August 22, 2008

Bowling Green State University

Dr. Carol A. Cartwright, Interim President

Introduction

Good morning - This is a wonderful way to mark “Opening Day” for the 2008 – 2009 academic year at Bowling Green State University. Thank you for being here, and thanks to everyone watching on closed circuit TV at BGSU Firelands ... at least I hope they are watching. Is Michael Phelps swimming this morning?

Before I begin I would like to acknowledge the trustees who are here this morning. John Harbal, Mike Marsh, Fran Voll and his wife, Marty, Daniel Jacoby and Antwan Jones.

Singing the National Anthem was a new instructor in the College of Musical Arts, Sean Cooper. Thank you Sean.

 Let’s also thank the Faculty Jazz Quartet. Jeff Halsey, Chris Buzzelli, Roger Schupp and David Bixler.

And thanks to our signers today from “DEAFinitely It” in Toledo.

Thank you all for joining us.

I am honored to serve as President of BGSU for an interim term. I have the highest regard for Bowling Green and its tradition of providing strong academic programs and producing successful graduates. Our mission states we are “a premier learning community,” and I am looking forward to working with our community to move the University forward. I have been on campus for just over a month and the excitement I feel about the work we will do together continues to grow. Truly, we have tremendous opportunities ahead of us.

Every person in a leadership position builds on the success of his or her predecessors.  It is my goal today to leave you with a clear sense of my firm intention to actively build on the legacy of those who came before me.

This is a time in our history when we must be prepared for the endless opportunities that are ahead of us. My commitment to you is that we will not miss a beat.

One of the things I want you to know is that I welcome and encourage communication from the University community. Listening to you is an important part of my job. I don’t mind making big decisions, but I welcome the input. In fact, your engagement is essential in reaching the best decisions.

As I was planning to arrive and get started in my new academic home, I was asked to select a BGSU email address. I know how important email can be and I look forward to all of you being able to send me notes of encouragement and perhaps an occasional suggestion about how I could do my job better. However, I soon learned that the address I selected would direct your messages not to me, but to an incoming freshman whose last name is Cartwright. Since I don’t recall the Board giving me the power to hijack an email address, – nor would I want it – I decided it would be best if Mr. Cartwright could retain his and I would choose another. So take care in typing my email address, or one of our new students will be quite puzzled about what’s in his inbox!

It has been a busy few weeks for me. Even before my official starting date, I began a series of meetings with University leaders, so I could get up to speed quickly. I thought about how I could best visualize what I have been doing the past few weeks. There it is – 0 to 300 in about 4.5 seconds – that’s what it felt like. Of course, I have not yet reached the finish line. It has been an exciting time, to be sure.

Over the next few minutes I will talk briefly about how the past presidents of Bowling Green State University have set the stage for our future success.

Then, I will discuss my views on the pressing work that is before us over the next few months.

That will lead us to how we will prepare for the future. 

Honoring the Legacy of BGSU

The University has had 11 presidents since opening its doors as the Bowling Green State Normal School in 1910. Many of their names are familiar to you. They are etched in stone on the buildings of our campus. Each president has provided the critical leadership that was needed to connect Bowling Green to the next logical step in its evolution. The success of the BGSU of 2008 is due in large part to the insight, wisdom and courage of its past presidents.

An outstanding example is the most recent tenure of Dr. Sidney Ribeau, president from 1995 until just a few weeks ago. I am proud to say that, while at Kent State, I had the pleasure of knowing and working with Sidney. He is a widely known and respected academic leader.

His accomplishments here over the past 13 years helped to create opportunities and position the University for even greater success in the future.

He was recognized nationally for his work in establishing residential learning communities, encouraging values-based education and promoting pioneering graduate programs.

The University saw record enrollment during his time here. BGSU Firelands also enjoyed the highest enrollment in its history.

He forged a unique connection to our students. His is a legacy of access and leadership. He worked hard to provide opportunities to students who may not have believed they would ever experience the benefits of a University education.

There were many milestones in the history of Bowling Green while Sidney Ribeau was president.

The Bowen-Thompson Student Union, and the Sebo Athletic Center were both built under his watch.

The women’s basketball team won three MAC championships and played in the NCAA tournament, making the Sweet 16. The football team won the Motor City Bowl and the GMAC bowl.

