By this time next summer, University of the District of Columbia President Ronald Mason Jr. will have served his last day in his leading role. The HBCU president recently announced his plan to step down in a message addressed to students and staff at UDC, which was filled with not sadness but hopes for an even more successful future. Learn more in his announcement reprinted below.

Dear Firebirds,

Today, I would like to share some important news with you. This will be my final year as the President of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). I will continue serving as President through the duration of my contract, which concludes on June 30, 2023. It was not a decision I made lightly. After considerable contemplation and consultation with the Board of Trustees and seven years in this role, the time is right to pass the baton.

We have come a long way together, and I believe our work has served the University well. Along with Mayor Bowser and the Office of the Mayor, Chairman Mendelson and the Council, civic and community leaders and friends, we have spread the news far and wide that UDC, the public institution of higher learning in and for the nation’s capital, is a historic university that matters. I have been proud to be its President, working with like-minded people who realize UDC’s significance and importance to the District, nation and beyond.

You are some of the most remarkable and brilliant faculty and staff in higher education. And when I look at our dedicated and resilient students, working through some of the most challenging times I’ve seen in my 40-year career in higher education, I am incredibly proud of all you continue to accomplish. You are indeed our brightest hope for the future.

In my final year, there is still much to consider and accomplish. The Board of Trustees will soon charge a Presidential Search Committee with finding the next servant leader of UDC. Information will be made available so that you can participate in the process, and I am happy to assist in any way I can.

This is not the end, and certainly not goodbye. We still have significant work to do, and I look forward to doing it together—as we always have.

Let’s make this a remarkable year, Team UDC.