Chancellor Donald J. Reaves
There has certainly been a tremendous amount of activity on campus over the past several weeks, and we still have our Homecoming celebration to come later this month.
As students arrived on campus in August and we began to look at our enrollment, it became obvious to me that there was certainly a shift in the make-up of our student body for 2009-2010. While we had approximately 500 fewer first time freshmen enrolled, our overall total number of students appears to be remaining at slightly over 6,400. We had originally thought that the total would remain stable based on an increased number of transfer students. In the final count, the increase will probably come from returning students. That is very good news, and we are hopeful that this is a trend that will continue since it means that we are making progress with our efforts to improve our student retention rate. We know that improving retention is a necessary step in being able to increase the number of students who graduate from WSSU. As you know, both of these areas continue to be my top priorities for the university.
Another area that has been receiving a great deal of attention is our strategic plan, “Achieving Academic Distinction: The Plan for Student Success.”
After much discussion and input from the university’s stakeholders, the plan defines the new vision for the university: “Winston-Salem State University develops graduates of distinction known for leadership and service in their professions and communities.” This vision certainly supports our heritage of “Enter to learn. Depart to serve.” It also sets the stage for our mission to prepare students for success in the twenty-first century.
Over the next several months, you will be hearing much more about the strategic plan as we finalize some of the strategies necessary to support the objectives that will be outlined for each of the goal areas: academic excellence, student success, community engagement; efficiency, effectiveness and resources; and university culture and pride. You will also hear me speaking more to the aspirations that I believe are necessary to support our vision of graduating students of distinction.
Finally, I feel I should comment one last time concerning the decision I made to terminate the transition to NCAA Division I for our athletic program. As you have heard me say, that was the hardest decision I have had to make in my entire academic career. While I believe WSSU should be a Division I school, my highest priority commitment is to academic excellence. Our athletes and our teams are extremely important to this university. They help bind students and alumni to the school and they are wonderful marketers for our name as well. Yet, I could not continue to allow athletics to siphon resources that we desperately need to support all of our students in their pursuit of higher education.
I also have committed to taking the time necessary to find the right athletic director for our program and to ensure that the new AD is capable of raising the revenue that we need to have the best possible program in Division II. While I hope to make the selection before Thanksgiving, we must ensure that the person selected can provide the leadership we need for the athletic department and for the university.
In academics and athletics, I believe we are positioning Winston-Salem State for a successful future.<–>