And, the biggest single gift in University history – $8 million – was received from Kermit, and the late Mary Lu Stroh, for the Stroh Center.

It truly was a significant time in the history of Bowling Green State University.

As president, Sidney Ribeau was a strong advocate for the BG Experience – helping students build a foundation of academic skills and values to make their dreams a reality. So it was fitting that he was also a key player in the highly successful Centennial Campaign called  … Building Dreams.

Come to think of it, “highly successful” doesn’t quite do it justice. Let’s call it “wildly successful.” With just under five months remaining in the campaign, the goal of $120 million has been surpassed. More than $135.5 million dollars has been pledged, as of the end of July.

Even more impressive is the breakdown of just where the commitments are coming from.

More than 50 thousand individual contributors have made gifts and pledges during the campaign. That number alone indicates an unprecedented broad level of support for the University.

Our alumni clearly appreciate the experience they had here. Nearly 30 thousand Bowling Green graduates have contributed nearly $73 million.

The Centennial Campaign will provide support for a long list of University programs, services and facilities. The largest goal, more than $35 million for scholarships, has been surpassed. $40 million has been raised so far. It is critically important to continue this remarkable performance through the end of the year. Almost 36 percent of Bowling Green freshman in 2007 were first generation college students. Many are holding part- or full-time jobs to pay for their education. They need and deserve all the help that privately funded scholarships provide.

During this campaign, there have been 28 seven-figure gifts – an incredible milestone.

The National Campaign Steering Committee and the University’s Development Department should be congratulated for an amazing job – and it’s not over yet!

Today at BGSU

In preparing for this leadership role I noted that we will soon have a birthday to celebrate. 2010 will mark our centennial year.   Plans are already underway to determine the best way to commemorate this important milestone. It is still early to talk about details, but I can tell you that the Bowling Green Centennial will be observed across the main campus and on the BGSU Firelands campus. And, since Kent State was founded the same year, we are also looking at ways we can mark our anniversaries together. As you can see, the theme will be “A Legacy of Excellence – A Future Without Limits.” There will be a broad reaching and inclusive effort to involve a diverse representation of the University community in the planning process. We’re looking forward to your input and participation.

And, even before the Centennial, we will be marking another important milestone when BGSU Firelands celebrates its 40th anniversary in September.

Also at the top of the University agenda is the presidential search. Selecting a new leader is a critically important task. I think it is also a very special opportunity.

Think about it. During the academic year, our community will work together to attract a dynamic leader to guide this great University. This is another in a long series of defining moments for Bowling Green.

And it is just one more reason I consider my role as president during this interim period, vitally important. We have a fundamental responsibility to ensure that BGSU does not mark time while looking for a president. I think you will agree that slowing down now would be the wrong approach. The stakes are too high. We need to keep moving forward, and in some cases we need to move quickly.

The issues in higher education are coming fast in Ohio. Expectations for us are changing and we must be proactive and we must be responsive.

This is a responsibility we all share. We all have important roles to play during this historic time.  

I would like to acknowledge the members of the Presidential Search Committee. I know some of them are with us this morning and I am going to ask them to stand and be recognized.

Preparing for the Future at BGSU

Next, I want to spend a few minutes talking about some important topics that must be at the top of our agenda as we sharpen our focus on what it will take to elevate BGSU to new and higher levels of excellence in the future.

Let’s start with the new relationship we have with the Governor, the Chancellor and the Ohio Board of Regents.

By now, most of you are aware that we are in the early stages of a 10-year strategic plan designed to make Ohio more competitive in the nation and around the world. The goals are straightforward:

Graduate more students.

Keep more of our graduates in Ohio.

Attract more degree holders from out of state.

For the most part we are already focused on these goals and doing well. We just graduated the largest entering class in the history of the University. At the spring and summer commencements, more than 3,600 graduates entered the workforce, or transitioned to graduate education with a high quality BGSU degree and the values they need to hit the ground running.

In an effort to maximize resources, the Board of Regents wants to work with us to leverage the unique strengths of each institution, leading to the establishment of Centers of Excellence. Each university will be responsible for nominating and approving its own recommendations for Centers of Excellence by June of next year. We will be broadening the Centers of Excellence nominating process and will be soliciting input, well in advance of the deadline. 

At this point in time we have identified: the arts; educator preparation with emphasis on school and community engagement; leading, managing and creating effective organizations; health and wellness across the lifespan; and environment and sustainability.

