Sidney A. Ribeau, President
Bowling Green State University
February 29, 2000, Olscamp Hall 101 
9:30 a.m. Coffee and Fellowship
10:00 a.m. President’s Remarks

Segment Order: 
1. Building on great beginnings
2. An exciting intellectual climate
3. Educating principled thinkers
4. Toward the millennium
5. Investing in the future
6. The larger community

Good morning and thank you for coming today. I am pleased to see so many faculty, staff and students here this morning...colleagues and co-workers gathered together for fellowship and camaraderie. Thank you for joining me for my annual State of the University Address. This morning we come together as a learning community to reflect on our accomplishments since we began our journey five years ago… our journey to becoming the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation.

I am also pleased that this morning we are joined by our friends at Firelands College. Due to the advancements in technology you are able to join your colleagues on the main campus for this morning’s report on the “State of the University: A five year perspective.” This morning’s remarks will be posted on the web page of the Office of the President. I encourage you to explore this web site as you will find on-line current reports, addresses, institutional updates and semi-regular columns and letters to the university community. Today’s program is being simultaneously broadcast to the community: on Wood County Cable, and to the campus academic buildings on Channel 9 and to the residence halls on channel 60. The Rebroadcast schedule on campus cable is listed in today’s program. I would be remiss not to mention the many individuals who have helped make today’s program possible. Please join me in thanking the staff at WBGU-TV and especially Denise Kisabeth for her production expertise in directing today’s program. Denise is a true professional and has been instrumental in providing the technical direction to today’s program. I’d like to thank Nancy Coy, for her work with the Dining Services staff, to our Greenhouse staff for the wonderful floral arrangements on the stage, and to Professor Jeff Halsey and members of the University Jazz Ensemble for their wonderful performance during the coffee and fellowship segment of this morning’s program. 

I would also like to thank the Doctoral Interns in my office, Carrol Arnold, Melody Bennett and Rena Murphy. These graduate students put in much behind the scenes work to promote and make arrangements for this year’s State of the University Address. And lastly, there’s someone who’s not on my list of thank yous, but someone I need to mention. Dr. Eileen Sullivan, better known to many as “Bean”, my Executive Assistant… she did the research on and wrote the narratives for the program segments you’ll see this morning and worked with Denise and WBGU-TV in bringing together the overall design of today’s program. Over the course of the past few years, we’ve become more sophisticated in the delivery of these addresses and I wanted to be sure to thank the people who have contributed to this effort. 

This year’s State of the University Address will be a bit different than previous year’s addresses, as this year, we come together to celebrate our collective accomplishments as an institution over the course of the past five years. BGSU is a university reflective of the nearly 5,000 full and part time faculty and staff who work here, the over 18,000 students who study here on both the main and Firelands campuses, and the over 120,000 alumni who have graduated from this institution since its founding in 1910. So much of who Bowling Green State University is, and is fast becoming is not reflected on spreadsheets, plans or projections for the future. But rather is seen everyday in the hard work and dedication of the intellectually sound faculty, the caring staff and the promising students who will be changed by their experience at BGSU and will go on to change the lives of others. Our students represent the hope we entrust to them for our collective future. I, like all of you, know a thing or two about hope. We see it everyday, walking on campus. You see, on any given day, we have the privilege of serving CEO’s, judges, lawyers, priests, doctors, educators, journalists and elected officials…it’s just that our “clientele” is ten to twenty years from reaching these positions. 

During the past five years together, we have gained considerable ground in working toward our vision, ever mindful of our values of: respect for one another, cooperation, intellectual and spiritual growth, creative imaginings, and pride in a job well done. In so doing, we are fast becoming the institution we are called to be, the institution we know we can be… the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation. And as we work toward achieving our vision, it is important that we first understand who we are and what we stand for. If we are to achieve our vision, we must ALL adapt to the fast changing environment found in higher education today. We must operationalize our core values, living up to them, so that we narrow the distance between what we say we stand for and WHAT we actually do. We must address issues and solve problems in different ways, approaching these issues as opportunities for positive change not obstacles that keep us trapped in the past.

