Honored and Grateful

Dear LMU Lion Family,

I write to you today, overcome with gratitude for every member of our community who poured months of creativity and care into this inauguration season. 

Over the past several days, from the celebrations on the Bluff to LMU Day at the Rams, which concluded our festivities yesterday, we welcomed higher education colleagues, civic and business leaders, alumni, and community members to the Bluff, proudly showcasing what sets LMU apart: our students, who serve their campus and community with their unique gifts; our faculty, who tackle the challenges of the day through insightful discourse and innovative research; and our industry and nonprofit partners, who generously offer their resources and spaces as we collaborate in building the world of tomorrow. In all of this, LMU truly showed up. Our guests did not simply hear about hope in our words; they saw and felt it in your hospitality, your professionalism, your joy, and your profound commitment to our mission. 

I am grateful to the Inauguration Committee, and our faculty, staff, and students, who made campus festive and welcoming while ensuring that each event was a life-giving source of inspiration, renewing the connections between LMU and Los Angeles and among one another. 

Above all, it fills me with pride to know that my parents and extended family, who traveled from all over the country to join the celebration, were able to see LMU as Cathy, Sophie, and I see it each day. As a beacon of hope overlooking one of the world’s great cities. As a community of talented individuals who serve faith and promote justice. As an institution of higher education that forms leaders of courage and conviction.

This is the university my family and I have come to call home, and I am honored to serve this community. As I shared in my address, you are what gives me hope. I look forward to writing LMU’s next chapter together–with purpose, possibility, and hope.

With deepest appreciation,

Thomas Poon, Ph.D.
President and Professor of Chemistry

Watch the LMU history video: Hope, Made Here and President Poon’s biopic: Rooted in Mission, Toward Hope.