General Assembly Remarks
January 9, 2007

Good afternoon. For those of you who are new or have been away for the last semester, my name is Mike Lane and I am the new president of Emporia State University. Welcome to all of our new people, and welcome back to our veterans. One of the unique things about higher education is that you get to start over every semester. Since this is my first “new semester” at ESU, I feel as though we are at a new beginning!

I want to start today by recognizing a person who, unfortunately, is not here. He is in Denver fulfilling his responsibility as a Board Member of the Renaissance Group. Never the less, I ask you to join me in thanking Dr. John Schwenn for the excellent job he did as Interim President of ESU as well as his continuing counsel to me to help me learn the many things I need to about ESU.

I would like to reintroduce a person you just met. I am very proud to have her by my side. I know she is looking forward to many new opportunities here at ESU. However, I know she is truly looking forward to the opportunity to be the new First Lady of ESU. It is my privilege to introduce ESU’s new First Lady, and my partner in life, Dr. Peggy Lane.

I do not know if you are aware that there are four stages to the presidency. They are:
  1. New President
  2. President
  3. Damn President
  4. Former President.

It is my goal to stay in the first two categories as long as possible

Overview:

I want to talk about several things today.

First, I want to spend some time celebrating your accomplishments over the last year or so. The list from each vice president was indeed impressive. In the interest of time I’ve selected some of the most outstanding accomplishments to share with you.

Next I want to provide you with an overview of the transition process.

We will begin to develop our three-year Performance Agreement for the Board’s consideration, so I will touch on that process as well.

The week of March 26th through the 31st will be a celebration of ESU ending in the Inauguration ceremony on Saturday. I will briefly review the plans for that event.

I will provide you with a review of my management philosophy and the operating rules I have laid out for the administrative team.

Finally I will update you on the Scholarship Campaign and briefly discuss this year’s Annual Fund campaign which will soon be upon us.

University Accomplishments:

TCS:

  1. Banner Implementation – TCS, Finance, HR, Foundation, and others! I know there is and will continue to be a level of frustration during and after the implementation. An MIS professional whom I respect, once said that a system is never more loved than the day after it comes off line. Many of you may miss some of the functions you had in the old system. However, I have worked with Banner and it is among the best of the Enterprise Resource Programs available to higher education. You also need to know that the work that the staff in TCS is doing is little short of heroic. They are managing a gargantuan transition across every unit of this institution on a tight time frame with a tight budget. I am pleased to report to you that they are ahead of schedule and under budget. TCS could not accomplish this alone. So, I cannot say thank you enough to the departments that have completed implementation or are in process of implementation. The work of those of you in the departments reviewing and changing processes, implementing banner, and designing reports is critical and greatly appreciated! To date this involves Fiscal Affairs, Human resources, Student Accounts Receivable, and the Foundation. Please join me in thanking all of these people for their work to date and for their work to come.
  2. In addition TCS substantially expanded the wireless network on campus during the fall.
  3. Provided excellent service to users on campus.

The Division of Student Affairs:

  1. The Division of Student Affairs, specifically the TRIO program was awarded a new Talent Search Grant through the U.S. Department of Education this fall. This $657,000.00 grant ($219,000.00 per year for three years) will afford ESU the opportunity to strengthen partnerships with area communities and begin encouraging students as young as middle school to seek a college degree.
  2. The Division of Student Affairs successfully began a coordinated program review with a specific focus on student retention. The College Student Inventory has been implemented as well as 1.5 positions (through retraining) allocated to a Student Success Program. The Division of Student Affairs will continue to assess and modify activities related to the recruitment and retention of students.
  3. The Division of Student Affairs, in partnership with the Division of Fiscal Affairs, is successfully completing a $7.4 million dollar renovation project impacting the student housing program. This is the first major upgrade to our housing program in approximately 15 years.

Liberal Arts & Sciences:

  1. For the future of the State's science pipeline the College of LAS has these two items:
    • Biosciences Summer Academy proposal for consideration by BOR to take to legislature for special funding.
    • Summer BioSciences Mathematics and Science Teacher Inservice proposal for consideration by BOR to take to legislature for special funding.
  2. Ongoing evolution of student learning via General Education restructuring which is taking place and due to be completed this spring.
  3. And to keep us abreast of new academic challenges our new degrees in the last few years include: BS. Biochemistry Molecular Biology, the only Engraving Arts program in the world, Crime & Delinquency Studies; Certificates in Geospatial Analysis both UG and graduate, and in digital audio; Master of Music Ed summer program, and MA Teaching English as Second Language.

School of Business:

  1. A Business student team won the 6th Global XBRL Academic Competition-which was noted by the head of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). (This is an international competition.)
  2. Phi Beta Lambda students won various awards at a state wide competition.
  3. Business students showed an increase on the Major Field Test (MFT) from the 50th percentile to the 75th percentile. This is particularly impressive since only the better business schools use the MFT for assessment of student knowledge.

