State of the University Address - April 18, 2003
Just over a year ago, Deborah and I came to the twin cities, the place of my mother's birth, full of hope for a university full of promise. We faced many challenges together this year, but of all the unexpected things that have happened, the most surprising is how attached we've become to the students at ULM and all of you in the northeast Louisiana community. Beyond budgets, surveys, and committees, we feel a genuine connection to the character and people of northeast Louisiana.
Everyone at the University of Louisiana at Monroe is hard at work turning promise into reality, and already we are reaping the fruits of our labor. I come here today to tell you that the state of the University of Louisiana at Monroe is strong. This community, faculty, staff, alumni, and students have all worked together and righted the ship. ULM is back on course. The successes of the past are the product of cooperation among the entire ULM family, including the many people in this room. The successes of the future will demand even more from every one of us. I am here to deliver a very simple message- it is worth it. ULM is worth it. The lives that we together change are worth it.
ULM has some of the Louisiana's most gifted students. Nourishing their intellectual growth is a serious responsibility. ULM is a dream that they and their families have labored to achieve. Still others make great sacrifices at work and at home because they know that an education at the University of Louisiana at Monroe is the key to a better living and a better life. I am pleased to have brought two students with me today, Melissa Moss and Lori Leggitt, who are both seniors this year. Melissa and Lori have maintained 4.0 GPAS throughout their time at ULM. Their achievements are numerous and their academic careers are a testament to the education here at ULM.
We have outstanding students like Melissa and Lori and a faculty that prepares those students with a world of ideas for the world of work. We have a host of outstanding programs with remarkable accomplishments. ULM students have a 100% passage rate on professional exams for education and health sciences. No university in America better prepares its students for teaching your children or guarding your health than ULM. We should all feel confident and proud. We have a world-class recital hall where some of the finest musicians give performances rivaled only by echoes in Carnegie Hall or the Kennedy Center. We are, in fact, the only university in the United States that has two Fazioli pianos the Rolls Royce of musical instruments. Just a couple of weeks ago, we hosted violinist Charles Castleman, one of the world's greatest teachers and performers. Professor Castleman instructed ULM students while playing a $4 million dollar Stradivarius that is 300 years old.
Our English Department produces turnrow, a literary journal that has gained national attention. turnrow's contributors include winners of the national book award, the Guggenheim Foundation award, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination. Dr. Jeff Galle, the department chair, has been asked to present a paper at Cambridge University.
The history department has professors who not only teach history, but write it. Dr. Richard Chardkoff exemplifies that with his new book "Sol's Story: A Triumph of the Human Spirit." Professor Chardkoff tells the story of Monroe businessman Sol Rosenberg and his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. It's an inspiring book that epitomizes the connections between the university and the community. Dr. Gordon Harvey also has a new book, "A Question of Justice," in which he analyzes the impact of three pivotal Southern governors.
The College of Education received praise from the state's Commission on Teacher Quality and the Board of Regents - their experts recommended that ULM's proposals for getting more teachers into classrooms around the state be used as a model for other universities. ULM's Teacher Education program also received a "high performing" rating by the Board of Regents and the State Department of Education.
The Aviation department's student flight team is going to the national competition this year; ULM is the first university to obtain three brand-new, full-motion flight simulators, and the only university to offer seat time to students free of charge. The School of Construction is the oldest accredited in the United States; it boasts a 99% job placement rate with an average starting salary of more than $40,000 a year. The Biology Department has the third largest ichthyology collection in the US, and is continuing research in West Africa as part of a collaborative effort with the American Museum of Natural History, a trip that includes both graduate and undergraduate students.
In the college of health sciences, our students have a 100% pass rate on the National Exam in Speech Language Pathology. The Department of Clinical Laboratory Science received a Commendation of Academic Excellence from the Board of Regents. Our University is one of a handful of institutions in the world that offers B.S., M.S. and doctoral degrees in Toxicology. Our Toxicology Program is the second largest in the country, and the first Endowed Chair in the U.S. was established here. Our Pharmacy school is renowned nationwide and is the only public program in the state. Each year, this highly competitive program has hundreds of students vying for just a few seats. People throughout the world depend on the care of ULM pharmacists.
