ONU IN 2006
Opening Day
August 30, 2006
Good Morning and welcome, again, to a new academic year at Ohio Northern University. I hope all of you have had a delightful summer and that it has included lots of time with family and friends. Toby and I celebrated the first birthday of our grandson, Tanus, and then greeted the arrival of our first granddaughter, Kenedy, on August 14 while we were accompanying 40 ONU alums and friends on a ten day tour of Alaska. What fun!
Last year was another outstanding one for the University, and, as has been my tradition for the past seven years, I want to take some time this morning to review some of its highlights before talking with you about some of the issues, plans and activities that will occupy our attention this year. Since our University has always been, first and foremost, about students, I want to start by reviewing some of the ways in which our students represented us—and made us proud, very proud-- last year.
When I spoke with you last fall, I noted that Mr. Jason Duff, a May, 2005 graduate, had won the regional competition in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards program in Cleveland and would, as a consequence, participate (along with 13 others) in the international finals that would culminate in the announcement of the winners in Orlando in October. Well, I’m pleased to tell you this morning that Jason finished second in this international competition, winning the social impact award as one of the top student entrepreneurs in the world.
Sharing the national spotlight with Jason last year were four other ONU students. Chris Lemon, a P-3, won a highly prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Fellowship which recognizes excellent math and science undergraduates. This represented the second year in a row that an ONU student achieved success in this exceedingly rigorous competition that honors only about 325 students nationwide each year. Kevin Saghy, a senior in Communication Arts, became the top person in the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) when he was elected president of the organization at its national conference in San Francisco in April. His colleague, Melissa Csuhran, a junior in Communication Arts, was elected as Vice President for Internships and Jobs at the same conference. Obviously, Steve Iseman, the coordinator of our excellent program in public relations and communication, has done a fabulous job of preparing his students for these kinds of national roles. Finally, Wes Hostetler, a distinguished member of last year’s football team, achieved First Team All-America and second team Academic All-America status and was chosen as the Most Valuable Player in the Aztec Bowl and as a participant in the Hula Bowl in Honolulu. It will be a long time, I suspect, before some of us will forget the commentators on national television referring to Wes as a student at ONU in Ada, Ohio, as he participated in that game.
Our greatest national attention in 2005-06, however, probably came on a rain-soaked field on a blustery afternoon in October when the ONU football team defeated Mount Union 21-14 and ended its almost 100 game streak of home victories. Ultimately, of course, Mount Union, won the National Championship in Division III. But, on that day—and for several thereafter—the focus was on Ohio Northern University and what it had accomplished. Sports Illustrated covered the story, as did the New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today. It even made ESPN’s “Top 10 Plays of the Day.” And, at every one of the alumni events Toby and I attended last year, spontaneous applause greeted Toby’s description of that extraordinary day and the wonderful celebration that welcomed our team back to Ada. It was a very special time for our University.
As you know, our football team, ultimately, finished second in the OAC with an 8-2 record. Altogether, 11 members of the team received All-Conference honors; equally importantly, the team GPA for the spring of 2006 was, at 2.80, the second highest in the past 13 years. Only in the spring of 2005 was it higher at 2.89. Good things are obviously happening in our football program and we are grateful to Coach Paul and his colleagues for the superb guidance they are providing these fine young men. Now, we’d like to have a season this year, Coach Paul, just like last year’s-- but this time we’d like to go all the way to the National Championship!!
But, our football team wasn’t the only one that was successful last year. For example, the Men’s Swimming and Diving team won its second consecutive OAC championship and Nick Frankle was again named OAC Swimmer of the Year. While earning first team All-OAC honors, Erika Roof and Karlee Kanuckel led ONU’s Women’s Volleyball team to its 18th OAC championship and participation in the NCAA play-offs. Not to be outdone, our Men’s Club Volleyball team, under the leadership of Steven Wright and David Millward compiled a 37-9 record and finished third in the national championship held in Salt Lake City. Our Men’s basketball team did not get the NCAA play-off bid it so very richly deserved, but it did earn second place in the OAC with a 21-6 record. Moreover, Greg Badenhop was a First Team OAC pick, while Nate Lieb was a Second Team selection. Bart Hostetler was named Academic All-Conference and earned Honorable Mention honors in the all-conference selection process. But, who will soon forget the night Ty Klofta wrestled for the national championship at 125 pounds! Toby and I watched the webcam presentation that night and we’re still convinced that Ty won. Unfortunately, the refs didn’t agree awarding it to Ty’s opponent by one point. Nevertheless, Ty was and is a super ONU champion. So are all the other ONU athletes who won conference championships last year including Chad Eagy, Ryan Robertson, Jon Graupmann, Ryan Garry, Rafael Manriquez, Sara McGinnis, Abby Schulte and Joy Kessler in track, Jessica Ewald, Lukas Leitnaker, Nathaniel Peyton, and Rob Frankle in swimming. In addition, Sara McGinnis was named Division III Women’s Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year and Jenny Markle of our Women’s Basketball team, led the nation in three point shooting at 51.8%.
