President Lambert opens fall planning week

Opening of the University Address

August 23, 2004

President Leo M. Lambert

Good morning!

Welcome to the start of the 2004-2005 academic year. The year ahead is filled with promise, excitement, and challenge. This morning I want to paint a picture of the state of Elon University and describe for you, from my vantage point, the opportunities and work that are ahead of us. Nowhere on the horizon do I see the expression “this is good enough” becoming the Elon mantra. The drive to make every aspect of the University better is palpable everywhere we turn. This is truly an exciting and historic time to be part of the building of Elon University.

Let me begin this morning by telling you a brief story. Last spring, Dean of Admissions Susan Klopman, Provost Gerry Francis and I were having our regular Friday morning meeting about admissions and talking about the schools we were competing with for the top students: Duke. Furman. American. Tulane. University of Denver. Dennison. Loyola University of Chicago. Penn State. University of Miami. Marquette. Pepperdine. Chapel Hill. University of San Diego. Rollins. Wake Forest. Vanderbilt.

I’m sure you have experienced similar moments when your view of the world experiences a shift-a subtle, but important change. And the metaphor I use to describe my experience in admissions that morning was that we were stepping onto the bottom rung of a higher ladder. For years, Elon has been climbing and competing and winning students from a different set of competitors-confident that we were in reach of the top rung. And what do we find at the top–but another ladder!

This new ladder of competition – our new competitors – share many common characteristics. Here are but a few:

• we can naturally expect that their business schools are accredited by AACSB International
• they have endowments that are four to twenty or more times the size of Elon’s
• almost all shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter
• almost all have been in prestigious college guidebooks for years
• many so value intercultural competencies that they have foreign language requirements for graduation
• and many have established and distinguished national reputations, if not international reputations.

Should we be daunted by this higher ladder? My answer is a most decided no. We are halfway through another climb called the New Century@Elon strategic plan. Last week each of you received a progress report-kind of a mid-term report card-on the status of our strategic plan.

Dreams that were articulated in 2000 are being realized. This is what we do at Elon. We dream to be a better place for our students and their learning. We plan. We accomplish. And we know that the fulfillment of these dreams-maintaining the highest accreditations possible in the school of education and the business school, pursuing accreditation for the school of communications, building a great library collection, having first-rate technology, and most importantly, building a faculty and staff second to none–are key factors in attracting excellent students. And better students are challenging us, in turn, to continue to expand our definition of excellence.

A second reason I am not daunted by a higher level of competition relates to powerful words on the New Century vision statement behind me-innovation and community. In so many important ways, these values distinguish us as a University. Elon’s track record for innovation is an important reason for our emerging national reputation. And the strong sense of community here is a precious asset; the fact that we are a genuinely supportive place is a principal reason good students want to come here-to a place they will find both challenge and caring.

We begin the 2004-05 academic year thankful that so many indicators of institutional quality are pointing in the right direction.

• We had a record number of applications for the Class of 2008-8,064. We also set a record selectivity rate-only 41% of applicants were admitted.
• The Class of 2008 has record high SAT scores-1169.
• We have a record number of books in the library-240,000- and we are spending a record amount on library acquisitions–$1.23 million annually.
• Thanks to many of you, we set a record for annual giving to the Elon Fund and the Elon Athletic Fund-$1.25 million-providing new resources for the institution to do good work.
• We have a record number of full-time faculty-270- and a record percentage on tenure or tenure-track, a percentage that will continue to climb.
• We have a record number of full-time staff as well. Imagine, 26 new positions in technology support alone in the New Century years. Fred Melchor told me on Friday that Elon replaced more computers in 2004 than we owned in 1997.
• With the opening of the Gray Pavilion in the academic village, our total physical plant has expanded to 1.42 million square feet of space. And, I am pleased to announce this morning that John and Claudia Belk of Charlotte have committed a significant gift to name the fourth Academic Village pavilion, which will house the new center for the advancement of teaching and learning.
• After our first year in the Southern Conference, we ranked second, behind Davidson, for the graduation rate of student-athletes.
• We are included in the nation’s most prestigious guides to colleges and universities, including, for the first time, the Fiske Guide to Colleges. When you travel nationally these days, aren’t you much more likely to be told “Oh, I hear great things about Elon!” than asked “Where’s Elan?
• Here is one last unmistakeable sign of Elon’s vitality: the number of babies born into the University’s family in the past year. Since summer 2003, we have welcomed 34 little Phoenix Phans.

This morning, I want to introduce three people who are providing significant leadership in support of New Century goals.

• Dr. Russell Gill, Professor of English, will provide us with an update on the substantial effort to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Elon.
• Dean Paul Parsons of the School of Communications will bring us all up-to-date on the accreditation process for the school.
• And Dr. James Powell, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, will give us an update on the progress towards establishing a new school of law. Undoubtedly, you have been following media reports on the law school over the summer, and there has been good progress in raising the necessary funds and obtaining use of the former Greensboro Central Library building. Dr. Powell will tell us about what we can expect in the coming weeks as the board prepares to make a decision.

