2008 University Convocation Address

Good afternoon and thank you for coming today to the 2008 University Convocation.

Five years ago -- when I arrived here as your newly minted President -- I learned almost immediately that the secret of Georgia College is its people. It was true then -- and it is even more so today.

Over and over again -- through good times and times of challenge -- the members of our university community have displayed the ingenuity, intellect, and dogged determination needed to transform brick and mortar, lawns and landscapes, into a very special learning environment for our students.

So, I want to begin this year's state-of-the-university address by thanking each of you for your many contributions to Georgia College.  Through the years that I have been here, you have consistently shown an extraordinary "can do" spirit and deep commitment to this university and its students. I truly appreciate each of you -- and I want you to know it.

That "can do" spirit has gotten us through some difficult times together -- and we will need to call on it yet again during the upcoming academic year. The struggling national economy has not spared Georgia -- and it has not spared the state university system or Georgia College.

Many of you have already heard me talk about the financial hurdles we are facing. Perhaps we can take some comfort in knowing we're not alone.

Every public college and university in the state is dealing with the exact same difficulties. During the summer, we learned that we would likely face a 6% reduction in our base budget due to declining state revenue. More recently, we learned that this reduction could be as high as 10% -- which for us amounts to over $3 million dollars.

A cut of this magnitude will not be easy, and that is why we have taken steps to decrease travel, to defer many new hires, to limit equipment purchases, and to implement additional operational efficiencies. And, we have sought your help and guidance by asking each school and division to determine the best ways to manage budget reductions in their areas.

Our goal is to preserve the jobs of current employees while minimizing negative impacts on the educational experiences of our students, on the services we provide them, and on the care and upkeep of our facilities. To each of you who will contribute by sacrificing a professional development opportunity, or by deferring a new program or service, or by implementing new cost saving efficiencies, I say thank you. Once again, I have been amazed by your genuine care for the welfare of Georgia College and the people who work and study here.

From the members of our plant staff who maintain our facilities and grounds -- to the members of the faculty who challenge students to stretch and grow intellectually -- each and every one of you make vital contributions to the quality of education, support services, and buildings and landscapes that make Georgia College a destination of choice for its students.

You deserve to be rewarded for your work, and that is why we have developed strategies for sustaining a 10% budget reduction that preserve the raises promised to many of you this coming January. I know this has concerned many of our employees, particularly in light of the rising cost of health care premiums. So -- and let me be totally clear about this -- our intent is to provide you with those raises in January unless we are not allowed to do so. My hope and belief is that policy-makers in Atlanta will understand why care for our employees is always so very important -- and particularly so during times of economic austerity as we again ask you to step up to the challenges of reduced operating budgets and less than optimal staffing support.

As I was preparing for today's address, I looked back at some of my past Convocation messages and I was particularly struck by the speech I gave four years ago. I had only been here for about six months and already I had experienced with you two significant cuts to our budget.

Then -- as now -- we looked at ways to continue to move forward in a struggling economy with declining state revenues. And despite those dire circumstances, we found ways to creatively work together to build new programs, enhance our campus, and support our people.

Today, I want to remind you of some of those accomplishments and invite you to take pride with me in the remarkable things we have been able to do. I've selected 14 areas to briefly highlight.

First Accomplishment:

The nation's best liberal arts colleges support museums, galleries and performance spaces that enrich the educational experiences of their students. Despite the facilities challenges that we face at Georgia College, during the past four years we have made some significant progress in this area. For example, our campus is now home to its own natural history museum, which displays part of our extensive fossil collection. Next to this museum is a planetarium that is now equipped to provide educational programs about astronomy and the night sky.

Both of these new educational spaces create important opportunities for our students to explore the wonders of the natural universe-and to gain a richer understanding of the scientific discoveries that have advanced our understanding of the world.

In addition, we now have new space for artistic and educational exhibits in the Library Museum Building. And -- thanks to the Georgia College Foundation -- we were able to acquire the Lucy Underwood House for use as a freestanding art gallery.

Since 2004, enrollment in majors supported by our Art Department has increased a phenomenal 234%, and these new exhibition spaces will provide students and many others with important venues for exploring the visual arts and for engaging their creative imaginations and aesthetic sensibilities.

