April 29, 2002
Dear Colleagues,
A special "thank you" to everyone who came out and worked Saturday at our kick-off event for "Reclaiming Our Campus"! Deborah and I both enjoyed working with you and getting to know you better during what turned out to be a lot of fun and good fellowship. We had over 500 participants, and covered a lot of walls with plenty of paint. Your efforts Saturday and in the months to come will create a visible emblem for the pride we feel in our University. If you couldn't be with us this time, we hope you can later on.
Interim Provost Richters, Interim Dean Pani, and Professor Keith Parker as well as all of the volunteers on the "Reclaiming Our Campus" Implementation Committee are to be especially commended for their superb organizational skills. I understand we didn't misplace a single team! The coordination of supplies and people-power for projects such of this is monumental, and we all appreciate what everyone has done to expedite the process. The breakfast and lunch were good opportunities to visit and enjoy each other's company, and to feel pride in the work that we were doing (and do a little bragging about the best painting techniques).
John Schween, a member of our "Reclaiming Our Campus" Steering Committee, suggested that we to develop a master plan for the ULM grounds by holding a charrette. In case you aren't familiar with that term, it refers to a gathering of people who come together to evaluate a situation, and then brainstorm possible solutions to address that situation. The result is a highly creative and energetic process that usually delivers high quality options.
In our case, the charrette will consider the campus landscape as it now exists, and develop a landscaping plan that will enhance ULM's physical appearance by highlighting existing areas of beauty while developing others. The plan should focus on low-maintenance plantings that will tolerate our weather conditions.
John Schween and Interim Provost Richters met with Dr. Bruce Sharky, Director of LSU's School of Landscape Architecture, last Thursday and extended our invitation for him to lead our charrette. He has agreed. The charrette will be held on May 25th, and will combine interested ULM faculty and staff with professional and amateur gardeners from the wider community. Details will follow.
Interim Provost Richters and I attended the Louisiana Board of Regents meeting as well as the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors meeting this past week in Baton Rouge, and I want to update you on decisions made there.
The Board of Regents approved the elimination of the nine low-completer degrees that had been proposed earlier. They noted, however, that these recommendations had been proposed specifically because of financial concerns. Dr. Richters and I, as well as others, had a number of conversations with the Board of Regents staff concerning, among other things, our academic planning process. As a result, the Regents stipulated that when we rebuild enrollment and our financial situation improves, we may reapply to have these programs reinstated. They also recognized the centrality of certain degree programs, and waived the letter of intent requirement for Geography, Geology, and Physics should we apply for their reinstatement in the future. This will expedite the process for reinstating these degree programs should we make that decision through our academic planning process. Many of you shared your concerns with Dr. Richters and me about the process for eliminating the nine degree programs. We heard you. Your open and honest dissent helped us and the Board of Regents to make the decision to waive the letter of intent requirement.
At the ULS Board of Supervisors, our proposed BS in Health Science was approved. However, we made it very clear that we would offer the degree only when our financial resources were in line. We begin looking at next year's budget today. We are still expecting enrollment declines, and the increases in the Governor's budget proposal only fund primarily built-in increases. Our deans, with the help of Dr. Richters, Mr. Turner, and me, will be trying to craft a budget for next year that will include some reallocations and some reductions. This process will take a few months and, as I promised earlier, the Faculty Senate will be part of that process. We will keep the larger community informed through this "Dear Colleague" letter process. Please remember that developing budgets is not an exact process. There is both a lot of give-and-take and compromise. But we will keep you informed.
The proposed athletic budget was heard by the Board of Supervisors Finance Committee. The Board was very complimentary of ULM Athletic Director Bruce Hanks on the job that he has already done and is continuing to do in this area. However, the Board made it very clear that we need to do more work on the budget and that it is up to the larger community to support ULM's intercollegiate athletic program through ticket purchases and attendance. In particular, Supervisor Mike Woods indicated that ULM must do a better job in balancing its revenues and expenditures before the Board can feel truly comfortable. The message was clear: generate more hard revenue and reduce planned expenditures. This is the same situation the larger University is facing.
Also at the ULS Board meeting, Interim Provost Richters was officially confirmed as our Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Board is well pleased with the work that he had done so far, and so am I.
I believe that we are off to a great start.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President