, Dr. Julio Frenk
As we usher in a brand-new year and academic quarter, we are also proud to welcome our new chancellor, Dr. Julio Frenk, who officially assumed the mantle of UCLA's chief executive on New Year's Day.
Frenk's long and illustrious career as a visionary educator, global health leader, pioneering researcher and public servant has included roles as president of the University of Miami, Mexico's national health secretary and dean of Harvard's school of public health.
UCLA, he says, is the high point, and he feels honored and invigorated to work hand in hand with the Bruin community to lead the nation's No. 1–ranked public university into its second century of excellence.
As part of that journey, Frenk will also bring his far-reaching experience and insight to the Fielding School of Public Health as a distinguished professor in the department of health policy and management.
With the campus at the threshold of this exciting new era, Chancellor Frenk today shared the following message with Bruins.
Dear Bruin Community:
This January is marked by many new beginnings. It is the start of a new year following what I hope was a reflective and restorative winter break. In less than two weeks, the United States - one of many nations that held consequential elections last year - will undergo a presidential transition, which will bring with it significant change. And here at UCLA, we start a new quarter eager to continue our transformative work as the nation's best public university.
This moment represents a new beginning for me as well. It is with gratitude, humility and joy that I am stepping into the role of UCLA's chancellor. Taking up this position is one of the greatest honors of my life - the culmination of a long career devoted to public service that has bridged academia, social policy and public health practice across different countries and sectors.
Since my appointment as chancellor was announced in June, I have been fortunate to visit UCLA each month to meet with campus leaders, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the broader Bruin community. Every encounter I have had has deepened my admiration for UCLA and added to the excitement I feel in starting my tenure here.
UCLA is a shining example of the very best of higher education. Each year, the university expands the opportunities available to thousands of students from all backgrounds and walks of life. Its scholars are reshaping their fields of research and advancing the frontiers of knowledge. And it contributes greatly to the health and vitality of one of the world's most diverse and dynamic cities.
UCLA's legacy has been built by generations of Bruins who have transformed lives, enriched communities and served the common good. It has been shaped by outstanding leaders like my esteemed predecessor, Chancellor Emeritus Gene Block, and those who came before him. We are all stewards of this legacy.
As UCLA embarks upon its second century, we stand on a foundation of extraordinary achievements. We are creating the future guided by a thoughtful and bold strategic plan, which culminates in the 2028 Olympic Games, when the eyes of the world will turn to Los Angeles and our university.
Alongside many exciting opportunities, UCLA also faces complex challenges. Among the most important: The events of last spring tested the bonds that unite UCLA as a learning community and have created mistrust in many corners of our campus. We must now renew our commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive academic environment that also safeguards free expression. It will require all of our collective resolve to rebuild the sense of trust and good faith on which a healthy community rests.
I intend to focus immediately on working with the UCLA community to find concrete ways to reaffirm our shared values and deepen the efforts to repair and reconnect. At a time of division in our nation and the world, we have the potential - and, indeed, the obligation - to model for society how a diverse community can unite around common ideals and demonstrate the ability to maintain respect for one another even when we disagree. Programs like Dialogue across Difference, the Semel Healthy Campus Initiative Center and the effort to refresh UCLA's True Bruin Values will help us get there. UCLA can be an exemplary institution in the truest sense of the word - a place where we set an example for the rest of society through the values we embrace and the behaviors we exhibit. We must be such an institution to fulfill our mission as a great public university.
My own life has been deeply enriched by crossing boundaries and connecting across differences. I am committed to fostering a UCLA that reflects this same spirit.
Over my first months as chancellor, I will devote time and energy to meeting with every constituency in the extended UCLA community - students, staff, faculty, alumni, parents, donors, elected officials, business leaders, neighbors and many others. I will listen deeply and engage in thoughtful dialogue, while also introducing myself to the community so I may share my values, experiences and aspirations for the university. This exercise is meant to be intensive, immersive and iterative; it is the first step of an ongoing process of listening and learning that will mark my tenure at UCLA.
The insights I gather from each of you will be central to shaping a collective vision for UCLA's future, one that will honor our legacy while allowing us to embrace bold initiatives for a new era. I will share this vision for the university at my inauguration in the spring. (The specific date and time will be announced soon.) Together, we will build upon UCLA's core strengths, address the challenges we face and seize opportunities to serve the world in new and meaningful ways.
The ultimate duty of any leader - indeed, the ethical imperative - is to safeguard the legacy entrusted to us by those who came before and hand it enriched to those who will follow. This ideal will guide me each day as I strive to serve this extraordinary university and its community to the very best of my abilities.
In closing, I thank you all for the warm welcome you have extended to me and my family. I want to share my gratitude to the UC Regents and President Michael Drake for the trust they have placed in my leadership, and to underscore how honored I feel to be joining such a distinguished group of chancellors across the UC system. I also want to express my profound appreciation to Darnell Hunt, who has provided tireless and steady leadership over the past several months as interim chancellor. I look forward to working closely with him as he resumes his duties as Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost.
I am profoundly honored to serve this extraordinary institution and eager to embark on this great journey together.
Fiat Lux and Go Bruins!
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