Last year was also a great one for other student teams. For example, our concrete canoe team in the College of Engineering took second place at the regional competition in Ada and, for the first time, qualified for the national competition in Oklahoma. In Stillwater, it won the American Concrete Institute Award for Excellence in Design for its unique design of our canoe, American Pride, and finished 13th among the 23 teams that qualified for the national finals. Other engineering students won the Ohio Flexible Pavements Competition this year for the second time and students in Technological Studies won three gold awards, one silver and one bronze at the National Robotics Challenge. College of Business Administration students had a good year as well. The Students in Free Enterprise chapter won the runner-up award at the regional competition in Cincinnati in April and the students in our American Marketing Association chapter won two awards at their national conference in Orlando where they competed against 130 chapters and 1400 students from across the United States. And, while these students were in Florida, students in the Society for the Advancement of Management placed third at the business case competition at Wittenberg University. ONU’s chapter of Tau Beta Sigma, the national music honorary, won the Counselors Cup for the second year in a row at its convention in Charleston, West Virginia. This award is the highest the chapter can receive and testifies to the fabulous service and leadership of ONU music students. And, thanks to the great work of Jeffrey Garber and Jacqueline Mikita, our National Tax Team won third place at the annual National Tax Moot Court competition in St Petersburg.
Other ONU students excelled individually last year as well. In Pharmacy, 32 students worked with faculty on research projects that resulted in publications or presentations and one, Aleda Hess, a May graduate, was the lead author on an article she wrote with Donnie Sullivan. Students in Arts and Sciences enjoyed similar success. Indeed, one, Lisa Scheckelhoff, co-authored an article for the Journal of Algebra, Number Theory and Applications with Mihai Caragiu. In Engineering, Justin Stiles, now with Marathon, served as President of the State Student Council of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers. Ryan Anderson, in Business, participated in Barron’s student stock picking challenge and finished 6th in the nation with a 66.5% gain. Adam VonAlmen, in Music, competed in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) student auditions and finished first in the Sophomore College Men category. Lindsay Naiman, a senior in Musical Theatre, placed second in the Upper Level Men and Women Musical Theatre category. Adam and Lindsay are the co-stars of Once Upon a Mattress which will be performed on this stage September 15-17. Come and watch them. You won’t be disappointed! And, finally, I don’t want to omit the ONU student who won first place at the Lima/Art Space exhibition last spring. Her name was Toby Baker! The second place winner in this exhibition was another ONU person, Mr. Ed Corle, who graduated in 1978.
Of course, the incredible success and accomplishment of these students is due, in no small measure, to the tremendous opportunities, support, advice, and help provided by our faculty and staff. And, the successes and accomplishments of these individuals in 2005-06 were just as impressive as those of our students. As we speak, for example, we are in the process of bringing more than $30 million in new construction and renovation to conclusion. Most of this work, of course, has been done by outside contractors. Indeed, for the past several weeks, it has not been at all unusual for us to have more than 300 workers a day on campus focused on the four construction projects that have been underway since last summer. We are enormously grateful to these dedicated individuals and to their commitment to complete these projects on time and on budget and we intend to honor them with an outdoor barbecue at the president’s house before our football game on September 16.
Yet, these construction projects have required enormous commitment and hard work on the part of the university’s highly dedicated and very hard working plant staff. When Lima Hall had to be cleaned out after graduation to prepare it for the transformation that has occurred this summer, we turned to our plant staff. When we needed the floors waxed and additional cleaning in the new areas, we did the same thing. When we had to schedule and sequence all the various tasks that had to be completed in order for us to be prepared to receive students on the first of September, we, again, called upon the expertise and dedication of our plant professionals. There can be no doubt, therefore, that the successful completion of these four major projects would not have been possible without teamwork and extraordinary effort on the part of everyone. For that, we are enormously grateful and I want to take this opportunity this morning to commend everyone involved in these projects on their incredibly hard work and to thank them for their fabulous commitment.