Following their brief presentations, I will comment on some key institutional priorities for the coming year and make a few concluding remarks.

REMARKS BY DR. RUSSELL GILL

The Phi Beta Kappa faculty, on behalf of both the College of Arts and Sciences and the university as a whole, will petition the national organization of Phi Beta Kappa to be allowed to form a sheltering chapter at Elon University.

Phi Beta Kappa is a national honor society for the Arts and Sciences. As the oldest academic honor society in the nation and the most highly selective in the campuses that it admits, Phi Beta Kappa is a prestigious organization.

While Phi Beta Kappa is not exactly comparable to the accrediting agencies that serve some of the schools and departments in the university, it serves a similar function in attesting to the quality and centrality of the Arts and Sciences at Elon. By helping the university focus on areas to improve, the application for membership in Phi Beta Kappa can be a major contributor to Elon’s standards of academic excellence.

Pursuit of membership in Phi Beta Kappa is a process worthwhile in itself. And that is the way that Elon has regarded it. Most of us are already aware of the areas that Phi Beta Kappa has encouraged us to focus on. They range across the university, from faculty status and salaries to library holdings and improved counseling for students continuing their education in graduate and professional schools.

We were not successful in our last bid for membership in Phi Beta Kappa, but in our follow-up conversations with the national secretary, we received high compliments and were encouraged to continue our efforts. Among the areas that we discussed with the national secretary was the status of foreign languages. You will find as the fall semester gets under way that Elon is engaging in a renewed effort to create foreign-language programs and requirements that are excellent in nature and appropriate to the mission of the university.

The foreign-language revisions, like many of the other Phi Beta Kappa initiatives, involve all of us, in all areas of the university. In short, the whole university-students and faculty-have greatly benefited from our efforts so far. The Phi Beta Kappa faculty welcome everyone’s input and encourage all members of the Elon community to participate in the university’s efforts to make a strong program of Arts and Sciences a central part of the identity of our institution and the keystone to the quality of education throughout the university.

REMARKS BY DR. PAUL PARSONS

Good morning. Accreditation is a national benchmark of program quality;105 communications programs worldwide have achieved accreditation. Only 16 of those are at private colleges and universities in the United States. Our intention is to become the 17th, joining such schools as Syracuse, Columbia, Northwestern, Washington & Lee, Baylor, Miami and Marquette.

It is an impressive peer group, and we have been preparing for this quest for several years. Officially, our self-study year began last week with a day-long faculty retreat.

Our Accrediting Council — called ACEJMC — has nine standards, and they align very well with our values. For instance, the curriculum standard is liberal arts focused, and today our majors must graduate with at least 80 credit hours outside the School of Communications, with the bulk of those hours in the arts and sciences.

Within the school, we have roughly a 50/50 balance between skills courses (writing, editing, producing) and conceptual courses (media law and ethics, international communications, and our Great Ideas capstone).

We will complete our self-study by next August, and host a site-visit team next fall. The team will spend four days at Elon, visiting our classes, talking with groups of students, analyzing our budget and technology, reviewing our faculty, ascertaining our commitment to diversity, and reviewing our level of professional activity and public service.

Before they arrive on campus, the team will call editors and broadcasters around the state to ask about our reputation and the quality of our students. And ACEJMC has a significant assessment component; the team will want evidence that our students are learning what we profess they are learning.

The School of Communications is home to about 20% of Elon’s student body, and accreditation will make our students eligible for special scholarships and competitions. It also will identify Elon as having one of the nation’s premier communications schools — something we already know to be true!

Our timeline will lead to a formal accreditation decision by May 2006. We look forward to it. Thank you.

REMARKS BY DR. JAMES POWELL

Good morning. I appreciate the leadership both Dean Parsons and Dr. Gill are providing as Elon continues to increase its academic quality. Elon is very important to me and my family. Many of you know that I grew up in the house in which the department of sociology and anthropology is now located. I am proud that Elon is pursuing excellence in all her academic programs.

I’m pleased to represent the Board of Trustees this morning and to give you a brief status report on the proposal to establish a School of Law at Elon University. Much has been done this summer toward the establishment of the school of law. Briefings were held with the Alamance County Bar and Guilford County civic organizations, the Alamance County business community, and our congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.

One small measure of the success of these efforts was an editorial in last Sunday’s Times-News supporting the establishment of the School of Law in Greensboro, a reversal of their previous position. Many folks in the local community have needed some time to reflect on the long-term benefits of locating the school in downtown Greensboro. The many conversations held this summer have helped keep community relations as strong as ever. We hope everyone agrees that county borders are artificial and regional cooperation is key to the future of the Triad.

Last March, the trustees set a fund-raising goal of ten million dollars from external sources to launch the school of law. We have very nearly reached that target, with more than nine million dollars pledged and several six-figure “asks” still on the table. The fund raising has taken a little longer than expected because we have had to work with the timetables of foundation and corporate boards. We are deeply indebted to Jim Melvin of the Bryan Foundation for his personal leadership of this project. The Bryan Foundation itself will be committing at least four million dollars in start-up funds for the school. In addition to the cash raised, gifts-in-kind have been offered, including resources for the law library collection. I remain confident that the ten million dollar goal will be met.