In addition, all of the public universities and community colleges in Ohio will be measured on 20 areas of accountability. They are divided among four overall goals:

Access

Quality

Affordability and Efficiency

Economic Leadership

These are already strong areas for BGSU.

Access – We do well at making our programs attractive and available to the broadest possible group of students. More than 35-hundred of our students this fall are over the age of 25. And, as I mentioned earlier, more than a third of our incoming freshman class last year was made up of first generation college students. That figure is consistent with freshman classes over the past decade.

Quality – BGSU has long exceeded the expected graduation rate based on its student population, and has been cited in US News and other national publications. Quality is found in academic programs where basic & applied research intersect and undergraduate students benefit.  This summer, a NASA scientist joined BGSU geology undergraduates in their field course in Colorado with Drs. Peg Yacobucci and Jeff Snyder. In preparing for its next trip to the moon, in 2020, and to Mars, in 2030, the space agency is interested in learning the digital mapping technique BGSU students are already using.

The Building Dreams Centennial Campaign has provided a significant boost to our endowments. The number and amount of scholarship funds has increased dramatically.

Efficiency - BGSU is continually looking for new ways to save money and streamline operations – and we’ve had considerable success. For example, by renegotiating our vendor contract for pharmaceutical supplies, we saved almost $167- thousand.

Economic Leadership - BG has traditionally done a good job of connecting what we do well with what the business community needs.

The Wood County Educational Services Center and Argo-Hytos, an international hydraulic filtration company, have already purchased land at our 55-acre research enterprise park east of the main campus.

We’re also working on a project to install an experimental wind turbine on the BGSU Firelands campus. And Drs. Phil Castellano and Pavel Anzenbacher at the Center for Photochemical Sciences are researching the next generation of photovoltaic materials that convert sunlight to energy. The research is in conjunction with the University of Toledo.

Our faculty and our economic development team are building on our long history of engaging BGSU in the “world of work.”

The Dallas-Hamilton Center is also doing a great job of connecting the business and entrepreneurial communities with entrepreneurship students and faculty at BGSU.

Over the next 10 years, all of Ohio’s public universities will transition to a new funding model. State support will not be based solely on the number of students enrolled, as has been the case in the past. Instead, a percentage of our state funding will be linked to how well we are doing against the areas of accountability established by the Chancellor.

In my judgment, nothing about this system should cause us deep concern because the state’s expectations are not unreasonable. It’s all about alignment and the best use of resources. We need to coordinate with our partners in business and higher education to achieve these important outcomes.

For example, BG associate professor Dr. Moira van Staaden is working with a colleague from Owens Community College on a plan to double the number of college graduates in the sciences. A shortage is expected because of an aging workforce in STEM fields. (science, technology, engineering, math).

We will participate actively in Ohio’s Strategic Plan for Higher Education. I assure you that we will stand up for issues that are important to us, when they arise. And, as in any transition, there may be occasional frustrations. But I am confident we will be capable of managing whatever comes our way.

We cannot succeed alone. We will be active in the dialogue at the state level. We will adapt.  And we will do our best to keep BGSU aligned with the new reality for higher education in the State of Ohio.  

Our Faculty is the Bridge to our Future

 The Bowling Green faculty plays a central role in our University’s ability to excel in the future. The faculty helped us build the strong foundation on which we stand today, and I am confident they will see and embrace our new opportunities.

With strong programs and an engaged faculty, we have a great many points of pride. I would like to share some examples.

Dr. Nancy Orel is associate professor and director of the gerontology program. She was recently recognized by the Ohio Department of Health for her pioneering work in HIV education and prevention. Her program is focused on adults in middle and later adulthood – a demographic that has not received much attention in broader HIV/AIDS awareness efforts. Her work was the subject of an article in the Los Angeles Times and in Medical News, a journal of the American Medical Association. Her research has appeared in more than 200 publications which helps build our global reputation.

A film by theatre and film professor Daniel Williams was recently screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival and will be shown in New York at the Urbanwood Festival in September. The film, “Cigarettes for Breakfast,” chronicles the life of an aspiring writer in a series of destructive relationships. Daniel wrote and directed and edited the film.  He was also recently recognized for his short film, “No Faces,” which was produced with the involvement of students from the Department of Film at BGSU.

