Universivas They Are in Flux, Dm
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Newsletters 1997-1998 Authors Indiana State University. Office of the President Download date 02/10/2021 23:29:37 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10484/1583 1 LIBRARY God aftcroon and thank.you bt coming. I It is traditional nc Indima state Univtnity for hepresident ta addrcs.Bc academic cammunity nrh fill c+rdZng the 'state af the unimsity," and k 6 my pleafure to so ddreos putoday. It is a splendid day and I will try not to say things that will spoil it for you. "Chmge in the hw of life. And those who bok only to the past snd present aaccrtnin tm miau the Future." PrddtntJohn F. Kennedy shared those worde with rhe American pooplc ~ver3S years dpHis remarks seem wptdally appropriate todayY The ~halZkngzbefbre US, if seems In a recent hued~y A-, z puka- hnaf tk PEW Highr Education Raltrrdtablc, the 2 di?S to me, ik for ius to nurture and ~hSEU~C: mat ia kcm~rrgclear ir that many - sarm would dalm d - ofthe basic presumptions within the idea and ideals of the ~y way of mmpbe, the authwr mabe thpoint that the telationship of studtn~to the university and the -tadom wkch dentsbring are wry much universivas they are in flux, dm. A cartwfi haracteriks abhdcot, apparently at the rq$s&a c~~r,placing hie. order. for this spe$%ph~eat this The itudcnt say, '11 Pake b checscburger, fiand Intm to Chaucet* partidar time. So, psk wdws, "Are times &a*-?' Yes, Of spcdd dplcan~far Indiana State University will bc thc rcaoctcdimtion af our universiey by dw North Ckntral Aimciation in 1999. In oida rn preparc for reaccreditation, we will, thie year, review and revise mu univcr*'w% strategic plan. In fict, the pcacbss has already begun. Aswe mMonthe important ee~kof upbating our currmt stmt~~icplan nnd as weprepare br NCA reac- creditah, it ts important to ahwrd~our most 'rwcnt ucc-hhments, far there have bccn many?Let me briefly sltarc wich you aoma nchkvmcntr of the past fiie years that have pleased and impressed many dus. At ISV, dqi '* - " ancial consiraints and, as a result of carefi1 planning and reallocation of base resources, our annard budget ha been kept in balance, we base avoided lay-01sand mid-year budget ~eversions,compensation inmases Qmeexceeded inflation annul #- and the percentage of the univmsrlyi budget expended on inshurtion, student services, and studentjinancial aid bas inmeased aob& relatiwe expendihrresfir opdonsand maintenance of plant, institdmZ support or adminhtration hacue decZined. Togetkwe have come a long way on the course we ckarted when we devised our *Strategic Planfor the 21st Century.*I could not be monepleased. You sshould be pleased, as well.Jut as we have addressed the chuLlengees ofsome five ye^::^ ago, I am conflidnt tbat we will respond to the ckullenges weface today. For we hue learned that chalIenges are, aper all, opy%rfunitiesfor achievement. sperXi gkoat thia puridar tim. Aa we mot& fmrd into the alst C~ntury,9ve &odd not fwdcc our hhmkal mlasion. Indiaria St-" 1 aid, 'hdd rhvaya b&fd of ib trrd;tional arld nrmt bdi- students ofms another mmdnlues -vntuea that prw'de clarity ofpnrpoee and pdd op~ortanityfor dist.e'nction.Tbe Wcshld wahs amad student mcea + Wc sbdd&t Qiuity university ls Honors Program is We sbooM #am r premlum mh thevalue ofervim &Weshould tre a ~esppnsiveinstitution where the iwds one of ISUS "@a of+de,"it ofout dcnnma the'& we nm we d'pammuht importance- * We sbuU &$ Inhnmd cxpciincgtian ~inr~.sbnmd, ~rl~ltdfirr ~n&a,w ~mta ~ltm academic experience that b second mUenm ln eU htwedo By adaphg an ideel oidiice that rnirrocs dmtcudn our spxiel tdeiuiy and dues.. to none in Indkna. We sboddand wi#pursuc opportunities to diversz3 andstrengtben it, and to Larger number of talented students. Related&, we zu2YZseek to expand the number ofhmniand President k Scbolarrs enrolled at the now are being asked to provide more information and data our r;'ves - how we live, teach, learh, work, and play. related to how cff~ti~lyan8 efficiently wc qxrate. Paculty Technolagy hae impacted the fldrninistrative enviroiunent wak!o;ads and piiorities arc being challenged, as is the tenure rather obviously - automated sysrerns will help w to wve optern. A national panel has ken creawd m examine higher aad manage mow e'ficiedy and effectively. But thc..most education cost0. Numerous atntes, induding Indiana, have or dramatic techndogicrtl changee will accur in the academic $an to link state appropriations to performance, ueually domain; who, what, how, where, arld when we teach..and measured by retention adgraduation rates. learn wdbe dcered beyond our wildest imagination during IncreasingIy, higher education will be held accqunhble the dccade ahead. fot what wctt daing, how we're doing It, nnd where and for Already we are aware that satellites are Linking class- whom WE are daing it. rmms across univenik, websites are bebg used to discmi- nate infarmation, as weU as being ised