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Chancellor's Office > State of the Campus Address

State of the Campus Address

Indiana University Southeast 2007 Faculty/Staff Annual Meeting

August 23, 2007

State Of The Campus Address

By Chancellor Sandra R. Patterson-Randles

Good afternoon. Thank you so much for joining us today to introduce our new faculty and staff, bestow our faculty/staff awards, and celebrate the opening of what will undoubtedly be a very exciting and challenging new year. Last year I began this address by noting IU Southeast's 65th birthday party, and as we concluded our year-long celebration in mid-summer, we could all point to some dramatic achievements which have trumpeted our maturity as well as the striking progress we have made as an institution.

First, let me extend a very warm welcome to our new faculty, staff, and students and an equally warm welcome to our returning campus community members. I am also delighted today to recognize some great supporters of IU Southeast: Ed Jerdonek, chair of the Board of Advisors; Phyllis Robinson; Rose Wathen; Kevin Hammersmith; Jack Mahuron; Doug York; and Ryan Hammer. Will you please rise to receive our thanks?

During the 2004-2005 school year, we implemented our comprehensive, long-range Strategic Plan, which has guided the last three years of this campus's development. Every year we evaluate the progress we have made on the initiatives we have broken out for our yearly efforts and then pick out which new projects we will pursue for the upcoming year. However, in January we reached the halfway mark under our plan, and I felt it was appropriate to reconvene the committee to go over our progress and consider revisions. What we found was remarkable - completion or substantial progress on well over 3/4 of the plan's very ambitious 212 initiatives. In that context I can assure you that the 2006-2007 school year was even more exceptional. Briefly, I would like to highlight some of our accomplishments this past year under our Strategic Plan and then mark out some crucial focal points for the year ahead.

First, thanks to the exemplary dedication of our faculty and the efforts of our Academic Affairs folks across campus we have achieved some real high points in Educational Excellence, Goal 1. Dr. Angela Salas, our new Honors Program Director, has completed her plans for the program which is being implemented this semester. This morning I had the great pleasure of meeting the 44 students which have been admitted to our Honors program, including both current and new-to-campus students. I know this will be an outstanding educational experience for them. Also, under the very capable leadership of Dean Cliff Staten and the Common Experience Committee, IU Southeast successfully inaugurated the "Common Experience" program, which organizes campus events and learning around a central theme. The initial year topic was "Citizens Making a Difference", and multiple events were held that involved faculty, staff, students, and community members. These activities were coordinated with a loan of materials from the Remnant Trust to the IUS Library in the spring semester through the funding of a generous anonymous donor. This program has really enhanced the intellectual climate across campus, and I look forward to seeing it blossom even further.

In April our third annual student research conference continued to thrive with 230 student participants, a real tribute to applied learning efforts on this campus. Congratulations to Dr. Debbie Finkel and our faculty sponsors who have established such a strong, high-quality tradition in such a short period of time. In addition, IU Southeast was quite proud of the wonderful NCECA ceramics event spearheaded by Professor John Guenther and the North American Brass Band Association competition hosted on campus for a second year because of the hard work of Dr. Joanna Goldstein. Through the efforts of Dr. Magadalena Herdoiza-Estevez, our School of Education has been awarded a $1 million federal grant for the improvement of teacher training to help students with limited English ability. This is the largest grant ever received at IU Southeast.

Finally, our newly implemented Commitment to Excellence projects continue to thrive, and I am especially pleased at the success of our new Informatics program under the leadership of Professor Joe Hollingsworth. After just one year, the program already has 43 majors with 11 cognate areas in which to study. As you can undoubtedly see from these few examples, we are truly upholding our mission in terms of quality academics.

Second, we have continued to make significant progress regarding Effective Enrollment Management, Goal 2. Our Enrollment Management team has developed a very specific and focused Enrollment Management Plan with 6 goals, 86 objectives, and 223 recruitment and retention strategies aimed at increasing total enrollment by 50 students in each of the next 10 years. For Summer II 2006 through Summer I 2007 IUS has posted gains, and the campus has realized a 27% increase in transfer student enrollment. As of this date, we are on target for an increase in Fall enrollment as well.

Our enrollment strategies depend on collecting and utilizing excellent data. Just before her retirement at the end of January, Dr. Mary Anne Baker gave the Strategic Planning Committee a superb overview of enrollment issues and changing demographics. Fortunately, we were able to recruit another top-notch researcher, Jim Henson, who is providing us with excellent data and analyses for our decision-making.

In addition, we continue to grow our students' engagement with the local community through internships, volunteerism, and service learning. Let me highlight just one such venture - our Design Center. By the end of Spring 2007, the Design Center completed 35 projects for 29 non-profit clients, both on and off campus, helping to raise funds for and increase awareness of historic preservation, environmental protection, homelessness, women's issues, local small business development, low income housing and neighborhood revitalization, African-American history, and the arts, among others. While focused primarily on print design, Design Center work has appeared on websites and cable television as well. Engagement activities like this help IU Southeast both to recruit and retain successful students.