Through "ARTS to the Delta," the Department of Computer Science provides music lessons by videoconference to rural elementary schools in Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes. Because of our program, schoolchildren will experience the power of music.We excel and have always excelled in many areas; in the sciences, in the arts, in education, and in business. Thanks to the efforts of faculty, staff, and students, ULM is academically robust. Every moment that goes by, the university achieves more of the esteem it deserves. The day when we surpass former glories draws near.
In the area of athletics, our ski team won its 17th National Championship, our women's power lifting team boasts three all-Americans, our baseball team won a conference championship last season, we were the only Louisiana university in the Southland Conference to send both the women's and men's basketball teams to the tournament. What I'm most proud of, though, is that with a team GPA of over 3.0, our women's soccer program had 12 players who were named academic all-conference.
But the University of Louisiana at Monroe possesses an eminence purchased by trial. We faced many challenges together this year. We moved the budget from the red to the black. Fiscal responsibility sends a message to our friends, our donors, and our legislators you can trust ULM with your resources. We will steward them wisely.
Shortly before my arrival last spring, the Board of Supervisors commissioned an independent study that identified 53 priority areas that needed redress by the new administration. I am proud to announce today that we have addressed all 53 of those. That's astonishing. Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress; working together is success." There is real power when northeast Louisiana and all of ULM unite.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools recognized the improving financial health of ULM in December by restoring our accreditation status. Full SACS accreditation sends a powerful signal about the quality of the education we offer and the stability of our campus. SACS sees the vision, and they see us moving rapidly to effect a plan. The Board of Supervisors sees this, too. They named ULM the Health Sciences center of excellence for the entire University of Louisiana system. The Board recognizes that we graduate more health care workers than Grambling, Louisiana Tech, McNeese, Nicholls, Northwestern, Southeastern, and UL at Lafayette combined.
The state auditor granted the University an unqualified audit. In any business except accounting, calling someone unqualified is not a compliment. Here, it means the auditor had no reservations about the management of resources at ULM. We should praise our faculty and staff for having the courage to make the tough choices, the wisdom to know they were right, and the fortitude to stand by those decisions.
We moved from seven colleges to four. Having fewer colleges means more money for teachers, better resources in the classroom, and a better education for our students. The faculty took the lead and moved resources from administrative offices to classrooms.
I said when I first arrived that I had three priorities former students, current students, and future students. Our faculty at ULM have always provided superior classroom instruction. This year we also focused on building alumni communication and implemented substantial new recruitment efforts. As a result of these efforts and many more, ULM re-ignited the spirit and pride that have always marked those associated with the University. We showed that pride by reclaiming our campus. With over 2,000 volunteers, we painted more than 300,000 square feet of space. We cleaned up buildings, picked up trash, replaced windows, and planted flowers. We spent more dollars on maintenance supplies in the first four months of this administration than the total amount in the previous year. I promised you last year that we would clean up this campus, and clean up this campus we did. Many of us have invested considerable sweat equity in this campus.
We remodeled the cafeterias and substantially upgraded the quality of our food service operations, and we are in the process of improving and upgrading the bookstore operations, including moving the bookstore into an expanded area in Sandel Hall. We also wanted to make sure our current and future students not only were safe but felt safe. We added 16 new and very visible emergency call boxes, and added new building and parking lot lighting.
Under the leadership of our Provost, Stephen Richters, we created the Academic Program Committee. The APC has set the standard for assessment and accountability for all universities in Louisiana. Many academic departments on campus were subject to review in an open forum where the hard questions were asked. Are our programs as relevant as they need to be? Do they address the needs of northeast Louisiana? Should they be expanded? These questions and many others were addressed in good faith, with honesty and integrity. The University is better for it.
