Dear USF Community,
It is with great enthusiasm and hope that I return home. It is such a privilege to warmly welcome each of you to a new academic year. This is more than a new beginning; it is a moment of renewal and recommitment to our mission, our Jesuit Catholic identity, to one another, and to the world we are called to serve.
As Father General Arturo Sosa, S.J., leader of the Society of Jesus, recently reminded Jesuit university leaders across the globe, we begin not with what we do, but who we are. We are rooted in a sacred identity, born from the Society of Jesus and sustained by God’s initiative, not our own. In this identity, we find our strength in our fidelity to the mission of reconciliation, justice, dialogue, and truth.
USF is a university that lives its mission in the city of San Francisco, in classrooms filled with intellectual courage and compassionate hearts, and in the quiet moments of discernment and solidarity. A USF education captures the spirit of a learning community embedded in the joys and struggles of the city and the world. From here, we plant seeds of justice, even when the soil is uncertain. As Fr. Sosa said, our task is not only to believe another world is possible — but to live as if we already inhabit it.
This year, we are called to be witnesses of hope, not despite challenges, but precisely in the midst of them. We do not retreat from uncertainty; we recognize it as a space for the spirit to act, for new creativity to emerge, and for solidarity to take root. This hope is not wishful thinking; it is the courage to act with love, to dialogue across differences, to reimagine the university as a space where truth, care for our common home, and accompaniment of the excluded are inseparable.
At USF, hope takes the form of action: in the formation of global citizens, the integration of ethical discernment, and the prioritization of student well-being grounded in cura personalis. It is in the hands-on work of building a university that is innovative, inclusive, and prophetic. Let us journey with clarity of purpose and joy in our mission. Let us sow generously, trust deeply, and lead boldly. We have been entrusted with a great gift, a Jesuit education, and we carry it forward not alone, but together, for a hope-filled future.
Let us Change the World From Here.
Kindly,
Salvador D. Aceves '83, EdD '95
President