Fall Convocation - Wednesday, Aug 15, 2007

See Mr. Hunter Bates' Introductory Comments

Thank you Mr. Bates. Introductions like that tend to embarrass me; but they amuse my wife.

Before I launch into the remarks that someone else has prepared for me to make today (hey, I ’m pretty good, but I ’m not that fast) I want to share with you some personal thoughts and segue from them into a commentary on those of you gathered in this hall. Please indulge me the few minutes it adds to the morning.

I stand before you today a humble man. I am humbled by the trust shown in me by the Board of Regents. I pledge to do everything within my power and ability to not disappoint them.

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve you and this institution as your president for the interim, and make the same pledge to you. I am also humbled by the stark realization that I am a failure at retirement.

I don’t want to dwell on humility too much, though, or some of you might think of the quote attributed to Winston Churchill … who, speaking of Clement Atlee, said, “Mr. Atlee is a humble man; indeed, he has much to be humble about.”

When I heard of Joanne Glasser’s resignation to accept another presidency, I was surprised, as I am sure most of you were. I want to take this opportunity to thank president Glasser for her outstanding leadership of EKU these past six years … and wish her well at Bradley.

When I heard that the board was going to seek an interim president, my mind turned to a list of prospects . . . And I was not among them. I began to think about it, however, when I was beset by a veritable deluge of phone calls and emails encouraging me to submit myself for the board’s consideration. If the two of you who made the call and sent the email are here, you know who you are, and I thank you.

Seriously, my inbox has been bursting with messages of goodwill … and I truly appreciate them.

I also stand before you today as a product of this institution. Now, before you start thinking that surely the board could have done better than that; let me assure you that being a product of this institution is not a bad thing.

My love affair with this place started seriously when I was a freshman here in 1961. I was a first-generation college student and found here a great faculty who opened my mind to the world of ideas and an administration that provided me with an opportunity to earn the means to pay the $89.50 per semester that then represented tuition and fees.

Many of those faculty and staff later became my friends and colleagues. They are still around today. They call themselves the EKU retirees association.

My appreciation for the quality education I received here did not fully set in until I reported for active duty in the U.S. army in September 1966, armed with an A.B. and M.A. from Eastern and a document signed by the Secretary of Defense that made me an officer and a gentleman.

My first assignment was the air defense artillery officer basic course. I had 57 classmates, most of whom were graduates of the country’s “name brand” institutions. At the end of the course, I had finished second by one-half point to a graduate of MIT.

I always felt pretty good about that since most of our instruction was about the care and feeding of nuclear tipped, high altitude, surface-to-air missiles. He was an engineer and my degrees were in history.

Now here’s where this starts being about you. By finishing high in that class, I attracted the attention of the powers that be at the USAADC at Fort Bliss, Texas, and I wound up spending my active duty in a general staff section, sparing me from a provision in my original orders that read “for ultimate assignment to an unaccompanied short tour in southeast Asia not later than September 1967.”

If you think about what was going on in southeast Asia then, you’ll grasp that euphemism.

I have always given credit to the Eastern faculty for that significant change in my military career. They largely made me what I was then and am now.

You might ask how those anecdotes apply to the faculty in this room today? Think about how the process works. In the faculty selection process, faculty members participate in the selection of the new hires who will be their colleagues. They tend to look for individuals who “fit.” At EKU that has always meant persons who care and persons who love students and love to teach.

That process has resulted in a form of institutional cultural DNA that stretches from the faculty who taught me to those who sit here today. The same analogy holds true for the support staff who work to enhance and facilitate the most important thing that takes place on this campus . . . Instruction.

Everyone in this auditorium is important. You each serve an essential function, or you would not be here. I have always found that those who question the importance of the role of someone else do not do so out of any malice, but simply because they do not understand the nature and scope of the other person's responsibilities, and how they fit into the big picture. That is something I hope I can address.

Now for those remarks I mentioned earlier that include a lot of important information for this academic year . . .

I am truly pleased this morning to welcome all of our new faculty and staff to the Eastern family. You have joined an outstanding team … and we look forward to helping you become part of our community.