Second Accomplishment:

The second accomplishment I want to mention today also involves the creation of new learning spaces -- this time in nearby Macon.

Although our primary mission as Georgia's public liberal arts university is to serve undergraduate students, Georgia College also has a long-standing commitment to providing graduate and professional programs responsive to regional workforce needs. For many years, we struggled to maintain our programs in "borrowed" instructional space in Macon as part of this commitment. Then, nearly two years ago, we were able to acquire space of our own in the Thomas Jefferson Building in downtown Macon.

Last year, after renovations were completed, we opened our new Center for Graduate and Professional Learning in this building, which now provides state-of-the-art instructional space for students and offices for our faculty members who teach there. After just one year, enrollment has doubled, thanks to the efforts of many of you, including Doris Christopher and the deans, graduate coordinators and faculty who have worked so hard to better serve our students in this location.

Third Accomplishment:

Time and time again, members of the Georgia College faculty demonstrate their ongoing commitment to providing students with the kind of learning that prepares them well for leadership roles in their professions, communities, state, nation and, indeed, the world. These past four years have been no exception as you have sought to improve and enhance our curriculum and to provide students with exceptional learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom.

For instance, during the past four years, we have made significant strides towards ensuring that our students are conversant with the global environment in which they will be expected to live, work and lead. Thanks to the leadership of Dwight Call, we secured grant funding to support the internationalization of our majors. Already, faculty in economics, English & creative writing, history, and nursing have participated in this important initiative, and they will be joined this year by faculty in the honors program, art, health, environmental science, marketing, middle grade education, sociology, and theatre.

Consistent with this global emphasis, members of the Georgia College faculty have also developed an impressive array of summer study abroad courses for our students, and thanks to these efforts student participation in study abroad opportunities has steadily increased.

Fourth Accomplishment:

Strong student retention is an indicator of institutional health. It suggests that an institution is providing the programs, support and environment that engages students and helps them to succeed. Thanks to your efforts, student retention at Georgia College has steadily improved over the past four years, putting us in the top tier of University System of Georgia institutions.

In truth, retention is everyone's business -- the courtesy shown to students by the grounds crew, the student/faculty dynamic inside and outside of the classroom, the extracurricular activities provided by student life staff -- these are all ingredients of our success. But we have also implemented some specific initiatives aimed at improving retention. For example, the Financial Aid Office implemented intervention strategies for students in danger of losing their HOPE scholarships, which is an important source of financial support that many students need to continue their studies.

More recently, at the urging of members of the faculty who wanted better advising tools, we adopted "Degree-Works" -- a robust degree audit tool, which allows GCSU faculty, staff, and students to view degree progression on-line.

Fifth Accomplishment:

A distinctive component of the Georgia College educational experience involves providing students with meaningful ways to link theory and practice, and classroom learning with real world experience. Thanks to the efforts of members of the Georgia College faculty, we have seen a significant expansion in opportunities for what we call "learning beyond the classroom."

For example, this year our School of Health Sciences arranged for nursing students to participate in a hands-on field trip that trained them in airlifting critically injured people to medical facilities. The program was led by flight nurse Wes Brown, a Georgia College alumnus who said he wanted to give back to his alma mater by helping students realize the potential of what they can do with their nursing degrees.

Here is another example. Under the leadership of Jan Flynn in the School of Business, a growing number of Georgia College students have been competitively selected to participate in the prestigious Disney College Program at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. These students live in Orlando while they take classes and work in one of Disney's theme or water parks or resort hotel properties. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to combine on-the-job experience with classroom learning.

In our School of Education, a classroom text on innovative pedagogical practices inspired students, who wanted to observe these practices in action. With the help of Karynne Kleine, these students raised money to make a trip to Radnor Middle School in Wayne, Pennsylvania to observe first-hand the student-centered and project based instructional methods being implemented there. These same students are now putting what they learned into practice in their internships with our area schools.

