University of Cincinnati President Neville G. Pinto used his State of the University Address on April 13 to share a five-year update on "Next Lives Here," the strategic direction he launched in February of 2018.
More than 100 faculty, staff and students attended the annual talk, which this year took place inside the main auditorium of Kowalewski Hall in the Winkle College of Pharmacy as part of the All-University Faculty meeting. More than 600 additional members of the UC community attended virtually.
Pinto detailed multiple areas where UC is thriving and credited the university's talented faculty and staff for the gains. Among the successes, UC is experiencing record enrollment, at nearly 48,000 students, and record research expenditures, which eclipsed $615 million (including affiliates) in FY22. In addition, UC's research ranking by the National Science Foundation has climbed two spots to No. 33 among public universities nationally.
The Bearcat mascot made an appearance as part of this year's State of the University event. Photos/Andrew Higley UC Creative + Brand
The university is also graduating more students than ever with nearly 11,803 degrees awarded last year, an increase of about 800 degrees since 2018.
"We will be a leading public university in this nation," declared Pinto. "And that word public is the most important word."
He detailed the importance of UC's mission to serve everyone, and particularly students from Cincinnati Public Schools, a major push of Pinto's CPS Strong initiative.
UC's diversity and inclusion numbers have continued to climb, with the most ever students of color this year (25.5%) and a record number of international students (4,251). Approximately one in four Bearcats receive Pell Grant financial aid.
Pinto celebrated ribbon cuttings in the last several months, including the new UC College of Law, the reopened and refreshed Calhoun Hall and the brand new Digital Futures building, where 22 interdisciplinary research teams are now working to "solve problems that matter."
Pinto spoke of the key role that UC's innovation agenda has played in filling the 1819 Innovation Hub to capacity with 20 co-located partners in the building. He also shared the importance of the recent merger of the Center for Entrepreneurship and the UC Venture lab, efforts that last year helped earn UC the pinnacle innovation award from the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU).