For our returning faculty and staff, I hope that the summer months have provided some rest … relaxation … and renewal for you … and that you are eager to make this year at Eastern the best ever … for yourselves … for our students … and for the university.

Before we go any further, I ’d like to acknowledge a few of our campus leaders in attendance. Would you please stand as I call your names, so we can recognize you …

1) … faculty regent Dr. Malcolm Frisbie. Dr. Frisbie, a professor of biological sciences, was elected by his fellow faculty members this past spring.

2) … beginning the second year of his term, staff regent Steven Fulkerson. Mr. Fulkerson is assistant network manager with Information Technology and Delivery Services.

3) … our student regent, David “Doc” Fifer, who won re-election this past spring …

4) … faculty senate chair Dr. David Eakin …

5) … and the chair of our Staff Council, Beverly Burrus.

Now, I want to take this opportunity to recognize some others who have recently joined the university… and some familiar faces in new roles.

Provost Dr. Rodney Piercey has been here since January, but he has never been formally introduced to the campus community, so I want to do that now.

Dr. Piercey is a native of Clinton county just south of lake Cumberland and earned his baccalaureate degree from Centre College in Danville. He came to EKU in January from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida … where he had served the previous four years as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Piercey’s 30-plus years experience in higher education (including 12 years at Mississippi State University) … his leadership ability … his knowledge of this region … and his energy and enthusiasm for what we can accomplish here at Eastern will continue to serve him and the university well.

I also want to bring you up to date on some other personnel announcements.

Dr. Janna Vice, for the past eight years associate dean of our College of Business and Technology, has been named interim associate provost for Academic and Faculty Affairs, effective today.

Dr. Vice is uniquely qualified to assume this new position of service. She joined our faculty in 1976 and has earned numerous awards for her teaching and research. She is also a member of the Kentucky State Board of Education and chairs our Retention and Graduation committee.

In keeping with our institutional commitment to graduate education, an area of continuing focus for us, our own Dr. Jaleh Rezaie was selected after a national search to serve as associate dean of Graduate Education and Research.

Just as she has done as chair of our Department of computer science … as chair of our strategic planning committee … and as co-chair of our SACS reaffirmation leadership team, Dr. Rezaie is already playing a siginificant role in advancing graduate education at Eastern.

Also … Dr. Gary Kuhnhenn has been appointed to serve as interim associate vice president for enrollment management. Dr. Kuhnhenn, who has served Eastern as a department chair and most recently as associate and interim dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, brings to this position 27 years of administrative experience … including substantive experience in the area of student recruitment and retention.

The university has a great opportunity to further define an enrollment management plan that will focus on continuous improvements in recruitment, retention and graduation rates, as well as financial assistance and undergraduate advising.

Dr. E.J. Keeley, who had been serving in the position, will return on a full-time basis to the office of institutional effectiveness and research, where he’ll continue as executive director.

To ensure continued outstanding leadership for the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. John Wade has been appointed as interim dean. Dr. Wade has been serving as chair of the Department of Economics … and, earlier, as acting associate dean.

A search commtitee, chaired by Dr. Frank O’Connor, has begun a national search to find the best individual to serve as dean of our College of Arts and Sciences.

Also … Dr. Aaron Thompson, associate vice president of University Programs, has announced his intention to step down from the position in order to return to teaching.

We should all thank Dr. Thompson for his dedicated service in this position and wish him well as he returns to the classroom.

To ensure a smooth transition, Dr. Onda Bennett, an associate professor and former chair in our occupational therapy department, has been appointed interim dean of University Programs. Dr. Bennett also serves as chair of the Quality Enhancement Plan steering committee.

Our Corbin campus has also undergone a recent transition in leadership. Director Tteresa Gleisner announced her resignation in order to move to Harrisonburg, Virginia, where her husband was transferred in his work.

Stephen Kappeler, an instructor in Criminal Justice and Police Studies at Corbin, has agreed to serve as interim director while a search committee begins the task of securing a permanent replacement.

