Dear Pacificans,

On this day of giving thanks, please allow me to take a moment to give thanks to you—the members of our extraordinary University of the Pacific community.

To our students, I am thankful for your deep passion for learning and growth, for your caring of each other, and for your authentic desire to make your communities better places. You are the reason why we are all here in this very special place.

To our faculty, I am thankful for your steadfast dedication to the growth and development of our students across all three campuses. You are the reason why our students come from across the street and around the world to study at California’s first and oldest university.

To our staff, I am thankful for your selfless dedication to this university, supporting our students and faculty in ways big and small, each and every day. You are the reason why our faculty can teach and our students can learn at the highest levels.

To our leaders—Regents, Cabinet, deans and so many others—I am thankful for your tireless efforts to support our students and empower our faculty and staff. You are the reason that the trajectory of our university is truly limitless.

To our alumni, I am thankful for your unwavering commitment to your alma mater, as you demonstrated last month with the largest alumni turnout at a Pacific Homecoming in a generation and by record-breaking donations on Pacific Gives day. You are the reason why we have such a strong and unbreakable foundation upon which to build.

And to all of you, I am enormously grateful for so successfully navigating the difficulties of the past 20 months, tackling the challenges of the global pandemic with strength, grace, empathy and optimism, enabling us to return to our beloved campuses smartly and safely. Having witnessed what you were able to accomplish during this time gives me the utmost confidence that there is nothing that we cannot accomplish by working together, relying on our Pacific spirit.

Wherever you are today—at home with loved ones, gathering with other Pacificans or at the DeRosa University Center with the First Lady and me enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner—I wish you all a warm, restful and joyful holiday filled with peace, hope and love.

Sincerely,

Christopher Callahan
President