About 75 staff members rubbed elbows with Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Enrique Lavernia. on Feb 8th, Staff Assembly-hosted meet-and-greet event at the Student Center. While attendees enjoyed coffee and desserts, Lavernia shared his personal experiences as a faculty member at UCI in the late 1980s and 1990s, his transition to dean of UC Davis’ College of Engineering, and his duties as provost since his return to campus in July. He also expressed his appreciation for the contributions of UCI’s dedicated staff.

“When the opportunity to come back to UC Irvine came up, I was really energized,” he said. “I remembered the campus as a place with a can-do attitude. It’s a young campus. In some ways, that’s a real blessing because people can make a difference in the lives of the students and in the university. The last seven months have been terrific. I’m even more energized by what I see. The opportunities that exist at this point in time for this university are unparalleled.”

Lavernia gave a short presentation about the developing Strategic Plan, in which he outlined areas for growth and expressed the importance of engaging with the community to create more partnerships.

Attendees had a chance to submit questions to the provost, which ranged from light-hearted to serious in topic including inquiring about his favorite book, what he likes to do for fun and what he envisions for the campus in the next five years. Although he doesn’t have a favorite tome or novel, Lavernia recommended The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership by Steven Sample and shared he spends much of his free time obsessing about his two college-aged children. As for the future?

“My vision for the campus is one that brings in the outside community as an inspired partner to help us get to where we want to go. We can’t do it on our own.”