Lastly, Bill St. Pierre has been appointed as interim dean of Continuing Education and Outreach after Dr. Byron Bond accepted an offer to become the dean of Continuing Education at Eastern Michigan University.

Mr. St. Pierre currently serves as CE&O’s systems director for Credit Programs and Distance Education.

A search committee co-chaired by Dr. Bill Phillips and Keith Johnson has been established to begin a national search to fill this key position.

I would also like to recognize at this time all the new faculty members with us this morning. Would you please stand? now, would all the new members of the EKU staff please stand?

Welcome to the EKU family!

If you were at last year’s fall convocation, you might remember president Glasser discussed some key “building blocks” for Eastern’s future … and how our continued growth and progress at Eastern depended on laying a solid foundation.

As we prepare to enter a new academic year, let me take a moment to review those “building blocks for progress.”

Academic excellence … innovative student services … facilities and infrastructure … regional stewardship … affordability and accessibility as it relates to enrollment growth … adequate financial resources … diversity by all its definitions … and a strong intercollegiate athletics program.

This year, we have added one more building block to that list. Campus safety has always been important here at Eastern – and I think we’ve done an excellent job in maintaining a safe and secure living and learning environment – but the subject has taken on even greater importance and urgency since the Virginia Tech tragedy in April.

With that foundation firmly in place, I want to spend our remaining time together looking at where we go from here as we continue building on those foundational blocks. But I want us to think not just of literal bricks and mortar … as important as that is in our future growth.

The programs and initiatives I ’ll discuss this morning run the gamut … but what they have in common is that they enhance and in some way build on our living and learning environment.

Certainly, our budget for 2007-08 was developed with that end in mind.

Those of you who’ve been with us a while, you no doubt recall that it was not long ago that we were financially strapped. Thanks in large measure to your hard work, we have regained solid financial footing … and we have been able to address both immediate and long-term needs and better position the university for continued growth and success.

This $209 million operating budget, up 8 percent from a year ago, links in a very transparent fashion our financial resources to our strategic plan.

Developed from the ground up in a collaborative manner, this budget addresses in a most purposeful way some of our most critical needs … including many academic initiatives related to our strategic plan … additional funding for maintenance and operations … and the establishment in the base budget of more than two million dollars in capital pools.

The establishment of these capital pools will relieve the burden on our daily maintenance and operations budgets ... And ensure that these areas have the ability to operate effectively.

One of the key academic initiatives is our quality enhancement plan, which as you remember calls upon the university to prepare informed graduates who can think critically and creatively and communicate effectively. Specifically, this budget includes $973,000 to fund the foundation for the launch of eight exciting new initiatives associated with our quality enhancement plan.

These programs are the center for critical thinking … a “thinking and writing across the curriculum” initiative ... The studio project … science in society … cactus project … assessment … first-year programs … and service learning.

Our visiting SACS committee had high words of praise in April for our QEP … calling it exceptional … ambitious … and well-thought-out.

With its strong commitment to need- and merit-based financial assistance, this budget also enhances the affordability and accessibility of our undergraduate and graduate programs … improves our ability to recruit, retain and graduate students … and allows us to remain a school of opportunity, providing high-quality academic programs and student services.

On the subject of financial need, the cooperative institutional research project, a survey administered to EKU’s first-year students, revealed that 39 percent of our first-year students have an estimated parental income of less than 50 thousand dollars … and sixty-seven percent (or two-thirds) of our first-year students indicate some or major concerns about financing college.

That’s why we must stay true to our mission as a school of opportunity.

And it’s why the Beacon Program, the comprehensive financial aid package launched earlier this year, is so critical … not just to the success of our students … but to the future of our university and an entire region that looks to us for support.

These Beacon Program scholarships along with the additional funds provided to institutional work study will allow our students the access and ability to fund their education.

I was pleased to learn that we have taken great strides in the recruitment and retention of graduate students. Effective this fall, the graduate student stipend increases from $6,700 to $10,000.

I might add … as many of you already know, the Graduate School is moving to a new location in the student services building … while the office of sponsored programs and grant accounting will be housed in the Jones building.

