Dear Faculty and Staff,

Welcome back for the 2009-2010 academic year! It seems as if only a short time ago we were toasting the year 2000 and now the first decade of the 21st century is coming to an end, There is a lot of excitement on campus as we welcome our new President, Dr. Ronald Berkman. He will be visiting each College early this fall term and I encourage you to take that opportunity to start a dialogue with him about the future of CSU. He is excited about our future and brings to CSU extensive academic experience at several great urban universities.

President Berkman will be inaugurated on Friday October 16th . The academic procession will begin at 12:30 at the Allen Theater and the inauguration at 1PM. Academic regalia will be available at no cost to the faculty and I encourage as many of you as possible to participate in this important occasion for our University. Details will follow about receptions, locations etc. on Campus Mailbag. Faculty wishing to participate must order their academic regalia with the Campus Bookstore no later then September 10th.

After a two year process involving many CSU constituencies, the CSU Board of Trustees has endorsed (and sent to the Chancellor for his final approval) two initial Signature Themes (Health and Sustainable Communities) and three Centers of Excellence under those themes. The Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease, The Center for 21st Century Health Professions and The Center for the NextGen_Economy will get underway this year. These Centers of Excellence help to identify and advance internal/external collaborations and research opportunities. More information will follow about Center activities and how the signature themes will help to guide our future plans.

Once again, both the budget picture in Ohio and the CSU share of the state subsidy are not promising. At the end of the budgeting process for the FY1 0/11 biennium, Higher Education took a $190M cut, all in FY11. CSU Academic and Student Affairs took a permanent $5.8 million dollar budget reduction at the end of FY09. Our goal was to protect our university employees as much as possible from layoffs. To make this reduction while protecting jobs, the following cuts were made to the permanent budget: travel -50%, uncommitted funds -100%, College base budget reductions 0 to-1.5% (based on enrollment growth), academic and student support services base budget reductions -4%, Provost's Office -17% and finally the vacant position (potential) carry forward in Provost's Office was swept to balance the 09 budget. The Honors Program and Graduate Assistantships were not cut and there were very few layoffs. I am very pleased that the administration and faculty have supported our university family by "sharing the pain" and not taking raises rather than doing major layoffs to balance the budget.

The State Share of Instruction (SSI or subsidy) will use the new taxonomy and new formula. This includes factors such as student enrollments as course completions (rather than 15 day enrollments), graduation rates, and additional funding for the STEM disciplines. As a result, retention continues to be a top priority here at CSU.

To support retention, an Early Alert System is now embedded in the Campus Net Online course roster and advising modules so that faculty can contact students and their advisors early in the semester (e.g. if they stop attending class or are having academic difficulties). The first Viking Academic Boot Camp was a great success with many students now qualified for first year math and English rather than developmental courses. Courses using supplemental instruction continue to grow and the Center for Teaching Excellence will offer several short courses for faculty to help with retention of at risk students. Many thanks to all who have developed these programs and I encourage you to take advantage of them.

The summer/fall enrollments look very healthy right now with major increases in undergraduate SCH in CLASS, Engineering, Urban Affairs and COS and a remarkable 21 % increase in Business graduate SCH. Many thanks to those who have helped with the critical enrollment initiative. Now our goal is to retain these students, help them succeed in their chosen field of study, and encourage them to graduate on time.

I am especially pleased that we have authorized faculty searches for fall 10 (unlike many universities across the country). I urge you to be very active in both the faculty and Dean (College of Education and Human Services) searches. The faculty hired today will shape our institution into the future and it is very important that we recruit the best that we can. Hiring faculty who can support the signature themes of Health and Sustainable Communities Will be a priority.

The NCA Accreditation process is right on track. Over one hundred and fifty faculty and staff have contributed to the first draft of the self study. Drs. RD Nordgren, Marius Boboc, and Gitanjali Kaul will be editing this draft and it will be released for feedback to the internal community by the end of fall semester for comments and input. Please visit the Web site at www.csuohio.edu/committees/selfstudy2010 for up to date information.

I'm delighted that Dr. Chin Kuo will run an Academic Leadership Program designed for new Chairs, Associate Deans, Directors and faculty interested in future administrative service in Spring 2010 (Thursdays (9:30-11 :30). It is planned as a weekly session focused on CSU's policies, procedures and developing academic leadership skills. More information will follow in Campus Mailbag.

As you can see we continue to tear down and build new buildings. The Corlett Building is coming down and will be replaced by a Farmers Market for short term use. The Education building and the new Student Center are progressing on time; the Wolstein parking garages with its solar panels is complete; and construction on new dorms behind the bookstore is beginning soon. CSU purchased Heritage Suites (the YMCA) and it is fully occupied by our students. Planning for the north campus project is underway. The external face of CSU continues to mirror our academic accomplishments and our quality.

Have a wonderful and fulfilling Fall Semester!

Sincerely,

Mary Jane Saunders
Provost