State of the University
President Al Bowman
Center for the Performing Arts – September 27, 2011
Watch a video of the State of the University Address
Thank you, Dan. Good afternoon everyone, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules today.
Since my last State of the University Address a year ago, I have read literally dozens of book chapters, magazine articles, journal submissions and news accounts relating to public higher education. After digesting all of this information—here is my general assessment:
The target on the back of higher education is getting bigger and the enterprise is drawing more fire.
For faculty and staff members, the targets are salaries, governance, accreditation standards, freedoms, retirement options, and yes, let us not forget benefit choices.
For students and families, the lack of state and federal support has pushed the investment in a college education higher, while the number and value of loans and grants available to help fund that investment continue to shrink.
Even the value of pursuing a university degree has too often become the target of the very political and corporate institutions that used to point to higher education as the way out—the ultimate path to success. Higher learning has become devalued and deprioritized—the victim of an economy trying to edge away from financial calamity, and a scapegoat of the paranoid.
At least 35 states expect budget shortfalls—many of which surpass their higher-education allowances—in 2012, and colleges in some states are bearing the brunt of the cuts. Thirteen states have chopped their higher-education budgets by more than 10 percent over the past two years. In North Carolina, which has traditionally had strong state support of education, double-digit cuts have prompted departmental consolidations and are threatening many academic programs.
In California, San Francisco State has eliminated 300 courses and 61 tenure-track faculty and 216 lecturers. They have the same number of students as five years ago, but 16 percent fewer instructors. For some courses, students enter a lottery for needed classes.
Closer to home, news accounts regarding most Illinois public universities share a common theme: layoffs, furlough days, salary freezes, declining enrollment, partial dormitory closures, dissention between the universities and their governing boards, contention between university administration and its faculty and staff, and widespread misuse of scarce state resources.
I am not going to name names, other than to name the university that has not been the subject of any of these troubling accounts – Illinois State University. It is under these circumstances that I want to thank and congratulate this campus community for not only working hard, but for helping Illinois State make progress in an extremely challenging and competitive environment.
Over the past decade, Illinois State has rightfully patted itself on the back for charting its own course—working as one community to create and adhere to its own priorities and setting itself apart from other Illinois public universities. Setting ourselves apart. Ten years ago we used that phrase as a marketing mantra. Today, it is what sustains us—allowing us to thrive as others struggle to survive.
During last year’s State of the University message, we talked about the Chronicle of Higher Education’s estimate that over the next 10 years, 6,000 fewer students will graduate from Illinois high schools. I cautioned the decrease would mean greater competition from both public and private universities as institutions compete for market position by shaping their enrollment profiles.
I challenged Illinois State to maintain and even strengthen its position in student recruitment, to prioritize scarce resources and create more financial incentives for students to attend, and to remain committed to the best in teaching, research, and service. On almost every measure, this campus answered that challenge.
While our freshman applicant pool was slightly smaller than last year’s, we still received more than 4,000 more applications this year than we did in the year 2000. By building on our core strengths with thorough and effective strategic planning, along with enhanced marketing and communications—this 2011-2012 academic year has brought us a robust and talented class of students—and the largest total student population since 1992.
Our new freshman enrollment stands at 3,321 and transfer enrollment tops 1,826. Our total student population is 21,080—just barely over our 20-21,000 target. But, in this environment of economic malaise and heightened competition, I think you will agree it is a circumstance we cannot only live with—but should applaud.
Finding university housing for our large freshman class was no easy task, and I would like to thank our new Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Larry Dietz, along with University Housing Director Maureen Blair and the entire Housing staff for their quick and efficient work.
Class diversity is also higher than last year, with non-white students comprising about 18 percent of the incoming freshman class. The biggest jump was in African-American enrollment with an increase of 26 percent over last fall.
The academic quality of our students remains strong with an incoming ACT average near 24 and a grade point average of 3.38. In fact, this year, we have almost three times as many students with an ACT of 33-to-36 as we did last year.
Our freshman-to-sophomore retention remains the second highest in the state at 85.1 percent, and our graduation rate remains at the historic high of 71 percent.
But perhaps the following piece of information says the most about Illinois State’s commitment to student quality:
According to the Chronicle Almanac, from 2003 to 2008, Illinois State’s graduation rate rose a whopping 11 percent. Among all of the public research universities in these United States—only five bettered that 11percent leap—and only one of the five has a higher graduation rate than Illinois State. Ladies and gentlemen—that is simply remarkable.
