ULM First Lady Deborah Cofer
Business and Professional Person of Year Award Banquet
Keynote Address - October 21, 2008
Good evening. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak with you tonight.
First and foremost, it is important to thank you for the spiritual grounding that brings me to this place tonight;
To my husband who continues to inspire, encourage and love me;
And to the ULM team that confidently takes us forward and believes in this university.
I was asked to address the importance of providing academic scholarships to non-traditional female students at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
My husband, President Jim Cofer, and I strongly believe that ULM’s student success stories best illustrate the value of higher education and—just as importantly—the value of accessible learning.
At ULM, we are expanding our concept of a university to include a renewed focus on non-traditional students. These adult learners are those who choose to delay their education and return later to graduate. They are older, they have families, and they have full-time jobs.
GOLD, ULM’s new innovative Gateway to Online Degrees Program, is reaching out to approximately 600,000 adults in Louisiana who have earned college credits towards degrees that they have not yet completed. GOLD enables non-traditional students to utilize the convenience of online learning in an accelerated format.
One such new online degree is the Bachelor of Science in Health Studies with a concentration in Marketing and Management. According to the Louisiana Labor Department, nearly 30,000 health services positions need to be filled in this state by the end of 2010.
Let me repeat that, Louisiana has 600,000 who have not completed their degrees and 30,000 vacancies in the healthcare profession.
These numbers are staggering, and it is incumbent upon us to help alleviate this problem.
ULM’s online degree in health studies will prepare professionals for mid-level management positions in a variety of healthcare organizations and directly enhance our state’s workforce.
Listen to this special story:
A 24-year-old non-traditional female student at ULM will be one of those professionals to improve our state’s healthcare workforce. She lives in Farmerville with her husband and is pursing her first college degree— the Bachelor of Science in Health Studies with a concentration in Marketing and Management. Since the age of 15, she has wanted to work in the healthcare field. Before she enrolled in ULM’s new online degree program, she drove the 45-minute commute to ULM, while also maintaining a full-time job. She reported to work in Monroe at 7:30 am, attended class, reported back to work, and attended a night class that lasted until 9 p.m.
That schedule left her little time to study or enjoy any other activities.
Now, through ULM’s new online degree, she sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
She says: “I believe the online program will only continue to help me further relieve my daily stress levels, and I am beginning to enjoy my classes more.”
When asked why she feels so strongly about earning a degree, she says: “This degree will mean that I have made something of myself, and it will give me a certain respect that is hard to get without a degree. It will be one of the proudest accomplishments in my life.”
I’d like to tell you about another one of our students, 41-year-old Rebecca Bonner, who lives in Winnsboro with her husband and her 12-year-old son. This is not Rebecca’s first degree, and it will not be her last.
Rebecca, a teacher at Ouachita Parish High School, plans to pursue an administrative position and make a significant contribution to the leadership of her school. To accomplish that, she is pursuing a Masters in Educational Leadership at ULM.
When asked why she is pursing another degree, she says:
“As an educator, I spend my days encouraging students to strive for excellence in education and to free themselves from the shackles of mediocrity. In this ever-changing, technologically advanced, global society, one must be educated in order to survive. I don’t just want to survive; I want to thrive. Education is the key. I have devoted my life to instilling the value of education in the minds of future generations. What better way to show my students how much I value education, than to get my masters and my doctorate?”
Rebecca will graduate in May 2009 – exactly 20 years from the date she obtained her bachelor’s degree from our university. She will begin working on her doctorate in August 2009.
Thanks to BPW, Rebecca’s journey has been made a little easier.
No one understands the inherent challenges faced by these women more than we do. Our organization eases their challenges of balancing life, career, family, and school.
Please be proud of what we have accomplished together, yet realize, we have miles to go before we sleep.
I think it is incumbent upon us to ease the journeys for even more students. Last year, Jim and I enhanced the scholarship fund with our own personal financial gift. I have with me tonight, another check for this year. I challenge each of you to join us in contributing to our wonderful scholarship. Next year, and the next, and the next, we should be able to report fewer numbers of adult learners in need.
We have one fewer number now.
Please join me in congratulating Rebecca Bonner as our 2008/2009 BPW scholarship recipient.
Deborah Cofer's BPW Keynote Address as a PDF