Welcome Back

September 2, 2004

I’m sure, like me, you’re wondering where the summer has gone. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Commencement. On the stage that May morning, John Brademas, former congressman and former president of New York University, delivered a poignant address to the graduates about the need for institutions of learning to help achieve peace and prosperity. He then offered this salute to all of us: “When it comes to making understanding global issues part and parcel of the learning experience, Fairleigh Dickinson is showing the way to colleges and universities across the nation.”

Since we formally adopted our global mission in April 2000, we have made tremendous progress, and those in the education community, including leaders like John Brademas, have taken notice. I want to applaud and thank each of you for your devotion to our students and our institution. I continue to be impressed by the caliber and the character of our faculty and staff and feel very fortunate to be working alongside you.

I hope you enjoyed a healthy and happy summer, and that you are as excited as I am to begin a new academic year. One of the aspects of life in the academy that I most cherish is the cyclical nature of our endeavors. As it is for our students, these fresh beginnings offer us the promise and potential for even greater achievements. Working together we can continue to provide outstanding programs and services for our students, and working together we can continue to distinguish this great University.

As we begin the new semester, I would like to briefly update you on several important developments.

• As you may recall, the Board of Trustees last year unanimously approved the creation of the position of a chief academic officer, a vital step in our continuing development. A search committee has been formed, and we will soon begin advertising widely for qualified applicants. We plan to conduct interviews in late winter/early spring and to make a final decision in the spring.

• We have begun our 10-year reaccreditation review as required by our regional accrediting body, The Commission on Higher Education, Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The outline and summary describing the scope, nature and organization of the required self-study report is complete, and this fall our Middle States Steering Committee will establish study groups to research and analyze the academic and nonacademic activities of the University. Membership on the study groups will be drawn from all of the University’s major constituencies. Research will be undertaken this fall, and draft reports will be written during the spring semester. The draft self-study will be available for community feedback in the fall 2005 semester. The report will be submitted to Middle States early in 2006, and we anticipate a peer-review team will be on our campuses in March or April of that year. The Steering Committee is co-chaired by Diane Wentworth and Elizabeth Noonan. Martin Green is the report editor.

• The Compensation Task Force, which is studying issues of parity relating to faculty and staff compensation, will complete its report this fall. The Task Force requested additional time in order to accurately determine appropriate peer groups and to obtain all the necessary data for proper comparisons. Copies of the report will be made available to the University community for input. This project is extremely important, and we will use these findings as a foundation for future decisions relating to compensation.

• We are entering the fourth year of our undergraduate online-learning program, and the growth and development of the initiative has been outstanding. This fall, 177 sections of online courses are available (as well as many online offerings for graduates). And we now have 46 Global Virtual Faculty who last year brought international perspectives to approximately 900 students in online courses. Through assessments, we have found that student experiences online have become increasingly positive over the past three years.

• Because we have enhanced our digital infrastructure, and because faculty expertise with this technology has grown, we are increasingly able to build new online offerings to serve more students and generate new revenue. Many of you know of our recently established online programs developed for the National Guard. This initiative has been made possible through $1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, and I am pleased to announce that the National Guard has committed to a continuing partnership with the appropriation of another $500,000 award for the coming fiscal year.

In addition, we have become the sole provider of online learning for the national consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and its 14,000 employees. Forty-one students enrolled in New College’s fully online BA degree-completion program on a pilot basis this summer, and we anticipate that several hundred students will enroll this academic year.

• In the President’s Office, I have eliminated the position of chief of staff. David Epstein, who fulfilled this role over the last year, has now joined the Office of Interdisciplinary, Distributed and Global Learning as the executive director of online programs. David will play a key role in coordinating our rapidly expanding efforts to reach new students through this important medium.

• We have formed a new partnership with the United Nations’ World Health Organization (WHO) and will provide videoconferences featuring WHO experts speaking on important global health issues. We also will jointly host faculty/student seminars in New York City and Geneva, Switzerland (home of WHO offices), for our MBA students. And, WHO officials will participate in our Global Virtual Faculty program.

• We are pleased to welcome American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow Michael Durnil from Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ill. Michael, who serves Roosevelt as the vice president for administration and assistant secretary of the Board of Trustees, will spend the upcoming academic year at FDU. The ACE Fellows Program prepares senior faculty and administrators for more responsible positions in college and university administration. Working closely with Michael Sperling, associate provost for interdisciplinary, distributed and global learning (who himself is a former ACE fellow) and me, Michael will participate in a broad spectrum of administrative activities. I am confident he will make a valuable contribution to our community.

• We continue to invest well in our physical infrastructure. Recently constructed and renovated buildings have enhanced our campuses and important projects are continuing. On the Metropolitan Campus, we are refurbishing the Muscarelle Lecture Hall, installing a new synthetic turf soccer field, and have renovated the entrance to Williams Hall and the auditorium in the Robison Annex. At the College at Florham, we are upgrading the science labs and have provided new bathrooms in the Twombly Residence Halls, made improvements at the Dorm Village Residence Halls, renovated Twombly Lounge and added a game room to the Student Center.

We also have taken greater measures to ensure safety on our campuses, including adding more surveillance cameras. At the College at Florham in particular, we have added five new public safety officers and are building a security booth to serve the Madison Avenue entrance.

I will continue to inform you of important developments during the course of the year. I deeply value an ongoing dialogue with faculty and staff, and welcome your thoughts and ideas on issues that concern you.

Once again, thank you for your commitment to the University and our students, and best wishes for a fulfilling and rewarding 2004–05!