Each fall, hope springs anew as we celebrate the start of the academic year and welcome the arrival of new students, faculty and staff to our undeniably ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï State family. And, on every campus and in every department, there is a palpable enthusiasm and spirit for the beginning of a promising and aspirational 2016-2017 academic year.
As we begin year two of our ambitious six-year vision, A Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï State, we know that our success depends on your success as a student, a faculty member or as a staff member. We are already seeing abundant evidence of the remarkable achievements that emerge when we join our unique passions and creative potential with collective action and support. For example:
- We are welcoming another record-setting freshman class, the 10th consecutive year of enrollment growth on the ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï Campus with increasing diversity and academic success, and with growing enrollments expected on two of our Regional Campuses.
- On the Stark Campus, we anticipate welcoming 5,000+ students, including 27 Chinese students for a second year as part of a valuable partnership that is expanding our global reach and bringing the world closer to the Stark County community.
- We will open the semester with 76 new faculty members, including 15 new tenure-track faculty members from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who were recruited as a result of our strategic investment fund. We are delighted to welcome such a talented and diverse group of faculty who will assist us in continuing our commitment to inclusive excellence and meaningful voice.
- We are moving forward with our desire to enhance the university's research agenda and to increase the percentage of our full-time faculty who are tenure-track. We have launched a national search for a director of the research initiative in brain health, one of five research initiatives we will launch in the coming academic year.
- And, as we offer our first classes in the new cutting-edge Center for Architecture and Environmental Design, and with the highly innovative Integrated Sciences Building in the making, we are creating settings to facilitate epic thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration and mold-shattering discoveries.
You — the students, faculty and staff members on every campus of our wonderful university — are the reason I have so much hope for our future. You are the reason I could not be more enthusiastic about Academic Year 2016-2017 and the privilege of telling the world about the inspiring place I am so thankful to call my home. It is thrilling to see this community embrace its role as a world-class center of learning, innovation and public service.
As I thank you in advance for helping ÌìÌì³Ô¹Ï State shine even more brightly, I wish for you a great semester. Please feel free to contact me at any time at beverlywarren@kent.edu and via Twitter . Please consider using the hashtag #MyKSUVoice when your social media posts reflect your best ideas, meaningful voice and purpose-driven actions.
With best regards,
Beverly Warren