Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year and welcome to the Spring 2026 semester! It is wonderful to have students back on campus this week, and I truly appreciate the hard work of our colleagues in advising, admissions, financial services, student accounts (bursar), orientation, and student affairs - as well as so many faculty and staff that have graciously helped us to welcome the largest number of beginning students this spring since 2020. While new beginners and transfers do not make up for reduced numbers of continuing students, they are a promising signal that prospective students have confidence in the future of our university.

Transition planning continued over the break, involving three external reviews that were called for by the LSU Board of Supervisors - a forensic fiscal audit, a review of our academic programs/faculty workload, and a review of our space - both space utilization and deferred maintenance costs. The latter two reviews are ongoing but should be winding down by the end of this month. The objective of these reviews is to inform the transition plan that is due to the legislature by April 1.

As we are beginning our semester, our beloved city is welcoming a new leadership team. It was truly an honor to be present at the inaugural activities celebrating our new Mayor, Helena Moreno, and I am inspired by her vision for the future of our city. I am also excited to be able to work closely with the City Council - congratulations to Aimee McCarron, Lesli Harris, Freddie King III, Eugene Green, Jason Hughes, JP Morrell, and (UNO Alum!) Matthew Willard. There is still an opportunity to join the UNO/Beach Team of volunteers for the All in for Our Community - New Orleans citywide day of service on Dr. Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 19 from 9 AM - noon. If you are interested, please contact Julie Howe at jhowe@thebeachuno.org.

With UNO Pride,

Kathy E. Johnson, Ph.D. 
President, University of New Orleans