I hope you had the opportunity to hear or read about our unanimous decision this week to name Eli Capilouto as the 12th president of the University of Kentucky.

It was a proud and historic day for our institution. A moment like this provided us the opportunity to reflect on the last 10 years and the remarkable legacy of leadership of President Lee T. Todd Jr. Policy-makers gave birth in 1997 to the idea of UK becoming a Top 20 research institution, but President Todd made people think the vision could be a reality.

With his bold Top 20 Business Plan, President Todd laid out in painstaking detail what resources would be required to make the journey to Top 20 and, as importantly, what we would do in return for those resources … educating more of Kentucky's children, researching the diseases and seemingly intractable problems that hold us back and expanding the scope and reach of the service we provide throughout the Commonwealth.

We have not completed the journey during President Todd's tenure, but we have taken significant steps. And we have shown people that the only way to accomplish big things is to have big dreams.

Dr. Eli Capilouto believes in big dreams.

On Tuesday, he told board members -- and throughout the week he reminded students, faculty and staff -- that we do ourselves and our communities a disservice when "we dream too little dreams."

Dr. Capilouto and his wife, Dr. Mary Lynne Capilouto, were attracted to UK because there is no shortage here of big dreams. We seek Top 20 because of what it will mean for our state and our people. Eli and Mary Lynne want to part of that. They want to help lead that effort.

And, in their short time here, they felt a deep connection to this place that so many of us know to be special. (For more about the Capilouto family, you can read this release and welcome video from them at http://uknow.uky.edu/content/eli-capilouto-unanimously-elected-president-uk).

We are so excited that they see that in us and that they want to be part of our family. I hope you will welcome them warmly as they begin to transition from Birmingham to their new home in Kentucky.

The weeks, months and years ahead will be filled with tough challenges, challenges to those big dreams we share. But I'm confident that with the kind of leadership provided by Eli and Mary Lynne Capilouto, and the support and tireless work of people on campus and throughout the state, we will continue to dream big dreams.

And we will begin to make them a reality.