It’s a delight and an honor to welcome you to WSU. I hope you will take full advantage of our Week of Welcome activities and the opportunities they provide to meet other Cougs, get involved in campus life, and have a little fun before the academic year officially kicks off.

You have made a wise choice in selecting WSU for the next important steps in your academic journey. Week of Welcome marks the beginning of a transformative process during which you will grow in unimaginable ways: intellectually, emotionally, socially and physically, to name just a few.

Equally important, by choosing WSU to pursue a college degree, you are joining an incredibly supportive and nurturing Cougar community — a community dedicated to helping you achieve your academic and personal goals.

We are striving to make the WSU educational experience even better. Our “Drive to 25” — a new system-wide initiative to propel WSU to recognized status as one of the nation’s top-25 public research universities — will enhance your educational experience and increase the prestige of your degree when you graduate.

You can become an important part of the “Drive to 25” during the year ahead. Dive deeply into your interests through classwork and scholarship and research opportunities. Get involved in campus organizations. Volunteer for worthy causes.

Working together, we will show the world that Cougs make incredible contributions to the greater good. Whether it’s educating doctors for underserved parts of our state, developing green energy solutions for the aerospace industry, breeding one of the world’s most anticipated apples, or a new endeavor that you might get involved in, you are now part of an incredible organization that transforms lives on a daily basis.

The knowledge you gain and the memories you create at WSU will have a remarkable impact on the rest of your life. There will be many college moments that you will relish in the years ahead: the lifelong friendships that will be formed, the personal freedoms you will gain, the intellectual growth you will experience, and the knowledge that you will acquire.

I look forward to meeting many of you in the days and weeks to come. And I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @WSU_Cougar_Pres. I use Twitter to regularly stay in touch with our community. You can also email me at [email protected] if you have questions or need help in solving a problem.

Embrace the adventure that awaits. We will challenge you, support you, and boost you toward your goals. We’re thrilled that you’re here.

Go Cougs!