As many of you know, I recently wrote a letter to members of the university community explaining the inherent importance of values. I remain firm that colleges and universities have a significant role to play in creating a values-based educational environment in which individuals can work and study, and thrive. Perhaps the importance of our role, this profound responsibility we must shoulder, is no more evident in that it has become common to condemn the quality of both public and private American leadership. Yet, it is fascinating to note that virtually all of our nation’s leaders have graduated from one institution of higher education or another. It therefore seems fitting that as students are prepared on campus, so too shall they live and lead. Certainly creating a values-based educational environment on campus is not only noble, it is indeed necessary to ensure the quality of the future of our national leadership. 

And with that, let us get started and go to the first segment, as we reflect together on our “great beginnings”. 

1. Building on Great Beginnings (Segment one narrative)

In April of 1995, a page in the history book of Bowling Green State University was turned as its Board of Trustees announced the appointment of the institution’s ninth President, Sidney A. Ribeau…And the journey to becoming the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation began. 

Now, nearly five years later, the winds of change have begun to blow as the President has listened to the voices of the dedicated, insightful faculty, staff and students who have worked diligently toward achieving our vision and actively living by our core values of respect for one another, cooperation, intellectual and spiritual growth, creative imaginings and pride in a job well done. With a vision and values established collectively with the University community in 1996, the vision has charted our course and the values have served as basic expectations for members of the BGSU learning community. 

Interview with Becca Nieto, undergraduate student, junior

“Bowling Green State University is an incredible university for offering students the ability to develop in several different ways. I believe the administrators and the faculty here recognize the students’ talents and, as opposed to silencing that, cultivate that and really encourage students to grow… encourage students to use those talents, to use those abilities for the betterment of the university.”

Segment One Narrative continued:

As we reflect on the progress we’ve made in moving the institution forward, it is important to recognize the efforts made by individuals working collaboratively within their units and throughout the university to impact positive change and promote an environment grounded in intellectual discovery and guided by rational discourse and civility. 

While recruitment efforts are vital to the future lifeblood of the institution, it is our collective responsibility to provide an environment at Bowling Green State University that enables students to succeed. Essential to our students’ success are Enhanced Learning Communities including UNIV 100, UNIV 131, Springboard, Chapman Learning Community, Health Sciences Residential College, Honors Program, Freshman Interest Groups, the University Program for Academic Services, and the President’s Leadership Academy. At BGSU, these enhanced learning communities contribute greatly to the holistic development of Bowling Green State University students. 

Interview Clip with Carter Gilmer, Director of the President’s Leadership Academy

“One of the enhanced learning communities at BGSU is the President’s Leadership Academy or PLA, which was founded in 1997 by Dr. Sidney Ribeau. Studies have shown that students who are involved in enhanced communities perform better academically, adjust to the campus more easily and retention for those students is also higher. Many of the PLA students, would not have had the chance to go to college if it were not for the PLA, for this program Dr. Ribeau founded. They have shown leadership skills and potential in high school, they have sound academic performance, but the main things are the leadership skills and values they possess. Values like honesty, integrity, teamwork and cooperation… those types of values. We want them to be as successful as possible. Success meaning graduating…hopefully in 4 years. It means being the best they can be.”

Over the course of the past 3 years, the percentage of students involved in enhanced learning communities has increased from 30% in 1997 to 50% in 1999. Through these enhanced learning communities, we ensure that learning takes place in a myriad of forms, inside and outside the classroom.



