Wrapping Up A Great Year

MICHAEL K. YOUNG
President

December 12, 2018

Howdy!
As the fall semester draws to a close, I would like first to congratulate students who will be earning their degrees this month. You made it. Your hard work and dedication to your studies have come to fruition. This weekend, we will award degrees to 5,237 Aggies, a record number for a fall graduation. You are Aggies now and forever, so I know you will carry the Core Values and the Aggie Spirit with you into your next adventure.

This has been a remarkable year for our university.
As you know, Texas A&M has the distinct privilege of serving as the final resting place for George H.W. Bush, 41st President of the United States, First Lady Barbara Pierce Bush, and their daughter Robin. We take great pride in honoring the Bush legacy at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center, educating future leaders in public service at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, and supporting the Bush family's dedication to helping others through the George. H.W. Bush Library Foundation.
In addition to this great honor, we had many other developments of which we are so very proud.

In the spring, we returned to Austin in a big way with our appearance at South by Southwest Interactive Week where we presented our research, innovations and thought leadership on a global stage. We look forward to continued opportunities to showcase to the world what makes our university so special.

In July it was announced that our university, system partners and affiliated state agencies were chosen by the U.S. Army to contribute our research, innovations and expertise in support of the U.S. Army Futures Command in Austin. This amazing opportunity to help ensure the safety and security of our fellow Americans here and abroad aligns nobly with Aggies' love of country and dedication to service.

This fall, we provided even more and better facilities for our community to learn, collaborate and innovate. For example, we dedicated the largest academic building on campus – the Zachry Engineering Education Complex, a revolutionary facility which will contribute enormously to our already stellar engineering programs.

We further propelled our land-grant mission to bring higher education to all who seek it by expanding to the Rio Grande Valley area with the Texas A&M Higher Education Center at McAllen. This center is providing education to South Texas students in critical-need areas such as public health and food systems management. We look forward to seeing McAllen Aggies contribute to our mission of bettering the world through teaching, research and service.

Too many extraordinary things happened this year at Texas A&M to list here, but it would certainly be remiss of me if I didn't mention that after an unbelievable SEVEN overtimes, we BTHO LSU! Gig 'Em Aggies!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday break and a happy new year,
Michael K. Young