First, I would like to say thank you to the UC Davis community for the very warm welcome I have received since my arrival on campus. In fact, I actually began receiving welcome messages several weeks before my arrival on campus. I arrived in Davis five days after the tragic events of Sept. 11 to assume my responsibilities in the newly-created position of Associate Executive Vice Chancellor for Campus Community Relations.

The basic challenge of this position, "to help the campus chart a course that will ensure attention to those components of our social environment that affect community, campus climate, diversity and inclusiveness," has been made more pressing by the impact of this tragedy on our minds, in our hearts and spirits.

As we struggle to return to our routines and normal reality, we realize that both have been altered forever. We share feelings of sorrow, anger and grief as well as those of patriotism, determination and confidence in our ability as a nation to overcome these events. The sense of our national community is present all around us in the form of slogans - like "United We Stand" - and flags displayed prominently everywhere.

Internationally, our country faces the challenge of building a coalition among the community of nations of the world to combat terrorism. Domestically, we have the challenge of building a sense of community among the diverse cultural and ethnic groups that make up this nation. We cannot generalize the terrorist acts of a few to a whole group of people or to a specific religion. Now, more than ever, we must reach out and communicate across racial, ethnic, cultural, gender and religious lines to build a truly inclusive community.

The foundation for building an inclusive community at UC Davis was developed more than 10 years ago with our Principles of Community. We have reaffirmed these principles this year and we accept the challenge of living these principles as we teach, work, learn and study together.

• invite everyone to read (or read again) these principles and "recognize that each of us has an obligation to the community of which we have chosen to be a part." One of the primary tasks of my position will be to develop, in collaboration with a broad and diverse cross-section of the campus community, a strategic plan that embodies our Principles of Community and serves as a blueprint for the first decade of the 21st century.

This plan must include a vision of the community we seek to establish and also the means of creating it. I ask for your input, participation, support and feedback as we move forward with this enterprise. Call me at 752-2071 or e-mail me at rreed@ucdavis.edu.