Because the faculty is the heart and soul of any great institution, it is important to note that this budget also enhances our ability to recruit and retain outstanding professors. It is imperative that we remain competitive in the recruitment and retention of quality faculty.

This budget incorporates an across-the-board three-point-five percent annual salary increase for our hard-working faculty and staff … and funds the remaining identified staff salary market (equity) adjustments … completing the commitment made two years ago.

We must continually review market indicators and be prepared to fund appropriate market adjustments in the years to come for our faculty and staff.

I want to remind you that, effective October 1st, all payments and reimbursements made to faculty and staff will be made via electronic bank deposit.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank governor Fletcher … our two local legislators, state senator Ed Worley and state representative Harry Moberly junior … our Board of Regents … and all of you for the support that made this budget possible.

I might note that the CPE, now under the leadership of interim president Brad Cowgill, is considering changes in the way it formulates appropriation recommendations it makes for each university to the general assembly.

Whereas in years past, the CPE relied on a funding formula based on benchmarks, I am told it seems now to be moving toward a formula that considers inflationary factors … the need for developmental education … strategic needs as set forth in a business plan … and, most importantly, performance, especially measured against enrollment, retention and graduation goals.

Because it levels the playing field, this seems to be a more fair approach. However – and I can’t stress this enough – it does require a laser-like focus on enrollment, retention and graduation.

That’s why the work of our retention and graduation task force, chaired by Dr. Janna Vice, is so critical.

Pending review and analysis, these proposals will be presented to the entire campus community in the very near future.

this whole process will get the requisite amount of my attention.

Our capital campaign has passed the three-quarters mark toward its goal of twenty-five million dollars. These funds, too, enhance the quality of the Eastern experience and help position us for continued growth and prosperity.

Having concluded another successful round of alumni-and-friends events all across the country, we are preparing now for a new phase in our regional outreach strategy … providing for more events nationwide to accommodate larger numbers of alumni and friends … with particular emphasis on engaging more of our young alumni.

I am also proud to note that, because of sound management by the EKU foundation, the university’s endowment is nearing fifty-five million dollars. That’s especially impressive when we consider the endowment was approximately twenty million dollars just five years ago.

Now there is one “bricks and mortar” project soon to take shape on the east side of our Richmond campus that should be great cause for excitement for us all. As aesthetically pleasing as our new science building will be, however, it has been designed with one thing and one thing only in mind … and that is to be the best possible teaching-learning environment for our students and faculty.

Site preparation began this summer for this 330,000-square-foot building … and we’re looking forward to a groundbreaking ceremony next summer for what will become our largest building.

This facility, off Kit Carson Drive and just north of the Rowlett-Disney Health Sciences complex, will be built in two phases. The first phase, already funded by the Commonwealth at 59 million dollars, will house the departments of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy and Geography and Geology.

The second phase, for which we are seeking an additional 38 million dollars, will house the Department of Biological Sciences.

What makes this facility unique is that, more so than anywhere else on campus, even the surrounding grounds will be integral to the building’s purpose. A wetlands area, aquatic pond, greenhouse, forest and outdoor classroom will all contribute significantly to the educational experience of our students.

When this building is occupied by the Spring 2011 semester, it will enrich tremendously the teaching and research facilities for our faculty … enhance our ability to prepare the scientists, health care professionals, teachers and researchers so desperately needed in Kentucky … and ultimately improve the quality of life throughout our region and state.

I want to take this opportinity to thank Dr. Malcolm Frisbie, our faculty committee and james street for all their hard work during the planning process for this much-needed addition to our campus.

Meanwhile, for the other side of the by-pass, we expect to open bids in December on phase two of the Business and Technology center. Phase two melds the community and region with the campus because it will house a performing arts center and conference facilities, among other features.

Next on our list of capital project priorities will be a much-needed College of education complex, including Model Laboratory school. One of the more dramatic recommendations from a recent study of all state colleges and universities was to demolish and replace the Donovan complex … and we agree with that recommendation.

