Friday, February 3, 2006
Lenhart Grand Ballroom, Bowen-Thompson Student Union
Bowling Green State University

State of the University Address Transcript
February 3, 2006
( To download in PDF format, click here)

Welcome and Special Acknowledgements

Good morning, and thank you for joining me this morning as I take this opportunity to reflect on the state of our university.

Before I begin my comments this morning, I would like to welcome any special guests including visiting alumni/ae, community members, and other friends of the university who may be with us today.

Part I -   The Changing Higher Education Landscape

This morning I want to begin my remarks with an overview of the changing higher education landscape, both here in Ohio, and throughout the nation. As many of you are aware, this year I am serving as the chair of the Inter-University Council of Presidents (IUC), which is a voluntary association of the presidents of Ohio's public four-year universities. As chair of the IUC group of presidents, it is my role to represent the state's public universities on various legislative committees, as well as with various committees of the Ohio Board of Regents.

In the fall, during my Opening Day Convocation address, I reported that I would be serving this year on a legislative committee chaired by Representative Shawn Webster (R-Millville). This legislative committee, known as the Higher Education Funding Study Council (HEFSC) has been meeting regularly in Columbus throughout the fall and winter, and will be making recommendations in May of this year for possible revisions to how the state allocates state share of instruction (SSI) for higher education in Ohio.

Let me take a few minutes to provide you with an overview of some of the discussions that are underway by the Higher Education Study Funding Council, the Ohio Board of Regents, and others, on possible revisions to the funding formula/ae for the state share of instruction (SSI) as well as other allocations.

There are a number of draft proposals on the table, and each of the proposed changes will have consequences for BGSU as well as for our sister institutions of higher education throughout the state. It is important that we understand the implications of these potential changes for future funding of Ohio's unique and distinctive institutions.

As I indicated above, there are a number of draft proposals on the table, including, but not limited to the following:

1. Enrollment Growth Funding, "RO E I."    A proposal is on the table by the university presidents for the state to increase funding levels to support enrollment growth. As I have noted in previous presentations, state funding has not kept up with enrollment growth on the state's four-year university campuses. At the present time, we have approximately the equivalent of 50,000 unfunded students enrolled on university campuses throughout the state. This number is about the size of the student body at The Ohio State University, a staggering number of unfunded students in our higher education system.

On our own campus, many of you are aware that our enrollment has been growing. This academic year, in the fall of 2005, we enrolled the third highest cohort of freshmen and transfer students in our university's history (4,329 new students), with a total headcount of students on our main campus exceeding 21,000 for the first time in our history. BGSU Firelands is also experiencing record enrollment. This spring semester, our main campus experienced a 1.5 percent increase in our student enrollment over last spring, with BGSU Firelands experiencing a 5 percent increase.

As the state increasingly calls upon the state's public universities to increase access and enrollment, it is critical that the state fully fund enrollment.

The Inter-University Council of Presidents (IUC) has developed a proposal known as "RO E I," Return on Educational Investment. The RO E I initiative is a proposed compact between higher education and the state to increase the college-going rate of Ohioans by 180,000 students by 2015, as called for in the "CHEE" report, the Commission on Higher Education and the Economy. In exchange for enrollment growth funding, universities will be held accountability increasing access, as well as graduation rates on our campuses.

2. "Invest in Success" Initiative . Many of you may have read in the newspaper recently that Senator Randy Gardner, from our district, along with Senator Joy Padgett (R-Coshocton) have developed a proposal that would increase funding and provide incentives based on course completion and graduation success. This plan supports the goals of the Return on Educational Investment (RO E I), but calls for measurable outcomes in terms of greater enrollments, course completion, and graduation rates.

3. Incentives for STEM Programs. Another proposal that is on the table and has broad support among state legislators is the allocation of state funding in a manner that would encourage and support programs in STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). It is not clear if new funding incentives will be developed for STEM programs or if existing funds will be reallocated to provide greater support to STEM programs in our state. It should be noted that proposals for increases in STEM funding also include proposals to increase funding for teacher education programs in science and mathematics.