Not only is it remarkable—it is also ironic—since the headline for the article read: “Graduation Rates Fall at One-Third of 4-year Colleges.” Other Illinois public universities were referenced in the analysis—and again—though I won’t name names—to say Illinois State University is bucking the trend would be a huge understatement.
Our ability to recruit and retain highly talented students costs money—much of it in the form of need and merit-based aid to students. This year, Illinois State will spend more than $8 million through University access grants to support more than 2,200 students with the greatest financial need.
But that investment does not allow us to ignore financial awards based on achievement—funds that help Illinois State attract some of the most academically gifted students in the state.
Our Presidential Scholars—students who receive Illinois State’s largest merit-based financial incentive—achieved an ACT average of 32.7—more than a point higher than last year’s Presidential Scholarship recipients. Their grade point average exceeds 4.0 on a 4-point scale. I continue to be impressed by the intellect, intensity and effort of all of our Honors Program students. Honors Director Kim Pereira is with us today and has brought three of our new Presidential Scholars.
Kelsey Bunner is a sophomore Theatre Acting major and Dance minor. This summer she was a participant in the US-UK Fulbright Summer Institute at Newcastle University, Newcastle, England.
Laura Soppet studied abroad in Spain for a full semester and this past summer, studied in Argentina. She is a senior, a Bone Scholar and a Spanish major, who did volunteer hours at Western Avenue Community Center during the spring semester of her freshman year.
Anna Weigandt is a senior math major and a Bone Scholar. She researched on her own opportunities for summer research and applied and received a grant for an experience for undergraduates funded by the National Science Foundation.
In addition to the more than 50 merit-based scholarships offered to new freshman through the Presidential and University Scholars programs, more than 600 students are assisted annually through scholarship programs funded by gifts to the Illinois State Foundation.
You may also remember that during last year’s State of the University address, I announced that beginning this fall, we would commit additional funds for merit-based scholarships for academically talented incoming students. I am pleased to tell you today that those scholarships will assist more than 475 students—students who achieved an average ACT of nearly 27 and a 3.8 grade point average.
Illinois State’s high-quality student body is the reflection of our talented and engaged faculty and support staff members, and the outstanding programs they represent.
Just three weeks ago, we learned Risk Management magazine has recognized Illinois State University’s Katie School of Insurance and Financial Services as the third ranked school in the nation for the number of graduates in insurance and risk management programs. The Katie School graduated 142 insurance and risk management students in the 2010-2011 academic year. Risk Management magazine noted that other top producers included the University of Georgia, Temple University, as well as the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Florida State University.
Illinois State is ranked fifth in the nation as a Peace Corps Master’s International School. The Peace Corps Master’s International program has been in place since 1997 and offers graduate programs in applied economics, political science and sociology.
Several more Illinois State programs also placed in the nation’s top 20, including Accounting, Actuarial Sciences and Professional Sales. BusinessWeek magazine once again ranked our College of Business as one of the country’s best undergraduate business schools. Illinois State is listed among the top 100 schools nationwide and as the third highest ranking undergraduate business school in Illinois. And, of course, just a few weeks ago, the 2011 U.S. News & World Report rankings placed Illinois State among the top 100 public universities in the country.
I am also excited to announce today that our corporate MBA program will be expanding to Chicago in fall 2012. The demand for the MBA degree is strong, and our corporate MBA model serves working professionals in a cohort setting with intense weekend classes.
This year, our Department of Agriculture marks 100 years – celebrating major growth in programs from its beginnings with one professor in 1911. Today, the Department comprises 28 faculty and staff and more than 340 undergraduate and graduate students.
In the College of Education our Special Education Assistive Technology Center celebrates 10 years of operation – preparing future teachers to better educate students with disabilities and making significant contributions to the field of assistive technology. The SEAT Center has supported every student majoring in education at Illinois State over the past 10 years, including over 5,000 students enrolled in Department of Special Education courses and over 1,200 in other College of Education courses.
Working across academic disciplines and administrative divisions, Illinois State was the only recipient of the 2011 New York Times Political Engagement Project Program of Excellence Award. The award recognizes the efforts of faculty and staff to provide opportunities for students in the classroom, on campus, and in the community to develop skills related to political processes and leadership. Illinois State has been lauded as a model for campuses across the country and as an innovator in the field. The program is part of the American Democracy Project.
