Happy Holidays

MICHAEL K. YOUNG
President

December 18, 2020

Dear students, faculty and staff,

Every year since arriving in 2015, I have had the privilege of sharing a holiday message with our university community. As 2020 comes to a close, I would like to congratulate all of the students who are earning degrees, and thank the many dedicated faculty and staff whose tireless efforts ensured that our educational mission continued.

When I look back on our shared journey over the past six years, I am humbled and filled with gratitude for all that we have accomplished together. I am grateful to Chancellor John Sharp, who challenged me to help Texas A&M become one of the very best public research universities in the nation.

There is no simple formula to advance among the ranks of major research universities. Of course, I understood that we needed to retain and recruit leading faculty, invest in programs to help our students succeed, upgrade our facilities and attract support to ensure that more students will benefit from the Aggie experience in the future. I recognized that we needed to increase our research expenditures and expand our physical footprint by adding new classrooms and campuses such as the Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen and the teaching site in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Bush School of Government and Public Service.

I also knew that I wouldn't be able to do any of that alone. Throughout my tenure, Texas A&M has been blessed with exceptional administrators, dedicated deans, gifted faculty and committed staff, all working in concert to support talented students who represent the very best of the rising generation.

The outstanding work we have done together has been a collective effort, across every school and department, with thousands of people offering their valuable skills and their selfless service on a daily basis because you believe in our larger mission of education and research.

This year especially we owe a deep debt of gratitude to the many faculty and staff who worked diligently throughout the spring and summer to help us plan and prepare for the fall. And we are deeply appreciative to the many students who helped us finish this semester successfully, so that we could keep everyone on the path to graduation.

While 2020 has been a year filled with extraordinary challenges, your response and your resilience give me great confidence that you can do anything together. And I am certain that you will ensure that Texas A&M continues to advance among the nation's leading public research universities.

Please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your hard work and your essential efforts over the past six years, along with my warmest wishes for health and happiness during the holiday season and beyond.

Sincerely,

Michael K. Young