Faculty Address - August 17, 2005
Welcome back to campus and thank you for joining me today. I hope all of you got a well deserved rest over the summer, because we are starting the New Year off with a flurry of activity. I invite all of you to join us for the ribbon cutting for the new student apartments on August 17th, to participate in the Week of Welcome events which start this Thursday, and the Convocation on Monday. Our guest speaker is Mike Tidwell, author of the freshman summer reading program selection - Bayou Farewell. I want you to join us at the first football game on September 1st and watch your students play Northwestern State and hear Lee Greenwood at halftime. I also invite you to the ribbon cutting for the Bienville building on Sept, 8th, and finally, I invite you to join us at Envision on the evening of Sept. 8th.
While the first week or two of this semester looks to be busy, it pales in comparison to the pace over the last three years at ULM. Together, we made remarkable progress.
People around the state are recognizing what we have always known: ULM is a first rate institution with outstanding faculty and rigorous programs. Our students give us high marks for our focus on individualized instruction and personal attention. For that I thank you. Your dedication to providing a deep and broad education for our students and on developing well-rounded leaders has become our legacy.
The last three years have been a case study in what happens when capable people commit to a shared vision, and then act upon that vision. We began with an effort to reclaim our campus, and that effort blossomed into a comprehensive $70 million dollar building campaign to renovate buildings and construct new residence halls. Our campus has never looked as beautiful as it does now. It accurately reflects the pride and quality of this university. And, it will look even better over the next few years as we continue with the projects currently underway.
With the addition of the State Farm facility on Bienville, we are expanding our campus into the community. I see that as a way to strengthen our ever growing relationship with this region. Have all of you seen the new Monroe City Transit buses and the newly repainted water tower? Did you hear that United Way is partnering with ULM for our first home football game? Were you aware that the Monroe Garden Club is creating a "Monroe, Home of ULM" garden spot at Garret Road on Interstate 20? Three years ago, we had to beg people to come out and help us reclaim our campus. Recently, the Monroe Garden Club came to see us to discuss ways their 300 members can help us maintain the beauty of our campus. These opportunities underscore a resurgence of support from the community for ULM. The community is taking notice of the work we are doing here.
You may recall a time when the relationship between the community and ULM was almost hostile. Not anymore. It is (almost) a pleasure to pick up the paper on any given day and read positive, upbeat articles about the work of our faculty in rural education initiatives, gallery showings, concerts, cutting edge research, and outstanding literary journals, like Turnrow. By taking care of business and getting our house in order, the media can focus on what has always been great about ULM: YOU, our faculty. What a pleasure it is to share your accomplishments with the world.
In three years, we have increased first-time full time freshmen enrollment by 65%. In fact, the early numbers indicate that our fall enrollment may even increase over last year, even in the face of increased admission requirements. We are beating Noel-Levitz and the Board of Regents enrollment estimates by leaps and bounds. No one increases first-time-full time freshmen enrollment by 65%, but we will. And, we have experienced those increases without sacrificing quality. The average ACT score for our first-time full time freshman is up a full point and a point and a half for African American freshman. And these students are happy to be at ULM because for the third year in a row, we lead the state in the increase in student satisfaction scores.
Our retention efforts are also succeeding. Preliminary numbers indicate that a greater number of our sophomore students are returning to ULM than we have seen in quite a while.
I do not know if you realize this or not, but our 5-year strategic plan is almost out of date. We have accomplished many of the things we set out to do. It is astonishing to realize that you have accomplished these things in just three years. We have been moving at the speed of light.
When we take time to catch our breath and look up, we are amazed at the accomplishments. It demonstrates that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. A period of renewal, like ours, rarely comes along. In retrospect, our renaissance provided both an opportunity and a profound responsibility to address the larger, longer-term challenges of our future.
It is time to widen our circle of opportunity and deepen the ULM experience not only for our students, but for you, our faculty. Having resolved our urgent problems, we can now focus on guiding the future rather than being led around by events. It is time to move out of crisis mode, slow down the changes and set a steady course. We attacked many issues and made vast improvements. It is time to consolidate our position and set our direction for the next few years. We have new questions to answer. What are our intentions financially, for academics, public service, scholarship, student life, athletics, and external affairs?
Further strengthening of the working relationship between the administration and the faculty will be an important part of the future at ULM. This year we will pursue a better understanding of shared governance, but that means setting aside our disciplinary differences and personal agendas and discovering what is best for the whole university. We must explore tenure and promotion policies, the grievance and appeal processes, develop a new Faculty Handbook, explore a tenure review process that is beneficial to faculty, and develop new ways to reward and recognize exemplary faculty. I ask the Faculty Senate and other engaged faculty members to work closely with this administration to begin to solve these age old problems for our university.