Among our faculty, Dave Loomis from Economics, and faculty and staff colleagues from the Center for Renewable Energy, have received a great deal of positive attention for studies, data and expertise on wind energy and other forms of renewable energy. Dr. Loomis has been interviewed by news outlets across the country and studies by the Center have been cited in numerous news articles, blogs and trade publications.
Chad McEvoy, associate professor of sport management in the School of Kinesiology and Recreation, is recognized nationwide as an authority on the legal aspects of collegiate and professional sports. He has been interviewed by and his studies cited by major newspapers such as USA Today and the New York Times.
And, Shelly Malin is the Advocate BroMenn Endowed Professor in the Mennonite College of Nursing. As an endowed professor, she works with faculty and Advocate BroMenn nursing leadership and staff to facilitate nursing excellence through research, evidence-based practice and professional development.
These are just a few of the literally hundreds of people and programs that define greatness at Illinois State University. As faculty and staff members, your talent and commitment is the foundation of our every success. Although our turbulent economy has forced me to maintain our tight restrictions on staff hiring, I am pleased that Illinois State was able to add 39 new faculty members for this fiscal year.
I consider it a foregone conclusion that excellent faculty and staff deserve a fair and competitive salary and benefit package, access to current technology and high quality facilities. Despite a FY2012 state appropriations reduction of about 1.5 percent, Illinois State was able to offer merit-based salary increases averaging 3 percent. We accomplished this goal by making it a high priority, and by adjusting our spending plan to accommodate the additional cost. Through careful planning, we were also able to provide a modest 2 percent increase for departmental operating budgets—the first in several years.
Our success in grant and private fund raising has also allowed us to reallocate resources for salary and operating budget increases. The Division of University Advancement reports that fund-raising for FY2011 totaled more than $13.5 million. That is a $1.27 million increase over FY2010 and represents a 10.3 percent growth in funds raised over the past year. Not only were more dollars raised, but the number of donors also increased. FY2011 brought more alumni donors than last year with a total of 9,183 alumni donors.
I am also grateful that more of you have given back to this institution. Gladly We Give ended last year with a 7 percent increase in the number of retirees, faculty, and staff members who financially supported the areas of Illinois State that mean the most to them. Last year, for the first time, Gladly We Give raised more than $1 million. I appreciate your many gifts and your financial commitment to Illinois State University.
Grant activity also reached a historic high. For FY2011, grants for Illinois State totaled $33 million, easily eclipsing our record of $22.3 million set in 2008. During the past decade, Illinois State University has received nearly $210 million in grants from federal and state agencies and private organizations and more than 100 Illinois State faculty members have received grants totaling more than a million dollars.
As I look at our physical campus environment, it is clear we have made great strides over the past several years—and it is equally clear we have much left to accomplish.
We have supported our academic facilities, beginning with the complete renovation of Schroeder Hall and by making life-safety improvements to Stevenson and Turner Halls. Those improvements seem like old news—but I remind you of them because both projects represent the last large-scale Illinois capital investment in Illinois State University.
Fighting an uphill battle against the economy, the state has tried to be supportive, with the help of our local legislators. I want to thank State Representative Dan Brady and Senator Bill Brady for recently securing $400,000 in capital funds for renovations at University High School.
Still, the limited availability of state capital funds has led to a wealth of campus innovation—and we have continued building toward the future. In support of academic facilities, just this fall we opened a 10-thousand square foot expansion of the Mennonite College of Nursing. The facility includes assessment and skill labs, a virtual hospital unit and patient simulators.
Milner Library is moving rapidly toward creating a collaborative, technology-rich environment that facilitates better outcomes for student learning and faculty research. Enhancements this year at Milner include new work, podcast and collaboration stations, the addition of iPADS for circulation, and a new multi-media center, to name just a few Milner improvements.
And, of course, just last spring semester, we formally dedicated the new home of our School of Kinesiology and Recreation at the newly renovated McCormick Hall and named our College of Business Building after State Farm Insurance, a corporate partner that has invested tens of millions of dollars into our academic enterprise.
Facility enhancements for support services include the completion of Uptown Crossing, and the continuing renovation of Hovey Hall, which will soon house both Admissions and Financial Aid.
For students, the progress has been momentous. Under construction just west of campus is the new Cardinal Court apartment complex—our first and very successful public-private housing partnership.