Many final examples come from the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This past summer, forty-three students from the Mass Communication program completed successful internships that ranged from placements in a New York advertising agency to work with the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce. Another stellar example is provided by our biology and chemistry departments, which provide students with impressive undergraduate research opportunities that often culminate in research presentations at professional conferences. For example, this past spring, seventeen Georgia College students who were involved in student-faculty research projects had the opportunity to present the results of their work to the prestigious Georgia Academy of Science.

Sixth Accomplishment:

One important educational goal at Georgia College is to prepare students for a life of responsible involvement as a citizen and community member. Importantly, we have seen some remarkable growth in programs designed to engage students in the community and in the civic life of their nation.

Thanks to the work of Kendall Stiles and her staff in the Give Center, student participation in community service projects has tripled over the past three years. In addition, through our participation in the American Democracy Project, we have provided a sharper focus on civic engagement, including the involvement of students in voter registration drives, candidate debates, and public policy forums. The weekly Times Talk discussion series is just one great example of a new opportunity that our students now have to participate in lively discussion and debate about important issues facing our nation and world.

Seventh Accomplishment:

No public institution of higher learning can support its mission solely through state funding and student tuition and fee revenue. That's one of the reasons that we focused on improving services to faculty and others interested in securing grant funding to support scholarships and other initiatives.

Today, I am pleased to tell you that we are more successful than ever before in securing grant funding, thanks in part to the efforts of Linda Watson-Kaufman and her staff in the grants office. In 2004, total grant funding for Georgia College was only $500,000. Now, it is nearly $2,500,000 and we have good reasons for thinking that sponsored research and other grant-funded projects will continue to increase in the upcoming years.

Grant support has enabled us to do some significant things that would not have been possible otherwise. I will mention just one example -- the 2007 National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute entitled "Reconsidering Flannery O'Connor" led by Bruce Gentry and John Cox. Competition for National Endowment for the Humanities funding is fierce, and this summer institute brought a diverse group of college professors and independent scholars from across the nation to our campus to study the life and work of Georgia College's most famous alumna.

Eighth Accomplishment:

We also saw success in growing and securing other resources outside of the normal state funding process. For example, thanks to the work of Amy Amason and the volunteers who serve on our Foundation Board, the endowment managed by the Georgia College Foundation has grown from $13 million in 2004 to $22 million in 2008. Importantly, this growth has enabled us to provide more scholarships for students and to support other university initiatives that can't be paid with state dollars.

The Foundation has also assisted us in responding to space challenges, most recently through the purchase of three historic homes, which were then gifted to the university. One of these homes, known as the Newell-Watts house, is now occupied by our Admissions Department. Our University Advancement fundraising and alumni staff will soon occupy another of these homes, known as the Carl Vinson house. I've already mentioned the third home, known as the Lucy Underwood house, which will soon open as a new university art gallery.

Significantly, with the help of Nancy Coverdell and friends of the university, we were able to leverage private dollars to obtain funding to create the Paul Coverdell Endowed Chair of Public Policy.  This was one of a small handful of eminent scholar matches granted by the Georgia General Assembly over the last ten years. This endowed chair will enhance our educational efforts and national visibility in international studies, public policy, and public leadership.

Ninth Accomplishment:

Student diversity is vital to the quality of education at Georgia College. This is because we are better able to prepare our students to live, work and lead in a pluralistic society when we provide them with sustained opportunities to interact with and learn from others with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

Four years ago, we noted declines in the recruitment and retention of minorities, and we committed to reversing that trend. That's why we began to re-focus our admissions priorities with more emphasis on recruiting a geographically and ethnically diverse student body. Thanks to the work of Suzanne Pittman, Mike Augustine and their talented staff, these efforts are beginning to bear fruit. This year, minority enrollment increased 16%, with the greatest actual increase among Hispanic students.

Tenth Accomplishment:

Although higher education is not a business, higher education institutions have significant business operations. University housing is one example. None of our student housing is funded by the State of Georgia, and our ability to provide students with housing depends on our ability to generate the revenue needed to pay for expenses, including the significant debt that was incurred as our housing stock was either newly built or newly renovated during the past seven years.

When new competition in the student housing market threatened us with significant financial losses, a number of people stepped up and turned the situation around. Thanks to the efforts of plant operations and Larry Christenson and his talented staff, we have reversed a serious decline in student occupancy in our residence halls and apartments through improved marketing, facilities enhancements, and customer service.

