September 1993

To All Members of the Campus Community:

It is a privilege to welcome you to the new academic year at the 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a newcomer to the campus, I
look forward to getting to know this institution, and to contributing to 
it, together with you. Even before being appointed Chancellor, I knew a 
great deal about the quality of this campus from my lifetime of work in 
higher education and especially from my years as a graduate student and 
faculty member at other Big Ten universities. The two months I have spent
here so far have confirmed both my high regard for the quality of this 
institution and my sense that people here are deeply committed to the 
principles of equity, access and fair play that are among the defining 
traits of our nation's great public universities. 

All of us here - students, faculty, staff - are part of a community. We 
bring different perspectives on the world and on the intellectual puzzles
before us; we bring different histories and backgrounds. Whatever our 
differences may be, it is essential that everyone on this campus be 
treated with dignity and respect. This is essential to the preservation 
and flourishing of our community, and it will be increasingly important 
for all of us - in our careers and daily lives - as this nation becomes 
more and more diverse. 

As a university, we have a special responsibility to come to terms with 
our diversity. We must behave with civility and collegiality toward one 
another, and we must speak up when we see or hear something that is not 
right. Speaking up - free speech - is the best tool we have for letting 
others know the values of this community. I hope you will work with me to
articulate these values. High on my list is the goal of building a 
positive working and learning environment for all members of this 
community. It will take the efforts and good will of us all to achieve 
this goal. I look forward to working with you on this issue and on others,
as we seek to make our university an even stronger institution than it is
today. 

Sincerely,

Michael Aiken

Chancellor