Hello From Incoming President James Holloway
May 22, 2025
Hello, UToledo!
It can seem a bit awkward to join an academic community in July, when so much (but not all!) of the academic enterprise is in a special summer rhythm and the classrooms are mostly silent. But there is tremendous activity still at UToledo. Heads are down in the lab or the archive, hands are busy in the field and the studio, athletes are training, and in the clinical platform, patients are receiving the best care in all of Ohio.
Yet here I am, excited for July 15 when I will officially join the Rocket community in our mission to serve the people of Ohio and the nation. Excited, yes, but humbled, too.
There is so much for me to learn about our great University and health system, and so much for me to discover about the city and the region. I’m blessed to be in this community of scholars, teachers, learners and doers, and I look forward to learning from all of you. So please don’t hesitate to share your knowledge as I cross Centennial Mall, or enjoy a bite in the Union, or visit the hospital. I will be glad for your shared wisdom.
I have served at Carnegie R1 universities with large health systems and significant athletics programs throughout my career, and I love how all these parts fit together into an impactful whole. During my journey through research, teaching and academic leadership, I have come to appreciate universities whose mission is centered on values, and who hold among those values a sense of place. We exist as an institution to serve the people and community of our place. We can define that place broadly or narrowly, but knowing whom we serve gives us focus and clarity of purpose.
While The University of Toledo has challenges — we must grow enrollment at all levels, we must advance our research mission, we must team with Toledo and the region — we have great promise also. We can both grow and demonstrate the great value of a UToledo education. We can take advantage of new opportunities in research even as other opportunities are lost. We can reach out and connect with our community and be a catalyst for regional growth. We have amazing faculty and staff at UToledo who deliver on our mission every day, and we have students of incredible promise whose dreams we can help ensure and whose futures could benefit us all.
UToledo has not been still in the face of its challenges. The people of Rocket Nation have done hard, important work to ensure the future of our institution. I must in this recognize Matt Schroeder, who, in multiple roles at UToledo, has striven tirelessly to secure the foundations on which we will all build. Matt has already been a fabulous partner to me, and I don’t even officially work there yet! Thanks, Matt.
I’m overjoyed to be returning to the Midwest region I consider to be home. Everyone I’ve met at UToledo — faculty, students, staff, alumni, supporters of all stripes — has been gracious, welcoming and enthusiastic for our shared future. I’m not surprised — that’s how Midwesterners are.
Thanks to all. I look forward to meeting everyone as I transition to what I consider to be The University FOR Toledo.
Sincerely,
James Paul Holloway
President Designate
The University of Toledo