We are also working closely with Greensboro city leaders and private donors to acquire the former Greensboro Central Public Library building as the headquarters for the school of law. There is goodwill on all sides in these negotiations, so I am confident a suitable arrangement will be finalized soon.

While I know we are all eager to bring the law school matter to closure, please understand that the Board feels a great responsibility to dot all i’s and cross all t’s in matters of such importance. We remain optimistic about the prospects for the School of Law, but want to ensure that financial safeguards are in place to protect the interests of the entire University.

The board will be meeting in Greensboro September 17 for the sole purpose of touring the proposed law school facility and hearing a progress report on fund raising and building negotiations. I hope the trustees can take final action at the fall Board meeting, scheduled for Homecoming weekend in late October.

Thank you for your attention, and have a great year.

CONCLUDING REMARKS, PRESIDENT LEO M. LAMBERT

Again this year, we have created our list of institutional priorities and posted them for your review on the Web. You’ll also be able to read the priorities of each of the divisions on that Web page. The link is on E-net and I encourage every one of you to take a few moments and familiarize yourself with our top goals. These are most important steps we can take this year to move Elon forward. I will not review them all here this morning, but I would like to mention three priorities that deserve special attention.

• The Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. The Truitt Center opens this fall and was made possible through the generosity of Edna and Doug Noiles of New Canaan, CT. Edna is a 1944 graduate of Elon who worked for several decades as a marriage and family therapist and then trained to become a spiritual director-which she unassumingly describes as “one hungry pilgrim helping another find bread.” The Noileses have said that they want their endowment to help Elon students “explore and deepen their faith” and “to live lives of reconciliation”-discovering personal ways that they can help bridge the gaps that exist in the world.

  Seven student interns will help provide leadership for the Truitt Center activities. Programs to promote interfaith dialogue are planned, as are retreats to explore living life with purpose. Spiritual leaders will come to campus. Workshops on living one’s values will address practical life issues such as healthy relationships between men and women. Aren’t we fortunate to have Chaplain McBride guide this effort? This strikes me as the perfect confluence of generous stewardship, Richard’s vision and leadership, and creative programming.

• Among the top academic priorities this year is the implementation of the faculty workload initiative. It will help us balance the growing demands on faculty and support you in meeting your goals in mentoring students, doing scholarship and keeping us creative in undergraduate education. This is an innovative and important step forward in promoting scholarship and excellence in teaching at Elon. Similarly this year, we will be finding ways to enhance our policies and opportunities for professional development and promotion for staff members. The Developing Leaders at Elon Program is a good example of one of the new ways we are investing in the people who make Elon such an outstanding institution.
• One other institutional priority I’d like to highlight this morning has to do with finding the resources to keep Elon moving forward. This year, we will begin initial preparation for the next comprehensive campaign which is now on the horizon. We must carefully define our needs and determine our capacity to raise funds. I spoke earlier about the endowments at our peer institutions that dwarf Elon’s 57 million dollar figure. By and large, endowments are built on planned gifts-bequests from estates of alumni and others who love Elon who want to leave a legacy. Endowment building will undoubtedly be the principal focus of our next campaign. The foundation we lay now will help secure the future of the University.

In closing, I want to wish you a wonderful and successful planning week. I also hope you will reserve some time this week to think about not only planning for your students, and your classes, and your department, but for yourself as well. In closing last year’s books over the summer, we noticed something very unusual. On average, staff took one-quarter less vacation than the previous year. We don’t quite know what this means yet. I hope some of you are banking some vacation for an extended time off soon. What I hope it doesn’t mean is that you are so busy with your work, planning for your life outside of Elon has slipped off your priority list. That would be a bad thing-for you, for your families, and, in the long run, for Elon too, because you’ll be more effective in your career with the rest and perspective that time away from Elon provides. I hope you will use planning week to think about other commitments you want to make for yourself that are about you and the welfare of your family.

Maybe this is the year you’ll discover the Wellness Program and get your vital signs checked, or join a walking club, or be selfish about some time for exercise. Maybe this is the year you’ll take up that invitation to join a Developing Leaders@Elon seminar and discover a new idea that will bring a fresh and healthy perspective to your work. Even if retirement is 15 or more years away, maybe this is the year when you’ll take two hours to meet with a counselor about your TIAA-CREF retirement portfolio.

Human Resources will soon be announcing a new benefit for faculty and staff. An employee assistance and counseling program is being offered through the Alamance Regional Medical Center. The program provides confidential counseling for faculty and staff and their families among a host of other services and the cost of this benefit is being paid by the university. Details will be mailed soon.

Elon is where it is today because of the efforts of each individual on our faculty and staff, the contributions of your unique gifts, and the enormous commitments you have made to the institution. I hope you’ll take some time this planning week to think about the fact that you are too important to make yourself your last priority.

Thank you for your kind attention and have a great year!