President Ribeau’s remarks:

It is important to remember “from whence we came”. In November of 1995, I held a town meeting in which I invited all faculty, staff and students to be a part of change management at BGSU. Three months later, in February of 1996, we held a “Focus on February” event which involved a series of focus groups including the participation by 1500 employees and students in group discussions regarding the university…this of course, was all part of our “Building Community Project” which was designed to bring the campus community together, to give members of the community a much needed voice, and ultimately resulted in the establishment of the vision and core values of BGSU. The establishment of our vision and values has led to a focus on “putting students first” and connecting them to the larger institution. The research of Alexander Astin, Director of the Higher Education Institute and Professor of Higher Education at UCLA, has informed our efforts, as we know that students who are more engaged in their learning, more involved in the university, and feel connected to at least one other individual on campus, are more likely to succeed during their college years and persist to graduation. Our enhanced learning communities help us in that effort. They immediately connect students to the institution, easing their transition to college and ensuring their success. The growth of these programs illuminates our institutional recognition that learning takes place in a myriad of forms in a variety of environments. Let’s move to the next segment as we reflect on the learning that takes place in the exciting intellectual climate that is BGSU. 


2. An exciting intellectual climate (Segment two narrative)

The phase out of the Early Retirement Incentive Program and the Supplemental Retirement Program for faculty has enabled Bowling Green State University to hire the next generation of faculty. Since the fall of 1996, there have been 448 faculty appointments. And while many of
these hires are replacement positions, a significant number represent new faculty members, emphasizing that BGSU is investing heavily in the human capital of the institution, and in so doing, strengthening the intellectual climate on campus.

Also adding to the intellectual climate are our nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programs. 

Interview with Pat King, Professor and Director of the School of Leadership and Policy Studies

“Here at Bowling Green we have been able to attract some of the best and brightest graduate students in the nation. These are students who are nationally competitive in some of the very best programs available to them. As we recruit some of these very talented students, sometimes we tease them that in coming to Bowling Green they’ll have the opportunity to study free of the distractions of mountain ranges and ocean beaches. They come here because they know that we will try to provide some of the very best educational opportunities possible. And this is what makes us nationally competitive. They know that they’ll have access to technologies, to dedicated faculty, to an excellent library system, to some of the most cutting edge research available, and also to working with a cohort of students who are comparably motivated to get the best educational background possible. It is no wonder than that so many of our graduate programs at Bowling Green have been nationally ranked as among the very best in the country. This includes the doctorate in Applied Philosophy, it includes the Psychology department’s program in industrial and organizational psychology, the College Student Personnel program and the doctoral program in Higher Education Administration. There are several other innovative programs that attract students to Bowling Green. These include the popular culture degree, the new degree in Neuroscience, which combines Biology and Psychology, as well as the Photochemical Sciences program. Each of these are factors that contribute to a rich intellectual climate at Bowling Green which makes it a wonderful and exciting, invigorating place to work and to study.”

Segment Two narrative continued:

During the past five years, through the leadership of the Office of Admissions and the Enrollment Network, Bowling Green State University has experienced an overall increase in student enrollment of (3.5%), and a 19% increase in students of color. 

Investing heavily in our best and brightest students has benefited the University greatly and is evident in the significant growth of the Honors program. The University Honors Program has grown exponentially from 65 course sections and 627 students in 1994 to 130 course sections and 968 students in 1999. In the past two years, the Honors Program has sponsored the nominations of two winners of Goldwater Scholarships, a national finalist in the Truman Scholarship competition, and two state finalists in the Rhodes Scholarship competition reflecting the level of student achievement at Bowling Green State University.

President Ribeau’s remarks:

It’s important to note that the strength of our exciting intellectual climate rests with our existing faculty and of course, our faculty growth since 1996. I want to emphasize that the 448 faculty appointments since 1996 include mostly replacement hires but also new positions. Our continued growth is very deliberate and based on a model for adding a number of new tenure track positions including 30 positions in 2000-01 and 20 positions each subsequent year until we reach our goal of netting 110 new tenure track positions by academic year 2004-05. 

Our faculty growth coupled with our nationally recognized and one of a kind graduate and undergraduate programs, and our significant growth in our honors program have all added to the exciting intellectual climate at BGSU. The excitement and enthusiasm toward BGSU is felt by students and is evident in the consistent enrollment growth over the course of the past five years. With 70% participation from individual faculty members and 100% participation from all academic units in recruitment, faculty and staff have contributed to our over 20% increase in the entering freshman class for the past two years. A renewed focus on professional training and development is ever present in the training plans submitted by all academic and non-academic units emphasizing that our greatest resource at the university is found in our human capital. 

