SUBJECT:  Letter From the Chancellor

Two years ago, when I invited the campus community to engage in a dialogue about the future of UCSD, my hopes were that colleagues might care enough to express their ideas. Since then, and at every stage, your heartfelt responses have exceeded my hopes. Your collective wisdom has taught me that this university's greatest assets are the faculty, students, staff, alumni and supporters who are committed to building its excellence.

I will take that knowledge with me when I head north in the fall to assume the presidency of the UC system. This will be a bittersweet move: I am excited by the prospect of heading up the world's greatest university, but I will be sad to leave a place that has been my home these past 12 years, a place that has brought me such joy and fulfillment.

Anyone who is familiar with UCSD knows that, even in an era of fiscal constraints and burgeoning enrollment, this campus faces the brightest possible future. In just the past year, we have launched two graduate schools (Management and Pharmacy) and the undergraduate Sixth College. And our "Imagine What's Next" institutional campaign has gotten off to a fast start. Whoever succeeds me in this job will be very fortunate. I am delighted that Senior Vice Chancellor Marsha Chandler has agreed to serve as Acting Chancellor beginning October 2, and I am confident that, given UCSD's extraordinary reputation, we will attract a stellar field of candidates for the permanent position, which likely will be filled by the middle of 2004.

I was chosen as the next UC President in large part because UCSD has had a phenomenal trajectory of growth and achievement. All of you made that trajectory possible. It has been a genuine honor to serve as your Chancellor. I will treasure the memory of my years at UCSD, and I will apply the lessons I've learned here in my new post.

Let me end my 14th and final "Letter From The Chancellor" with a request. In messages of congratulations that many of you have sent - I have read each one with great pleasure and I thank everyone who has written - one question keeps popping up: What will happen to the Chancellor's 5K? I am happy to tell you that the 2003 Chancellor's 5K is slated for Friday, October 24. I have marked that date on my calendar - I look forward to participating in a great run and a great campus tradition - and I hope you will join me in jogging, walking, or just cheering to help raise money for undergraduate scholarships.

                                                Robert C. Dynes
                                                Chancellor