University of Cincinnati

08/24/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/24/2026 06:58

A new year, a shared purpose: President Pinto welcomes Bearcats to UC’s 208th fall

A new year, a shared purpose: President Pinto welcomes Bearcats to UC's 208th fall

A message to the campus community from UC's 30th president

5 minute read August 24, 2026 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print Story Like

I hope your academic year is off to a wonderful start. This fall is my 10th as president of the University of Cincinnati, and by now the rhythms of August have become deeply familiar.

UC President Neville G. Pinto

I've come to know how rapidly our campuses change when students return. Conversations spill back into classrooms, across walkways and along MainStreet. Colleagues reconnect, familiar faces reappear, and new students begin finding their place among us. Across Uptown, UC Blue Ash and UC Clermont, the shift is unmistakable. The university becomes fully itself again.

There is something uniquely exciting about renewing our commitment to the venerable responsibilities of a public research university each academic year. As we begin again, I am truly grateful for the role the University of Cincinnati plays in fulfilling three foundational obligations: educating our citizens, creating opportunity and advancing both discovery and innovation. None of these are possible without our dedicated faculty and staff. UC's impact grows because each of you brings your talent, ideas, passion and commitment. For that, I thank you.

As a public university, expanding access to higher education is central to our mission and at the heart of our Next Lives Here strategic direction. This year, when the counting is complete, we expect enrollment to be around 54,000 students, including our largest-ever first-year class, and quite possibly another all-time record. While that number represents tremendous confidence in UC, its real significance comes to life one student at a time. Every person who studies here carries what they learn into their family, their workplace and their community.

There is something uniquely exciting about renewing our commitment to the venerable responsibilities of a public research university each academic year.

President Neville G. Pinto

This belief in education's power to shape the future inspired the new Bearcats Affordability Grant, UC's largest investment in student success in two centuries. This historic commitment allows eligible students from Ohio families earning less than $75,000 to attend UC tuition-free. For many families, that is more than financial assistance. It puts life-changing education within reach. And that is particularly meaningful at a university where four in 10 members of this year's incoming class are the first in their family to attend college. For those students and their families, a college degree can change the trajectory of not just one life, but an entire generation.

A university also reveals its priorities through what it chooses to build for the future. For the first time since 1969, Crosley Tower is missing from our Uptown skyline. Its absence is impossible to ignore. In its place, we will build a new STEM facility that will open in 2029, creating new possibilities for interdisciplinary learning, problem-solving and research - in other words, an ideal environment for asking important questions, advancing creativity and expanding the frontiers of knowledge.

Still, buildings are only part of how a university renews itself. The deeper transformation happens through our people, our programs and the exceptional teaching and learning they make possible as we encounter new ideas, challenge assumptions, build relationships and contribute something of our own.

UC remains unmistakably itself while also becoming something new. To the faculty and staff who have spent the summer preparing for this moment, thank you. To our returning students, welcome back. And to those joining UC for the first time, we are glad you are here. Bring your questions, your ambitions and your ideas. They will help shape what this university becomes next.

We educate. We create opportunity. We discover and innovate. And each fall, we have the privilege of beginning that work anew.

Welcome back, Bearcats.

Neville G. Pinto

Featured Image at top: Thousands from UC's record first-year class gathered for a special class picture inside Nippert Stadium as part of Bearcats Welcome, a two-week lineup of fun events sponsored by Student Affairs. Photo/Connor Boyle/UC Marketing + Communications

Bearcats for Life

Join us as we redefine what it means to be Bearcats - where every learner is supported, valued and equipped to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. It's our promise.


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University of Cincinnati published this content on August 24, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on August 24, 2026 at 12:58 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]