School Library and Information Management:

  1. SLIM was awarded a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services in the amount of $857,754 to recruit and train minority staff for library service in Oregon, Colorado and Kansas. Professor John Agada is the program director.
  2. In November SLIM co-hosted an international information policy conference with the University of Sofia, Bulgaria. Herbert Achleitner was conference director.
  3. Rebecca Miller Banner, a SLIM doctoral student, is the winner of the 2006 Jesse H. Shera Award for the Support of Dissertation Research for her paper, “The Diffusion of Professional Knowledge in Intercultural Exchanges: The American-Bulgarian Library Exchange Case Study.” The Shera Award is issued by the American Library Association (ALA) Library Research Round Table.

Teachers College:

  1. Identification of ESU teacher preparation programs as one of 4 model programs in the nation - Educating School Teachers, Arthur Levine.
  2. Psi Chi (national honorary organization for psychology) received the Ruth Hubbard Cousins National Chapter Award (best chapter in country).
  3. New degrees being offered this year: MS in Clinical Psychology and MS in Mental Health Counseling.
  4. Grant funding received by TC faculty totaled $2,192,426.
  5. Pass rate for Kansas teachers seeking National Board for Profession Teaching Standards was 81% (nationwide, the pass rate was 39%). Almost all of these teachers received assistance from the Jones Institute for Educational Excellence Great Plains Center for National Teacher Certification.

Lifelong Learning:

  1. Increased enrollment and credit hours of LL programs by 2% and 11% respectively from fall 2005 to fall 2006.
  2. Have added two programs to Metro Learning Center offerings - Instructional Design and Technology and Counselor Education (School Counseling) and have expanded SLIM offerings.
  3. In addition, Amy Simon has worked extensively with Mim Hiesterman and the South Central Alumni Group on the START Program (Students Through Alumni Recruitment Teams) to promote both distance learning course work and on-campus student recruitment. (This is a good program to mention that is supported by Alumni Affairs.)

Library:

  1. May Masse Collection was moved to new quarters on the 3rd floor.

International Programs:

  1. 337 International students in fall - highest # - from 42 countries.
  2. 20 International cooperative agreements approved by the BOR & State of Kansas.

Fiscal Affairs:

  1. Went live with Banner in July as scheduled.
  2. On schedule to go live with student accounts receivable in March.
  3. On schedule to go live in HR in June.
  4. Concluded the first five-year plan within the Regents’ Tuition Accountability initiative.

Facilities:

  1. Overall construction leadership on the Towers resulting on on-time completion of the North tower and the South tower is ahead of schedule! (To save on costs, ESU crews are doing the finishing carpentry work as we speak.)
  2. Renovation to accommodate new chillers in King Hall (improved temperature and humidity control.)
  3. Construction of shower facility, offices, and viewing deck at the baseball stadium. (ESU staff work provided the required match to a gift)
  4. Roosevelt Hall renovations.
  5. Cram Science Hall renovations for a new research lab.
  6. Beginning renovations of lower level of Butcher Education Center for relocation of TCS Help desk and User Services Offices.
  7. Initiated renovations of William Allen White Library for the relocation of University Archives.
  8. Refreshing the president’s residence.

Intercollegiate Athletics:

  1. Softball had the second highest team GPA in the country last year at 3.59.
  2. Total department GPA of 3.01.
  3. Three Academic All-Americans.
  4. Three NCAA Regional Championships...softball, baseball, and women's basketball.
  5. National Runner-up finish for softball.
  6. Four MIAA players of the year.
  7. As a department we finished 12th in the nation in the Director's Cup standings, our highest finish in history.

Public Relations:

Public Relations is preparing to contract a firm to conduct extensive market research and to provide us with a comprehensive review of our marketing programs.

Transition Planning:

  1. We mailed 322 surveys in November to 322 people including University managers, faculty, staff, students, Alumni Board, Foundation Board, Community Leaders, Board of Regents, and State Leaders. I received 179 back (a 56% response rate). I am in the process of finishing reading them and analyzing them.
  2. A “Transition Conference” will be planned for mid to late February. Approximately 100 or so of the respondents will be invited to attend a ½-day workshop. [See agenda slide]
  3. Transition Advisory Committee (a group of 10 – 12 people) to act as my eyes and ears on campus and in the community. They will meet about every other month and let me know how things are going, issues that might need attention, how university initiatives are being received, etc. The group will last for 12 – 15 months if normal trends hold.
  4. Team Assessment/Team Development: March 7 & 8 a consultant will meet with each member of the Administrative Team to assess direction and some other issues. March 8 will be a “Team Building” session with the entire administrative Team to ensure we are all on the same page moving in the same direction.
  5. Beginning next fall we will develop a new strategic plan involving all constituents of the university.