Of course, the real reason that we have student housing is not to run a housing business but to provide our students with residential experiences worthy of an exemplary liberal arts college. Towards that end, we also developed several new residential learning communities to provide our students with unique learning opportunities in the residential setting. These communities include our Bridge Scholar Program, our Wellness Community, and a third community focused on Civic Engagement.

Eleventh Accomplishment:

One important responsibility of a public university is to leverage its expertise and resources to benefit its community and state. That's why I was so pleased when faculty in our School of Education proposed a unique Early College program -- the first in the state to reach out to children in those critical middle-grade years. By putting students who are "at-risk" of dropping out of school into a favorable learning environment, this program has already achieved remarkable results that include higher grades, better test scores, and improved self-esteem. Today the program serves 165 students from Baldwin and Putnam Counties. And, as a result of its success, our Early College program has become a national model.

Twelfth Accomplishment:

Parents who send their children to Georgia College entrust them to our care -- intellectually, emotionally, and physically. They reasonably expect us to provide a safe and secure environment for learning.

The tragic incident at Virginia Tech brought home to all of us the need to enhance efforts to protect our students, faculty and staff.  Since that time, we have improved campus safety with the implementation of our Connect-ED system that uses text messaging, phone alerts and emails to immediately warn of campus emergencies and severe weather.

In addition, we created a Consultation & Assessment Team -- a resource for members of the university community who have concerns about potentially problematic behaviors. Team members are trained to deal proactively with behaviors of students, employees, and non-university personnel that may threaten the campus community.

Thirteenth Accomplishment:

Thanks to diverse efforts of students, faculty and staff, a Georgia College educational cornerstone has begun to come to life again. That cornerstone is wellness, and our School of Health Sciences has spearheaded this renaissance, with the help of our Campus Green Committee led by Doug Oetter. This latter committee has expanded the cornerstone wellness theme to include campus sustainability issues.

Here are some of the results thus far. The School of Health Sciences is providing an increased number of health awareness and screening programs for the campus community. Electrical costs have been significantly reduced through the installation of energy efficient lighting. Public safety officers have increased bike patrols to lessen their carbon footprint and to decrease fuel costs. Dining services has eliminated the use of trays, thereby conserving the water once needed to wash them and the electricity needed to heat that water. And, most recently, our residence halls now have washers and dryers that reduce the amount of water and electricity needed to operate them.

And, there are other such initiatives on the table -- including a campus recycling proposal and a plan to create a state-of-the-art wellness and recreational facility on our West Campus.

Fourteenth Accomplishment:

The last accomplishment that I want to mention today is the growth of school spirit among students that is evident in events ranging from homecoming to athletic competitions.

School spirit is an intangible thing-but it has to do with pride, allegiance, and fun. Last year, during homecoming, many campus offices were decked out in school colors. Student organizations built creative floats and people lined the front campus with their children and dogs in tow to watch the procession. There was a large and enthusiastic turnout for the homecoming basketball game, where the new school mascot, Thunder, delighted students and also people from the community with his antics. The student government association hosted a well-attended rock concert on the West Campus -- and the good news is that no one got arrested.

For academics, these kinds of happenings may seem incidental to the educational enterprise. But in fact, pride in school accrues to all including educational quality. I hear and see evidence of this pride all over the state of Georgia-from parents I meet in random places to colleagues at other Georgia institutions who have heard parent and student testimony. And this, my friends and colleagues, is ultimately a testimony to you and to each of the things you do -- day after day, year after year -- to make this school a truly special place for its students.

There were many more things that I could have listed as accomplishments. I could have mentioned the individual achievements of members of the faculty and some of the extraordinary recognitions for teaching, scholarship, and service that you have earned over the past four years. I could have mentioned the honors won by some of our academic programs. I could have mentioned the heroic efforts made by our construction department to create alternative space for a printmaking studio, which had spilled dangerously into the hallways of its former abode. And, I could have mentioned the success of Family Day, which now brings hundreds and hundred of parents and siblings to campus for a day of fun and connection with their students.

