The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/339710
S U M M E R U O F L M A G A Z I N E | 5 F R O M T H E P R E S I D E N T Dear friends and alumni of UofL, It's summer — a time for us to reflect on the past school year and look forward to the coming semester. Our new academic year brings some good news and some bad news. Kentucky's public higher education institutions, including the University of Louisville, have suffered another state budget cut — this time one-and-a-half percent, or $2.118 million each of the next two years for UofL. It's our 14th cut in 15 years. Also, the new state budget doesn't include new Bucks for Brains money, which is a disappointment. The good news is that Kentucky lawmakers did approve $80 million for a much- needed classroom building on the Belknap campus. The changes and challenges brought on by this new fiscal year come as we have moved into our new athletic and academic home in the ACC. Although we're the new kid on the block and haven't met our neighbors on the field of play just yet, we are getting to know them. In fact, our new neighbors have been extremely gracious and welcoming ever since we accepted the ACC's offer in November 2012 to join their conference. Since that time, our students have attended ACC leadership conferences, and our faculty and administrators have been sharing ideas with their ACC counterparts. We realize the ACC is a "step up" for UofL. The 14 other ACC schools are outstanding academic institutions with world-class researchers and reputations to match. It's up to UofL to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities afforded us by our acceptance into the ACC. We must, and will, prove that we belong in the same conversation with these great schools. We must, and will, prove that our students and graduates can match the talent of those from our ACC friends. And we must, and will, prove that our men's and women's athletic teams are among the elite in the country. But make no mistake, the ACC understands that its newest member brings great tradition and history to this conference. We are enjoying a dramatic upward trajectory in academics, research and athletics. The average ACT score of UofL's freshmen students is the highest in our history; our graduation rate continues to rise dramatically; our researchers are world renowned, and you know about the success of our athletic teams on the field. Off the field, our athletes have an average GPA of 3.1. In this issue of UofL Magazine, you'll learn more about the impact of our move to the ACC. You'll also learn more about the 14 other ACC schools, the communi- ties in which they reside and, perhaps just as important, the great places to eat if you visit one of their campuses! At UofL, we're always moving forward. In fact, the title of our newest promotional video is "UofL Is Moving Forward" (youtube.com/user/univoflouisville) in honor of our move to the ACC. I hope you'll take the time to watch it and learn about all of the great things happening at UofL. You should be proud of your school and the progress we've made. Now it's time for all of us to step forward and step up, into a new conference which will set the tone for our future. James R. Ramsey President Inside the Oval U L _ 5 5 UL_5 5 6 / 2 3 / 1 4 9 : 2 3 A M 6/23/14 9:23 AM