President Ortiz recaps Homecoming and Hospitality Uncorked in his weekly video update and also talks about semester conversion, the Shpachenko music festival and an upcoming blood drive.
Ortiz thanked the hundreds of faculty, staff and student volunteers who made Homecoming possible. About 5,000 people came to celebrate and participate in the weekend’s events, which culminated in victories by the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
Meanwhile, The Collins College of Hospitality Management held its annual Hospitality Uncorked gala. Alan J. Fuerstman, the founder and CEO of Montage Hotels and Resorts, was honored with the Robert Mondavi Wine & Food Award.
The topic of semester conversion came up during last week’s Pizza with the Presidents forum. Converting to semesters has numerous benefits for students and faculty, and the university has pledged that students will not lose any credits applied to degree requirement.
This Thursday, prize-winning musicians Grace Fong and Benjamin Truchi will perform at music Professor Nadia Shpachenko’s quarterly music festival. In addition, the university will have a blood drive from Tuesday through Thursday.
To read the entire video message, download a PDF of the transcript.