as a teaching tool, e- Demopfli mail is becorning a standard communicarian medium, and virtual classmoms are a reality. Without question, tcchnologi- Whiile the western, eastern, and southern of the @ens cal changes will continue to stimulate; energize, and invigo- country arc bracing an influx of new students as a result for af rate the academic process, population growth, the Midwest is expccted to grow only slightly. In Indiana, the number of high school graduates will increase modestly. This suggests that the traditional college Competition age population will offer only minimal opportunity for When the implications of these external forces are enrollment growth in Indiana. Most opportunities will wme considered collectively, they contribute to a dynamic competi- through service to new clienteIes, including adults and tive marketplace. Competition for students, faculty, resources, "distance Iearners." and public support is increasing daily. Cornperition, then, is the order of the day. Financial Constraints With the challenges and opportunities of this Unew Ironically, despite a healthy state and national economy, reality" becoming more apparent to us, how must ISU financial constraints have increased for most of America's respond in order to become even more resilient? colleges and universities. During the early part of the current Let me mention first some things that I believe we must decade, the portion of state budgets allocated to higher avoid, such as giving credence to "false academic dichotomies" education declined; in Indiana, the percentage of state hnding - things that contribute to unnecessary tensions among us. for lugher education has slipped from 17.1% in 1987 to 14.8% Access versus success in 1997. Consequently, tuition has increased sharply and Egalitarianism versus elitism students are being asked to pay for more of the total cost of their educations at public universities. Unfortunately, some Teaching versus research students now are finding a college education unaffordable. As Undergraduate education versus graduate education a result, enrollment in Indiana's public universities has Liberal education versus professional education declined by approximately 14,000 students or nearly 5 percent Campus based education versus distance education statewide since 1992. Faculty versus administration At ISU, despite these financial constraints and as a result Support staff versus the rest of us of careful planning and reallocation of base resources, our and me wmus you and them annd budget has been kept In balance, we have avoided Iay- I 0% and mid-yeat budget revedons, compensation incmasco Thcsc are countrr-prcdmive dcbam that tend to over have ex& inflation annually, and the pemntage of the siqdify the complexly ctfwho we are and what we do. These university's budget expended tm lnstructim, s~ckntservices, arc kbatcs hat divide us as rm academic community. Instcad, and student financial aid ha increased while relative crpndi- we must strive to define iaues and construct solutiorrs thu tures f~roperations and mPinamanct d plant, institutional will causc us to cl~nttogether, on common ground, for the support or administration haw destined. god af tk university. The b~ttamline, hawua, b that despStc generally We alsa must avoid putting ourselm ita mmpetitive propmms economic times, the fi~aldronment for liighcr disadvlntago because of excessively claw and unresponsiue edvcetim is not likely to Lnpmw mppreciahly. admidstrative knmaucracy nnd governance. We must learn to be more timely in our actions. We must become a more agile universiity. Technology Most importantly, we must also amid what George Technol~i'cal,innwatiorrs ate impacting every aspect of F, Indiana State Univtmity &)me calls &e *dvw bullet syndmme' - the tcndev ta approach mqh with Aft, siwgle, quick f- such as: chaw the Iddwions ply, run tbc place like a It is my view that our mission as ba$inej$ hest-re mdhv In mar%okim& emphaskc bnmacld aid'leueceging;cut out this program or that m; ek a compehensipre, doctoral degree Dehrre awes pmasklythat eenthough we nctd multiple atraaegics, there is fro suhtitute fbr mating high-plity granting unk --sity shouldbe programs that students value. Qur emphasis must be nn the pmsbsf teaching and hrning- in .otherwork qua& cdwahn. preserved and nurtured. Our aca- demic strength lies in both our liberal andprofkssbnulprograms of stzi . rnd our mutzsally inter- Hmcan w& gain immscd oompraciw odwa+b a dependent undergradzrate Cqe~iiiwmacketplk? and .Ad, for uht'h16ISU active ~o.hhand 9.1 edmlredf graduate programs; together, they define us as a "kiversity." Ill It is my view that our mhion as acmprehenim, doctoral degree panting uoiv+y slddbc p-d .rind mur& Our adwkmtig& lia In both aur Ebcrii~aid unbedv, it baldow &at the vaat majority of our chrde~tn, pro- pro* oEt~p~~dQW mrurtdy:i&- pwln6, amn.unqi and energy we c& in imdcrgmh- depaudclnt uudetpadunkmd $.adwr *ma; oogethtta stt education.