Today, I received the very sad and painful news that one of our staff members passed away after a short battle with COVID-19.

…during the coming months, I plan to engage our campus in discussions about our culture as a university and the shared values that define how we interact with one another. And I will work collectively with you to establish a vision for UT to continue changing the world for generations to come.

As you know, our Vice President for Research Daniel Jaffe has been serving as Provost ad interim since the spring, providing strong leadership and vision for the university. Dr. Jaffe is expecting to return to his VP role in the coming months, which has always been his plan.

This morning, The University of Texas at Austin was recognized nationally for our ongoing efforts to support Latino students — a reflection of the great work of so many dedicated members of our community.

I am reaching out today both to provide you with some updates on how the semester is unfolding so far and how we’re planning to approach the spring 2021 semester, and also to ask for your help. Specifically, we have an updated and streamlined process for Proactive Community Testing…

During the past four months, I’ve had the privilege to serve as UT’s interim President as we’ve worked through challenges and changes that have no precedent in modern memory.