunities that make USD such a special place. The future is bright because of all of you. Iluminando el camino - let’s light the way forward - together.

Peace,

James T. Harris III, D.Ed.
President