Carnegie Mellon University

August 26, 2019

Dear Members of the Carnegie Mellon Community,

Welcome to the New Academic Year!

Over the last couple of weeks, Carnegie Mellon has been alive with activity around the world with nearly 200 orientation events welcoming almost 1,600 new undergraduate students and more than 2,500 graduate students to our Pittsburgh campus, along with classes gearing up at CMU-Africa, CMU-Australia, CMU-Qatar and CMU-Silicon Valley. Today, we welcome so many outstanding students — among the brightest, most independent stars of their generation — as the newest chapter of CMU’s global story.

Carnegie Mellon’s world-renowned reputation for shaping intellectual domains, advancing human knowledge and influencing society’s culture through creative expression is strong because of the many ways our faculty, students and staff teach, learn, collaborate and discover.

Because of our great reputation in cross-cutting disciplines and our distinctive educational experiences, we continue to set new records by attracting more and more of the world’s most talented students. In fact, we had a record-breaking number of applicants for our incoming undergraduate class, representing a 13.5 percent jump over last year, and that was after a 19 percent increase over the previous year!

As we welcome these students, let us remember we are a community connected to one another by a common sense of purpose and guided by a core set of values: inclusion, empathy, respect and integrity. The free sharing of ideas, thoughts and opinions is the foundation for excellence, creativity and human development. We all share responsibility for ensuring our university is inclusive and welcoming, where every person is treated with respect. And we ask our entire community to help us nurture that culture.

Excitement for the new academic year is especially noticeable in Pittsburgh as the 36,000 square-foot ANSYS Hall will soon open its doors to new opportunities. This transformative space will serve as a hub for collaboration, innovation and creativity. Our $20 million classroom and learning spaces renovation project also is wrapping up. Once completed, students and faculty will enjoy nearly 75 newly enhanced classrooms representing upgrades to 3,500 seats across campus, significantly enhancing our learning environment.

There has never been a more exciting time to be at Carnegie Mellon. Whether you are a new or returning student or a member of our faculty or staff, you are here – right now – at a most pivotal time for society. Thanks to your trailblazing work, CMU is positioned at the leading edge of human progress in the midst of a constantly evolving future. As you make your own mark, you also are propelling our university to new heights. Throughout this year, I look forward to hearing your aspirations for this bright new future and working with you to make them a reality.

Wishing you a successful year,
Farnam

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Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair
Carnegie Mellon University

Instagram: @cmufarnam