4. Challenge-Based Funding. Other proposals on the table include a number of challenge-based funding categories that would provide incentives for increasing access, success rates, and external grants and research; for example the Access Challenge, Success Challenge, Research Challenge, as well as the soon to be implemented Economic Growth Challenge.

5. Campus Productivity and Efficiency. Also on the table are proposals that would allocate funding based on campus productivity and efficiencies, both in academic and administrative areas.

6. Community College Proposals. In addition to the above proposals, the community colleges have proposed that SSI funding (state share of instruction) be revised to include allocations to associate degree programs as well as targeted certificate programs that provide workforce training to adult learners as part of their role in the state's economic development efforts. The allocation of state share of instruction to certificate programs (non-degree programs) would be a new allocation if this proposal is acted upon.

7. Student Voucher System. In addition to the above proposals, there is some discussion of establishing a student voucher system in Ohio. This would provide students with partial tuition vouchers that they would use to enroll at the institution of their choice.    

These proposals are not meant to cover all the proposals that are on the table, but merely to give you an overview of the kinds of discussions regarding state funding and potential revisions to the current formula that are currently being discussed in Columbus. The Higher Education Funding Study Council will complete its work in May of this year, and provide its recommendations to the state legislature at that time.

As you can see, there are a number of directions that may be taken as higher education leaders continue to work with legislators with the goal of reviewing - and possibly revising - state funding of public higher education in our state. As I noted earlier, the various proposals being considered - if passed - would have an impact on state funding allocations to our university.

Before I continue with my remarks, I would be remiss if I did not also mention another key factor in the changing landscape of higher education in Ohio; namely, the proposed merger of the University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio.

First of all, let me congratulate my presidential colleagues, Dr. Dan Johnson and Dr. Lloyd Jacobs, presidents of UT and MUO, respectively, for their leadership in working toward the merger of these two major institutions. Bowling Green State University has a long history of collaborating with both institutions, and we look forward to new opportunities that are afforded to our faculty and students as a result of this merger.

Last week the state Legislature began hearings on House Bill 478 that will establish the new combined entity - the new University of Toledo - to be effective July 1, 2006, if passed.

The new state university, the new University of Toledo, will then be the third largest public university in Ohio, in terms of budget and research funding, following The Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati.

We look forward to continued collaborations and partnerships with the new University of Toledo, and I believe firmly that BGSU faculty and students will benefit tremendously from new partnerships and opportunities as the new UT develops new and innovative academic programs and curricula as a result of this merger.

On the national front, it is clear from the President's State of the Union address that he gave earlier this week, that enhanced funding for science and math education, as well as research in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is critical to the competitiveness of our nation. As part of his American Competitiveness Initiative, the President announced that he will call upon Congress to pass legislation that would provide significant increases in basic research funding over the next ten years, as well as funding to prepare 30,000 new math and science teachers, and provide additional training to 70,000 current teachers in the area of math and science education.

In addition, at the national level, the U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spelling, has established a Commission on the Future of Higher Education to address issues related to assessment and accountability of the nation's public colleges and universities, with recommendations to be made to the President in the summer of 2006.

As we enter the campaign period for the fall 2006 mid-term elections, we can also anticipate that additional discussions of higher education and accountability measures will heat up as the campaigning begins on both the federal and state levels, particularly in Ohio as the gubernatorial campaign begins later this spring.

The higher education landscape is, indeed, changing, and it is critical that we remain aware of the changes taking place all around us - and that we position ourselves so that we not only survive, but thrive , in the new higher education environment.

Part II:

The Distinctive Mission of Bowling Green State University

That brings me to the second part of my comments this morning - which is the importance of focusing on our strengths - on our distinct mission at Bowling Green State University - so that we not only survive, but thrive, in the challenging and ever-changing landscape of higher education in our state and nation.

Ten years ago this spring semester, in the spring of 1996, faculty, staff, students and administrators worked together to create a mission and vision statement for BGSU that reflected our strengths, priorities, goals and aspirations. The short form of that mission and vision statement reads as follows:

Bowling Green State University aspires to be the premier learning community in Ohio, and one of the best in the nation.

When we established our vision for BGSU to become the premier learning community in Ohio, and one of the best in the nation, there were many who believed that this vision was too bold, that it would remain merely a vision, that it would be something impossible for our university to achieve.

