Two years ago at this event, I presented a new five-year strategic plan for the University – a plan that is guiding us to our 50th anniversary in 2018. . .
Our strategic plan was built on a strong foundation established by the bold ambition of the women and men who founded our University. Where others saw farmland, they envisioned a modern, comprehensive university. And they built our University from the ground up.
Geoffrey Mearns
Today, our University embodies their ambition, their vision, and their spirit. . .That potential is embodied in the goals articulated in our strategic plan. . .
Our first principal goal is student success. Two years ago, we rededicated ourselves to fostering a supportive, student-centered educational environment that promotes academic success, global awareness, and timely graduation.
Our academic standards have never been higher, and our programs have never been more rigorous.
But student success requires more than excellent academic programs.
We must engage students early and often, inside the classroom and out. We must support them when they need us while encouraging them to be independent adults.
This fall, we had a three percent increase in the number of new first-time degree-seeking freshmen. The average ACT score for our incoming class was 23.7 – the highest in our history. And our student body is the most diverse in our history.
We continue to improve our undergraduate retention and persistence rates. Last year, we implemented a new one-day registration program in the summer followed by an extensive three-day orientation program just before classes began in August. . .Preliminary data indicates that, this year, our freshman fall to spring retention rate is more than three percent higher than last year. . .
Last year, students who participated in co-curricular activities had first-year grade point averages more than a quarter of a letter grade higher than their peers. They were also more likely to return this fall, with retention rates more than 11 percentage points higher than their peers.
We saw an increase in co-curricular engagement through student support programs, as well as the new Campus Recreation Center. And more of our students than ever are living on campus. Nearly half of our new freshmen live on campus, and we continue to be near 100% capacity in our residence halls.
Other programs contributing to our collective success:
* NKU ROCKS assists first-year African American students with the transition from high school to college. The program nurtures personal growth and exposes students to the many resources we have to offer. . .Last year, the retention rate for the 85 students who participated in this program was 77% – substantially higher than the retention rate of African American students who did not participate in ROCKS.
* Transition to college is also more difficult for our first-generation college students. Last year, more than 50 percent of our incoming freshman class were the first members in their families to attend college. . .Our Student Support Services helps these students develop confidence, explore majors and careers, and strengthen study skills.
* Engaging freshmen to help them succeed and graduate is our shared responsibility. And all across campus, there are programs that are contributing to our collective effort.
Let me share one creative example.
* Students also must feel welcome and safe on our campus. Our commitment to inclusive excellence and global awareness has never been stronger, as evidenced by the Role Model Award . . .which recognizes our University as an institution that is committed to expanding the pool of minority scientists and professionals in other fields that are presently underrepresented by minorities. . .I am grateful to Bonnie Meyer and her colleagues in LGBTQ Programs and Services for what they have done to help make our campus a welcoming place.
* Our commitment to inclusiveness and global awareness also includes growing our international student enrollment and expanding international education experiences. Last year, more than 330 of our students studied in 28 different countries. This summer, our students will have the option to study accounting in Germany, art in Paris, software development in Ireland, economics in Taiwan, and nursing in Tanzania.. .
*Our student athletes also continue to succeed both in the classroom and on the playing field. . . Last fall, our student-athletes earned a combined GPA of 3.24. That is the ninth consecutive semester that our student athletes earned a collective GPA greater than 3.0, and it is the highest collective semester GPA in the history of our University.. .Last semester, 23 of our student athletes – ten percent of them – earned a perfect 4.0 GPA.
* We are graduating more students than ever before. Last academic year, we conferred the largest number of degrees and credentials than any year in our history— more than 3,080. Our number of degrees conferred per year has increased more than 19 percent since 2008.
And just last month, we conferred another 1,333 degrees.
The second principal goal in our strategic plan is talent development. We aspire to increase the educational attainment levels of the region by serving more students, producing superior graduates, and promoting lifelong learning.
One important way in which we contribute to the educational goals of our region is our School-Based Scholars dual enrollment program. This program, which continues to grow, allows eligible high school students to earn up to 24 college credits before graduating from high school. . .We are also preparing to welcome the Governor’s Scholars Program back to our campus this summer.