Performance Agreement:

June 15 is the due date for ESU’s three-year performance agreement proposal to the Board of Regents. There were a few things evident in the presentation of this year’s plans from the Regents Universities.

I have asked Dr. Schwenn to put together a group to draft a plan for our three year performance agreement goals.

  1. The plan MUST include direct and independent measures of student learning. (Independent means it has been evaluated (graded) by somebody outside of ESU.)
  2. The Board has also indicated that the plans must be somewhat aggressive in setting goals (more than the original plans that were approved)

I know many of you believe this is not the best way to spend your valuable time. There are two reasons I believe it is very valuable. First, it verifies that students are learning what we say we are teaching (or it demonstrates that they are not). In the first case, it demonstrates to legislators and the citizens of Kansas that we are doing what we promise. In the latter case, it provides us information to alter the curriculum, the pedagogy, or if necessary, the learning outcomes. Both of these are valuable enough of their own right. However, demonstration of achievement of these learning outcomes is required by our governing Board. The Board of Regents has specified that the three-year plans must include demonstration of learning outcomes through direct methods that are independent. (Third party exams, third party assessment of student portfolios, etc.) Since these goals are tied to new funding, we must be very vigilant in achieving these goals.

Inauguration:

I hope you all plan to attend the inauguration ceremony. Each of your Colleges will have a function during the week of March 26, 2007. The purpose of this week is to do several things. First, we want to celebrate the accomplishments of our faculty and our students. I hope the events during the week do this very well. Second, it is a symbolic ceremony transferring the authority of the office of the president to the new president. Finally, it is a celebration of the University as an institution moving forward with a commitment to educating our students and serving the needs of the State of Kansas. The formal inauguration ceremony will be Saturday, March 31. (We will also be celebrating the transition with receptions in Kansas City, Wichita, Topeka, and northern California to offer donors and opportunity to participate.)

Marjorie Werly is chairing the steering Committee for the event. Please help out as much as you can and please plan to attend this celebration of Emporia State university!

My Management Philosophy:

Four rules:

  1. Don’t lie to me.
  2. Don’t end run me.
  3. Don’t surprise me.
  4. Keep me informed.

Open and honest discussion is essential. "Yes" people become useless very quickly

At the end of the day, I have to make the decision. I prefer to make it with the best information available.

Annual Fund:

ESU Foundation:

  1. The fiscal year saw $5.24 million in donations, the second-highest total in the Foundation's history and 18 percent higher than last year's $4.44 million. The amount raised is also 36 percent higher than the average of the previous five years.
  2. In the 2005-06 academic year, University Advancement awarded $1.843 million in scholarships to approximately 1,800 students.
  3. The Foundation's total net assets exceeded $60 million at the end of FY06, the highest total in our 54-year history.
  4. Capital Scholarship Campaign has raised $14 million of the $15 million goal to date.
  5. The spring 2006 Campus Scholarship Challenge was supported by four out of every five ESU employees. This is not just a Foundation accomplishment but a campus wide accomplishment!!! And should be noted!!
  6. 53 new funds were established in FY06. (Average number of funds established per year are 30+)
  7. Planned gifts through documented estate plans totaled over $2.4 million from 19 donors

I know you are all aware that we have an annual fund campaign where we solicit all faculty and staff to contribute to the University. I encourage you all to participate in this process. I know past participation rates have been very high and I hope you continue to maintain your commitment. We will have some new opportunities to designate your gifts to departmental scholarships that may not have existed in the past. As your president I have already made my pledge and as part of that pledge, Peggy and I will be endowing a scholarship over the next few years. I truly hope you plan to participate in this important campus event. Your voluntary participation makes it much easier for the advancement staff and me to go out and ask prospective donors to support our programs.

Scholarship Campaign and the future:

I expect to wind up the scholarship campaign in the next few months and yes, we will meet our $15 million goal. Our next fund raising effort will by much more diverse in intent and direction. We need to seek funding for things such as endowed chairs, endowed professorships, faculty and staff development, centers, technology, facilities and many other initiatives as well as scholarships. I have already asked your deans to provide me with a list of suggested initiatives in the event an opportunity arises that would be a good match for a potential donor.

ESU has a great history. You have helped the university earn an excellent reputation. I ask your continued dedication to our students and to the learning enterprise. Let me leave you with two quotes about the value of education:

  • "Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." Malcolm Forbes
  • “Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education. The human mind is our fundamental resource.” John F. Kennedy

Together, we will set and accomplish new goals and we will achieve new heights of higher education for our students and Kansas. Thank you for your attention and I look forward to speaking with many of you at the reception in the Rotunda.