Let me mention several other important accomplishments. Thanks to June Huggins' efforts, IU Southeast has received a $100,000 Lumina Grant to develop a 21st Century Scholars and High Risk Student Support Office. In Athletics, our students have benefitted from an expanded array of intramural fitness and recreational opportunities. We hired our first full-time Intramural/Fitness Coordinator, increased intramural events from 5 to 17, and increased Fitness Center use by 20%. Our new women's softball team captured the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament in its inaugural year. IUS's Jenni Townsend and Bob Briscoe were named KIAC tennis players of the year after helping their teams win conference tournaments – the 8th straight KIAC championship for women. As you can see, our student engagement and applied learning activities are steadily growing at IU Southeast.

Under Goal 3, we continue to enhance diversity on campus. We created a new team approach to diversity by including academic diversity responsibilities in Dr. Sheying Chen's portfolio. He works collaboratively with Heather Hampton, our Affirmative Action Officer/Trainer, and our new Director of Campus Life, Kim Clemens. I am very pleased to report that IU Southeast completed an intensive self-study and review process mandated by the IU central administration with very positive results. Also, for each of the last six years we have continued to increase minority student enrollment.

One brief look around campus will clearly demonstrate how we have strengthened our resources, the focal point of Goal 4. Consider, for example, the facilities improvements we have made over the past five years through careful management of our budget and judicious use of one-time money as well as the outstanding service of our people in the Physical Plant:

  • Graduate Center in Jeffersonville
  • Our new state-of-the-art Library
  • Our new Observatory
  • Rebuilt shelter houses
  • Classroom and technology upgrades to Crestview and Hillside Halls
  • Additional parking lots
  • New lights on campus, energy management systems, and HVAC upgrades under a $2 million Qualified Energy Savings Program
  • New softball field
  • New tennis courts
  • New exterior building and directional signs
  • A new greenhouse for research
  • Campus banners
  • Our $9 million expansion and renovation of University Center
  • And last, but not least - student housing

Several weeks ago when I appeared on the WHAS Noon Show, I was very pleased to have with me a copy of the student newspaper from October 30, 1975, courtesy of Lee Staton who was at that time a student here serving on the newspaper staff. An article queried, "Will IUS ever get student housing?" After 30 years of talking and 20 years of trying, I am absolutely thrilled that we have actually done it! IU Southeast is on the brink of a whole new experience in educational quality, climate, and reputation. Our service to our students and regional community will be so greatly enhanced by becoming a residential campus. While transitions like this inevitably encounter some bumps in the road, I firmly believe this campus has secured a much brighter future because of this development. Let's enjoy it to the fullest.

Also, let me briefly mention several other major accomplishments that will have an immense impact on IU Southeast's future. Our Indiana/Kentucky reciprocity agreement has been renewed for six years with the addition of Trimble County. In legislative action, IU Southeast was granted yet another equity adjustment as part of our state appropriation for this biennium. In addition, our campus climate has changed to be a healthier place to live and learn by becoming a tobacco-free environment.

Our efforts to better our image in the region, Goal 5, have been quite successful through the hard work of our new staff in University Advancement and the engagement activities of many people across campus. We are enjoying a continuation of the IU Success campaign originally developed by our Ad Hoc Marketing Committee. We have had tremendous print and television coverage of our student housing - as evidenced by the prominent positioning of our student housing article in the Derby issue of Business First. Moreover, we are now enjoying much attention at the Kentucky State Fair with a really striking booth highlighting the lodge concept of our residence halls.

In conjunction with many initiatives in Goal 5, I am very pleased with our progress in establishing even stronger community relations in our region, Goal 6. For instance, as a founding member of the HIRE Education Forum, an organization of more than twenty regional post-secondary institutions affiliated with Greater Louisville, Inc. and One Southern Indiana, IU Southeast hosted two College Day Out events for more than 80 middle school students selected by their counselors as at-risk for high school completion. The students were able to learn about the college experience from IUS students like themselves and will hopefully be inspired to stay in school through high school and beyond.

Lilly III funding for the IU Southeast Community Partners program may have officially ended last December, but several of the initiatives begun under the program are continuing, including the CEO Roundtable and the Entrepreneurship Seminar Series. Students from previous entrepreneurship sessions continue to meet regularly as well.

Vice Chancellor Larry Mand and I have been active with major economic development organizations in the area like One Southern Indiana and Greater Louisville, Inc. as well as other organizations on both sides of the river. Our Sanders chair, Dr. Uric Dufrene, has been making a positive impact on the business community along with our other School of Business programs. Outreach programming from Nursing, our School of Education, and many of our disciplines in Arts and Sciences continue to grow IU Southeast's academic reputation and commitment to regional service.

