In the spirit of building a fearless culture of positive change and to better serve our students and community, I would like to begin a process for investing in the innovative ideas of our exceptional Celt community (faculty and staff).

I hope you will join me as our community comes together for our annual Mass of the Holy Spirit next Tuesday, September 11 at 12:30 p.m. in Jerabeck. As many of you know, this is an annual tradition during which we invoke the Holy Spirit to guide us as an academic community.

This Friday from 8 until 9:15 a.m., our campus community will host the World Youth Day Cross in the Chapel of St. Basil. Along with the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, we are one of two stops the cross will make in Texas on its eventual way down to Panama City for World Youth Day in January.

For a great many of you, today is your first day at UST. I am pleased to say that we are welcoming the largest class in the history of this great university.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for attending yesterday’s event, it was a beautiful day! Faculty and staff packed the gym for UST’s first annual “Opening Day.”

Please join me in congratulating Fr. Chris Valka, CSB, who has been named the new local Basilian Superior of Keon House and will assume a key leadership role in guiding the Basilian Fathers in Houston.

I wanted to share some exciting news with the UST community. For those of you who haven’t already heard, Father Kevin Storey, CSB has been elected to serve as Superior General for the Congregation of St. Basil.