While as an institution of higher education, we must be responsive to the needs of our internal constituents, our faculty, staff and students, we must also be mindful of our responsibility to our external stakeholders and contributing to broader societal issues. With the significance of K-12 alliances ever present and increasingly important, we have established a Center for Innovative and Transformative Education (CITE). Through the efforts of CITE, we have been able to focus on interdisciplinary pursuits and initiate collaborative reform efforts in urban and regional educational environments and in so doing, connect and partner with the surrounding communities. Also contributing to the formation of K-12 alliances is the Literacy Serve and Learn (LSL) project. This collaborative effort between BGSU and the Toledo Public Schools involving approximately 415 BGSU students and 32 faculty and staff, provides an opportunity for our students to participate in a service learning experience focused on enhancing the literacy skills of kindergarten through fourth grade students. LSL exposes all participants to service learning with hopes of improving the passing rate for proficiency examinations within the school system and in so doing taking an active role in ensuring the success of our youth. 

The success of our youth is realized when we as an institution of higher education dedicate ourselves to the holistic education of our young people…that they arrive on campus as students….but graduate as principled thinkers. Let’s move on to the next segment. 

3. Educating Principled Thinkers 

Interview with Wanda Overland, Asst. VP for Student Affairs and Dean of Students-Part 1

“I’m really excited about what Bowling Green State University has done in the last 5 years to help students feel better connected to the institution, which ultimately helps them succeed academically and personally. One of the examples is our First Year Experience program, which has several program components. One is our UNIV 100 course that has 38 sections and over 900 students. It is an opportunity for faculty, staff and existing students, to share with new students, how to make that transition into the Bowling Green State University community and how to do that both socially and academically. Our BG Mentor program is also an opportunity for first year students to interact with faculty and staff in informal ways that will help them make their transition smoother as well.”

Segment three narrative: 

Since 1995, the Division of Student Affairs has reorganized programs and services to meet the academic and personal needs of students. In the last five years, Intercollegiate Athletics has boasted 14 All-Americans, 12 league titles and one NCAA championship. Graduation rates for BGSU’s football team rank second in the nation to Duke. And the cumulative grade point average for all student athletes registers an impressive 2.95, the highest in school history. BGSU Falcon Athletics proves that we’re competitive not only on the field and court, but also in the classroom. 

Also contributing to the wellness of BGSU students, faculty and staff is the student recreation center, perhaps the most used facility on campus which employs over 220 students, and has averaged 430,000 users per year over the course of the past five years. 

With an increased effort to address the problem of binge drinking, the President has named the University Committee on Alcohol Issues. Additionally, the University has been named as a recipient of a $75,000 grant from the Department of Education, identifying Bowling Green State University as one of the top 7 institutions in the country for innovative programming focused on combating binge drinking. 

Undergirding the efforts to address binge drinking and other campus issues is the re-focused judicial affairs area.

Wanda Overland Interview, Part 2

“Our Judicial System is a program that I believe has really helped to make students feel much more welcome. Instead of being a punitive system, we have really focused on the educational component. For example, through viewpoints and perspectives, students are able to look at what their values are and to re-examine their lives and focus on what it means to be a part of a community, and what they need to do to be better citizens of their communities.”

Segment three narrative continued:

In addition to providing students with a memorable collegiate experience while on campus, the University has offered networking opportunities critical to their professional development after graduation. With an eye to the future, the Career Services area continues to be on the cutting edge of career counseling, hosting a number of job fairs as well as maintaining the extensive web-walk up process, which makes student resumes accessible to employers via the internet, referring more than 40,000 resumes for position openings and pre-selection.

Connecting students to the campus community is vital to their success at Bowling Green State University. Providing them with academic challenges, personal and professional leadership opportunities and a welcoming living environment is critical. Over the course of the past five years, with nearly $40 million invested in renovations to the Residence Halls and dining facilities, BGSU has created a residential experience resulting in hall occupancy being the highest it has been in more than five years.