We are not content, however, to rest with these accomplishments. We will look out across campus and see ULM truly not only for what it is, but for what it can be. We are planning for the future. This strategic planning process began in March and will be completed around the end of this year. This is not going to be a futile exercise. This plan will not be put in a pretty notebook, set on a shelf, and never again used. The kind of strategic plan we need incorporates the richness of our campus, and challenges us to be bold with our future. Over 125 people are working to craft the plan. This group is composed of students, faculty, staff, alumni, and members of the community. We will ask others, including you, to add your expertise, as we develop our strategic objectives. We are engaging so many people because what our vision is for ULM is more important than what my vision is. The responsibility lies with each of us to give time and talents and breathe life into that plan.
At the heart of all this progress is communication. Open, honest, and direct communication has been and will continue to be the hallmark of my administration. Deborah and I eat with students in the dining halls, and this freshman 15 I am sporting proves it, we meet with our students at every campus event, and attend as many community activities as possible. I walk the campus on a daily basis. Administrators interact with students, faculty, and staff on a daily basis. The faculty and staff receive regular email updates and I host a weekly radio program where I discuss, in depth, the issues affect our campus. I meet often with small groups of faculty, students, staff, and community leaders and we have built a relationship in which they feel comfortable debating and thinking things through together.
Through open communication, we will work on different projects in different departments using different talents to achieve the same vision. From its inception, the University has encompassed two great educational ends. We proffer an education of truth and training. We want students to build not just a good career, but a good life. ULM instructors teach students to think great thoughts. Shakespeare and Dante, Plato and Aquinas, Michelangelo and Monet. A true education is broad and deep. Students must learn not only to ask questions, but to ask the right questions: about meaning, about life, about death, about love and family. Only after students understand their cultural inheritance can they find their place in the world. The riches of that inheritance include Judaism, Christianity, art, freedom, responsibility, the sanctity of the individual, democracy. We prepare our students to address life with all its abiding questions through study of answers from the ages. These answers come not only in words, but also in fresco, melody, and marble. The responsibility for giving those ancient concepts currency belongs to the faculty. Last fall, the University Core Curriculum Committee was asked to establish the framework through which we will achieve our goal of a broad and deep general education. We expect all ULM students to complete core courses in humanities, fine arts, mathematics, and the sciences. Teaching students to claim this heritage of thought enables them to understand themselves and the world around them. We will also create unique Capstone courses that bring together knowledge from all corners of campus. Through research, analysis, and discussion, students will use their collected talents and skills to search for answers to today's most challenging problems.
This is a daunting task, but we will succeed. Our faculty have always dedicated themselves to ULM students. This dedication has profound effects. Students involved in projects with faculty members get better grades and have a better experience. This semester, we piloted an effort called Emerging Scholars. Its purpose is to involve undergraduate students, primarily freshmen, with a faculty member in research and a mentoring relationship. The program has been a tremendous success and we will expand Emerging Scholars next year to 100 students and faculty. This close relationship makes ULM different from any of our competitors.
Our job as the wider ULM community is to be vigilant protectors of this education. We must make every effort to maintain and enhance a culture of intellect at ULM. We will teach students philosophical inquiry, but we will also focus increasingly on their professional interests.
Alumni are also an important part of the complete education of ULM students. They have a deep connection to the campus and the students who now walk where they once did. Alumni have a stake in the success of every student who enrolls and our students need their wisdom. To improve retention and to increase alumni integration into campus life, I call for the creation of an alumni mentoring initiative. Students interested in particular fields of work or study should be assigned at their request alumni who have knowledge from years of experience. Sharing that knowledge will make our students more successful and our university better.
More than isolated pockets of excellence, our school is a university. With earnest desire, our students and faculty seek truth and training. But just as all disciplines are united here at ULM, so the University is united with northeast Louisiana. A university is about the exchange of knowledge-not just between scholars within the university but also between the university and the community. The burnishing of ancient truths and new ideas at ULM improves the quality of life for the entire region. ULM prepares a body of creative and critical thinkers, who in turn enter the workforce and fill essential positions.
The economic engine of northeast Louisiana is ULM. Northeast Louisiana is bound together, and your interests, ideals, and responsibilities are ours. Like the Mississippi River that is the heart of the culture and drives the economy of the South, ULM is integral to northeast Louisiana. The University shares in the success of every individual in our region, and every individual has a share in the success of ULM.