Likewise, our 43-year-old Combs Classroom buiding has some architectural and mechanical renovation issues that limit its effectiveness.

So the logical course, it seems, would be to consolidate the College of Education and model lab into a single structure that will address all the safety, efficiency and teaching and learning concerns associated with the current arrangement.

We’re several steps and a few years away, of course, from seeing such a facility become a reality … but because it is consistent with both our historical mission and with CPE’s mission for EKU, I am optimistic that it will happen.

In other construction news … construction is under way on a new twelve-point-five million dollar Manchester postsecondary education center. We anticipate completion by December of 2008.

On our Richmond campus, renovations are continuing on clay hall and we expect the building will be re-opened in August 2008 … and we expect to open bids on a two-point-three million dollar intramural field renovation project in early December.

As for the merger of the EKU and UI dairy farms at our Meadowbrook Farm, we remain confident that funding will be approved by the general assembly.

The provost’s office is working on several initiatives that will serve to enhance our academic excellence.

One involves the development of an educational outreach program that would embed outreach agents throughout the service region to work with k-through-12 schools and encourage students to prepare for and attend college. This initiative could serve our extended campuses … regional stewardship … and general recruiting.

Another initiative involves the development of an incentive program that would encourage faculty participation in interdisciplinary projects such as the honors program and our women’s studies and african/african-american studies programs … our extended campuses … and our quality enhancement program, to name a few examples.

A conversation has also begun on campus concerning the development of a new work-load model and faculty assessment practice that would use a unified, uniform assessment process. This annual assessment could then be used for professional development … strategic planning … merit pay determination … and decisions on promotion and tenure. This process would be common to all colleges … but the performance criteria would be college- and discipline-specific.

If our programs, our employees and our good work define our reputation for excellence, then reaffirmation by SACS certainly will confirm and validate it.

After a very successful SACS team visit last april, we’re looking forward to receiving some good news in December of this year. I want to thank Dr. Jaleh Rezaie, Dr. Onda Bennett and all of you who have worked so hard to bring us to the brink of a successful reaffirmation.

One cornerstone of our commitment to academic excellence is our academic integrity policy. Throughout the past year, Academic Integrity Coordinator Dr. jessica bryant, a professor in English and Theatre, has been working diligently to ensure that students and faculty alike are aware of the policy.

This includes presentations during new student days and academic orientation classes … as well as presentations through the teaching and learning center, among many other means.

Another important component of our academic excellence is the annual Chautauqua Lecture Series. Building on this year’s theme of “Space, Place and Life,” series Director Dr. Bruce Maclaren has lined up 13 outstanding scholars from around the nation and our own faculty.

These include writers … scientists … an astronaut … a geographer … an architect … and a philosopher.

I encourage you to attend as many of these events as possible.

I also want to remind you about what promises to be another outstanding season of fine and performing arts events – music, theater, art and dance.

The coming months and years will see an increasing emphasis on regional stewardship at the university. Funding has been received from the CPE for the regional stewardship infrastructure … and we’ll soon be conducting a search for a regional stewardship director.

We might not always have called it by its current name, but service learning has long been a part of EKU and a key ingredient in our regional stewardship. It’s a proven way to embrace our community and region while at the same time enhancing the Eastern experience for our students and improving retention.

Our strategic plan rightly emphasizes public service as a key component in student learning well as the importance of instilling in all our students a strong sense of civic responsibility.

A Service Learning Committee, co-chaired by Kate williams and Dr. Sara Zeigler, has been laying the groundwork that will formalize an infrastructure for service-learning activities in support of our regional stewardship initiative and quality enhancement plan.

A new Office of Service-Learning, with a full-time director, will promote and support service-learning pedagogy campus-wide … provide professional development opportunities … develop and sustain community partnerships for service learning … publicize service learning activities … and coordinate assessment of the activities.

This emphasis on service learning will enable us to advance student learning … facilitate intellectual curiousity and critical and creative thinking skills … enhance our engagement with internal and external constituencies … and increase participation.