Close with Wanda Overland Interview, Part 3 

“We’re really excited about the future, we’re proud of where we have been, and we look forward to the next 5 years.”

President Ribeau’s remarks:

Without question colleges and universities are charged with the responsibility of educating principled thinkers. If institutions of higher learning were just about the “transfer of knowledge”, given the technology revolution, we’d all soon be out of jobs. Our work is about educating students to make good decisions. It’s what they do with what they know that really makes the difference. 

Within the division of student affairs it is obvious that our efforts to contribute to the holistic growth and development of our students is seen in a variety of programs and initiatives including the growth of the first-year experience program, increased collaboration between the Center for Multicultural and Academic Affairs and other areas on campus, and focused efforts to increase access and capacity for students with disabilities. Our 40 million dollars worth of residence hall renovations over the course of the past few years has contributed to on-campus housing occupancy being the highest in five years and reflects our commitment to providing a quality living and learning environment for our students. Providing a quality collegiate experience for our students means preparing them for the complex issues and difficult choices that will face them during their time here and beyond. Our programming to combat binge drinking based on the peer perceptions research of Dr. Terry Rentner provides students with information so that they can draw upon that information and their personal values to make well informed decisions. Our investment in and support of facilities like the Student Recreation Center and programs like Intercollegiate Athletics reinforces our institutional commitment to the well-being of the body as well as the mind. And with our outstanding record of academic accomplishment among our student athletes, I say without question that our students are contenders in the classroom as well as on the field of competitive play. And finally, the success of our cutting edge Career Services area is proof positive of the powerful partnerships BGSU has established with future employers of BGSU graduates. Let’s go to the next segment. 

4. Toward the Millennium (Segment four narrative)

Bowling Green State University is positioning itself for the new millennium by investing heavily in its most important resource – our faculty and staff. This investment includes academic and non-academic units developing training plans, a significant increase in funding for training and development, and the president's 5-year compensation plan. The Technology Infrastructure project will provide us with a springboard to the future opening doors to a first class modern academic environment including: many electronic resources, data and voice conferencing capabilities. This future will include a university environment where every classroom will have digitized video access. A future where every student will have access to courses via high-speed reliable websites.

Interview with Linda Dobb, Interim Provost and VPAA

“I think we’ve come a long way since March of 1996, when the campus produced its first strategic plan for technology. We’ve done a lot in the area of putting desktop units on every faculty member’s desk and staff member’s desk and many more units in student labs. So we’ve made a lot of progress in distributing computers. We’ve also obviously made a lot of progress in future planning for technology on the campus. The result this year is the big infrastructure project. We started planning for that many years ago. This year in May, we will see it come to the start of its fruition when they start digging trenches on campus. That means a new era of technology for our campus. And that will be very exciting. I see a time very, very soon when we will be doing a lot of distance education, both through the web and two way interactive television to many, many different sites for several of our programs. I also see a time very soon when a lot of our student services are available to them through the web, such as paying their financial accounts and looking at their financial aid packages. Housing, I think, is already up and available to students. So very, very soon many, many student centered applications are going to be available through the world wide web so that we will be able to offer new and different services to students. Ones we haven’t even imagined yet. I know we’ve made the right first steps in that direction. And I’m very hopeful about the future…and of all our roles in it, to make even better things happen."

Segment four narrative continued:

We have seen many indicators of progress as we move into the new millennium, these include major advances in the area of sponsored research. Over the course of the past five years sponsored research funding has increased 22.5%, (from approximately 8.5 million in 1994-95 to approximately $10.4 million in 1998-99), marking the largest percentage increase in sponsored research activity in over a decade.

Also contributing to the advances in sponsored research are the University's four new Centers and Institutes, including the Centers for Policy Analysis and Public Service, Neuroscience, Mind and Behavior, Evaluation in Education and Human Services, and Innovative and Transformative Education, all of which have promoted a focus on interdisciplinary pursuits, inter-institutional opportunities and meaningful partnerships with a variety of communities and external higher education stakeholders.

