Holiday Greetings from Rector Giovanni Molari to the community of the University of Bologna

Dear Colleagues, dear Students,

As we approach the holiday season, I wish to share with our entire community a profound sense of gratitude for the journey we have undertaken together up to this moment, looking ahead to the future. A future that must find us united in reaffirming our values and pursuing our institutional goals, whose public significance we firmly believe in.

The year we are about to bid farewell to has been a challenging and often dramatic one, marked by international crises whose humanitarian consequences continue to sadden and call upon us as individuals and as a community. We have closely witnessed and directly experienced the repercussions of the climate crisis during the devastating flood that affected the population and territories of our Multicampus. We have faced growing economic and social problems with severe implications for the more vulnerable components of our community, starting with our students.

In this context, we have made every effort to perform all our tasks – teaching, research, third mission, responsible management of public resources, care for our assets, and above all, the well-being of the individuals comprising our community – striving to enhance ourselves as an institution, fully aware of our indispensable social role.

Thanks to the commitment of each and every one of us, throughout 2023, we have sought to foster sustainable and harmonious growth in every aspect of our activities. Continuous recruitment is allowing us to significantly increase our teaching and administrative staff. The effective and thoughtful use of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) funds, along with the growing number of national and international projects, will make us increasingly innovative in research. Our investment in PhD programmes shows our commitment to training the researchers and professionals of tomorrow.

The expansion of measures for the right to education and services for students, pursued through intense dialogue with representatives, attests to our commitment to be an increasingly open and inclusive University, despite the growing difficulties, mainly driven by an increasingly unregulated housing market. In the face of episodes of gender-based violence that repeat with increasing intensity, we reiterate our commitment to promoting a culture of respect and equality, ensuring that our community is an ever-safer place where everyone is heard and valued.

Attention to well-structured, sustainable, and effective teaching has characterized the design of our educational offerings. The numerous international agreements signed confirm our commitment to operate in an ever-expanding and global landscape. A thoughtful building plan will allow us to initiate all the new planned works and invest in the maintenance of our real estate heritage, which has been neglected for too long. The University's first energy plan will guide us in doing so in accordance with environmental sustainability.

A meticulous review of our internal regulations (from space concessions to third-party accounts, from non-institutional assignments to incentives, to name a few) has accompanied all these activities, in a necessary process of internal rationalization. In addition, the long-awaited revision of the Statute has been finally realized with the responsible contribution of the Governing Bodies and the entire University. Important results have also been achieved in the field of union agreements and measures to support administrative and technical staff, but much still needs to be done to ensure increasing fairness and a more committed adherence to our strategic goals.

The budget we approved yesterday is the synthesis of forward-thinking planning and the result of a shared effort that allows us to look to the future with cautious confidence. However, it also compels us to demand more impactful local and national policies truly attentive to the common good.

The satisfaction for the results achieved with the contribution of each and every one of you does not prevent us from seeing how much still needs to be done. I commit to doing so and rely on your continued contribution, assistance, and constructive criticism.

Looking forward to seeing you again, I renew my gratitude and extend to you and all your loved ones my sincerest wishes for a joyful holiday season.