And yet this year, for the third consecutive year in a row, the U.S. News and World Report cited BGSU as one of the best schools in the nation for our exceptional learning communities.

In addition, this year, for the first time, our first-year student success programs also received a citation by U.S. News and World Report, as being one of the best schools in the nation for the quality of the first-year programs we provide our students, including the BGeXperience program (BGeX).

We also have recently garnered the attention of the national Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). AASCU leaders have expressed great interest in learning more about the success of our learning communities, first-year programs, and BGeX. I believe that our university is at the forefront in creating a model of innovative and high quality undergraduate education in Ohio and across the nation.

Throughout the state and across the nation we are now recognized as a model for successful learning communities and for the innovative undergraduate education we provide our students. In addition, our emphasis on engaging the whole student in the learning process, our emphasis on engaged and active learning, and our commitment to diversity are key areas that distinguish the BGSU learning community.

I commented earlier on the record enrollment that BGSU is experiencing on both our main campus and on the Firelands' campus, and how important it is that we provide increased access to higher education for Ohioans throughout the state.

Increased enrollment is critical to the state's access initiative, however when we talk about enrollment, we should also be clear that we are emphasizing both recruitment and retention. As we make a commitment to increase access to higher education for qualified students in our state, we also have to ensure that we are committed to "true" access,

real access ; that is, we need to provide the academic support and other services that are designed to ensure that the students we recruit are retained through to graduation.

Eleven years ago, when I began my tenure as president of BGSU (in 1995), I noted that the student retention rate had slipped from 82 percent in 1985 to 75.6 percent in 1995. As a result of our emphasis on learning communities, first-year student success programs, and a number of other academic and support services, we were able to stop the downward spiral and make considerable progress in improving our retention rates among our students.

Last year (2004-05), our student retention rate was 79.1 percent, which is the highest it has been in the last twelve years. This, I believe, is a significant achievement, and is indicative that our investment in learning communities and first-year programs is paying off.

In fact, recent data indicates that the average retention rate of students who participate in one or more of our first-year program initiatives is 83.1 percent, compared to a 63.8 percent retention rate for students who do not participate in any of our first-year program initiatives.

This data provides strong evidence that our first-year student success programs, including BGeX and our learning community programs, are critical to the success of improving student retention rates at BGSU.

Across the nation, surveys of undergraduates show high levels of academic disengagement among students. At Bowling Green State University, it is our mission and vision to turn the tide and create a learning community where students are engaged and participate as active members in their own learning. This is our distinctive mission and vision, and BGSU has now received national recognition for our achievements in this area, indicating that we are making excellent progress with regard to this critical issue in undergraduate education.

In addition to innovative undergraduate education, our mission and vision statement notes that we will support our vision by:

• focused master's and specialist degrees, and a select number of nationally recognized doctoral programs;

as well as,

• Academically challenging teaching, fully connected research and public service.

As we work together to identify our core strengths, it is also critical that we identify our strengths in the area of selective graduate programs and scholarly research in both basic and applied areas.

In the area of faculty scholarship, over the last ten years we have worked hard to recognize and reward the scholarship of teaching and learning as part of our distinct mission at BGSU. At BGSU, over the last ten years, we have made concerted efforts across the university to focus on student learning outcomes as the key ingredient in the scholarship of teaching.

The scholarship of discovery and the scholarship of application are also critical components of our mission at BGSU. Our faculty are engaged in basic research that involves inquiry and the discovery of new knowledge, and increasingly we are securing significant external grants and contracts that support our mission in this area.

This year, for example, we were successful in securing approximately $5.2 million in federal earmarks for six faculty research projects, including several projects that involve collaborations with the University of Toledo, MUO, other Ohio universities, as well as the Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

Federal earmarks this year will provide support for two projects involving the Center for Photochemical Sciences ($ 1 million each); a research project that involves monitoring Lake Erie water quality ($500,000); faculty involved in research related to the environmental and health impacts of sewage sludge ($1 million); a project related to a university transportation center, with the University of Toledo ($500,000); and a wind power energy project at BGSU Firelands ($1.1 million).

