Happy Friday, everyone.

I know that for some of you, this has been a back-to-reality, post-Spring Break week, and I hope the transition hasn’t been too tough.  I had a very enjoyable visit to the UT Austin campus on Monday, and the students, faculty and staff I encountered seemed none the worse for wear – in fact, they seemed energized by the challenges awaiting them in the homestretch of the school year.  I hope you are too.

As many of you know, I grew up in San Antonio.  Not surprisingly, I have long been fascinated by the relationship between the United States and Mexico.  I believe we have a great opportunity at the UT System to strengthen that relationship and the role we play in it, so I was delighted to spend time this week with the leaders of Tecnológico De Monterrey, a truly elite university in Monterrey, Mexico.  We shared a lot of great ideas, and I know the relationship between the two schools is going to lead to a lot of good things in both countries.

I was equally delighted to have lunch Wednesday with a group of UT Austin students from Spain, Mexico and Latin America.  One of my top priorities as Chancellor is to increase the visibility and presence of the UT System around the world.  I told the students that there are a lot of ways to make that happen, but the best and surest way is to make sure that they have the best possible educational experience.  If we do that, and of course we will, those students will return to their home countries and spread the word about the University of Texas.  And just as importantly, through their post-college accomplishments, they’ll show the world what a UT education can lead to.

But of course, that notion applies to every student on every UT System campus.  Whether you’re from Austin or Amarillo, Monterrey or Montreal – Longhorn, Patriot, Roadrunner, Miner, Maverick, it doesn’t matter – we hope and expect that your time with us will help propel you to great things.

But never forget, your presence helps us as much as it helps you.  Because of you, the UT System is a stronger, smarter, more culturally aware, simply better institution.  Not only that, the great things that I know are in your future are going to reflect well on us too.

For that, I thank you, and wish you a great weekend.