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OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
President's Fall Address to the Campus Community
September 9, 2008
Welcome back! Well, here I am, already into my 6th year since I returned to Towson University---that’s unbelievable---time does fly when you are having fun. Today, in my 6th Fall Address, I am once again ready to share some thoughts with you about our University. We have been on an unprecedented run and I am even more excited today than I was the first time we gathered over five years ago.
Before I get too carried away with some of the excitement of the times, let me share some updates with you. In my Installation Address, I painted a picture of what Towson University could become in five to ten years. First, let’s take a look at enrollment growth. In 2003, I said we would grow to 20,000 plus students. This fall, the last official figure I received is 20,780. I like that number, good prediction. Another good number is the nearly 16,000 freshman applications we received for this fall. We enrolled almost 3,000.
We, once again, have done well with the budget. I interpret our budget increases over the past few years as a sign of respect and recognition for what we have accomplished. Our operating budget is approximately $350 million and we have experienced double digit increases for the past three years. We are pleased with the respect and with the budget, but, at the same time, I realize it is time to look more carefully at our spending. It is always good to do so after a period of growth and expansion. Now is the right time to assess all spending, and I have asked the vice presidents to do so. It is foolish to assume that, in the upcoming year and beyond, we will be immune to the unpredictability of the economy. Budgets go up and budgets go down. It is best to plan now.
Our capital budget also reflects the respect we have earned and the progress we have made. Since 2004, with the support of the Governor, the Legislature, the Regents, and the Chancellor, we have completed more than $250 million in buildings and major renovations and we have an additional $200 million in capital projects underway. Pause a moment. Leave the numbers. Today, or tomorrow, make sure you take time to look at the campus; it is incredible. What we have accomplished in construction, renovations and upgrades, is even beyond my expectations, and believe me, it is difficult to be beyond my expectations. I know I have somewhat of a reputation for rounding up, including expectations, but we all have to be impressed by what we have accomplished and what we will continue to accomplish.
Back to a few more updates. Our Thinking Outside campaign has blown our recognition ratings off the charts. We wanted recognition, we received recognition, lasting recognition. I cannot talk with anyone outside the University without hearing about Thinking Outside and, “I didn’t know that about Towson”. The branding campaign, Thinking Outside, has played a significant role in changing the perception of the University by highlighting the diverse and exciting efforts of our faculty and staff, professional careers of our graduates, our programs, and the impact of Towson’s applied research and outreach efforts on the region and beyond. Now, we are going to keep them thinking about Towson with new TV and radio spots which began earlier this week. If you are out there, whoever you are, when you think about higher education, we will make sure that you are thinking about Towson University. National recognition also continues in such publications as U. S. News and Princeton Review. In the former, we were ranked eighth up one spot from last year. The university ranked fourth in its category in its Peer Assessment Score. The annual issue also ranked Towson University among the best public master’s institutions in freshman retention, campus ethnic diversity, number of international students enrolled and economic diversity. We are doing lots of good things and the recognition is coming.
Over five years ago we painted a picture of Towson in 2010. In 2003, 2010 did seem a little distant. Now, like a ship approaching us on the horizon, 2010 is before us. In many of our efforts we are arriving early. We took our strategic plan, Towson University 2010: Mapping the Future and have turned that plan into action at an astonishing rate. 2010 is close, but we still have two years of work and opportunity ahead of us. Already we have nearly “Aced” our 2010 Plan report card. We have a tracking system that had so much in motion I had to tell the VPs, no more. No more milestones, we have enough! Focus on the goals and action items. Do you know what? Some complained about losing milestones. It was as if they were unwilling to have a “milestone gap” with another division. I like that feeling of commitment and competition.
One additional effort we want to think about as we approach 2010, is our Middle States Accreditation effort. We have begun our work for our 10 year review and reaccreditation in 2010, an accomplishment that will carry us to 2020. Middle States is our overarching accreditation and it is vital that we be as successful with this initiative as we have been with our other endeavors---I know we will.
Through all of our efforts, we have received well deserved recognition and respect. It was time! You may recall last year that I said some think we have too much recognition…I can still live with that. We don’t want to talk about “Towson yesterday”, talk with us about Towson today and tomorrow. I recently returned from the MACO (Maryland Association of Counties) Annual Meeting where I heard the same theme over and over again; Towson University is where things are happening. I hear the same thing from our out-of-state colleagues. There is a buzz around our University.
There are approximately 4,300 higher education institutions in the United States. Close to 3,500 of them have fewer than 5,000 students. This year, in campus housing and adjacent housing, University Village and Towson Place, the old Valley View, we have 5,615 students living on campus. That’s almost 6,000 students, rounding up again, out of a total enrollment of over 20,000. We are one of the largest institutions in the Country and our campus is alive and vibrant.