Of course, the Hakes-Pierstorf Family Pharmacy Education Center, the new housing areas, and the new White Bear Inn and Faculty/Staff Dining Room are not the only new additions to the ONU campus. Thanks to the phenomenal work of Howard Fenton and his colleagues in the College of Law, we were able to welcome twelve international students to campus to complete an LL.M. in “Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law” when the fall semester opened in the middle of August. This is a highly innovative and exciting new program that is funded with a $700,000 grant from the Department of State that was obtained with the support and very active help of Senator Mike DeWine. Toby and I were delighted to have the opportunity to meet and interact with several of our new international students at the opening day dinner for new law students on August 17. They are very impressive and will, I know, make important contributions to the life of the University during their stay with us.
Another new initiative for this fall is a product of a collaboration between the College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering. With the help of a $50,000 grant from the Kern Family Foundation, these colleges will create an entrepreneurship education program that will be available as a minor in the College of Business and as an option in the College of Engineering. Jim Fenton, J. D. Yoder, and Rob Kleine provided the key leadership for this exciting proposal and we are very grateful for their initiative and efforts.
But, this kind of effort and initiative is apparent across the University. In Arts and Sciences, for example, the faculty revised the Faculty Constitution and the comprehensive faculty evaluation plan. In addition, all fifteen departments participated in a review and evaluation process which included information and analysis about a variety of different factors and a three hour meeting with the dean.
The College of Business Administration focused, last year, on its “brand” or identity. Focus groups where business leaders and ONU business graduates were asked to talk candidly about our program were held in Lima, Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland, and Troy. The college faculty and the advisory board are now working their way through the many comments and recommendations that were a product of this very important effort.
In Pharmacy, a successful visit by representatives of ACPE in November resulted in the renewal of the accreditation of our program for another four years. In addition, faculty in the College of Pharmacy generated almost $71,000 last year in support of college programs. Indeed, if we include the major grants from the Department of State, the Kern Foundation, and other principal sources like the Ohio Department of Education, ONU faculty and staff submitted grant proposals totaling $2,604,331 in 2005-06, and received $1,100,099 in support of University programming. This obviously represents an incredible accomplishment and something of which all of you deserve to be very proud.
There are other areas in which we deserve to take great pride that should be mentioned today as well. Last year, for example, the University’s Information Technology professionals installed the Ruckus network which enables our students to “legally and ethically” download music from the internet. During the 2005-06 academic year, 2263 students subscribed to this service and a total of 1,584,376 downloads were made! In addition, our IT colleagues implemented important software programs for the controller’s office and student affairs which facilitated improved student payment of bills and registration for housing. In the admissions area, a strong focus on the recruitment of international students and students from a multiplicity of ethnic backgrounds should give us the most diverse student body this fall that we have had in many years. We greatly appreciate the super work of Lisa Smith and DeDe Shine and their dedicated colleagues in the admissions and financial aid offices in making this happen. In Advancement, we had more alumni and more total donors than ever before and increased the number of individuals qualifying for Lehr Society membership to a record of 476. Altogether, we raised more than $6 million, and this represented one of our most successful efforts ever. In addition, we completed the Lipmann-Hearne marketing project and recruited a new Director of Communication and Marketing, Mrs. Carolyn Flax.
Finally, we need to express our appreciation to Paul Fletcher and his colleagues in Human Resources for their exceptional analysis of the duties, titles, and salaries of the support positions that are so critical to the successful operation of the University. This review resulted in a complete transformation in the titles we use to describe these positions and in a three year program to make up the almost $133,000 deficit in salaries in this area. Altogether, $45,366 was allocated to adjust the salaries of 48% (or 52) of the 108 individuals in this classification this year. Similar allocations will be made in the next two years to address the remaining salary issues. While on this topic, though, we need, also, to thank Christy Cole in Institutional Research for the exceedingly sophisticated, thorough and rigorous analysis of faculty salaries that she undertook last year. Based on her analysis, we were able to allocate $147,210 to adjust the salaries of 49 faculty members. The average adjustment was over $3,000. These summary figures, however, do NOT include the $50,000 we will be allocating in the next several weeks to faculty whose salaries are either within 10% of the median value for their discipline and rank or greater than the median. When this process is completed we will have allocated $245,576 to salary adjustments for the 2006-07 academic year that are in addition to the 4% performance pool.
