State of the University Address
April 20, 2006
I must also say that it has been a pleasure working with this Senate. I have been in higher education working with student senates for 25 years…but this is the best group I have ever seen. I mean that….so hats off to all of you. The new leadership has big shoes to fill.
Now I must admit the title of this talk the “State of the University” sounds a little grandiose for what I hope to do today. When I think of the “State of” addresses, I think of the State of the Union Address given by the President of the US and all the pomp and circumstance that attends that…..and the applause that interrupts every other comments….sometimes from both sides of the gallery, but sometimes only from one side. At any rate, that kind of address is not what I have planned for this morning. Although I will take the applause…but please save it for the end.
Instead I would like to use this opportunity to talk to the students directly since I don’t have many forums where I can do that…..talk directly and briefly about what I see today…and where we are going.
Let’s start with where we are.
We are this great national liberal arts college in the Midwest with a wonderful faculty…..a faculty I would put up against the faculty anywhere in the US. Because they really engage you…and get to know you. We have more professors of the year than any other college in Ohio. More Fulbright scholars in the last 5 years than any liberal arts college.
We also have very successful alumni who are love Wittenberg. In fact, as I have traveled the country and the world, I have heard our alumni speak powerfully about how their time at Wittenberg changed the trajectory of their lives. Rev. Illingsworth probably said it most powerfully, “ Wittenberg was the defining moment in my life”.
Our alumni include some amazing people such as the former head of the US Olympic committee, the founder of Erie Insurance, the former no.2 person at the NY Stock Exchange, the founder of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the CEO of Stanley Steamer, the CEO of the largest travel agency in the Far East, the wife of the former CEO of the Hanes Corporation, and the first black city solicitor in the US. In addition, our alumni hold countless roles in the not for profit sector where they are literally changing the world. People like Janet Jackson who is the Executive Director of United Way in Columbus…or Emily Gudhe teaching 50 second graders in Phoenix in the teach for America program. No wonder Washington Monthly ranked us among the top colleges that are changing the country.
This is an amazing place that lives its motto, “Having light we pass it on to others”. As students, we first help you find your light…your vocation…your passion…and then we encourage you to share it with the world. To make a difference. It is a powerful combination and one that makes us distinctively Wittenberg.This is an amazing place. 9 months into my time as president…I am truly passionate about this place and what we stand for and where we are going. I get emotional as I talk about Wittenberg. I hope you do too.
But we are at an important moment in the life of this University…and inflection point…where what we do in the next….will shape our trajectory for decades to come.
And we have our challenges. A smaller than anticipated first year class this fall created a budget shortfall that has caused us to resize ourselves cutting faculty and staff positions. That has been a tough, difficult process. With that behind us we will now begin to build our future and to reinvest in our faculty and staff as our resources increase both from growing admissions numbers and the biggest and boldest comprehensive fundraising campaign in Wittenberg’s history. You may have noticed that I have been off campus quite a bit this Spring….for fundraising which will be critical to fuel our future.
That is why it was so important that we completed our Strategic Planning Process this spring…a plan that maps our future. Jonathon and Erika, the student senate leaders, represented students on the planning group and the end result looks much different because they were there.
And that plan is focused on you…the students…because you are the reason we are here.
I don’t know if you have had the chance to read the plan in its entirety, but if you haven’t, you should because it will affect you.
It calls for a study abroad opportunity for all students, increased internship opportunities and senior capstone experiences…to round out your educational experiences.
It also calls for increased diversity….including attracting more students from throughout the US and throughout the world.
It challenges us to ensure that our curriculum is current to the 21 st century and provides greater flexibility for you as students to study and develop majors across departments.
It also embraces the importance of life outside the formal classroom…calling for us to become the model for Division III student/athletes. We should be the college of choice for great students who also want to be great athletes. Our rich athletic tradition and our great academics make us a natural on this front.
We will also embrace the arts (academic and outside the classroom) by building a performing arts center.
And residence life with the completion of our new residence hall and the demolition this summer of Hanley and South.
And we will embrace Springfield and its Urban location….building the bridge and creating a college town just across Buck Creek.
But to do all this we need to help of everyone who is part of the Wittenberg community to work together and that includes you.
We need you to talk loudly…boast about us….we are better than most people realize we are…in fact we are better than we sometimes think we are. Talk about us to prospective students and their parents in your hometown and your high schools.
Don’t say…a small college in the Midwest…you have probably never heard of it…say Wittenberg…this fantastic college.
The strategic plan places us in the top 75 national liberal arts colleges in the country and that is where we should be!
So what else can you do? Be engaged. Push yourselves and push us…..just like your student senate has. Take full advantage of all that Wittenberg has to offer and it is much.
And recognize that you are part of a legacy of 161 years of successful graduates who have found their light here and then given back…both to Wittenberg….and the broader world.
I wish you all the best as you finish the year and begin….next year.
It will be an exciting journey.