Dr. Cindy Miglietti, an accounting faculty member at BGSU Firelands was chosen for a Fulbright Lecturing Award in the Czech Republic. She lectured on business topics, assisted with curriculum development and collaborated with faculty at the Silesian University. This provided another prime opportunity to strengthen our image around the world.

The dramatic shifts in patterns of marriage and childbearing are being researched by Drs. Wendy Manning and Susan Brown, co-directors of the new Center for Marriage Research at BGSU. They will examine leading practices in marriage education and help set the stage for the next generation of marriage scholars. Families are becoming increasingly complex and Drs. Brown and Manning will – with the help of four other BG researchers – determine the impact these new and diverse living arrangements have on our society.  Once again Bowling Green will drive the national dialogue of a vital social issue.

Obviously, this is a small sample of our “star scholars” at BGSU. However, they are excellent examples of contributions being made today. I believe they also embody the key principals that should be embraced by us all – mentoring, training and preparing the next generation  – creating a bridge to the future.

I would like to take a moment to welcome all of the new faculty members who are with us this morning. If you are just beginning your Bowling Green career this fall would you please stand?

And this is a good time to recognize our new staff members. Would you please stand also?

Our new faculty and new staff members, thank you and welcome to BGSU.

Enrollment

At the core of our mission is to provide a strong academic experience that attracts bright, articulate and engaged students from around the world – students with depth and character.  And then we need to provide the programs, services and support so those students become graduates. It is the very function of our institution. In addition, financial support is driven by a robust undergraduate enrollment. That brings us to recruiting and retention, two closely linked issues.

Clearly, this is an area of great transition in higher education today. Everyone is feeling the changes that are being driven by a major shift in demographics, in our region and across the country.  As our fall enrollment will demonstrate, our recruitment efforts are slightly out-of-sync with these shifts.

A quick example. The Cleveland area has traditionally been one of the key areas of focus for our recruiting. While we will always be attractive to students from that area, the demographic reality is that Northeast Ohio is just not a current growth area.  Each passing year produces fewer and fewer potential students for Bowling Green.

We have retained the assistance of the nation’s leading enrollment management specialists to help guide our internal discussion and ensure that our efforts are headed in the right direction.  They will help us see new opportunities and new ways of sharing the excitement of a BG education. This is one of those areas where we may have done well in the past, but we need to adapt to the changing situation.

In the end it will come down to some fundamental questions that we will need to answer: What kind of students do we want? Where will they come from? How will we attract them? How will we support their success?

What kind of students do we want? One of our Alumni Laureate Scholars, Danielle Champney is a good example. She graduated in May, a year earlier than the other members of the second cohort. Danielle majored in applied mathematics and psychology. She always wanted to be a teacher, but her BG experience has convinced her to become a college professor. She’s now a doctoral student at the University of California-Berkley.

The Robert Harned Art Scholarship is just one of the many scholarships that Marcus Harris receives. Marcus is a non-traditional student at BGSU Firelands. In addition to his classes, he works 30 hours-per-week and, in his spare time, helped to start the First Book program in Erie County. The program provides books to low-income students.

Tyler Gombash is in the 2008 Alumni Laureate Scholar cohort. He comes from Pike-Delta York High School where he was class president and varsity football captain. Tyler spent some time in New Orleans helping to rebuild houses. We’re looking forward to having him on campus this fall. 

These are examples of extraordinarily intelligent and committed students, willing put in the work required to establish the foundation provided by quality college degree. They are academic standouts, they are involved in their communities, and I am certain they will be productive citizens.

We are finding that the students of 2008 and beyond are looking for new directions. They want more than a degree. They want a sense of purpose and values in their lives. We need to respond with the types of programs they want to pursue, inside the classroom and with our co-curricular partners in our own learning community and beyond. BGSU is already one of the state’s leaders in co-op learning experiences, with more than 1,400 students in co-ops and internships. The co-op program in the College of Technology is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.

Our new Centers of Excellence such as our already approved center in the arts will be beacons in attracting students and providing relevant experiences.

Who could have ever imagined that the arts would be such a major economic driver in northwest Ohio? It’s true! Research by BGSU economist Dr. Michael Carroll revealed that arts and culture industries generate more than $2.4 billion in economic activity in the 27 counties of northwest Ohio each year and create 33-thousand jobs. Arts and culture are big business here.

