Dear Students, Alumni, Faculty and Counselors of University of Phoenix,

When I look at our University, I am so proud of everything we have accomplished together–starting with our 450,000 students.

I know how hard each one of you works every day to complete your degree and advance your life: mothers studying at night after they put their children to bed, fathers switching careers and holding down a job, men and women in our armed forces preparing to re-enter civilian life. I also know how much our 550,000 graduates and alumni do to strengthen their abilities, thereby strengthening their companies, families, and communities. You were the true pioneers in a revolutionary new way of learning. We have much to thank you for. I also know how much effort our faculty and counselors put into preparing our students for the real world. I know how seriously you take your responsibility to mentor and guide our students to realize their full potential. I’m most proud that together, over thirty years,

we have built a new kind of university for America, one that serves a critical role for individuals, commerce, and community.

Recently, I have read articles and media reports that attempt to discredit your work and ours. I welcome fair and balanced criticism, but unfortunately, these are from ideologically driven critics who question our intentions and ignore our results. When I read them, I see a threat not only to our university, but to America’s future.

What drives our critics? Is it educational politics? Ideological stances? We think it’s fear of change. The kind of innovation we engage in is disruptive. It presents a threat to the status quo.

We are a different kind of university with a different kind of student and a different kind of faculty. We use a different teaching methodology. We have a different financial model. And we have succeeded because we are focused on a student-centered approach in all of our endeavors. We tailored our education to the needs of the fastest-growing, least-served student population: the working learner. We re-invented every aspect of the university that didn’t meet their needs–from the idea of a widely distributed campus system, to practitioner faculty, to a fully digitized learning platform, to small group team-learning processes.

Let’s defy our critics together. You deserve better. So does America.

Visit phoenix.edu/truth to find ways to share your story, your insights, and you experiences and ways to defend the differences that together make us great. I will continue to pour all my energy into supporting you, because your accomplishments are what make me proud to say “I am A Phoenix.”

Yours truly,

William J. Pepicello
President
University of Phoenix