Office of the President

The President’s Perspective

It’s been two weeks since the end of spring break and we’re headed quickly toward spring commencement. For those of you who didn’t travel or take vacation days during break, thank you for holding down the fort during that period and continuing the important work that keeps us on track as an institution. Your efforts help us remain ready to take advantage of every opportunity to move forward.

During spring recess, I traveled to Florida, where I was able to meet a number of our alumni and supporters—many for the first time. The trip was an affirmation of the kind of impact we have on people’s lives and the loyalty and devotion that our alumni feel for this University. Their enthusiasm for the University is contagious, and they have an almost unquenchable thirst for information about life on campus and in Kalamazoo. Those are outcomes we need to communicate whenever we talk about the edge that comes from being a WMU student.

United Way total

One of the things that most impressed me last year when I first visited Kalamazoo was the community’s commitment to service and taking care of its own. Nowhere is that more true than on this campus, and one outstanding indicator is the WMU community’s contributions to United Way. Recently, we closed the books on the fall 2007 campaign. I’m delighted to tell you that the WMU community raised $250,383 this year—more than $35,000 and 16.5 percent above our $215,000 goal. I am so proud of the way we come together as a campus to support the work of United Way agencies. Thank you. A special note of appreciation goes to Bob Beam for his leadership and service as the chair of the WMU campaign.

Student Recognition

English students spend spring recess representing WMU

Ten of our undergraduate English majors spent their spring recess in Louisville, Ky., as invited presenters at the national convention of English honor society Sigma Tau Delta. Not only were they asked to present their scholarly and creative work, but they were also invited to participate in the Outstanding Chapter exhibition at the convention to help educate and mentor other chapters.

Founded in 2005, WMU’s Sigma Tau Delta chapter is among the youngest of the organization’s more than 700 U.S. chapters, but it is considered among the most active and vital and a role model for other chapters. This is the third year in a row that all of the WMU students who submitted their work for consideration made the final cut. That’s a tribute to their hard work and the faculty members who mentor them.

Those outstanding students, all Michigan residents, are Conor Burke of Fenton, Jennifer Dempsey of Romeo, Gregory Flynn of Kalamazoo, Sarah Hercula of Warren, Dan Kenzie of Plymouth, Caroline Lampinen of Novi, Sara Long of Grand Rapids, Patrick Love of Royal Oak, Jessica Rethman of Novi, and Theresa Thomas of West Bloomfield. The Sigma Tau Delta faculty advisor is Dr. Lisa Minnick, assistant professor of English.

CAB Board wins national honors for student programming.

Our Campus Activities Board in Student Activities and Leadership has been selected by Campus Activities Magazine as Campus Programming Board of the Year for 2007. CAB was selected through an open nomination process in which artists and agents as well as other institutions can nominate organizations they admire for various awards. Our student board was first named one of five finalists for the award and then named the overall winner. It’s a tribute to the wonderful group of students on our board and the variety of programming they provide for their fellow students.

Faculty recognition

Our faculty members continue to pull in accolades from their peers around the state and nation. Here are just a few of many recent honors to note. Such external recognition of our faculty members does great honor to them and to the University at which they have chosen to build their careers. Please join me in congratulating them.

Kehew named Michigan’s Geologist of the Year

Dr. Alan Kehew, professor of geosciences, was named Michigan’s 2007 Outstanding Geologist of the year by the Michigan Section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists. He was lauded for contributing to the understanding glacial geology and the glacial events that shaped Michigan’s rich geologic past. In particular, he was honored for his contributions to a mapping project funded by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Two in physics praised by colleagues

Two of our physics faculty standouts have been praised this winter by their professional colleagues. Dr. Arthur McGurn, who last fall became the 2007 WMU Distinguished Faculty Scholar, was named a fellow of the Optical Society of America. Dr. McGurn was named for his research on light and linear and nonlinear optics and his advancement of the discipline of optics.

Meanwhile, the American Physical Society selected Dr. John Tanis as one of a small number of peer reviewers selected as this year as outstanding referees. Dr. Tanis was one of the inaugural group of 534 referees honored from among 42,000 who do this essential work for the society’s journals. This is considered a lifetime achievement recognition for service to the profession.

Weinreich named AGHE fellow

Dr. Donna Weinreich, professor of social work, has been named a fellow of the Association of Gerontology in Higher Education. She is just one of seven specialists in gerontology to be tapped for the honor that recognizes achievement in the areas of teaching, research and scholarship at AGHE-member institutions.

Outreach

Two WMU counselors help NIU recover

Please join me in thanking Drs. Evelyn Winfield and Delores Walcott of our counseling center for their work at Northern Illinois University last month, helping that institution cope with the aftermath of shootings that took the lives of five NIU students. We knew immediately that the response to that tragedy had the potential to overwhelm NIU’s counseling staff. I’m grateful to our staff and faculty members who showed such willingness to lend their assistance. We are all one campus when such a tragedy occurs.

Voluntary System of Accountability

Many of you know that the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges—NASULGC—has proposed and begun to implement a Voluntary System of Accountability designed to make our campuses more transparent by making data accessible and easy to understand. While we need to work together to determine how we will best be able to report academic outcomes in the future, we already have gathered much of the necessary data for other parts of the initiative. We’re working now to put it into a template developed by NASULGC called “College Portrait” and expect to mount that information on the University’s Web site soon. I think this is an important initiative and one from which we can only benefit as a University.

Enrollment

Thanks to the hard work of so many of you, our enrollment picture for fall continues to look promising. I’ve been able to attend some of the Gold Pride receptions for admitted students being held around the state and must tell you I’ve been gratified by the level of enthusiasm expressed by both our prospective students and their parents. They’re excited about the programs and level of academic quality they have found at WMU, and they report having wonderful interactions with staff and faculty during their visits and phone and e-mail contacts with our University. We had three events in the Detroit area, one in Lansing and one in Chicago. Just this week we held the final events in Grand Rapids, after rescheduling due to a weather cancellation.

Save the dates

Two important dates should be on your 2008 calendars. The first is May 28, which will be WMU Day at the Capitol. We’re planning on spending the entire day showcasing every aspect of our University on the capitol grounds in Lansing. You’ll be receiving much more information on this soon, but mark your calendars now and plan to be part of the fun.

The second date is Saturday, Nov. 8, when WMU’s football team will play the University of Illinois at Ford Field in Detroit. While you’re marking your calendar for game day, be sure to highlight the week leading up to the event. We plan to use the period to highlight WMU’s connections in Detroit, so there will be a number of events in that area, and I want to encourage as broad a swath of our students, faculty and staff as possible to be part of the activities.

Inauguration

Today, March 24, I will have the privilege of being formally installed as WMU’s eighth president. I am grateful for the effort and planning that has gone into the event and eager to showcase our University to the guests who will join us today. I hope you consider responding positively to the Board of Trustees’ invitation to attend the Miller Auditorium ceremony. I’d like the celebration to include each of you. My hope is that we can use the event to focus on our strength as an institution and recommit ourselves to our University, our students and the future.

Best regards,

John M. Dunn
President

TOP