Even though our Lilly III grant monies have run out, internships have held relatively steady at 186 with 72% of our students getting job offers. Student organizations have contributed over 25,600 hours of community service in our region. Moreover, I am quite pleased that in support of the arts and culture, our Ogle Center increased attendance at the Chase Children's series with 11,511 children enjoying performances, a significant increase over last year.

Overall, our outreach to our regional community has been growing in strength and quality, and as proof of this I was quite happy to hear that at a recent major event in Louisville, independently and unprompted, three regional leaders from Kentucky acknowledged IU Southeast's new educational stature.

Finally, for Goal 7, the reconvening of the Strategic Planning Committee this spring and the dramatic accomplishments we have documented clearly indicate that the campus's culture is changing positively to include cross-division planning and implementation, wider community engagement, and data-driven decision-making. The deans and directors have been working with faculty and staff to set annual unit goals in support of institution goals. Our campus leaders have done some critical brainstorming regarding IUS's positioning in this competitive and ever-changing environment. Moreover, to help us prepare for the challenges ahead, our leadership retreats have been refocused to encourage professional development in creative leadership.

After completing our Strategic Plan three years ago, it was brought to my attention that the campus needed a clearly articulated set of core values, agreed upon by the campus community at large, to serve as a touchstone for future planning and everyday operations. Consequently, this past year I asked a "break-off" group from our leadership retreat planning committee to take on the challenge of deciphering the campus's guiding principles. This committee has done a remarkable job - holding 23 brainstorming sessions with approximately 40% of our faculty and staff as well as winnowing down a list of 200 suggested values to the "core four" you see in the document handed out to you at the opening of this event. Congratulations to our committee members for a job extremely well done! Considering the hard work and grassroots feedback that went into the creation of these principles, I ask that all members of our campus community embrace these values and find ways to support them in our campus activities, discussions, and planning.

I would also like to ask your help as we tackle some very important issues on this campus during our new school year, six of which I wish to highlight.

First, our next NCA accreditation visit will be in 2009-2010, and we need to begin preparations now. If you recall, our last visit in 1999 noted significant improvements necessary in general education, assessment, and strategic planning. We have done a solid job in addressing those concerns, but we need to clearly demonstrate our progress at the same time as we roll over our Strategic Plan. You will soon hear more details of how we will approach this joint challenge, and I encourage you to become active participants in this important process.

Second, we must continue to enhance diversity on campus so as to better prepare our students for the rapidly changing world in which they will live and work.

Third, we need to address retention of students and persistence to graduation even more strongly.

Fourth, as I just this week discussed with the Faculty Senate leadership, we need to review salaries and develop a clearly articulated policy on salary which includes all constituencies on campus in a fair and balanced fashion. With input from our leadership groups, I will appoint a blue-ribbon committee to take on this challenge.

Fifth, I will be working with faculty, staff, students, administrators, and other constituencies to develop improved communications on campus. My goal is to find ways for all campus community members to participate appropriately in informed decision-making in an atmosphere of even greater inclusiveness and openness. As I have discussed with the Faculty Senate leadership, I will soon be scheduling discussion sessions with our faculty and staff members in groups across campus to hear your suggestions and to listen to your challenges and hopes and dreams. I encourage you to contact me with any concerns or questions you may have, and please let me know of special events in your areas so that I can accommodate them in my schedule as best I can.

Sixth, student housing - we are on the threshold of the most dramatic event to impact this institution since IU Southeast's move to its present location. When we did a feasibility study for student housing during the summer of 2006, 85% of the survey respondents indicated that they believed on-campus housing was essential to the growth, indeed the future success of the campus. We believe the lodge concept of the buildings situated at the core of our campus will promote student engagement and learning communities as well as enhance enrollment and retention. In addition, offering a residential experience will help solidify our unique identity as an institution and strengthen our position as the only comprehensive, residential public university in the southeast quadrant of the state of Indiana. We are convinced that our development as a "full-service" campus will enhance our visibility as a high-quality academic institution and transform our campus's environment and its perception in the region. In short, we believe student housing will usher in a whole new era of educational distinction for IU Southeast. This project would not have been possible without the good will and hard work of our stakeholders both on and off campus.

At our groundbreaking ceremony in June, I mentioned the comment of entrepreneur Anita Roddich. She said, "To succeed you have to believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a reality." That is exactly what we are doing for the future of IU Southeast and the many people it serves. Thank you for your hard work, your dedication, your good will, and your passion. As we brave the challenges of this new epoch in IU Southeast's history, please let me know your joys, your concerns, your perspectives, and your aspirations so that I can work more effectively with you in taking our university to the next level of distinction and service. Welcome to a new year. Welcome to a whole new era for IU Southeast.