As part of the SACS requirements to strengthen the University's assessment efforts, I also ask that the Faculty take the lead this year in departmental planning. What are the goals and priorities for biology, chemistry, social work, criminal justice, pharmacy and every other discipline? How will we use the current resources to best realize these goals and objectives? How does your discipline fit within your college and its priorities? If ever the time was right, now is time for ULM to step up to its rightful role as a major university.
Where the budget is concerned, we are now and it seems we always will be, constrained by very tight state appropriations. Each time we make some headway with budget increases from the legislature, we seem to have a corresponding increase in other costs, like mandatory obligations, utilities, benefits, technology and the list goes on.
I have an obligation, which I take seriously, to run this university in the most efficient way that I know how. I would be remiss in my duty to ULM if I was not willing to investigate every possible option to run the institution in a more efficient manner. It is for that reason we reorganized our departmental structure. I know that the reorganization has been a difficult transition for some of you. In fact, I have heard rumors that there are people who think it will not work. But, it WILL work IF we want it to work and I tell you that we will continue to look for administrative efficiencies throughout the university. I remind you that it is because of the reorganization that we were able to give an average faculty salary raise this year of over 4.5%, and for the first time in this institution's history we created a professional development fund of $400 for every single faculty member. The reorganization helped us move our faculty salaries from 91.5% to almost 95% of the SREB average.
Our student-centered focus is a central belief of ULM. It directs us when we write our strategic plans, when we set our goals, plan our curriculum and envision our future. Each fall, I am reminded that it is your work that guarantees our success. The beginning of the academic year is filled with promise and excitement. But, we are about outcomes and accountability. The only thing more important than the beginning of the academic year is the ending. How many of our students will return to ULM? How many graduated? The work you do, your dedication to this institution, is directly tied to those numbers and the ultimate success of this great University. I enjoy seeing firsthand your commitment and dedication to teaching and scholarship. You guarantee that this university serves our students in the most effective way possible and I thank you for that.
But being student-centered does not mean that we cater to the whims of the student body. We do not just give students what they ask for. It is, also, our responsibility to give them what they need. We have to show them what they can do with the knowledge they gain while at ULM. We must show them how a university degree will pay off for them in the end. Focusing on students means that in every decision we make, we emphasize student welfare, the development of their minds, and their future, and make that our highest priority.
Giving students the tools for success is an important part of putting students first. The reasons for that are clear. Our retention rate is still lower than it should be; we graduate fewer than 30% of students within four years. Focusing on retention is the right thing to do for our students. It will make our university stronger. Even marginal increases in our retention rate will, over time, prevent the loss of programs and services due to a lack of revenue.
I ask you also to reexamine how you interact with your students inside and outside the classroom. That contact is vitally important in the retention of our students. What binds us together today is the student arriving on campus for the first time and the student registering for the last time; the student from 1965 greeting the student of 2005. You, the safeguard of our primary assets - those students who fill our halls - understand this better than anyone, realizing that the success of a university depends upon the quality of its graduates - and can be measured by the intellectual distance from enrollment to graduation - ULM will thrive or diminish based upon how well we challenge and prepare those students. On how well we move from a teaching to a learning environment.
Along with the students, you, the faculty, are our most important asset. While our new and renovated buildings look great, they are just buildings and, in the end, nothing more than bricks and mortar. What matters most at ULM is the transfer of knowledge from you to our students.
That is the essence of a university.
Our goal of having a student-centered university can only be accomplished by regarding the faculty at every turn. Our design is to create a university in which the student is, and feels, essential, but we can only accomplish this goal through initiatives that increase the involvement of the faculty. Your passion for imparting your discipline is what propels this university to greatness.
You provide a first-class education. You create a well-rounded environment that fosters excellence. And you equip students with the tools for a bright future. In the classroom, you provide the knowledge that cultivates the keen interest of the students and pushes them beyond where they thought they could go. And you have created generations of successful graduates. Our past success belongs to you as does our future.
Much has been written about the purpose of a university. It is the citadel for truth, the depository of knowledge, and the wellspring of new knowledge. One of my former professors explained the university as a place of contemplation and debate, not rancor, rumor and confrontation. It must be a safe place for the "life of the mind." Our work is not directed by commerce, the pursuit of wealth or utility. The University is a balance wheel; preserving the past and creating the future. It is a dynamic, living part of our society. It will always play a role in enlightening the individual. But today, and in this community, ULM plays a greater role. We are responsible for training and preparing our students for a productive life. We provide our students information, show them how to use it and teach them how to function in the world.
The challenges ahead, both seen and unseen, are invitations for you to prove your excellence as you have done time and again. I call upon each of you to make increased retention and graduation rates your personal goal as it is a primary goal of the university. I ask you for the extra engagement that this goal requires. I ask for your support with the reorganization. Together we can make it work. Our university community has triumphed over great trials. There will be more ahead. Once again, I remind you that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. We have already proven that extraordinary people, like you, can do astonishing things.
Thank you and I wish you a wonderful semester.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President