As we continue to develop programs that meet the needs of the commonwealth and kentuckians, I am also proud to note that progress continues toward our first – but surely not our last – doctoral degree program.

Our proposed doctor of education program in educational leadership and policy studies has been approved by the required university committees and by our board of regents. The proposal will next be reviewed by the council on postsecondary education and by SACS. We expect to be in position to admit students as early as fall 2008.

This will not be a joint degree program, as was once considered. EKU will be the degree-granting institution. There is, however, a strong spirit of collaboration among all the institutions that currently offer or plan to offer doctorates in education and a solid commitment to ensuring that students will be able to access specialized curriculum from various campuses.

This program will enhance P-through-12 public education throughout Kentucky by developing leadership and research capacity and through research development and dissemination. In keeping with our commitment to regional stewardship, this Ed.D. program will ultimately become a clearinghouse for current educational research, particularly educational research focusing on rural Kentucky and Appalachia.

In fact, it will include a rural studies core with a particular emphasis on appalachian Kentucky, and will imbed educational, cultural and sociological content within the coursework.

Now, I want to bring you up to date on continued progress in campus safety and security.

Indicative of our commitment to the safety of our campus community and to our readiness in the event of a crisis, the university is working with one of the nation’s leading consultants in the field, Bernstein crisis management.
The firm’s president, Jonathan Bernstein, spent two days on our campus in June. One entire day was devoted to meeting with members of the university’s leadership team to discuss campus emergency preparedness.

Areas discussed included business interruption, community relations, disaster response, food service, housing, incident management and notification, internal communications, community and media relations, internet technology, and safety and security, among others.

On may 1, the university launched a new emergency text messaging system. This service, in support of our campus emergency response plan, is offered on a purely voluntary basis and participants may opt in or out at any time.

To date, more than 2,600 individuals have signed up for these emergency text messages, and this number continues to increase daily. For instructions on how to sign up for the service, visit the link on the EKU homepage.

As we seek to minimize risks on our campus, we are continuing to review our guidelines for dealing with disruptive student behavior. This includes additional training for faculty and staff on recognizing the warning signs of violent behavior.

As we make numerous enhancements to our physical security, such as an improved closed circuit television system, we also continue to explore every possible means to communicate more effectively a campus alert, including the use of an on-campus siren or public address system and a method to alert those en route to any of our campuses.

The equipment for a mass notification system for our Richmond campus has been installed and will provide us with a number of emergency notification advantages with both siren codes and voice.

Additionally, a three-phase project to enhance our call-box system is under way and phase one will be completed by the start of the fall semester.

EKU police, in may, coordinated a discussion with all local law enforcement agencies and the Kentucky State Police concerning critical incidents occurring in madison county and participated in a campus safety meeting hosted by the Lexington Metro Police.

The Madison County Emergency Management agency conducted a successful mock disaster drill on the Richmond campus last week. This was a multi-agency event involving several madison county emergency agencies ... and
By all accounts, it was time well spent,

We will continue to take advantage of Mr.Bernstein’s insights for the betterment of our university. The end result, I am sure, will be a campus that is taking all the right steps to minimize its risks, and a campus that is ready to respond in a more effective manner in the event of a crisis or tragedy.

On a related front, our Pandemic Flu Task Force, chaired by Dr. Michael Ballard, is developing a campus pandemic response plan with five threat levels identified. Each planning unit has been asked to identify steps or actions that would be initiated at each threat level.

The task force developed and distributed a “toolkit” designed to assist in identifying the key functions of each planning unit and key positions performing those functions.

I’ll continue to keep you apprised as we explore any and all ways to enhance the safety and security of our entire university community.

The campus should be getting a little more crowded this fall, as we’re expecting a slight increase in our enrollment numbers.

What pleases me as much as that news is that the cooperative institutional research project also tells us EKU is the first choice of 77 percent of our students.

All of us can take great pride in that fact … which is as good an indication as any that the Eastern experience continues be held in high regard and is recognized by students and families to be a great educational value.