Congratulations to Dean Buhlman, and the faculty involved in securing these federal earmarks to fund these basic and applied research projects that will undoubtedly provide great benefits to both the economy and quality of life of our state and nation.

You will also recall that in the fall of 2004, I challenged the Provost and Dean Buhlman to increase external grants and contracts at BGSU over the next two-to-three years. I am pleased to report that so far, this year, we are currently $2 million ahead of where we were at this time last year, in relation to the amount of external grants and contracts secured by our university.

This is a significant accomplishment, however we must do more in this area. Our faculty have significant scholarly research agendas, in both basic and applied areas, and we need to do more to secure external funding in support of these initiatives.

Other external research funds received during the last year include a $1.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for the Center for Family and Demographic Research. Congratulations to Dr. Wendy Manning and her colleagues on this achievement. This is a great honor, given that the NIH supports only 15 population centers in the nation, which is a strong statement of the significant work that Dr. Manning and her colleagues are producing.

In addition, this year BGSU received a second federal grant of approximately $4 million for our GEAR UP program that involves BGSU faculty working with students, teachers, parents and community members to prepare students in Toledo for college readiness. State test results indicate that Toledo's Waite High School climbed three rungs on Ohio's ladder of school district rankings, rising from the lowest level (academic emergency) to the next-to-highest level (effective) in just two years. This is a major accomplishment and the work of our faculty contributed significantly to this achievement.

Congratulations to Dr. Bill Armaline and Dr. Kathy Farber for their leadership on this project, and to the other university faculty who are participating in this initiative.

I also want to acknowledge several of our faculty who have recently received distinguished national recognition for their scholarly work, including Dr. Cindy Miglietti, now the fourth member of the BGSU Firelands' faculty to receive a Fulbright award. This is an impressive record for our Firelands' campus, given the overall size of the full time faculty (49). Dr. Miglietti received a lecturing award at Silesian University in the Czech Republic from the Fulbright Scholar Program, and is working in the area of business and finance with colleagues from the Czech Republic and from around the world. Congratulations to Dr. Miglietti for receiving this prestigious award.

On the main campus, we also would like to acknowledge Dr. Dwayne Gremler, who will share his expertise in services marketing with faculty and students at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands this semester. Dr. Gremler is also a recipient of a lecturing award from the Fulbright Scholar Program.

The University of Maastricht is one of the leading centers of service marketing and management research in the world, and Dr. Gremler's collaboration with this Dutch university is sure to add significant value to his work with colleagues and students upon his return.

I also want to congratulate and welcome Dr. Fatma Assouz, a current Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence here at BGSU, from Tunisia. Welcome Dr. Assouz. We are pleased to have you with us this year.

I am told that BGSU now has approximately 31 faculty who have been Fulbright Scholars, and that this past fall we held our first ever gathering of all campus Fulbrights. This prestigious award is a significant achievement by our faculty, and national recognition of the quality of the scholarly work that our faculty undertake at our university.

I would also like to mention a prestigious national award that was recently received by Dr. Pavel Anzenbacher in the Department of Chemistry. Dr. Anzenbacher was recently awarded an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a highly competitive national award designed to identify young scholars who show the most promise of making fundamental contributions to the development of new knowledge in the sciences. Sloan Research Fellows receive $45,000 over a two-year period to be used in setting up laboratories and establishing research projects. Congratulations to Dr. Anzenbacher on being the recipient of this distinguished award.

There are many other examples of excellence in faculty scholarship in the areas of both basic and applied research, however this morning I am only able to report on a few. I would like to work on a monthly online newsletter that would allow me to report our many successes across the university to faculty, staff and students on a regular basis. This is something I am looking into.

Let me also take a moment to update you on our progress on the Scholarship of Engagement initiative on our campus. As many of you are aware, in January the Provost appointed Dr. Dan Madigan to serve as the Interim Director of Faculty Professional Development for the Scholarship of Engagement, and Dan has been working closely with the deans and department chairs to provide support and professional development as colleges and departments work on integrating the scholarship of engagement into their promotion, tenure and merit documents this semester.

I will be holding a retreat with the Provost and deans on March 23 rd to receive a progress report on how the integration process is going, so that we are sure to have this process completed by the December 2006 deadline that was established by the Board of Trustees last year.