But the list of your accomplishments is longer than this short speech, which perhaps has already threatened to put you to sleep! Billy Wendt advised me that presidential speeches go on and on and that sometimes pictures are better than words. Just in case you were wondering -- I was listening!  Stacey Lumley of Billy's staff created a video presentation featuring four years of accomplishments made by you. So, I'm going to break things up a bit and show you the video.

View Video Presentation

Thanks, Billy and Stacey. You are keepers!

My speech is almost over but, before I end, I want to highlight the year ahead. We've already said it will be challenging -- and I think I have provided proof that you are up to that challenge. I have no doubt that you will continue to make remarkable things happen for Georgia College. That's your spirit -- and this spirit has long been our secret weapon.

Along the way, it will be important to remember to take care of each other. We don't have control over declining state revenue, but we can control the ethos of our work and learning environment. We can keep our spirit uplifted and strong by celebrating our accomplishments, by thanking our colleagues for their efforts -- and yes, occasionally finding opportunities to just have fun!

Clearly, this year will not be one in which we make new investments to advance the mission of the university. But advance we will by focusing on important things that don't cost money.

For example, last year we developed six strategic directions to provide a framework for planning, assessment, and recourse priorities. This year, we will work to develop key performance indicators for each of these strategic directions as a means for better answering the question, "How are we doing?"

And in each university area, you will begin to focus more deliberately on what you are now doing and would like to do in the future to advance these strategic directions. For those of you who are new to the university, let me highlight what they are:

Strategic Direction One challenges us to continue providing an exemplary undergraduate learning experience for our students. This means that we must continue to seek the best ways to build excellence and distinction in the undergraduate learning experience consistent with our educational values and public liberal arts mission.

This year, we will focus on ways in which we might enhance our already strong emphasis on learning beyond the classroom, which includes coming to a clearer understanding of the residential component of our liberal arts mission.

Strategic Direction Two challenges us to continue to enhance the academic reputation of Georgia College. This means that we must continue our efforts to improve our academic programs in general but also leverage those programs that can serve as our initial pillars of academic distinction.

This year, with the help of our talented Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Susan Bello, we will focus on identifying the best ways to gauge our success in delivering those academic program and general education outcomes that you identify as important. And we will pay more attention to marketing those academic programs that you identified as our initial pillars of academic distinction.

Strategic Direction Three challenges us to be a respected provider of graduate programs consistent with our mission to deliver graduate programs that are responsive to regional workforce needs. This means that we must continue to address issues distinctive to our graduate student populations and to develop the programs and pedagogies that best advance this component of our educational mission.

This year, we will complete a strategic plan for the growth and development of programs in Macon. This plan will address unmet program needs, delivery modalities, continuing education potential, and student and faculty support needs.

Strategic Direction Four challenges us to continue to serve as a strong partner for creating a better community and state. This means we must continue to seek ways to link our resources and expertise with community initiatives that are mutually beneficial.

One of the new responsibilities of Paul Jones, who now serves in the Office of the President as my right hand, is to coordinate and strengthen our linkages with city and county officials, and to use these relationships to identify new opportunities for university and community collaboration.

Strategic Direction Five challenges us to continue to recruit and retain talented faculty and staff who are invested in the mission of our university. This means that we will need to continue to address compensation issues as well as factors in the university and community environment that impact employee retention.

Although we won't be doing a lot of recruiting this year, we can focus on retention issues. For example, the work/life committee has now analyzed the work/life survey results and has promised that it will soon develop some action steps based on what has been learned. I anticipate that some of these actions will improve employee morale and also help to improve the work environment, particularly for employees who struggle to balance significant work and family responsibilities.

And finally, Strategic Direction Six challenges us to continue to improve our fiscal and operational performance. This means that we must continue to seek ways to work smarter and also to build the revenue streams that support our university and its people.

This year, we will initiate some important process improvement initiatives and also ramp up our fundraising efforts.

As these examples show, with the investment of time and creativity, we can continue to advance the strategic directions of the university. I have no doubt that we will do so and that's because you have done it before, even in times of fiscal adversity. I can't imagine a more terrific group of people to be involved with.

Keep the spirit -- she is both fragile and powerful!

Thank you.