Welcome to the 2015-16 Academic Year

Campus Update

Chancellor Block welcomes the campus community to the beginning of the 2015-16 academic year.

Welcome to the 2015-16 academic year at UCLA!

There’s always a palpable energy that flows across campus at this time of year as we come together to form a diverse community of thinkers, learners, researchers and creative artists. We extend special greetings to the students, faculty and staff who are beginning their journeys at UCLA this fall.

On Saturday, our new students will take their first steps as Bruins by participating in our seventh annual Volunteer Day. I’m looking forward to joining them in working side by side with faculty, staff and alumni on projects that have a positive impact on neighborhoods, schools and communities throughout Los Angeles.

Here on campus, I’m sure you’ve noticed that a number of construction projects have made tremendous progress. The Meyer and Renee Luskin
Conference Center will provide UCLA with much-needed space for academic symposia and events, fostering an environment in which scholars and society’s leaders can exchange ideas that will help shape the future. On the southeast side of campus, Geffen Hall, the David Geffen School of Medicine’s new medical education building, will create a state-of-the-art platform for collaboration, discovery and knowledge transfer. Both buildings are scheduled to open in 2016 and will serve scholars for decades to come.

Speaking of the future, the Centennial Campaign for UCLA is well on its way to ensuring that UCLA is well-equipped to remain a world leader in scholarship and research in our next century. This major fundraising effort, which will continue through the university’s 100th anniversary in 2019, received $643 million in gifts and pledges during the fiscal year ending June 30. This astounding figure breaks a campus fundraising record and marks the third consecutive year of growth. To date, the campaign has raised a total of $2.09 billion.

I anticipate a productive and exhilarating year ahead for all of us. I am grateful for all that each of you does to move UCLA forward.

Welcome!