Community matters because democracy matters

November 9, 2020

This message was sent to students, faculty and staff at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Dear Wolf Pack Family,

Thank you for your democratic engagement, decency, patriotism and respect for others during the 2020 election. The people of our Nation have elected Joe Biden as the President-elect, and Kamala Harris, as the first woman, a woman of color, as Vice President-elect. We congratulate them both.

Voting and elections are part of our commitment to the democratic process. The greatness of our American experience lies in our deep democratic traditions and our aspiration to achieve equity and full participation

Unifying as a Nation, regardless of who we voted for, defines who we are. With more than 140 million Americans voting in this election, we have demonstrated that liberty, freedom, civic duty, democracy, justice, dignity and respect for all people are still the American ideal.

Let’s use this moment to join together and commit to our University’s values of excellence, integrity, inclusiveness and collaboration among all our endeavors and disciplines. Landmarks of excellence in higher-education include informed, evidence-based, critical thinking that seeks to advance knowledge, and therefore, the common good. Let’s commit to being a University community engaged in open and civil dialogue, strengthened, and not divided, by our differences.

We are all a part of the Wolf Pack family. We care for one another. We listen to one another. We comfort one another. We respect one another. And, as we move forward as a Nation with our new President and Vice President, together we will continue our hopeful journey to a new tomorrow.

Go Pack!

Brian Sandoval
President