March 31, 2015
Campus Colleagues,
The race to the end of the semester has officially started. Between now and May 15th, the pace will only intensify as we complete the spring semester, register our current and new students for fall 2015, plan for the next academic year, and prepare to welcome new colleagues as a number of searches conclude. It is the time of year when it is so easy to focus on the immediate tasks that we, perhaps, lose sight of our purpose to transform the world by transforming lives.
Fortunately, it is also the time of year when evidence of our impact is all around us—when we take a moment to focus on all that we, and our students, have accomplished. Every day, I see clear evidence of the ways in which our students, their families, and their communities are transformed by the education we provide.
One recent example of exceptional student achievement was our men’s basketball team’s progression, for the first time in our history, to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division II tournament. Though Bellarmine University outperformed us on that night, I felt the same tremendous pride I experienced all season as I watched our team play with the grit, humility, and heart that characterizes our campus community. Despite the disappointing loss, it was another great day to be a Dragon.
The coming weeks will provide many additional opportunities to celebrate outstanding achievement, the transformative power of higher education, and our core values of grit, humility and heart. The culminating event, of course, will be our spring Commencement Ceremony, where MSUM alumna and Fargo Theatre Director Emily Beck will be the featured speaker.
Between now and then, there will be countless opportunities to celebrate our students' success and our community pride. Two opportunities of note:
The Student Academic Conference: A signature event for MSUM, the Student Academic Conference (SAC) is in its 17th year. Scheduled forApril 14th, the SAC provides students the opportunity to present their scholarly and creative work in a formal academic setting. Please plan to attend to support and celebrate our students and the faculty mentors who have guided their work.
The Fargo Marathon: A signature event for the Moorhead-Fargo community, the Marathon will include our campus for the first time in its 11-year history. We will celebrate the occasion by gathering in the campus mall to cheer on the runners and demonstrate our Dragon Pride. Plan to join us from 8:00 am to 10:30 am onSaturday, May 9thand watch Dragon Digest for more information.
These opportunities to come together as a campus community are crucial to creating a sense of pride and belonging for our students. Especially during the next few weeks, as students are making plans for next year, it is important to reinforce their connections to MSUM and the Moorhead-Fargo community. Thanks to you and your efforts to make these connections, there is evidence that our student retention rates are improving (more about that below and in a separate email).
A few additional updates:
Administrator Searches: Interviews for Provost candidates are being scheduled and will be announced in the next few days. We will complete the interview process for the VP of Finance and Administration this week. Interviews have been completed for the Dean of Education and Human Services; an announcement will be made as soon as possible.
Campus Climate Roundtables: The fifth and final roundtable is scheduled for this Thursday, April 2nd from 2:00 to 3:30 pm in CMU 101. These sessions are an opportunity to discuss the survey results and generate recommendations for improving our campus culture. To date, approximately 150 faculty and staff have participated in the sessions.
Enrollment and Budget Projections: Given the importance of these two topics, I will send a separate email during the week of April 6th with updates about enrollment and budget planning. While there are many "moving parts," there are reasons to be optimistic on both the enrollment and the budget front. Just one cause for optimism is our recent increase in first-year student retention to the highest level since 2007. Another is the Governor's budget recommendation, which includes the full amount requested by our System and would fund a tuition freeze for students. More about budget and enrollment in next week’s email.
With Dragon Pride,
Anne