Hello, and Happy New Year!

I’m beyond excited to be here at San José State University, honored to be serving as interim president, and eager to support the efforts of you all on behalf of this great university. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get started on supporting our mission, our students, each other and our region.

My main priority this semester will be to meet with and listen to as many members of our campus community as possible along with alumni and other supporters. To that end, I’ll take part in an interview and Q&A session on Jan. 27 that you’ll hear more about next week. There, I hope to share a bit about my background and aspirations for SJSU, but mainly I’ll try to answer as many of your questions as I can.

I know that there are timely, important matters to discuss, such as the university’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Omicron variant, teaching modalities moving forward, and any adjustments we may need to make this semester. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, of course, and I want to acknowledge the anxieties that members of our campus community may be feeling. I have every reason to believe that the approaches we’ve taken from the pandemic’s outset will continue to be successful. I’m committed to communicating on these issues frequently and sharing new details as our plans unfold.

Finally, recognizing how big this campus community is, it will take me some time to meet all of you. So if you happen to recognize me walking around campus, feel free to say hello! I’m a “people person” and would love to chat and get to know you. Don’t be shy about stopping me!

Looking forward to a great 2022. See you soon!

Steve Perez

Interim President