Chancellor Frenk shared this message with the Bruin community.
Dear Bruin Community:
As we near the end of the academic year, I want to extend my thanks for the dedication, resilience and spirit that each of you brings to UCLA. To our students preparing for finals this week: I wish you the focus and strength you need to succeed. And to all members of our community, I hope this summer brings moments of rest, reflection and renewal.
Last week’s inauguration remains fresh in my mind. This was really our celebration: a commemoration of UCLA’s remarkable accomplishments and of everything generations of Bruins have built together. The warmth with which you have welcomed my family and me into the UCLA community has been immense, and I am deeply honored to help carry this extraordinary university’s legacy forward into a new era of boldness.
The Bruin spirit is real, and I learned about it quickly. On my second day in office, we faced the worst natural disaster in our city’s history, as wildfires spread across Los Angeles. Amid heartbreaking loss and disruption, Bruins showed up and showed heart. We opened up our reservoirs of kindness to support one another. And that same spirit continues, as faculty across campus contribute their expertise to help our region recover and rebuild after the fires — more safely and more sustainably.
That deep sense of connection inspired me during my first months as chancellor. Shortly after arriving, I launched a campuswide listening exercise — 38 sessions across every school and unit, as well as conversations with alumni and civic and community leaders. Nearly 6,000 Bruins took part in the listening exercise, and I received more than 1,500 questions and suggestions through my webpage. I attended every session with open ears, an open heart and an eye toward the future we will build together. These conversations inspired the collective vision I shared at my inauguration.
The listening exercise also revealed a deep sense of pride and purpose — as well as fear and uncertainty — in our community. Many Bruins shared worries about the challenges facing undocumented immigrants, and yesterday, senior leaders sent a message to our campus community, as well as to parents and families, reiterating our unequivocal, continued support for our immigrant and international students, faculty and staff. The conversations during our listening exercise also brought up concerns about federal policy changes affecting our research infrastructure and campus operations. And I heard concerns about the growing polarization affecting higher education and society at large. These are complex issues, and we must tackle them together with courage and thoughtfulness.
Throughout the year, our scholarly and creative work continued to touch, improve and save lives. As just a small sampling: This year, UCLA surgeons performed the world’s first human bladder transplant, a historic milestone years in the making. At the UCLA Clark Library, a rare outdoor performance marked the 400th anniversary of the first opera written by a woman, bringing new attention to a long-overlooked milestone in music history. And our researchers launched the first-ever national Shade Map — an interactive tool that helps cities identify where shade infrastructure is lacking and where to prioritize investments to reduce the effects of extreme heat.
UCLA’s student-athletes also brought us closer together. The women’s basketball team reached the Final Four, the women’s gymnastics team finished as national runner-up in the NCAA Championships and men’s water polo brought home UCLA’s 124th national title. Now we look ahead — not just to our second year in the Big Ten but also to the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics, when UCLA will welcome the Athletes’ Village and the world’s spotlight will turn to Los Angeles and our campus.
While there was much to celebrate this year, I also remain committed to the work of healing rifts in our community. In my inaugural address, I spoke about the need to restore connective relationships — and that work is underway. We announced the launch of Campus Community Conversations to build consensus around the fundamental questions of our coexistence: What does each of us owe to fellow members of our community? And what can each of us expect from fellow members of our community? By undertaking this kind of conversation, we will provide a valuable service not only to our university and higher education, but to society as a whole at this time of extreme polarization.
UCLA is a relatively young university, but we have achieved a remarkable record in just 106 years. If we measure accomplishment relative to institutional age, UCLA must count among the highest-performing universities in the world. And that same youth means we hold immense potential for the future. Preeminence and promise are the two sides of our institutional coin.
Great universities like UCLA understand that our positive impact does not stop when we expand the frontiers of knowledge — it continues when we translate discovery into innovation, and when we turn scholarship into service. Our future is bold and bright — and we are just getting started.
We are One UCLA.
Julio Frenk
Chancellor