I will say more about the scholarship of engagement and this process in an email communication to the campus community that I will be sending out later this month.

I also want to take a few moments to comment on the new initiative to support and promote undergraduate research at our university. Last year we established the Office of Undergraduate Research in order to provide structured support and focus for the involvement of undergraduates in research, working with faculty members in areas of both basic and applied research.

I am pleased to report that last year, at the first annual Spring Symposium on Undergraduate Research, in April of 2005, we had 35 undergraduate student presentations representing all six of our undergraduate colleges on the main campus.

In addition, ten students presented the results of their research at the prestigious National Conference on Undergraduate Research in May of last year. Student research projects involved students from many majors, including Tasha Perdue, a criminal justice major, who worked with Dr. Jeff Holcomb to research female homelessness in Northwest Ohio.

We also have the example of one of our undergraduate students, Ashley Fortress, who conducted experiments with Dr. Kevin Pang in psychology, on the effects of exercise on the production of new neurons in the brains of mice. Ashley notes that engaging in undergraduate research changed her life. As an undergraduate, she had the opportunity to present her work to leading neuroscientists and researchers at an international conference. This experience, she states, has opened up new avenues of inquiry and engagement which have contributed immensely to her intellectual and academic growth.

Another highlight of undergraduate research at BGSU is the example of Katie Guldenschuh, a native of Toledo. Katie came to BGSU in 2001. In addition to her involvement in Air Force ROTC, she declared a major in mathematics and developed a strong interest in astronomy, which became her minor. During the course of her studies, Katie became intrigued with several questions that her textbooks didn't answer. As Dean Nieman describes it, she developed a research question. Working under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Layden, Katie began research on unexplored parts of our galaxy. Using data generated by the Hubbell Space Telescope, Katie became the first investigator to identify variable stars in Globular Cluster NGC 6496.

Because her research illuminated significant questions in modern astronomy, she was able to present the results of her investigations at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society. Katie's original research, along with her outstanding academic record, resulted in her being the recipient of a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship in 2004. Katie was one of only 300 recipients selected from among over 3,000 highly qualified nominees.

Katie graduated in May of last year, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, where she will serve in the science division. Her long term goal is to pursue advanced study in astrophysics, an endeavor for which her BGSU education has prepared her well.

I also want to highlight the achievement of Kisma Jordan, a second year master's candidate and soprano in the College of Musical Arts. Last fall, Ms. Jordan was personally invited by famed opera singer Marilyn Horne to participate in her master class last week at New York's Carnegie Hall. One of only six student singers selected to work with Ms. Horne that evening, Kisma's "shimmering soprano voice" was singled out for recognition by the New York Times last Friday. Congratulations to Kisma Jordan for this exceptional achievement.

And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the 14-foot trophy that is on display on the main floor of McFall Center, brought home by BGSU's Forensic team, as a result of their winning the Team Sweepstakes at the annual Mad Hatter Tournament at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania last November. The annual Mad Hatter Tournament is one of the top competitions in the world of forensics, which includes speech debate and competitive performance.

I encourage you to stop by and see this 14-foot trophy for yourself. It is a tradition that the winning team will display this trophy in either the Provost's or the President's office of their university. Former winning teams include Cornell University, George Mason, St. Joseph's and Akron. It gives me great pleasure to display this trophy in McFall Center, knowing that in recent years it was displayed in the president's office at Cornell and the other universities listed. Congratulations to the BGSU Forensic team and the faculty and staff who also share in this award.

In addition to scholarly research and creative activity by our faculty and students, I would also like to highlight a number of community service initiatives that recently involved a number of our students and staff.

Last month, in December, during the winter break, a group of 52 BGSU students, along with four staff members, traveled to Mobile, Alabama to help residents still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Instead of heading home after finals, these students boarded a bus and gave up a week of their holiday break to remove debris and mud from damaged homes, distribute toys, and build a home with Habitat for Humanity.

This is an outstanding example of student community service and engagement, and congratulations to the staff in the Office of Campus Involvement who organized this event.

