NEW ORLEANS – President-Elect John Nicklow released the following open letter to UNO Alumni:
Dear UNO Alumni:
On Wednesday, March 16, the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors selected me to be the next president of the University of New Orleans. I want to let you know how humbled and proud I am to be leading this important institution. For the past eight months, I have served as UNO’s provost and vice president for academic affairs. In that time, I have confirmed my initial impressions—that the strength of this university is found in its people—its students, faculty, staff and, especially, its alumni. I don’t need to tell you about the transformative effect that UNO has had on the lives of so many of our graduates.
I am writing you because I believe that in order for UNO to reach its full potential, we need to enlist our alumni as partners. For those of you who are already actively engaged with your alma mater, I thank you. For those who have not remained connected to the University, I ask that you consider what role you might play in helping UNO to grow and flourish. By supporting our current students, faculty members or academic programs, you are, ultimately, improving the value of your own hard-earned UNO degree.
I am confident that in spite of state budget cuts to higher education and a decline in enrollment in recent years, UNO’s brightest days are ahead. And mark my words, we will earn that future. Since I arrived as provost, we have launched a series of innovate initiatives designed to enhance student success. Those efforts will take time to fully take hold, but we are already seeing positive changes in student recruitment and retention. I am committed to an aggressive and entrepreneurial approach that will allow the University to serve its current students better, as well as attract new types of students to UNO while maintaining our diverse and talented student body. I appreciate the efforts of our talented faculty and staff, my colleagues, as vested partners in making those improvements.
I am looking forward to getting to know as many of you as possible. I hope you will share with me your ideas on how we can marshal the full support of our 35,000 alumni in metro New Orleans, and the tens of thousands spread out across the rest of the country and the globe. I am excited about representing you and your alma mater. I know that, together, we can bring the University of New Orleans to new heights.
Go Privateers!
Sincerely,
John W. Nicklow
President-Elect
The University of New Orleans