President Ribeau’s remarks:

The fact that over the course of the past five years, BGSU has more than doubled the number of desktop systems in labs and in administrative and faculty offices clearly indicates our commitment to making the best resources available to members of our learning community. I’d like to thank our Board of Trustees for their support years ago to increase the number of desktop systems and for their support of investing substantial funds toward the technology infrastructure project. The fact that more faculty and staff than ever before are taking advantage of the training workshops indicates an enthusiasm for increasing their technology knowledge and expertise. 

Without question, the technology infrastructure project will provide for the university opportunities that we had not previously dreamed possible. This is a critical investment for our institution if we are to not only survive but actually thrive in the educational technology environment of the future. The ability for students to pay their bills online and for alumni and friends of the university to make donations online will be both more timely and efficient. But technology is not the end…it’s a means to an end. It is a tool that will help us in our educational pursuits. And I urge you during this time of vast technological change on campus, please, be patient and be civil to our hard working ITS staff. 

Our advances in sponsored research activity along with the establishment four new Research Centers and Institutes has added to our research efforts. One of the new centers, the center for neuroscience, mind and behavior is responsive to the fact that behavioral neuroscience is one of the fastest growing and most exciting areas in science today. While I’m pleased with our improvements in sponsored research activity, that the arrow is pointed in the right direction…there is still much work to do. Collectively, the new research centers and the infrastructure that will position us to better use technology as a educational tool will, without question best prepare us as we look toward the millennium. Let’s go to the next segment. 


5. Investing in the Future (Segment five narrative)

Bowling Green State University has remained committed to continual improvements to our physical plant as is evident in a variety of capital improvement projects completed within the last five years.

Interview with Bob Waddle, Director of Capital Planning

“Within the last 5 years, we’ve been fortunate enough to concentrate on the residence side of the house and have been able to completely renovate the Offenhauer project, which we are about to finish up this summer. We have also been able to complete the Harshman and Kreischer projects. We are working on re-doing the Conklin main project at the present time. We are also working on McDonald quadrangle and have tried to put ourselves in a position where we can get back into a rotation of renovations within all of the residence halls with use of the auxiliary improvement money. We have also been fortunate enough, on the academic side of the house, to do a number of projects. The Psychology building asbestos abatement has just been completed. We are also targeting and are going to move forward with University Hall, Moseley Hall and Hanna Hall. We were able to build East Hall within the last 5 years. And we were also able to really beautify the center of campus with the Pedestrian Mall project. And of course the two major projects which we have coming up immediately is the University Union expansion where we will turn that building into a 200,000 square foot facility for about 34 1/2 million dollars and also concentrate on the Technology Infrastructure project for about 38 million dollars.”

Segment five narrative continued:

Although the Union renovation/expansion and the technology infrastructure project are the two largest capital projects in BGSU’s history, their significance rests in our institutional philosophy of “putting students first”, and contributes to fulfilling our BGSU vision to become the premier Learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation. 

Over the past two years, identifying institutional priorities for the University has been made easier by the establishment of the new University Planning Council. Under this Council, planning activities are grounded in Bowling Green State University’s Vision and Core Values, which were developed in 1996 as a result of the Building Community Project. 

Additionally, individual departments, colleges, and divisions carry out planning as they develop multi-year planning documents, which illustrate how they support the University’s vision and values. Periodic program review, coordinated by the Office of the Provost, also contributes to BGSU’s deliberate planning efforts as it assists units with analyzing strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, as well as with establishing resource needs, timelines, designation of responsibilities, and benchmarks of success.