Another potential Center of Excellence is health and wellness across the lifespan. The compact from the College of Health and Human Services makes a strong case. By the year 2020, the number of older Americans will be increasing. People will live longer and retire later. The demand for allied health and human services professionals who deliver quality and effective services at all stages of lifespan will be higher than ever. If approved, this Center of Excellence would be prepared to provide program content to its target audiences by interactive distance education, videoconferencing and possibly by technologies we are not even aware of today.

Of course, it goes without saying that when we enroll these new students, we must provide the support and resources leading to graduation. Learning communities, the BG Experience and our strong retention advising program all contribute to our ability to keep students here and support them through graduation.

We already offer a strong student life program, incorporating learning outside the classroom, integrating curricular and co-curricular activities and creating a “seamless learning environment.  We are known for excellence and we will need to continue to enhance this area.

Our faculty must also take the lead in curriculum review – a primary and critical retention issue.  We must remain committed to best learning practices, best knowledge bases, and the foundation of a strong general education. 

Charting our Future

Doing all of these things requires a plan. I was pleased to learn that BGSU was making progress toward establishing an achievable strategic plan.  Our process is known as Charting our Future. I want to tell you about our efforts to date and ask you to get involved.  

A planning team was appointed last year to begin the work of establishing a realistic plan for BGSU.  Mel Hudson-Nowak and Bill Mathis have been serving as co-chairs with a group of 20 faculty and staff members.  Their role was not to write a new plan for our reactions. Instead, they were asked to sort through the many excellent planning documents that have been created in the past few years and find the major themes and the big ideas in those plans.  In effect, they have served as a group of committed colleagues to get the rest of us ready to plan effectively.  They have completed important background work and built a platform for all of us to use as we create the new plan. And, when I say “we”, I mean all of you and everyone else in the BGSU community. In reviewing previous planning documents, they had their eyes on the eventual goal of our need to create a unified plan that will align all areas of the University and allow us to respond to changing conditions, including the new expectations of Ohio’s Chancellor and Governor.   

As noted, we’re now ready for broader input from the entire University community.  We will begin a series of collaborative discussions to share what has been prepared and engage you in contributing.  Today, I am extending an invitation to everyone at BGSU to participate. During the week of September 8-12, you will have many opportunities to attend and participate in these discussions.   To be sure that these meetings are productive and make the best use of your time, the team has already held a “dry run” meeting. You can see highlights by visiting the Web site (on screen). Please take this invitation seriously—we need your voice and we need it now.
 
Beginning Monday, we will provide additional background information through an on-line distribution of “Nine Days of Data” through which you can dig deeper into the planning issues. Each day will focus on a different planning topic. For example, the University System of Ohio, the students of the future, and enrollment and demographic factors. Other online opportunities will be available for you to participate. 

After nine days we will all be even better prepared for the collaborative discussions.  That work will incorporate the statewide expectations I shared earlier and, most importantly, will allow for your debate on our vision, mission, values and overarching goals.  We will look carefully at your input, consult with appropriate groups and, shortly after the conclusion of all of the discussions, I will issue a statement about the results of our work.

Why have I spent so much time on this topic? There are two key reasons: We’re in a leadership transition and people want to know where we’re going; and we need to inform the presidential search process – finding the best possible leadership match with our vision, mission and values is the key to a successful search. This is our opportunity to influence the process. 

Conclusion

About three weeks ago, I met with a group of about 50 Bowling Green students at a Student Leaders’ Retreat. I was so impressed with these young men and women. That bright and engaged group made me think about how excited I am about what is ahead for us at BGSU. The beginning of a new academic year is an incredible opportunity. It’s kind of like the end of the exhibition games and the beginning of a new season in a sport. All teams are undefeated.

We need to start our season on a winning note and continue from there. I like what Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What we call results, are really just beginnings.”

We have what we need to succeed. We must all accept the responsibility for our future. Every person at our University has a critical leadership role.

We’ve all heard the saying “Opportunity only knocks once.” That’s the basis of some sound advice. But I will warn you that it has been my experience that many times opportunity doesn’t even knock at all. We have to be prepared to open the door, track it down and maybe even tackle it.

Our time is now – not tomorrow, but now. We each shape the future through our daily actions!  This is our opportunity.  Join me to use it wisely.

Thank you.