August 22, 2006

Welcome to the 2006-2007 academic year. On behalf of the university I offer a special welcome to the new faculty and staff who are joining us this fall. I hope your expectations of Black Hills State University will be surpassed and you will enjoy many productive years at this fine university.

Before I begin my comments, I would like to thank Tom and Judy Flickema for their many contributions during their 12 years at BHSU and for their gracious and thoughtful assistance during the transition period. There are many others on and off campus who have openly welcomed Ken and I to Spearfish. Please know we truly appreciate you kindness.

I have had an opportunity to meet the new faculty and highly commend the search committees for your ability to recruit highly qualified, well spoken colleagues who share your commitment to teaching and learning. During our conversations, many of the new faculty commented on the strength of the academic programs, the talents of the faculty in their departments, the state-of-the-art facilities, and our beautiful location as key elements in their decision to join the faculty. As a fellow member of the 2006 class of new employees at BHSU, I echo these sentiments and thank all of you who have worked so hard throughout your time here to make this university a special environment focused on student learning. As we know, it is the people who make an organization successful. Through the commitment and dedication of each of you here today, as well as the many individuals who have come before us, Black Hills State University is an outstanding educational institution that is responsive to the needs of its constituents.

Since arriving in Spearfish in June, I have had an opportunity to meet a number of community persons. Without exception they hold BHSU in high regard. As I indicated during my campus interview in January, I plan to take some time to listen to you, to learn about our culture and traditions, and to develop a plan for the future. I have met with staff in a number of offices this summer to learn about their responsibilities and needs. Now that the faculty is on campus in full force, I have asked the deans to schedule meetings for Dr. Myers and me to meet with departments to hear first hand from faculty. In addition, last Friday approximately 30 individuals from across campus met to identify the University’s strengths as well as opportunities for change. Some of the outcomes of that session supported our commitment to students, the advantage of our size and location, the value of undergraduate research, and the quality of our faculty and staff. Some areas for improvement included expansion of our curriculum, enhanced utilization of data, increased online offerings, improved identity, and self image. During the next few months, additional input will be gathered to assist us in our planning as we move the university forward.

Recently I came upon the Vision Statement that had been written for strategic planning several years ago. The opening sentence read, “Black Hills State University will be recognized as an innovative, quality institution of higher learning.” In many regards, I believe we have accomplished this vision. BHSU is an innovative, quality institution. However, it might be necessary to define “recognized”. I believe our vision should state “Black Hills State University will be recognized as an innovative, high quality institution of higher learning throughout the state, the greater Black Hills region, and the nation”. In some disciplines, we are recognized for our innovative approach, the quality of the academic experience, and the accomplishments of our faculty and students. In other disciplines, we are close. However, as a university, we have some work to do. I will return to this vision later but first I will talk about Strategic Planning.

As a campus, you are already engaged in extensive planning efforts. Throughout the spring semester, the committee considered reports submitted by programs and offices across the campus. The resulting three ring binder stands as a testament to the focus you have had on analyzing your strengths and determining the needs of the future. I am pleased to report that several of the issues you identified have been addressed over the summer.

First, the Branding Committee has worked for several years with the assistance of a consulting firm to review and update our graphic identity. I have accepted the committee’s recommendation to standardize our visual image through the spire symbol and the yellow jacket mascot. While no less than 6 university seals appear in various documents or brochures, the committee researched our history to identify our “official” seal to be used on official documents. The others will be retired. Finally, the palette colors for the university’s green and gold have been standardized. To assist all of us in knowing how to comply, guidelines for the use of our graphic identity will be completed and distributed. While we might think such efforts are relatively straightforward, the end product impacts our daily lives as you can see by the following slides:

Some questions have arisen regarding brochures, letterhead, business cards, and other items currently in our offices that do not comply with these standards. I do not believe purging these items is fiscally responsible so January 1 has been identified as a deadline by which time our stock of supplies should be depleted and full compliance across campus will be in effect. Questions will certainly arise and I encourage you to contact your respective vice president or Corinne Hansen.

Another focus of the strategic planning committee as well as a number of other offices on campus related to our recruitment and retention of students. As I read the reports and visited with administrators and staff, it became quite evident that significant effort and resources have been given to these critical functions for the university, yet, our retention does not reflect this investment. As we explored this conundrum, it became evident that we had some overlap, some gaps, and possibly some conflicting directions for recruiting and retaining our students. To ensure that essential offices involved in these functions were coordinated, Enrollment Services which includes the offices of Admissions and Recruitment has been expanded to include the Career Center, Student Support Services, Retention Services, and the Student Assistance Center. However, this does not mean the rest of us can sit back and relax. Let’s look at a graphic I picked up at a conference several years ago.