The University of Louisiana at Monroe is not only a bastion of learning that stems the privations of ignorance. We are also the largest employer. More than that, over 50% of those who have college degrees in the region got them from ULM. In Ouachita parish alone, nearly 70% of college graduates are ULM alumni. More likely than not, your nurse at the hospital went to ULM. The manager of your favorite restaurant went to ULM. The store where you purchase your clothes, the dealership where you buy your car most of these businesses are owned and staffed by ULM graduates. Chances are, your child's teacher graduated from ULM. The 1989 study that evaluated ULM's economic impact on the region estimated that each student generated over $23,000 annually in economic activity for the region. That is not what they paid us in tuition, but the dollars they generated for you - the area businesses. Because of our mutual stake in the development of northeast Louisiana's economy, we must work together. Monroe, West Monroe, and all the communities in northeast Louisiana, the chambers of commerce, the Ouachita Economic Development Council, and ULM must share information and ideas. Such an effort is not just important, but critical in a year when our region has suffered economic setbacks. I, therefore, call for an economic development summit for northeast Louisiana. We will host the summit this fall at ULM and follow it up with best-practices meetings that will serve as checkpoints. We will focus on realistic goals. We will chart our course and, throughout the coming year, mark our progress.
Every business in northeast Louisiana has a vested interest in the success of ULM. When we lose a student, you lose a customer, your business loses its accountant, your family loses a nurse, your child loses a teacher. Our two greatest challenges are recruitment and retention shaping an environment that gets and keeps students at ULM; shaping an environment that keeps students from leaving us and you. We need your help. With partnerships in place, your business could profit and our university benefit. We need to work together to create numerous links between curriculum and commerce. One such link is between the area's businesses, which need intelligent, highly skilled workers, and ULM, which produces intelligent and highly skilled workers. I call upon the businesses in northeast Louisiana and the academic departments at ULM to work together to develop such links. We need to enhance our internship programs, develop a co-op program, create shadowing programs, and cultivate work-to-school and school-to-work programs. If we can guarantee our students work while in school and jobs when they graduate, we can increase our enrollment and improve the economy of the region - guaranteed. But we need your help, we need your expertise. Tell us what you need, when you need it, in what quantities, and how we can partner to accomplish your goals.
Another link is the residential learning community. We will give this old concept new life with a unique Louisiana feel. I call upon the university community and the greater Delta business community to work together to create residence halls that house students with a faculty or staff advisor and have a community sponsor. These buildings will not be mere places where students sleep. Those with like majors and career plans will have the opportunity to live together and study together. Classes can be taught in these new residential learning communities by faculty who live among the students. Businesses should help develop these students into graduates from ULM, and lifelong residents of the Twin Cities.
We hope many of you will volunteer to be sponsors of a residential learning community. You can build new customers by helping us build good students, and everybody benefits. An education at ULM extends far beyond the bounds of the classroom. I am extremely proud of our students. Last week, they voted to impose a fee on themselves that will help us remodeland rejuvenate the Student Union Building. The SUB, as the students call it, along with the the library, and the new Student Success Center will be the hub of our campus We will convert the Wigwam into a student success center for all of our students. We believe that we can increase our retention rate and, therefore, our graduation rate substantially with the addition of the student success center; a place and a staff whose sole purpose is to help students succeed at ULM.
Once before I quoted Robert Frost, declaring that "[we have] miles to go before [we] sleep, / And miles to go before [we] sleep. Every year brings new challenges.
But like the speaker in the poem, we travel these miles and face these challenges because "[we] have promises to keep." We have kept, and continue to keep, these promises: promises to the people of Louisiana, promises to ULM students-past, present, and future --, promises to every teacher who taught here, and to every person who passes this campus and will never take a class, but believes enough in the concept of the university to work two jobs to send his or her child to college. To all of these, we owe our life's blood because work done well has transcendent meaning and a lasting legacy. In this, we find the identity and the mission of the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
James E. Cofer, Sr.
ULM President