Of our six remaining student residence halls, five have been renovated, and the sixth, Watterson Towers is more than half way through its extensive rehabilitation process.
The Student Fitness Center, which opened last spring semester, continues to be a very popular destination for not only students—but faculty, staff members, local alumni and retirees. The Student Fitness Center draws more than 16,000 visits each week.
Those are but a few of the dozens of campus enhancement projects that have been completed over the past several years, or are scheduled for completion in the coming year. We can be proud of these accomplishments and equally proud of the creative methods used to achieve our shared facilities goals.
Still, much remains to be done. The badly needed rehabilitation of our Fine Arts Complex awaits the breakup of a political and budgetary logjam in Springfield. I am confident there will be some movement soon, and it is possible that before the end of this fiscal year we will secure at least a small measure of capital funds to begin planning in earnest for a new Fine Arts Complex. In addition, we must find ways to address a mounting backlog of unmet facility maintenance and enhancement needs in several of our academic colleges and our library.
Another facility that needs to be addressed is Hancock Stadium. Hancock Stadium serves as home field for Redbird Football games, which in and of itself, makes it an important venue for our campus and community. But, as we all know, Hancock Stadium is so much more. It is literally the most visible front door to our campus. It is the first structure most people see when arriving at Illinois State from Main Street. Hancock Stadium is where the Illinois Special Olympics kicks-off its summer games—drawing thousands of participants, and their family and friends, who gather each year to cheer them on. It is the statewide host for a variety of summer camps—many young people and their families get their first impression of Illinois State when they visit Hancock Stadium. It is also used for a variety of community events, both athletic and recreational.
Hancock Stadium is in an important location, and it serves many important roles. It is a quickly-noticed landmark that should reflect the top quality and high standards of this institution. Unfortunately—it does exactly the opposite. I will be blunt. Hancock Stadium is an eyesore. It doesn’t welcome guests—it turns them away. When it was built 50 years ago, Hancock Stadium was a fine proud facility. But during these last 50 years, the infrastructure hasn’t received a single significant upgrade—and it threatens to become an embarrassment. Hancock Stadium’s functions are too important—its placement on campus too central to allow its deterioration to continue.
Today, after consulting with student, faculty, staff and governing board leadership, I am announcing a project to significantly upgrade Hancock Stadium by the fall semester of 2013.
The renovations I propose are many—including a new east-side grandstand, with brick columns and glass walls that offer an attractive and inviting presence on Main Street. We will also create outdoor terrace spaces as well as suite and club seating to attract and steward donors and potential donors. Improvements will also be made to stadium concession areas and restrooms. I estimate the investment for this project at about $20 million. We will pay for this investment through a variety of funding mechanisms. Three years ago, our Board of Trustees approved a $1.5 million expenditure to plan for the eventual upgrade of Hancock Stadium. After tearing down the south end zone stands this summer and installing new west-side bleachers, we still have some money left to get started.
Student fees will be a prime source of funding, but I want to stress that this project will not trigger a hike in student fees, nor will we ask students to pay any new fees. The fees students already pay to support athletics and other campus facilities will be directed toward the Hancock Stadium project. Finally, we will seek funding from outside of the University—mostly in the form of gifts. I can tell you today, that we have several groups interested in joining Illinois State in this initiative. More details will follow as they become available.
I am fully aware that there are some people who will disagree with the notion of investing large sums of money into Hancock Stadium, particularly during a difficult economic environment. To those people I can only say renovating this landmark has been a priority of mine since I became President eight years ago and quite simply, it needs to be done.
One of the casualties of a weak economy is timing, and because of the needs of faculty, staff and students— other priorities rose higher and faster. But now we must act. Our student athletes, coaches, athletics staff and all of our Redbird fans deserve this. The entire University community will benefit from the project, as will our community partners in Normal and Bloomington. We all need Hancock Stadium to reflect the excellence and growing reputation of Illinois State.
In February 2012, I will ask our Board of Trustees to formally approve the Hancock Stadium renovation. I believe they will support this most important initiative.
I also want to congratulate our Athletics Department for being one of 27 programs nationwide to meet certification requirements recently by the NCAA Division I Committee on Athletics Certification. A certified designation denotes that an institution operates its athletics program in compliance with operating principles adopted by the Division I membership. There were 45 NCAA Division I institutions in this certification class. I particularly want to thank certification chair Dr. Jan Murphy for heroutstanding leadership and the Trustees, faculty, staff and alumni who served on the committees during the entire process. This was a great team effort.