Certainly, enrollment growth in the coming years is a priority as we continue striving to meet the goals of our strategic plan and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Also … a business plan now being drafted wil focus on increasing our undergraduate enrollment to 20,000 by the year 2020. A business plan is now required by the CPE of all Kentucky public universities … and the council has provided a general framework for us to follow.

The EKU Business Plan, entitled 20k2020, will have three essential parts.

The first will deal with capital needs for renovations of our existing plant … the implemention of our 2006-10 strategic plan … and improvements in recruitment, developmental education and retention.

The second part will focus on expanding our capacity to handle growth – capital needs for new facilities and equipment on all our campuses … necessary increases in faculty and staff … greater use of technology in instructional programs … and areas for special emphasis.

The third component will deal with measures to expand our enrollments on all fronts.

We continue to monitor the CPE’s refinement of its requests related to this plan.

Much of our enrollment growth is expected to come from our extended campuses … which will play an increasingly significant role in meeting student and regional needs.

Toward that end, our Extended Campus Task Force, chaired by Dr. Bill Phillips, shared its draft recommendations with the faculty senate in may for input prior to finalizing and submitting a report.

An increasingly important factor in recruitment and retention – of both students and employees – is worksite childcare. This is critical from an academic programming standpoint and from the standpoint of support services for our students, faculty and staff.

The Department of Family and Consumer Science and Human Resources submitted a request to the EKU foundation for funding of a childcare feasibility study. The funding request was approved and bright horizons, one of the nation’s leading providers of worksite childcare, early education and work life consulting, was engaged to conduct the study. Bright Horizons has completed a preliminary review draft of a child care demand and cost projection study for EKU.

Based on demographic data and information received from interviews with campus leaders and focus groups, the firm suggests the university consider full-service infant through pre-school care, full- and part-time scheduling, back-up care on a space-available basis, and school-age care.

The preliminary recommendations include a financial summary of capital and operating budget to make such a service available. We expect to receive a final report from bright horizons next month, and more information will be shared with you as it becomes available. I want to thank the EKU foundation for funding this study and Dr. Dianne Leggett and Gary Barksdale for their hard work on this initiative.

to continue to move this initiative forward, I will be appointing an early childhood task force that will include faculty representation from across the disciplines. the task force will be charged with identifying viable options for an early childhood center that will provide child care for the entire campus community and serve as a laboratory to enhance all academic programs related to early childhood.

Additionally, this task force will work under the assumption that an early childhood center would serve infants through pre-school-age children by meeting national accreditation standards and Kentucky’s four-star standards.

It would also provide academic experience for all related university programs … selected research opportunities for faculty and students … on-campus child care services for faculty, staff and students … enhanced recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students … and support for the local community.

Increasingly, students also tell us they value options in dining. Of course, many of you patronize our on-campus dining facilities as well, so I think you’ll like what you hear on this front.

Quizno’s will open later this fall in the Fountain Food Court, which will also be the site of numerous other renovations.

Also coming this fall will be an Einstein’s Bagels outlet in the Moore building.

And here’s an even more familiar name … Starbucks is coming to the Todd/Dupree area in Spring 2008.

More dining services are planned for next year and beyond … including a major renovation of the fresh food company and other existing campus venues … a new venue in phase two of the Business and Technology center … and another venue in the new Science Building.

Also … the Campus Bookstore will soon be completely renovated, with construction to begin in January 2008 and be completed by May 2008. The new floor plan is more customer friendly and includes expanded retail areas … an area specifically devoted to faculty authors … and some comfortable seating areas for reading. The store will remain open throughout the renovations.

Based on a competitive review process, the university this summer renewed its contracts with both Aramark and Barnes and Noble.

Our commitment to people is also reflected in our continuing “Healthy You” program. This past academic year, 22 percent of our employees participated in at least one “Healthy You” activity. Almost 200 employees earned rewards.

Our goal this year is even greater participation … so I hope more of you will make your health and wellness a personal priority and take advantage of this life-changing – and potentially life-saving – program.

A strong and successful intercollegiate athletics program is another key component in our success … and colonel followers have many reasons for pride and excitement. For the fourth consecutive year and a league-leading 14th time overall, EKU has earned the Ohio Valley Conference men’s all-sports trophy, awarded for comprehensive excellence in all sports.

