Dear Colleagues,
The start of the spring semester is always an exciting time on our campuses. Our first-year students return ready to hit the ground running after getting fully immersed in the college experience in the fall, while our May graduates are beginning their final courses and looking ahead to what’s next in their academic journeys and careers.
Just as our students are building on what they’ve already accomplished here, we are, together, continuing the exciting trajectory Chapman has been on for decades. We really are in an envious position amongst our higher education peers, and after five months as president, I am as optimistic as ever about our future.
We will dig more into that at the State of the University event on Feb. 27 at the Musco Center for the Arts, which will showcase where we are and where we are headed as a university. I will be joined on stage by some outstanding leaders from the Chapman community, and I hope to see you there.
I am also looking forward to the formal launch of the Or Initiative next week. This is one vital way that Chapman is advancing free speech and civil discourse, and it could not be more timely for our students, our country, and our world.
We are also approaching a critical part of the enrollment cycle, with a new Presidents’ Day event for admitted students coming up on Feb. 16, Preview Day on April 11, and decision days for first-year students and transfer students in May and June, respectively. We all play a role in helping recruit first-year students, and I thank you in advance for your part in doing so.
And we will host Commencement from May 22-24, which is when we celebrate not just the achievements of our graduates but the impact that a new class of Chapman alumni will have on our community and beyond.
Thank you to all of you for the work you do to make Chapman such a special place. I wish each of you all the best for the semester ahead.
Best,
Matt