President's Report to the University Senate

October 25, 2004

submitted by President Leland

1.                  Budget Update

As I am sure you have heard, the BOR has found a way to lessen the effect of the budget shortfall this fiscal year.   It accomplished this in two ways:

·        A $27.8 million dollar reduction to the USG’s employee health plan reserve;

·        The redirection of  $9.4 million from a University of Georgia reserve fund, that had been earmarked for an economic development project that did not pan out

We still don’t know what our cut will be since the USG is still looking for another $7.3 million.  But I expect it to be approximately $400,000.

That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the dollars that the USG will use to cover some of the budget shortfall this fiscal year are from one-time funding sources.  That means that the shortfall will reappear in the next fiscal year, compounded by a need to replenish the employee health plan reserve.

It is likely that some of this will be covered by increased tuition revenue.  The Chancellor has appointed a tuition task force.  Dr. Paul Jones is representing our university.

The upshot of these circumstances is that a number of our current unfilled positions will need to be eliminated and others will need to remain frozen until the landscape for the next fiscal year become clear.   Once we have actual numbers, we’ll present recommendations to the Budget and Planning Committee.

2.                  Possible Name Change

It is not a happy circumstance when the press gets information prior to the administration’s ability to discuss it with appropriate constituencies.  About three weeks ago, University System of Georgia staff notified system presidents that they could consider name changes and asked them to indicate within a very short turn-around time their intent to pursue this option.

I had planned to discuss a possible name change with you today and with our alumni association board later this week.  But after having a similar discussion with another group, I learned that the press was about to run with a name change story and I issued a preliminary informational message to the university community.

Of particular relevance to our situation, the BOR will no longer require state universities to use the words “state university” as part of their official names.  It was that former requirement that led us to change from “Georgia College” to “Georgia College & State University” in 1996.

Although some people are happy with this name, many others find it confusing, awkward and lacking in distinction. Additionally, external agencies and individuals frequently misidentify us as Georgia State University or Georgia State College.  This has created problems with some student records; it has required our staff to deal with frequent phone inquiries intended for Georgia State; and it has resulted in a persistent misidentification of our institution by media outlets and others outside of the state of Georgia.  For example, last Spring I gave a talk at Purdue University, which is my alma mater:  the headline in Indiana newspapers read “President of Georgia State Speaks at Purdue.” So much for garnering out of state recognition for our wonderful university!

 Since we were given the opportunity to reconsider this matter, I decided to open this up for deliberation.  My intent is to put a proposal on the table for deliberation and based on the input I receive, decide how to proceed from there.

Specifically,  the proposal I intend to  put on the table is that we change our name to “Georgia College” with the further identifier “Georgia’s Public Liberal Arts University.”  This is similar to the naming strategy used by Rutgers, whose formal name is Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.  The long name is used on official documents (letterhead, diplomas, recruitment and promotional material) while the short name is used in less formal contexts.

The use of the term college to designate liberal arts institutions with graduate programs is quite common.  COPLAC institutions include the College of Charleston, Evergreen State College, Keene State College, and SUNY College at Geneseo.  Examples of private institutions include Rollins College, Boston College, Middlebury College, and Dartmouth College.  Some of these institutions also offer strong professional programs.

We are preparing a survey so that we can see how faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends respond to this proposal.  The survey will also allow people to provide comments and other suggestions.  If there is strong support for a name change, the next step would be to consider an implementation timeline that would avoid unnecessary expenditures.  Both the name change proposal and implementation timeline would be brought to the University Senate as a resolution, which you will either support or reject.  After that, it would need to be approved by the Board of Regents.

3.                  Commencement

Speaking of change, I am sure that you have heard that we’ve been considering some changes to our commencement ceremonies.  Last spring, we exceeded the capacity of the Centennial Center and we were in violation of fire code.  To control crowd size, we’ll need to issue tickets for guests of our graduates.  Many other universities do this, but this will be a significant change for our students and is the source of some understandable distress. 

We are also looking at the feasibility of moving commencement from the Centennial Center to the front campus.  The Centennial Center has a serious sound problem and is a marginally satisfactory facility for ceremonial events.  I’d like to see if we can create a truly distinguished commencement ceremony that reflects the kind of university we have become.  This would include a high profile commencement speaker and a beautiful setting.  But many logistical details need to be considered, including staging, inclement weather plans, and crowd control and capacity.  Reports on planning progress will be presented to the Student Affairs Committee.

4.                  Faculty/Student Ratio

Dr. Michael Gass, Director of Institutional Research, has discovered that we have been using different formulas to calculate our student/faculty ratio.   To remedy this situation, we have adopted the formula used by the Common Data Set Initiative, which sets national standards.  Using this formula, our faculty/student ratio is 15:1, as reported in the most recent U.S. News & World Report rankings that listed GC&SU as one of the top twenty public universities in the South.

5.                  Holistic Approach to Admissions

Many selective liberal arts institutions use a holistic approach in their admissions process. This kind of approach involves going beyond the examination of the college prep curriculum, standardized test scores and GPA to consider additional factors such as school profile, awards and honors, extracurricular activities, personal attributes and characteristics, race and ethnicity, and socioeconomic and educational background.  Universities that use a holistic approach to applicant evaluation usually involve faculty in the process.

Last year, we rejected many applicants that met our minimum standards, which indicates that we are competitive enough to begin reviewing our applicants more holistically.  As our admissions department moves in this direction, it would greatly benefit from the insight of faculty who would like to participate in the freshman applicant evaluation process.  Please let Dr. Jones know if you are interested.

6.                  Inauguration

I’ve posted an open letter to the University community regarding the inauguration.  The letter both invites faculty, students and staff to attend a variety of events and also explains that skipping an inauguration was not an option for a University System of Georgia institution.  We’ve tried to create an inclusive and low budget affair, with all expenses being covered by donations.

Some people have wondered about an inaugural ball, noting that the last time a president was inaugurated at GC&SU such an event was held in the Centennial Center and anyone who paid $25.00 could come.  As a point of clarification, I want to note that I decided not to have an inaugural ball but an old fashion sock hop for faculty and staff instead.  It is free; we won’t have to rent tuxes or buy dresses, and it should be a time for relaxation and fun.

The GC&SU foundation will be holding a cocktail buffet Friday evening following the investiture ceremony.  This is a scholarship fundraiser hosted by the foundation for its major donors.