Next to our students, our greatest source of continuing pride at ONU is, of course, our faculty and staff. And, listen, for a moment, to just a few of their accomplishments, accolades, and commitments during the past year. Jed Marquart, in Engineering, received the 2005 National Faculty Advisor Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and his colleague, J. D. Yoder, received the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award, which is given, annually, by the Society of Automotive Engineering to engineering educators who are doing outstanding work and are in their first ten years of full-time faculty service. Victor Streib, in Law, was appointed the Co-Chair of the National Juvenile Justice Committee of the American Bar Association while Steve Iseman, Communication Arts, was appointed to serve on the Commission for Public Relations Education as a representative of the Public Relations Society of America. Steve is also the President-Elect of the Central Ohio PRSA chapter. Dexter Woods, in Business, was recently elected as President of the Midwest Academy of Legal Studies in Business and Keith Durkin, Psychology and Sociology, was elected Vice President of the Mid-South Sociological Association. Keith was also appointed to the Editorial Board of Sociological Spectrum while his colleague, Al Cohoe, was appointed to the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Psychological Association. Laurie Laird, in Engineering, is the President-Elect of the Ohio Cooperative Education Association, while Bob Ward serves as the Vice Chair for the North Central Section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Their colleague, John Estell, was announced as the winner of the 2005 Merl K. Miller Award, which is presented by the Computer in Education Division of the American Society for Engineering Education. Along with Julie Hurtig, John was also the recipient of ASEE’s Best Paper Award for the Design in Engineering Education Division in 2006. Feng Jao in Technological Studies, received a similar award when her paper at the ASEE North Central/Indiana Illinois Conference placed second in the competition for best paper. Our Controller, Stacey Neeley, received the Kathy Stevens award from Tau Beta Sigma for outstanding service to the fraternity and to bands beyond the undergraduate career, and Brian Cole in Human Performance and Sports Studies was named NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Women’s Coach of the Year by the U. S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. And, finally, Rosie Williams was not only named Teacher of the Year by the Middle West District of the Ohio Music Teachers Association, she was also honored - - along with her late dear partner, Ed - - as the “Citizens of the Year” by the community of Ada at a wonderful dinner and ceremony in the ballroom last November.
It is important to emphasize and remember that our faculty and staff are doing all of these things while providing exceptional instructional and other service for our students and scholarly and professional work for their fields of expertise. Indeed, twelve ONU faculty were named to Who’s Who Among American Teachers in 2004-05. They were: Carl Hoagstrom, Marjorie Pitts, J. D. Yoder, Ed Williams, Suny Zank, Brit Rowe, Dave Rouch, Rosie Williams, Bob Ward, Bill Fuller, Nancy Woodley, and Larry Robinson. In addition, faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences published as authors or editors, five books last year. They also wrote 52 refereed articles, essays, poems, or book chapters. In Pharmacy, the faculty contributed 31 professional publications and 110 professional and continuing pharmacy professional education presentations. Similar work occurred in the Colleges of Business, Law, and Engineering with significant proportions of the faculty, in each case, contributing regularly to the continuing growth and evolution of their professions.
In Engineering and Pharmacy, faculty were also actively involved in the recruitment of new deans and we are pleased, this morning, to be able to formally welcome Dr. Eric Baumgartner and Dr. Jon Sprague to Ohio Northern University as, respectively, dean of the College of Engineering and dean of the College of Pharmacy. In addition to our two new deans, we also have a new Vice President for Advancement, Mr. Tom Stevick, and it is a pleasure this morning to also welcome Tom to the ONU family.
As we welcome our new colleagues, though, let us not forget the wonderful contributions made by Helen Davis, Ron Bendekovic, Jan Romick, Craig Hall, Stephanie Roberson, and Derek Falk. Would you all please join me, for a moment, in honoring their memories.
I hope it is clear from this brief review that 2005-06 was a great year for ONU. As I’ve emphasized, all of you deserve to take great pride in the University’s accomplishments and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your many contributions.
To this point, though, our review has focused on just one year, 2005-06. What do the University’s accomplishments look like when one takes a longer view? To what extent, in other words, can one argue that the University is successfully developing, adapting and changing to meet the challenges higher education must address in the 21st century?
To answer this question, let’s take a look at the vision and goals in our strategic plan, ONU Charts Its Future, and see how we are doing.
As you will recall, our vision is to…be a leading, private, student-centered institution of increasing regional and national prominence. [ONU] will be [we declare] a diverse, dynamic and unique learning community offering rigorous professional programs in partnership with the arts and the sciences to prepare individuals for lifelong challenges in the 21st century.
But, what are the key words in this statement? What, in other words, does our vision really look like? To what, does it really commit us?
If we were in a classroom environment, I would stop at this point and invite my students to engage these questions and find answers. That, however, is going to be a bit difficult in this auditorium where, today, close to 500 of us are gathered. Hence, let me share with you what I—and the many individuals who were involved in developing and reviewing this vision statement—think the key words are.