In order to entice more outstanding students to visit our campus, we continued our Road to NKU program this past Fall. We travelled again from Pikeville to Paducah to share our success story with students from across the Commonwealth. We traveled 3,000 miles to 24 counties, meeting with 5,000 Kentucky high school students. This year, we are also expanding our visits to include high schools in Ohio and Indiana. . .
Last month, we broke ground on our new Health Innovation Center. This facility will allow us to grow our existing programs and to create new ones that improve the health of the people in our community and reduce the amount we spend on health care. . .
Our Master of Science in Business Informatics program is now ranked No. 11 in the country by The Financial Engineer Times, and our online Master of Science in Health Informatics program is ranked No. 9 in the nation by BestColleges.com. . .
The fourth principal goal of our strategic plan is to engage with community partners to catalyze regional economic growth and civic vitality.
Last year, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching selected our University to receive its 2015 Community Engagement Classification. . .This designation affirms our longstanding commitment to community engagement and its valuable benefits to our students and to our community. . .
For example, informatics students and students from the College of Education and Human Services have partnered with Strategies to End Homelessness and other social service agencies to develop a mobile app (“Street Reach”) that connects people in need with local emergency shelter services.
Another national model developed at our University is the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project. Last month, we celebrated the 15th anniversary of this program. Since 1999, our University has partnered with the Mayerson Foundation, ArtsWave, the Scripps Howard Foundation, CitiBank, and Skyward to provide experiential learning opportunities for students – and to provide financial support to local non-profit organizations and agencies.
Over the past 15 years, students in our Mayerson classes have invested more than $1 million in 330 nonprofit organizations and agencies. Nearly 3,400 students have participated in the program, and our surveys show that the vast majority of the students plan to remain engaged philanthropically after graduation.
The fifth and final principal goal in our strategic plan is to ensure institutional excellence by strengthening the capacity of the University to fulfill our mission and to achieve our vision.
One of the facilities that demonstrates our institutional excellence is the renovated and expanded Campus Recreation Center. . .
The Rec Center is now a LEED Silver facility, and it is one of the most beautiful spaces on our campus. It features six basketball courts, two racquetball courts, a resurfaced running track, and an aquatic center. There are also hundreds of weight lifting and cardio machines.
The number of students using the facility has more than doubled since the renovation. Nearly 7,000 different students visited the Rec Center last semester. We have also increased our alumni memberships by more than 200 percent, and more than 10,000 campus visitors toured the facility since August. . .
In November, we celebrated their bold vision with the release of Northern Kentucky University: A Panoramic History. The book documents—in beautiful 360-degree photographs by Tom Schiff—the origins, growth, and progress of our campus over the last four decades.
If you have not had an opportunity to look through the book, I encourage you to do so. It is available in our campus bookstore and on Amazon. A Panoramic History is a tribute to generations of faculty, staff, and students who have worked to make our campus a special place.
And what is exciting is the knowledge that our best days are ahead of us…
These achievements are a source of pride – and a source of inspiration. Each step forward gives us increasing confidence that we have the ability to succeed – to thrive.
Success, change and anxiety
But I also know that our recent success has required a lot of hard work – and it has come at some cost. I know that, over the past two years, there is anxiety on our campus. I have heard about this anxiety – this apprehension – when I have met with faculty and staff in small groups and when I have had private conversations with several of you. . .
One of the primary causes of this heightened anxiety is the pace and volume of change that we have experienced on our campus over the last three years. We know that change can be positive. Change provides us with the opportunity to improve. But we also know that change can be unsettling. . .Upon reflection, I did not fully appreciate the stress that this amount of new initiatives would have on our people. Going forward, in recognition of that impact, I will do a better job of prioritizing new initiatives and communicating those priorities. Also, as circumstances change, we will do a better job of consciously deciding which initiatives should be suspended because they are no longer an immediate priority.
At the same time as we were completing the new plan and beginning to implement these strategies, there were a significant number of personnel changes. In addition to a new president, we hired several new vice presidents and a new provost, many new deans, and a number of new department chairs. I am excited – energized – by our collective capacity to attract outstanding talent to our University.
One faculty member, though, shared an interesting perspective on this same issue. She told me that, in a relatively brief period of time, she had a new department chair, a new dean, a new provost, and a new president. She was not critical of any of us. But she wanted me to know that the pace of these personnel changes has a direct impact on many people – an impact that I did not fully appreciate. And she was right.