The university's efforts to provide assistance to the victims of Hurricane Katrina over the last year have been tremendous. Last fall, Classified Staff Council and Administrative Staff Council led a fundraising drive to benefit the victims of Hurricane Katrina - and faculty on our campus volunteered to teach online courses for displaced students through the Sloan Semester program.

There was a tremendous outpouring of support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina on our campus over the past year, and we should be proud of the efforts of our faculty, staff and students for their commitment to community service on behalf of others who are in need.

In addition to these efforts, last fall, in December, faculty from our campus organized a symposium on "Surviving Katrina" and invited sociology faculty from Tulane and Loyola (at New Orlean) universities to discuss issues related to poverty, race and class in New Orleans, issues that became glaring to an entire nation as we watched the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans' poorest and most disenfranchised residents.

Congratulations to Dr. Laura Sanchez and the Center for Family and Demographic Research for sponsoring this symposium.

Closer to home, I would like to recognize the hard work of faculty, staff and students at BGSU who are involved in the Wood County AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps volunteers will be working in nonprofit and state agencies throughout Wood County, and BGSU is a key partner in organizing and directing this effort. Congratulations on your hard work and efforts to partner with Wood County to bring the AmeriCorps program to our region.

Another community engagement initiative that I would like to mention this morning involves students in the Gerontology Program in the College of Health and Human Services. Students from this program are engaged in a collaborative effort to assist Wood County seniors with the enrollment process for Medicare, and are partnering with the Wood County Committee on Aging and the Wood County Department of Job and Family Services.

At the present time, Jeff Gow, a BGSU student intern, is working with seniors to facilitate the enrollment process, while an additional 26 students in the program are receiving training so that they will also be able to provide this service.

Congratulations to Professor Nancy Orel in the College of Health and Human Services for directing this collaborative effort on behalf of our university and students.

And finally, I would like to comment on BGSU students who are involved in international engagement initiatives. As many of you know, one of the hallmarks of the College of Technology is their cooperative education program, and last summer students from the College of Technology traveled to Kenya to work on two humanitarian construction projects, building a health clinic and an orphanage. This program was organized in conjunction with Professor Travis Chapin's Fulbright award last year in Kenya. This is an excellent example of international engagement and providing our students with exceptional learning opportunities abroad.

Congratulations to the College of Technology for your continued efforts to provide quality and innovative co-op experiences for your students, and your leadership in taking the initiative to further internationalize our university community.

Finally, in my remarks today, I would like to announce that BGSU's centennial campaign, "Building Dreams," is making excellent progress toward our fund-raising goal of $120 million. So far, we have raised 76 percent of our target goal, for a total of $91 million, as of December 31, 2005. We are now in the 42 nd month of a 78-month campaign.  

To date we have raised approximately $29.3 million for 309 endowed scholarships for our students; $20.2 million for programs and facilities - including gifts for the Dallas Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Sebo Athletic Center, and the Wolfe Center for the Arts. In addition, we have received approximately $3.9 million to support six new endowed professorships, as well as $2.3 million in support of the BGeXperience program at BGSU.

Congratulations to Vice President Doug Smith, Marcia Latta, Director of Development, and the many faculty, staff, administrators, alumni/ae and friends of the university who have participated - and continue to participate - in the Building Dreams centennial campaign.

In closing, let me say that it is clear that Bowling Green State University is a distinct university - and a distinguished university - that prides itself on creating lasting learning experiences for our students. To be a premier learning community - as we aspire to in our mission statement - is to be a university that promotes intellectual engagement and active participation of all our students, both on- campus and off.

At Bowling Green State University, I have said this before and I will say it again, we are not only graduating the next generation of teachers, business leaders, health care and other professionals, but we are also graduating the next generation of socially responsible citizens.  

This is the state of our university. We are on the right track, and we are on target to continue to grow in our aspirations to be the premier learning community in Ohio, and one of the best in the nation.

I look forward to working with all of our faculty, staff and students over the next few months and the years ahead as we continue to reach for, and achieve , new levels of excellence - and as we continue to further refine and focus on our distinctive mission at BGSU.

The higher education landscape is changing throughout our region, state, and across the nation, however if we remain focused on our mission and vision, I believe that Bowling Green State University will be well-poised to meet the challenges that lie ahead.

Thank you, and have an excellent spring semester.