Now, let’s talk about one of the most exciting changes, our new peer group. I said the year 2010 was on the horizon and we are arriving early, with our peer group that is definitely so. Our peer group is so important to our future success. Funding, work-mix, programs and so much more depend on the peer group. Grants and contracts, doctorates awarded, per student funding, and many other factors are affected by a peer group. Six years ago we could only dream to be among these peers, now, we have joined them. We now need to mature what we have accomplished. We want to become a leader in our new peer group, just as we were a leader in the group we left behind. We will continue to do new things, but we also need to take some time to gather ourselves. We need to mature Towson. What does mature mean? Before I answer that question, from my perspective, I want to make some important comparisons. We have to see where we are strong and where we need some additional tools and work – improved inputs and outputs.
In 2004, we were awarded $8 million in grants and contracts. This past year we reached nearly $24 million and during the upcoming year we will be looking for an additional 10% increase. We have improved in graduate student production. We ended the past year at 18% graduate students and we are knocking on our ceiling of 20%. The 20% is part of our strategic plan and represents a commitment to our core mission. A good part of our graduate efforts are our doctorates. We started slowly, very slowly, but after four years we have awarded 43 doctorates and have set even higher goals. We have made progress, but many of our peers are ahead of us in these important categories.
Friend raising and fund raising is another important comparison. Three years ago 7% of our alumni contributed $662,000. This past year we passed $1.1 million. In July, 2007, our Capital Campaign had reached $30 million. Our June, 2011 goal is $50 million. With three years remaining we have reached 70% of our goal. Again, solid and exciting progress, but we have to continue to improve.
I will give you some examples for comparison with our peer group. The average annual alumni giving rate is at 8%. The average number of doctorates each year among our peers is 18 and a few are in the 20 to 30 range. The average for grants and contracts is $27.5 million, and the average for fundraising is $15 million. If we keep progressing, we can get there…we are close.
We still must also achieve ongoing success in athletics. I cannot avoid a comparison that many have made. George Mason may be old news to some, but winning basketball is a horse they have been riding for three years. George Mason is a fine academic institution, but a few months ago their president told me of the unbelievable residual attention they receive from athletics and their trip to the Final Four. Look at Appalachian State, their football program yields great benefits, long-term benefits beyond one big win. Look what Delaware has done with athletics. Athletics, whether you are, or, are not a fan, brings attention, often lasting attention which leads to a reputation of an institution that is virtually unachievable so quickly in any other way. Athletics is one of those campus characteristics that are vital to other’s perceptions of us. We have given athletics the tools, and, like the many comparisons I just made, alumni giving, grants and contracts, doctorates, and fund raising, it is an important tool. Competitive athletics is not an option, it is a must.
Another important comparison is our faculty themselves. We now have 805 full-time faculty positions. In 2004, we had 601. This is another sign of our growth. Another reality that is very important is the relative Towson youth of our faculty. We have close to 250 faculty who have been with Towson five years or less. This group provides an opportunity to take advantage of new ideas and different experiences. There is also a challenge, the challenge of making each of these faculty part of Towson. I attend each new faculty dinner and I see the quality of the individuals we are attracting and I am impressed by the potential. Now, we must work hard to encourage this wave of new faculty to become part of Towson, to excel, take leadership roles and help perpetuate our characteristics, core principles and values.
Now, after those comparisons, back to the question, what does maturity mean? To be mature is to be highly developed and, with many things, perfect to some degree. We cannot rest and look at things we have done, or, are doing. We have to bring things together. We have to refine the many, many initiatives we began over five years ago and move them forward to completion.
As we refine, we have to pay close attention to a difference between attention and recognition and reputation. Several years ago Towson hosted the World Cello Conference. I wasn’t here, but I am aware of that effort. I have been told that cello players, including the internationally known Yo Yo Ma, came to Towson from all over the world. They were everywhere on campus carrying those big cases. There was attention, media attention, but, I don’t think there is anyone today who sees Towson as an international cello center. Yes, there was attention, but it didn’t turn into reputation. I am not saying this wasn’t an exciting and important event or that we shouldn’t have signature, high-visibility events---of course we should and of course we do. But, like the cello gathering, we don’t want a string of events, programs and new initiatives that we don’t mature. We need a mix, and maturation of key initiatives is a must.
