October 2, 2026
Video Message Transcript
Dennis: A new academic year is an opportunity like no other. It is a chance to expand our minds with fresh knowledge.
Eleni: It is a time to learn, discover, create, and explore.
Dennis: We see your brilliance in action on a daily basis at UC Santa Barbara. In classrooms, labs, studios, performance halls, galleries, libraries, and playing fields, you are leaders, dreamers, and change agents.
Eleni: But what’s more is that you are deeply generous, kind, compassionate, and absolutely driven to lift others up and improve our world. This is a community that is grounded by its principles and values. And your work is wildly ambitious, deeply creative, and profoundly heartfelt.
Dennis: In the months ahead, you will pursue excellence in all that you do. You will collaborate across academic boundaries and frontiers and form new partnerships in Santa Barbara, Goleta, and all across the world. Your potential — as scholars, researchers, and leaders — is simply limitless.
We are at the beginning of an era of creativity, innovation, and reinvention at UC Santa Barbara unlike any other in our history. The momentum is building.
Eleni: The energy and excitement on campus are palpable. And we cannot wait to marvel at all that you will accomplish in the year ahead!
Dennis and Eleni: Welcome home Gauchos!