Also … five of our programs -- men’s and women’s golf, baseball, women’s basketball and football -- exceeded the national average in the ncaa’s academic progress rate report, which measures eligibility and retention of scholarship student-athletes. Four of those programs – baseball, football, and men’s and women’s golf – led all division one institutions in Kentucky and the other placed second.

Another exciting season of colonel football is only a little more than two weeks away. I know you’ll want to join us when we invade Commonwealth Stadium on Saturday, September 1st for a game against the University of Kentucky. The game begins at 6 p.m. … and there’s a special alumni and friends tailgate event from 4 to 5.

Our men’s basketball team, fresh off its post-season success, is playing an ambitious schedule that includes a road game at Duke University on November 25th. We host our biggest in-state rival, Western Kentucky University on Saturday, December 8th.

You can find all the athletics schedules at ekusports.com.

As we wind down this morning … I want to remind you that tomorrow, we will begin to welcome almost two thousand new students to our residence halls. I know many of you have already signed up to help with “move-in day” activities.

And, if you have not yet done so, I encourage you to contact the housing office to see how you might still be of assistance. This is a great opportunity for our EKU family to put our best foot forward in welcoming our new students.

I want you to know that I appreciate all your efforts to help our new students get off to a good start in their new surroundings. Every year, we receive many positive comments from students and parents who are impressed by the campus-wide effort to meet their needs from the minute they arrive on campus.

I appreciate your patience as we devote several parking lots on Thursday, August 16th, to the purpose of moving in our students. Lots reserved solely for move-in day on thursday only are Commonwealth … Martin/Combs/ … Mattox … Student Services Building … and Sullivan/Burnam.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to use the Alumni Coliseum, Ashland, Lancaster Avenue, and new Brockton Lots tomorrow. Also, the City of Richmond parking lot on Crabbe Street will be available free of charge Thursday to Eastern employees. Shuttle service will be available from 7:30 to 6 p.m. with pick-up points at the Ashland, Alumni Coliseum and the new Brockton lots.

And, speaking of our shuttle service … if you haven’t seen them already, you’ll soon be seeing our new, colorfully designed shuttle buses around campus. The shuttles are marked with the new “driven by EKU Pride Colonel logo,” as designed by EKU student Sara Spurr.

I also want to alert you to a space inventory taking place campus-wide in the event you see some Eastern employees taking measurements in your offices.

The inventory is being conducted at this time for several reasons. First, we are required to report our space to the CPE. Secondly, such a report will be a valuable component of our emergency preparedness. And, lastly, we’ll soon be implementing university-wide scheduling software.

For many of our staff members, your personal space may soon include a new desktop computer. Much like the faculty laptop program initiated last year, a one-million-dollar fund balance has now been set aside to begin replacing desktop computers for staff. This one-million-dollar investment is the first step to a three-year replacement cycle for all staff computers. More information on this will be announced soon.

As part of my closing, I want to share with you a brief video. I first saw this at the National School Boards Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco in April and then again at the International Center for Leadership in Education’s Model Schools Conference last month in Washington. If you have seen it already, I apologize, but I think it has a message that adds urgency to the task before us.

<did you know video>

I think this video has significant implications for what our job is at Eastern. I know we have a vision, mission, and goals in our strategic plan, and I had a major hand in developing that plan’s first iteration in 2003. But I submit to you that we also have a two-part job …the second piece of which I have borrowed from a public school district. I would suggest that our two-fold job is “to build better lives and to prepare our students for a world that does not yet exist.”

To do that, we must love what we do. I would add that we should love Eastern, and rejoice in being here. I think we should love Eastern as a parent loves a child . . . With care and nurture and aspiration. I think we should love Eastern as a child loves a parent . . .with respect and honor, but with the inner thought that when it is our turn that we will do better. I will admit to you that I love Eastern, and when my service in the presidency is finished, if I have helped more of you love her too, then I will have done my job.

Thank you.