Affecting Student Behavior slide:

It is quite clear that the entire campus is comprehended by this slide whether it is developing awareness of the campus or ensuring satisfaction. We are all on the line. According to Vincent Tinto, 50% of students who haven’t had significant contact with a faculty or staff member in the first 3 weeks will drop out. It is important for all of us to work with our entering freshmen and transfer students as they adjust to the campus and the rigor of higher education. I commend you for your initiative to integrate the Freshmen Year Experience and an orientation course into the students’ early experience. It is imperative for us to continually refine the programs for our new students. As you will learn from the speaker this afternoon, students aren’t worse than they were in our generation, but they are different. In addition, it is essential for us to examine the data gathered from various sources such as the ACT profiles, College Student Inventory, and other surveys to better understand our students and address their needs. Universities across the country including prestigious research universities, regional universities, and community colleges are analyzing student characteristics and developing appropriate interventions. The Freshmen Year Experience is in the mainstream of retention initiatives.

Student Life is an integral function for the campus. A number of studies have indicated that student engagement is critical for student satisfaction and retention. The Living/Learning Center in the Residence Halls, the Recreation Center, student organizations, leadership programs, civic engagement, and campus activities provide students with opportunities to be engaged with the campus and with our faculty and staff. Additionally, our multi-faceted student population—traditional on campus, commuting, returning adult, Rapid City, military, online, DDN—present special opportunities for Student Life as we strive to connect all students to the university. The re-structuring for retention will allow Student Life to focus on core engagement functions for all students.

As I read the reports from strategic planning, many references were made to students and the recognition that our primary purpose is to prepare students for their careers as well as the rest of their lives. Retention literature repeatedly refers to a student centered or student friendly campus as a key element in retaining students. Few universities will admit they are not student centered. Yet, practices may suggest otherwise. For example, as we become more high tech, as a society, we crave high touch. Automated answering machines may send the message that we are too busy for the callers or may frustrate already uncertain callers who don’t know which office can respond to their questions. Consequently, we have changed our process for the university’s 800 number to have a real person answer the phone. In addition, administrative offices are limiting the use of answering machines as the first contact with callers. This may seem a minor change but it sends a major message to those who are attempting to contact the university. As you go about your work during the next few weeks, please ask yourself whether certain practices, policies, or procedures are in place for our convenience or for our students. If it is the former, please consider making changes. On the other hand, I recognize much of what we do is student focused. In fact, during a recent meeting with the Classified Council, many examples were given relative to the university’s focus on students. These examples were amplified by the participants in the retreat last Friday.

During the past year, faculty senate, the dean’s council and others expressed concern relative to safety and security during periods when we had no coverage by Myron or Keith. I am pleased to report that we are in the process of hiring another security officer to cover much of the time that had been open. Your concern for the security of our students as well as our employees is appreciated and I am pleased it is being addressed.

I indicated earlier that I have been meeting with individuals from the community, alumni, and other supporters of the university. It has been gratifying to listen to people who are not employed by the university express their appreciation and love for BHSU. Clearly, you make a difference for many. This is a remarkable university. We have nearly 125 years of history and thousands of alums. I have heard stories about how a dean of students helped a wayward student identify the important things in life or how a faculty member reached out to mentor a promising student who went on to accomplish great things in her career. We have stars who succeeded in spite of us and others because of us. In a semester, a class period, or maybe a split second, lives can be changed forever. It is a heavy responsibility and an awesome opportunity. I have started compiling a list of stories that I can share with others. I call these elevator speeches because I often need to get my point made quickly. Corinne Hansen is helping to collect these stories. We are also compiling points of pride. These include our successes, accomplishments, and special recognitions. For example, our placement rate in some disciplines is 100%. Our teacher preparation program is the largest in the state and has been invited to join a prestigious national organization comprised of 35 universities focused on continual improvement of teacher preparation. The mobile science lab travels the state in an effort to connect elementary and middle school students to the sciences. DUSEL will provide world class facilities for our faculty to conduct research and for our students to study. We have many other examples. I need as many points of pride as possible. Next month I will be in Washington to visit with our congressional delegation. Later this month, I will be in Denver at an alumni event and to meet with donors. The points of pride you provide will be important as I visit with individuals off campus. Finally, Corinne has plans to incorporate these items into our web site to share with others who visit us online. Hopefully, as you think about items to send forward, you will gain a renewed appreciation for our contributions to our students, the state, the nation, and the world. We have much of which we should be proud. We need to lift our heads high. We need to be proud of our affiliation with Black Hills State University. I ask you to wear university apparel whenever possible, affix a lapel pin to your jacket, buy a university license plate. We need to get our image and message out to the public. I seek your assistance in reaching our vision to be recognized as an innovative, high quality institution throughout the state, the Black Hills region, and the nation. We will accomplish this vision by carrying the message as we talk and meet with others. I was told yesterday that I should not include recognition at the national level as part of the vision. As one of the participants in last Friday’s retreat noted, “We need to believe in ourselves”. Folks, if we don’t believe we are good, no one else will either.

During the last 6 weeks, I have been asked numerous times, why I chose to come to BHSU. For a full explanation, it might take a couple elevator rides to the top floor of a skyscraper. Simply, I saw a university that has a long history of responding to the needs of the students and the state. I saw a university that has wide support from the community, Board of Regents and state officials. I saw faculty and staff who are committed to our educational mission. I also saw a university that is poised to do great things and I wanted to be part of that. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to be part of your history.