Mnookin: Creating connections on the first day of the semester

The following message was sent to all students, faculty and staff from Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin on Sept. 4, 2024.

Dear campus community members,

I have always loved the first day of school. Today, the history of our next year together remains unwritten and for each of us there ought to be a sense of endless possibility. I hope that today you have that feeling of opportunity, whether you are newly joining our community or returning to your third, 10th or 30th year with us.

To our new undergraduate students: Welcome and congratulations! You are part of one of the most competitive classes in our history, selected from nearly 70,000 applicants, and we cannot wait to get to know you. An equally warm welcome to those joining us in our many superb graduate programs for the next step in your education.

View Chancellor Mnookin’s first day video message

To our returning students: Welcome back and welcome home! May this be a year in which you find great satisfaction in intellectual discovery as you continue to build your community and your sense of purpose. And whether you’re a brand-new freshman or putting the final touches on your PhD dissertation, I hope you’ll consider joining me for one of my monthly Chats with the Chancellor, small group gatherings (open to all students) over breakfast or lunch.

To our faculty and staff: Thank you for your deep devotion to our mission of teaching, research and public service. You continue to be extraordinary ambassadors for the Wisconsin Idea, creating and translating knowledge and discovery for the benefit of Wisconsin and the world.

And a special welcome to our 142 newest faculty, joining us from across the country and around the world. You are one of the largest new-faculty cohorts in our history. I’ve enjoyed meeting some of you already and I hope you are starting to feel at home in Madison.

Whether you’ve been part of our community for two weeks or two decades, I suspect you’ve already come to recognize that this great university is a genuinely special place. We are a world-class research university and a vibrant community whose members care about one another. We are at our very best when we are both at once — a caring community in which all can feel that they belong and a place for unlimited intellectual exploration where we sift and winnow, challenge one another, and investigate all kinds of ideas.

Part of how we can be both at once is by meeting each other with respect and a willingness to engage in problem solving, especially across our differences. This work is, and must be, foundational for us as a university committed to open inquiry and the creation of knowledge. At the same time, and inevitably, it is a work in progress. Success requires all of us to bring both curiosity and compassion to our conversations with one another, and to respect diversity of thought both when we agree and – most especially – when we do not. That isn’t always easy to do, but I hope we can all recognize its importance.

In that vein, I want to bring to your attention to our updated and expanded Free Expression website. There is a lot of important information here that speaks to our commitment to the First Amendment and provides clear and transparent guidance when it comes to engaging in discussion, debate and all forms of expressive activity. It was designed for all of us, and I hope you’ll check it out.

Finally, I have an ask of each of you: On this utterly beautiful late summer day, with the endless sense of opportunity that the beginning of the year brings, I hope you’ll choose to reach out to someone you’ve not yet met. Create today at least one new connection – if not two or three or five. Share an idea of yours, or something about yourself, with someone else. In so doing, you will help to deepen the connections and the bonds of community that help to make UW–Madison such an extraordinary place.

On, Wisconsin!

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin