Welcoming a New Academic Year

August 21, 2024

Dear members of the SLU community,

Last week and throughout the weekend, we welcomed our newest Billikens to campus. New students have joined us from across our region, from nearly every state, and from around the world. 

Each year, I marvel at the courage it takes to step into a new academic journey. To get your bearings for the first time on a new campus, among unfamiliar sights, new buildings, new people, and new ideas. 

At the beginning of a new endeavor, everything is a little more exciting – and also a little more difficult. Being new makes us brave, and it requires humility. We know we will be taken off guard. We expect that we will occasionally (or frequently) make mistakes. We hope that, as we grow in knowledge, we will contribute to positive change. We hope that we will be changed in the process.

As we greet our new students this fall, I know that we will welcome them warmly and help them find their way. 

I also hope that we will join them in the spirit of being new – whether this is your first “first day of fall semester” at SLU, or, like me, the first day of your final fall semester.  

Each year brings inevitable challenges – in our classes and research projects, in the fields of athletic competition, in the business of operating a university, and beyond. This year especially, I hope that we will learn from the curiosity and insights of our newest community members, as we call on the wisdom and expertise we have earned through years of experience. Together, we can foster humility, listen thoughtfully, engage openly in dialogue, and seek new ways of thinking and working together. 

And so, new Billikens: We welcome you, and we join you. Here’s to a year filled with challenge, change and unexpected joy. 

Higher purpose. Greater good. 

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
President