President Ribeau’s remarks:

If you gain nothing else from this “State of the University Address: A five year perspective”, you will leave with fuller knowledge of the variety of activities that go into running a comprehensive university. The work of the University Planning Council has informed our efforts in all areas of planning within the institution,… academic affairs, student affairs, university advancement, and of course finance and administration, which includes capital improvement projects. The investments we have made in capital improvement projects have been targeted and ultimately support our vision of becoming the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation. In addition to the new structures and renovations to existing structures, we have shown our commitment to improving access for all students as seen in the number of ADA upgrades and modifications made to existing facilities on campus. All of this reflects our institutional commitment to investing in the future of BGSU. Let’s go to our last segment.



6. The Larger Community (Segment six narrative)

The level of support and commitment for Bowling Green State University priorities and initiatives continues to grow. Private giving from alumni and friends of BGSU has increased four of the past five years. Total giving has increased from 4 million in fiscal year 1996 to a projected 7 million plus in fiscal year 2000. And the number of major gifts has tripled from 50 in 1996 to 178 in 1999. Major Gifts have also played a key role in development's “Student Success Initiative”, an effort to raise $13 million dollars over a three-year period for such things as scholarships, the union renovation, and enhanced learning community projects. This
initiative also includes a one million-dollar pledge from Cedar Fair to fund the Cedar Point Center at our Firelands College Campus, representing the largest corporate gift in the history of the University. 

Institutionally, BGSU faculty and staff have shown their support of the University in their generosity exhibited throughout last year’s “Family Campaign”. With 35% of faculty and staff participating, and over $352,000 raised for scholarships, the union renovation project and other university initiatives, it is clear that BGSU employees remain both loyal and committed to the institution.

Bowling Green State University is in a critical place in its history. We are the product of a distinguished past, we are engaged in a dynamic present and we are looking forward to our auspicious future. As an institution of higher learning we continue to focus our efforts toward advancing the vision of the university through the three missions of the academy: teaching, research and service. These missions are not exclusive in and of themselves but rather gain strength through their inter-related existence, ultimately grounded in the value of service to humankind. Our emphasis on “community” reflects a student-approach to creating an academic experience for students where they come for a degree but they leave with an education. They arrive as students, and graduate as principled thinkers.

Interview with Becca Nieto Interview, Junior, Part 2

“Bowling Green State University is very unique in its willingness to help students grow in all facets. And I believe that is evident in the kind of student that they’re graduating now. Students who are confident, students who are ready, students who are well rounded. And employers and even government officials are seeing that and officals and representatives from national organizations have talked to me about that saying, ‘Yeah, we see it. We see a specific type of student coming out of Bowling Green. It’s a very progressive university."

Segment six narrative continued:

Bowling Green State University is committed to the creation and dissemination of new knowledge, and the character development of students by promoting an environment grounded in civility, intellectual discovery and rational discourse… making it an institution well on its way to becoming the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation.

President Ribeau’s remarks:

BGSU is in an exciting place in its history. We have a rare opportunity that’s been earned by the hard work of faculty, staff and students. We must believe in the great things that together we can accomplish, no more yielding to critics who scrutinize our efforts or question what we, as a community are capable of. Within the higher education community, leaders and educators of national prominence have moved beyond the supposed dichotomies between teaching and research…I ask you, why can’t we? 

Why can’t we be an undergraduate institution where students are engaged in the teaching learning process? Why can’t we view advising as part of teaching, not service? Why can’t all of our master’s programs be niche programs, and why can’t all of our doctoral programs be nationally recognized? Why can’t we have excellence in all programs, and why can’t all of our programs play a significant role in addressing societal issues?

The future is ours to shape…a future where our vision to become the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation guides us and our core values are embedded in everything we do. 

And so faculty, staff, students and friends of BGSU, I say without hesitation that our time has come. We are called to do great things for the students who attend our fine university, the faculty and staff who work here and the society that sustains the enterprise known as higher education. BGSU was a good university when I came here in 1995. What we’ve done together over the course of the past five years is build on that foundation… but, our journey to achieving our vision is far from over. We’ve established a solid framework for the future, which will position us well for the next five years. Let us work together to complete what we set out to do when we began this journey five years ago…to make an incredible contribution to the national trust, so that we can indeed become …the premier learning community in Ohio and one of the best in the nation.