Celebrating 200 years

While the entering class in 1819 consisted of 70 students taught by three faculty, today’s enrollment is expected to be our sixth consecutive year of record enrollment – topping 45,000. New full-time and visiting faculty just arriving to campus for the new year number 170, joining UC’s distinguished full- and part-time faculty of 6,347. 

From humble origins, UC has risen to become a 21st-century global destination campus. As a Carnegie Research 1 university, UC is recognized for its top-ranked programs, enriching experience-based learning opportunities, inspiring creativity and leading-edge discoveries. Two recent UC faculty achievements speak to our stature today: a $30 million award from the National Institutes of Health to pioneering researchers and clinicians in the Department of Emergency Medicine to enhance stroke treatments, and the newly opened interdisciplinary Ohio Cyber Range at UC, awarded more than $2 million in funding to thwart cyberattacks and enhance personal and national cyber security.

This year, we welcome our first incoming new class with a majority born in the 2000s and numbering more than 7,700 across our three campuses. Our new baccalaureate students are making history as UC’s smartest and most academically prepared first-year class ever. 

I’m also proud to say that this fall, for the fourth straight year, UC’s undergraduate tuition remains frozen. As an urban public university, UC takes access and affordability to heart and will continue to identify efficiencies to keep costs in check.

This fall also marks the grand opening of our 1819 innovation hub, an anchor for Cincinnati’s Innovation District and our front door to connect UC students and faculty with industry and non-profit partners to push the boundaries of what’s possible. Aligned to our Next Lives Here strategic vision, we have announced plans to further bend the future in Cincinnati’s direction with a digital futures research commons, also to be located in the Innovation District.

Building further on our Next Lives Here vision, our platforms and pathways continue to make progress, moving from an accelerated discovery phase into implementation mode. For example, our Faculty Enrichment Center task force has gathered data and input from faculty and other institutions, and the university’s recent participation in the COACHE survey will guide development of the center’s programming and resources, including virtual offerings. Its work will ensure that UC continues to attract, support and retain the world’s best faculty. 

Consistent with our identity as an urban-based university, our special Bicentennial Community Grants Project focuses on community engagement. Up to $100,000 in grants ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 will be announced this year, to invest in projects involving UC students and faculty while celebrating and extending UC’s urban impact in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. 

Just as change has been a constant at UC since its very founding, this year brings new and improved spaces that enhance our university’s impact. A new residential and office building, Marian Spencer Hall, has opened on the footprint of the old Sawyer Hall. The UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute will open in April, bringing together more than a dozen life-saving and life-changing specialties. The College-Conservatory of Music has completed $15 million in renovations to its major Corbett Center performance halls, while the new $120 million Lindner College of Business continues to take shape with completion expected in May, and the $61 million Health Sciences Building advances toward an opening in August 2019.  

Also appropriately timed during this “Boldly Bearcat” celebration, we reopen our newly revamped Fifth Third Arena. It will host our men’s basketball opener on Nov. 7 with an historic matchup not seen on campus for 99 years as the Bearcats take on Ohio State.

All of this gives just a glimpse of what the 2018-19 academic year holds in store. As we celebrate 200 years of UC impact, the optimism, determination and commitment to excellence that have been the university’s hallmarks will continue to drive us forward in our mission to provide our students with a strong foundation to build the bold tomorrow. 

What an honor it is be part of the UC community at this momentous time.

We are Boldly Bearcat! 

Neville G. Pinto

President