Moreover, many of the new vice presidents and new deans reorganized their divisions or made some personnel changes. So, all across campus, we have had new people and new plans. Nearly all of the leadership positions have been filled, so the rate of personnel changes has now returned to a more normal pace.
But what will not change is the enthusiasm and the optimism that these people have brought with them to our University. Like me, they chose to come here because they were inspired by the traditions of excellence and innovation that have characterized this institution since its founding nearly 50 years ago. Together with you, we all share a passion to nurture a student-centered university that prepares our graduates to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives, and we are all anxious to contribute new ideas. . .
The second principal cause of anxiety on campus is that change is being imposed upon us due to external factors. There is increasing competition for enrollment. Given that we have become so dependent upon tuition as our primary source of revenue, this threat is very serious.
Technology is also changing traditional teaching practices. Some may question whether this technological disruption is conducive to improved learning, but the changes still continue nevertheless.
As a result of these and other cultural changes, our students have increased expectations and needs. . .and employers have heightened expectations for the knowledge and skills that they expect we will develop in our graduates. . .
We are not alone in facing these external challenges; virtually every college and university in America is feeling this pressure. But knowing that others are wrestling with the same threats does not dispel our anxiety. . .
St. Elizabeth CEO Garren Colvin at the announcement of the Health Innovations Center.
The third primary source of the anxiety on our campus is the product of the financial challenges we continue to endure. Over many years, we have reduced operating budgets. We have had to eliminate some vacant staff positons, and we have not been able to replace all of the vacant full-time faculty positons. Two years ago, we had to lay off full-time staff members. In short, all across our campus, our faculty and staff have been asked to do more with fewer resources.
Moreover, as a result of significant financial constraints, including pension contribution rates that are rising at exorbitant rates, we have not provided sufficient recurring salary increases to our faculty and staff. . .I will do a better job of communicating my appreciation for your contributions and the support you are providing every day to our students. I am grateful for your service and your sacrifices.
I also welcome your thoughts on how we can tackle these challenges together. I value your input and your constructive suggestions.
There is one challenge that we can overcome right now. And, I need your help, once again, to succeed.
Window of opportunity
In the next two months, we have a window of opportunity to address a problem that has hampered the growth of our University for more than 20 years. That problem is inadequate and disparate state support.
Simply put, we have been producing the talented women and men who are growing our state’s economy and who are enhancing the social and cultural vitality of our region.
Notwithstanding our extraordinary growth, there has been no proportionate increase in our state appropriation, and there has been no adjustment in the relative shares of state support among the comprehensive universities. . .If our University were to receive the average amount of funding per undergraduate degree as the other institutions, we would receive an additional $19 million per year in state support.
. . .Fortunately, in November 2013, as a result of our persistent advocacy, the Council on Postsecondary Education passed a resolution directing the CPE staff and the universities to develop a comprehensive funding model. . .CPE eventually settled on a reasonable methodology. And what that methodology proved is what we have been saying all along: that our University receives far less state support than the other comprehensive universities.
According to this CPE formula, our University is entitled to $10.7 million more in annual state support just to bring us to the average funding level of the other comprehensive institutions. And this number does not fully account for the actual size of the disparity, because this formula discounts non-resident students by 50%. If non-resident students were treated the same as resident students, the disparity would be more than $2 million larger.
. . .We must now persuade Governor Bevin and the General Assembly to act on this recommendation. . .
Let them hear you
Our friends at the NKU Foundation have created a website.
It is called “Invest in Success.” If you choose to visit this website, you will find that there is a very easy way to add your voice to our advocacy efforts.
Simply by entering your zip code, the website will generate an email that, with one click, will be sent to Governor Bevin and to your respective State Senator and State Representative.
Our Northern Kentucky legislative delegation is very well aware of the significance of this issue. But please remind them – please remind your elected representatives – that they must now deliver for their constituents – for all of us. Make them hear you.
I believe that Governor Bevin and his staff also appreciate the importance of this issue and how they have an opportunity to transform how higher education is funded in the Commonwealth. They are sympathetic, but they face many competing financial obligations. So, make them hear you.
It is a privilege to serve as the president of Northern Kentucky University, and it is an honor to be an advocate for you and for our students.
Please join me in this effort. Our cause is right, and it is just. Please, make them hear you.
Geoffrey Mearns has been president of Northern Kentucky University since 2012.
