Welcome back, everyone!
It’s always good to see you return after summer here in Gainesville. I hope you had fun out there and had a chance to capture some of those moments. That’s what a lot of people are doing — according to Photutorial, the number of photos taken by humankind on this big blue ball will exceed 2 trillion for the first time ever this year. And let’s admit it — a whole lot of those photos will stay unseen while we are draining battery taking more selfies.
Seeing your energy return to this community is like watching the great battery of this university getting recharged. So with that charge approaching 100%, let’s chat.
A lot has happened while you were away — locally, nationally, internationally. Some of it will affect us directly. The implications of such things as the loss of federal research dollars are still rippling through institutions like ours. But while there is a great deal of uncertainty out there, there is a lot of unambiguous good to focus on. Having you back in the community really helps us all do that.
Leading the college that puts people in the news business, among other industries, means that I am sometimes called to remind people of the nature of news. One element of that nature is that, yes, it’s not your imagination — bad news is plentiful. Often, what you read is about stuff that is supposed to work but doesn’t, or people behaving badly, or worse — the cruelty and violence that comes from conflict.
And quite frankly, we in the media have a lot to answer for — studies have shown for decades now that the coverage of crime in the media is way out of proportion to the incidence of actual crime, which in many American cities is at historically low levels. But often the nature of news is warning, so we don’t see stories about planes that land on time, about houses that don’t burn, about people who get home safely. Or, more to the point, we don’t notice as much when stories that are not about warning do appear.
Sometimes we all need reminders that some things actually are going according to plan. You, returning or arriving to advance your studies, to reconnect with friends or find new ones, to get ready for the future — that’s things going according to plan. It’s something to remember when things look uncertain and your resilience is needed. You are building that resilience every day, according to plan.
Seeing you advance in your ability to think critically, to gain skills and find your own voice, never gets old. More of that, please. We may be living at the dawn of an age of AI, but here’s where you can prove that there is nothing artificial about your intelligence. Your authenticity matters in a world where that is becoming harder to find. I wish you confidence and comfort in your authentic self this year.
So keep on pushing, and let us, the faculty and staff, help you to stay on course. For the first-year students, best of luck as you find your people and start your path. Those of you in the second and third year, making the most of your connections and taking big steps in coursework — get every little bit out of this institution and experience that you can.
And to the Class of 2026: Like those who emerged before you, you got here because you are smart. You’re headed for that stage next year because you are also tough. It will also help you to note something that I’ve known through three decades of being involved in higher education: Through all of the times of economic expansion, recession and expansion again, employers have had one thing in common: They never stop looking for smart, tough people to bring them into the future. You know, like you.
So, Gators, have a great 2025-26. Work hard, use your voice and take the photos. But put the smartphone away and have some fun, too.
Hub Brown is the dean of the College of Journalism and Communications.
