On behalf of everyone here at UNF, allow me to welcome you to the beginning of what promises to be an exciting year.

For those who are returning to campus, it’s great to have you back with us. For those of you who are new to the campus, we’re glad you’ve chosen to come to UNF. We hope to exceed your expectations during your college career.

Because we are a growing institution that values continuous improvement, you will find a number of changes occurring now and throughout the academic year.

Many of these – buildings newly opened or under construction and new faculty members – are easily identified.

But there are other, less visible changes that will play an increasingly important role in your education.

For those of you who have been a part of our campus community for a while, you’ve probably heard about UNF’s transformational learning opportunities or as we call them, TLOs.

These TLOs provide UNF students with a chance to participate in experiences such as study abroad, internships and faculty-mentored research projects – experiences many students say broadened and deepened their professional, intellectual and world views.

During the past several months, faculty, staff, students and community leaders have been working hard to enhance and expand these experiences with a focus on addressing communitybased problems and issues.

This outgrowth of the TLO initiative is being called the Community-Based Transformational Learning program.

This program will provide UNF students with first-hand experiences that take them outside the walls of the classroom and into the community.

Through service learning, community-based research, focused internships, cooperative learning and similar formats, students will enhance their knowledge in a particular area, often making meaningful contributions to the communities in which they participate.

By engaging in these activities, students learn how to translate theory into practice, strengthen their sense of civic responsibility and gain from professional and career development opportunities. In many cases, these experiences will transform the lives of UNF students.

While we work to get this program fully operational, many students are taking advantage of these types of experiences through the current TLO initiative.

We hope that at some point during your college career, you will take part in a Community-Based Transformational Learning program.

If you are a freshman on campus, you are the first class to engage in UNF Reads, a program where the campus community focuses attention on one book.

This initiative is intended to stimulate cross-campus conversations among students, faculty and staff. This year’s book is “Freakonomics,” and we’ll be hosting the author, Steven Levitt, for a community-wide lecture later this term.

For students interested in leadership development, UNF has developed a Leadership Institute.

Offered through Student and International Affairs, the institute helps students explore what it means to be a leader in today’s society.

Because college includes more than what you learn in a classroom, look for opportunities like these and take learning to a whole new level.

E-mail John Delaney at jdelaney@unf.edu.

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