In a room full of students and faculty members Wednesday evening at the Annenberg Presidential Center, President Michael Young described the kind of impact Aggies are making and how Texas A&M will be at the forefront of innovation and problem solving in the years to come.
In his second State of the University address, Young commended students and faculty on the hard work and selfless service displayed for the university over the past year, while also encouraging the same for the future, with plans for a new School of Innovation and more high impact experiences for students.
Young applauded A&M for recently moving into the top 25 of public universities by U.S. News and into the top 20 by the Wall Street Journal, attributing it to the energy and spirit of both students and faculty.
“I’m happy to report today that the state of the university is strong,” Young  said. “We have a tangible momentum over these past 12 months, one that will send us far into the future.”
Aaron Lira, Class of 2017 and graduate student, said Young’s focus on excellence and the support of students and faculty is already making an impact and will continue to in the years to come.
“It seems like he has a really good idea of what we need, what kind of support we need and what kind of support the faculty needs as well to pursue those pillars of excellence,” Lira said. “I definitely think the commitment to excellence and innovation is something that will really impact us moving forward. It is a really powerful statement and something that can transcend the classroom and transcend the research going on here.”
Young also took time to highlight the groundbreaking research accomplished by both faculty and students over the past year, including astronomy and physics professor Jennifer Marshall, who witnessed the gravitational waves released by a neutron star merger.
“I thought it was very informative and powerful and inspiring to be as great this year as we have been in the past couple years,” said Travis Johnston, Class of 2017. “From the research that people are taking on, such as [discovering] the gravitational waves to autonomous vehicles, it is amazing that [this] is happening at Texas A&M.”
Young also spoke of some of the challenges faced by the university such as inclusion of all students who aspire to attend Texas A&M.
“It is and still will be the responsibility of every single one of us to demonstrate excellence in how we treat, welcome and engage others who step foot on campus,” Young said. “We are proud to continue to be a welcoming environment to our students across the globe.”
Texas A&M is also launching a new School of Innovation that aims to find ways to bring the world’s problems to A&M for students and faculty to work on and solve.
“We have some of the most innovative, creative and intelligent students in the world here at Texas A&M,” Young said. “We’ve asked the [School of Innovation] to look at how it will be possible for people everywhere to bring problems that need solutions to Texas A&M and have our students and faculty take the lead in finding those solutions. We want Texas A&M to be the place where the world comes to help solve its problems.”
Pertaining to the future, Young  said he strives to increase the percentage of students who participate in high impact learning experiences that include leadership opportunities, study abroad and undergraduate research.
“Our goal is to increase the percentage and number of high impact experiences for our students,” Young said. “We are preparing our students for these leadership and service opportunities.”
Young said he hopes A&M will continue its pursuit and display of leadership, excellence and success that the university has focused on in the past year.
“I think the future is even brighter than the year I have just recited,” Young said. “This has been a year of achievement, of great strides as a tier-one university, growth in reputation and rankings, faculty and staff who mentor each other and our students and students who selflessly serve in every way imaginable, but I know the best is yet to come.”