Thank you for your support during the HLC visit

March 21, 2012

Dear Colleagues:

The team from the Higher Learning Commission has just completed its long-scheduled focused visit. I want to thank you for giving team members a warm welcome and for speaking with evident pride about our University community and our commitment to strategic planning.

As you know, this focused visit was planned to assess the university-level planning that has taken place since the HLC’s comprehensive visit to WMU in October 2010. The University strategic plan, approved by our trustees in December, was an item of particular interest, so my appreciation extends to all who played a role in the development of that document.

The outstanding preparation for this visit was handled by a Universitywide steering committee led by Dean Margaret Merrion of the College of Fine Arts. She and her committee did a wonderful job of gathering and organizing information, getting input from the campus community, setting a schedule and ensuring that the HLC team was respectfully received and had full access to the materials and information needed.

While we will not receive the commission’s final statement until this summer, I can tell you the two team members who visited did let us know how impressed they were with the tenor of their reception on campus and with the opportunities they had to interact with so many people.

Thank you for representing our University so well and for the extra time and effort that went into making this important event a success.

Best regards,
John M Dunn (signature)
John M. Dunn, President