In the past five plus years we have started many things, yet, I feel in many areas we are still in a nascent stage. In organizational terms this is the stage when things are beginning to form and, hopefully, developing. With many of our ideas and actions we are at this nascent stage, and now we have to mature what we have started. We are not willing to settle for a report card that indicates we have met goals, taken actions, have established a great progress tracking system and are, as I said earlier, “Acing” our strategic plan. We need more than that. We need to focus on what we will turn from actions today to ongoing and great outcomes well into the future that will build the reputation of this great University. We need a program, or program niche, that is nationally recognized. The same is true of our research efforts. Like all universities, we will do many, many things each year, but we need to concentrate on a few things to become truly known for---that the State and Nation look to us to provide leadership to.
Let me summarize some of those things: a program and research niche; increased emphasis on graduate education; more core faculty; increased enrollment; improved quality; better budgets; increased extramural funds; continue to improve quality of campus life---remember: “Clean, Safe, Pretty, Happy”.
In my Installation Address in 2003, I talked about the future. I painted a picture of Towson University in fifty years—the year 2053. I said at that time, “The decisions we make today and change we enact will create the Towson of 50 years from now”. We have been talking about the more modest picture of what Towson could look like in five to ten years—the year 2010. I like that painting. I doubt if I will know how the other painting comes out. All we can do is paint a picture of that desired future---50 years out--- and build the foundation that can take us there.
There are still things that we need to do. Our vision, and resulting goals, require infrastructure and support. We must support growth with the pursuit of needed tools. Some tools will come through continued aggressive pursuit of operating and capital funding and public/private partnerships for additional construction. We will also make better use of our existing facilities and we will continue to build our relationships beyond the campus. We must continue to build the momentum and continue the successes we have been achieving.
For this academic year, I have also made commitments to my boss, the Chancellor, in writing. Not one bit frightening, because I believe I can live up to my, and our, commitments, we have in the past and we will in the future. We all want to pay close attention to these commitments, so please listen carefully to some of my/our commitments for the upcoming year.
We will complete plans for safe pathways for our students from the campus core to the West Village Complex; not evaluating options, but have complete plans. We will complete planning, with Harford Community College, for a Towson satellite campus in Harford County. We will add additional courses and programs at Harford Community College and increase our enrollment there. We will increase the Trimester enrollment by a minimum of another 10%.
We will not forget our workforce commitments, and we will keep emphasis on teachers and nurses. We have faltered on the production of first-time certified teachers and seem to have lost some focus on that responsibility. It is time to re-focus on producing first-time teachers. We will establish a new undergraduate program in Early Childhood Education at Shady Grove and will establish a new Elementary Special Education program at Harford Community College.
Now, I want to make a few comments on several other initiatives before us. I am privileged to have been appointed co-chair of the System’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Presidential Task Force. We are going to make the State shine in STEM initiatives, I am committed to making Towson a leader in that effort. The number of STEM teachers must triple in the State. With STEM, the world will no longer wait, nor will we, we have to do it now.
To my knowledge, there has never been a middle school STEM certification in Maryland, but there is now with State approval for a certification program, effective in 2009; we will take a look at this possibility—Towson University should lead this effort. We have talked about this idea for 20+ years. It is time to do it. Maybe a new kind of secondary STEM certificate is also in order. If it takes cooperation among our colleges, we must develop the cooperation. We need more emphasis on STEM to help get more STEM teachers and new teacher certifications, as well as STEM graduates. Our Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science is off to a good start and needs to be a lead component in achieving these goals.
Another important possibility we have before us, is a School of Technology. A school to meet societal needs in our knowledge-based, information society where applied is the watchword; a school where we couple those needs and characteristics with our strong emphasis on our core arts and sciences foundation for all students. Just think of the abilities and quality, the creativity, of the fully educated students we can graduate.
What about nurses? Next year, we are committed to graduate 140 students from Baccalaureate Nursing programs. We have increased our graduates over the past five years by 60%. For anyone who has spent any time in a hospital, just think what it would be like after the doctor walks away, and we don’t have enough nurses for patient care. We want to make more of a difference in the field of Nursing. To do so, we will look at another possibility. We will take a look at a School of Nursing.
The things I have said we are committed to maturing are the things we want to bring into better focus and to be known for. As I noted, we have so much underway, and many of the things I have mentioned are not new. There may be completely new things on the horizon, as we approach the year 2010, but for now, let’s better define, form, grow in wisdom and develop the initiatives before us to the fullest. Remember, we want to rise to the top of our new peer group. We have brought Towson 2010 to life, we have revitalized Towson, now let’s commit to mature what we have underway. While remembering the year 2053, keep in mind we don’t want attention, we want a reputation that lasts for decades and decades.
Towson University is committed. I am committed. Are you, as individuals, committed? I believe so! Together we can do it. Have a great academic year.
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The President's Fall Address is held annually at Stephens Hall Auditorium.
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