The final topics I want to address are initiatives which will require also a team approach— the revision of our single most important university document, Educating Illinois, and a new Information Technology Strategic Plan.
Since its implementation more than a decade ago— Educating Illinois has helped transform Illinois State into what it is today—a top-choice public institution, and a destination for quality faculty, staff members and motivated students. It has helped us lift graduation and retention rates to historic highs. It has helped move faculty salaries closer to peer group averages and has pushed support staff salaries to, and in some cases, beyond peer levels. It has helped increase diversity and earn us the designation as a military-friendly campus.
Educating Illinois has helped rank Illinois State as a Kiplinger top 100 university for 7 straight years. It has helped make fund raising a priority, leading to our first-ever comprehensive fund raising campaign—Redefining Normal.
Educating Illinois served as a guide for our Campus Master Plan. It boosted our rankings in U.S. News and World Report. Educating Illinois led us to double our commitment to providing student scholarships for both need and merit.
Educating Illinois has been revised twice since 2001—and today, I am announcing a third revision. I have charged Vice Presidents Everts, Layzell, Minne and Dietz with beginning the pre-planning process yet this fall. I envision the campus phase of the revision to begin in the spring 2012 semester, with a goal of bringing a draft for Academic Senate review during the fall 2012 semester. I hope to achieve Board of Trustees endorsement of the revision by February 2013.
Although the update will be led by a team with cross-campus representation—all of you are the true authors of Educating Illinois—so I urge you once again to participate in creating our newest path to success.
In addition, over the next 3-5 years, we also need to focus attention on closing the gap between IT services demand and what we are able to provide. The new IT Strategic Plan 2011-2013 outlines a comprehensive list of Action Items that are needed over this time period. Preliminary estimates of the cost for the more urgent of those Action Items show that we need to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the IT services currently provided.
A first step in this direction is to look at our current investment of resources to ensure all IT activities across the campus are still needed, complementary of one another and being offered without waste or duplication of efforts.
In an effort to mobilize the entire ISU IT community to help find a solution to this problem, I have charged the Vice Presidents with creating a comprehensive 3-5 year IT plan that:
- Identifies the current IT services and captures the total IT cost to the institution
- Analyzes and measures these services based on a common framework
- Provides an analysis of the gap between the current state of IT services and those recommended in the IT Strategic Plan Action Items
- And provides a set of recommendations for how current IT resources can be reallocated to more effectively close this gap.
Finally, I am personally looking forward to another successful and fulfilling year at Illinois State University. We have scheduled an outstanding Speakers Series for the fall and early spring semesters, and I hope you will take advantage of these important lectures.
Fine Arts will offer a variety of art exhibits, musical productions and theatrical performances, and I look forward to seeing you there. Homecoming week invites us to Get-in-the-Game October 10th through the 16th—and I invite you to attend the dozens of Homecoming activities, and to support our Redbird athletes all year long. Our student leaders have also provided us with one great way to embrace our inner Redbird—by passing a SGA resolution encouraging everyone to wear red to campus each Friday. I am glad to tell our student leadership that I own several HUNDRED red ties—so you will see me with red on each Friday, and I trust all of you will help Spread the Red too.
I also want to say thank you. Some institutions use the word “engaged” as a catch phrase for a brochure, a website or a sound bite. But the people who are Illinois State University walk the talk. You are fully engaged in the classroom, research laboratory and throughout the campus community. Just as important, you engage the greater community—and I know the people of Normal, Bloomington and McLean County also know and appreciate your involvement.
You build homes for people who might otherwise not have a home. You help people with vision, speech and hearing disorders. You run errands, mow lawns and shovel snow for those who have trouble leaving their homes. You make our environment more attractive and more sustainable through projects such as Community Food Waste Compost Project. You read to children and you help them run and throw and catch better. You teach people how to grow things and how to appreciate nature. You sing, play music and act for appreciative local audiences.
Everything you do as an extension of your service to Illinois State brings the University and community closer together. You have built a cohesive University community and you have created strong and lasting bonds with the greater community.
Thank you also for supporting me during my eight years as President. You have embraced me and my family. You have treated me with kindness and respect. Your criticisms have been constructive. When you have been skeptical—you have never been cynical. You have provided me with excellent leadership and even better fellowship. Illinois State is not a perfect University—but because of you, I will always feel it is the perfect place for me. Thank you.