Welcome back Huskies!

It's good to have everyone back on campus. We are beginning a new academic year with exciting new programs, but also many challenges.

Our enrollment is slightly down again, in spite of our increased focus on recruitment and retention. We know the pool of prospective students is smaller, but we believe that is not the entire picture. So, we have joined the Student Success Collaborative, a new advising platform, to help us learn about roadblocks to scheduling and patterns contributing to high attrition rates in some programs.

Most important, the SSC will help us to better serve and support all of our students.

Decreased enrollment affects our budget. We expect a gap of approximately $5 million dollars between revenue and expenditures for the 2015 - 2016 academic year. The 3.5 percent increase in tuition helps narrow the gap. We continue to make sure every expenditure aligns with our mission to provide a high-quality, affordable education for our students.

One way we align our mission with the needs of the commonwealth is by introducing new high-demand programs. We now have a major in Supply Chain Management and minors in Aging Studies and Gerontology, and Spatial Analysis and Geographic Information Systems.

We received approval for the College of Education’s undergraduate Online Instruction Program Endorsement, the first in the state. These exemplify the progressive thinking of our faculty and their dedication to our students.

#CollaborativeLearning #SenseOfCommunity #CoCurricularLearning

Celebrating achievement, community involvement

Last week was very busy, yet exciting and uplifting, as I participated in many end-of-the-academic-year celebrations of student achievement and community involvement. The week’s events culminated with Alumni Weekend and the annual Alumni Awards Dinner on Saturday, where we honored eight graduates for significant contributions to their professions or the university.

The celebration continues this week, starting with Sunday’s annual Scholarship Luncheon. Dozens of our best students had the opportunity to personally meet and thank the benefactors who provided their scholarships. It is a wonderful event where alumni and friends of BU can see firsthand how their scholarships make it possible for our students to pursue degrees that lead to professional and personal success.

There are so many opportunities to congratulate and celebrate with our high-achieving students that Provost Ira Blake and I coordinate our schedules to ensure at least one of us attends each event.

 After all, student achievement is at the heart of all we do, and neither of us wants to miss the chance to applaud our successful students.

This week, I will participate in the following:

• Board of Governors Scholars Dinner for Seniors
• Dinner at Buckalew Place with outgoing and new members of the CGA Executive Committee
• Scholar-Athlete Luncheon
• Husky Awards Ceremony
• Presidential Leadership Program End-of-the-Year Banquet
• TRiO Upward Bound Summer Academy Orientation
• Spring Open House for High School Juniors
• College of Education Awards Ceremony
• College of Liberal Arts Awards Ceremony

And next week, after finals are completed, we will continue to celebrate with graduate commencement Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in Haas Center for the Arts, and undergraduate commencement Saturday, May 9, at 8:30 a.m., noon and 3:30 p.m. on the Academic Quad.

#CollaborativeLearning #SenseOfCommunity #CoCurricularLearning