First, there is reference to increased regional and national prominence. There is, therefore, the expectation that we will be more visible and better known and recognized in the world of higher education. Another way of saying this is that when we visualize our future, we see an institution with enhanced, enriched and expanded reputation and recognition. But, what will we have a reputation for? This gets to the second part of our vision statement because it clearly says that we want to be known as a student-centered, diverse learning community that integrates liberal and professional education. We don’t say that we are just a liberal arts college and we don’t say we just do professional preparation. Rather, we say we do both in an integrated way with a prioritized focus on students.
Now, if this is our vision, how do we propose to achieve it? This gets us to the 8 goals that are identified in our plan. For example, one of the things we say we need to do is to grow. Our very first goal is very explicit on this point. It says:
ONU will continue to be a dynamic, medium sized, private institution growing and changing as the development of the University’s infrastructure permits.
We don’t’ say we are going to grow in an unrestricted, unplanned way. Rather, we clearly say that we will grow as the University’s infrastructure permits. But, we do say we will grow. In other words, one of the ways we hope to enhance our prominence and recognition is by continuing to grow.
A second effort, we hope will contribute to this vision is to
Continue to offer traditional and non-traditional programs at the undergraduate and gradual levels….
In other words, we postulate that continuing to develop and offer innovative educational programming at the graduate and undergraduate levels to traditional and non-traditional audiences will enhance our reputation, prominence and recognition.
A third essential contributing factor to our vision is to
…continue to emphasize respect for diversity in all of its forms and to build programming, a faculty, staff and student body that provides experiences in diversity….
Clearly, in other words, we believe that institutions that are recognized, prominent and well-regarded are ones that consciously and intentionally promote and advocate respect for diversity as an essential component of their educational programs.
Time does not permit us, this morning, to go through each of our 8 goals and to show how each is connected to the vision we are trying to achieve. In each instance, though, the relationship is the same, as the chart presently on the screen hopefully demonstrates. Simply stated, increased prominence and recognition requires, in addition to everything else we’ve talked about, resources, marketing, advanced services and facilities, an on-going planning process, and a user-friendly environment.
The really interesting question, though, is whether we are actually achieving our goals. In other words, to what extent can we demonstrate that the initiatives, projects, enhancements, changes and developments that have occurred in recent years have contributed to the achievement of the goals and vision in our strategic plan? As we asked at the outset of this discussion, can we show, when we take the long view, that the University is successfully adapting itself to the higher education challenges of the 21st century?
To answer these questions, let me share a list with you. It simply aligns some of the things we’ve been doing in the past several years with one of the 8 goals in our plan. We don’t have time this morning to review all of the activities, initiatives and developments I’ve listed under each of the goals. I hope you’ll agree with me, though, that it is an impressive list. I hope you’ll also agree that it suggests that we are making significant and substantial progress in achieving our goals. When viewed over the long term, in short, I think it is quite fair to conclude that the University is successfully adapting itself to the needs and challenges of the 21st century.
Of course, we’ve made more progress in some areas than others. For example, the programmatic adaptation of the University continues, in my view, to be very impressive; similarly, the development and transformation of our facilities and learning environments has been outstanding. Yet, we haven’t told the University’s story well and marketing, as a consequence, will have to be a major focus of attention in the future. Perhaps even more important in terms of the future of the University is the investment we must make in the future in the creation of a diverse learning and living environment at ONU. If there is one absolute truth about the world in which we live, it is its diversity. As an educational institution, therefore, it is absolutely imperative that we prepare our students to live and succeed in a global, diverse world.
To reiterate, though, I think our accomplishments in service of our strategic goals and vision have been impressive—VERY impressive! As a consequence, I think all of you can take pride in the ways you have helped the University adapt to the needs and demands of the 21st century and I want to take this opportunity this morning to thank you for all of your efforts in this regard. But, I also want to invite you to download this list and to take some time to study it in detail and to critique it and add to it. Perhaps more important, I hope you will use this list to help remind yourself of the importance of asking about the contribution new initiatives and efforts can and will make to the University’s strategic goals and vision as you are considering them in your units.
Overall, then, I think the news we have to report about the University’s health and progress is good—VERY good! But, there is more good news. When interviewed by Lipmann-Hearne, our marketing consultant, 86% of a representative sample of our current students indicated they were satisfied with their ONU experience. Moreover, when ONU’s actual performance in a number of critically important areas was compared to student expectations, we did very well. For example, students were asked about the importance of several factors in selecting a university. The highest rated factor for current ONU students was ensuring that “students are well prepared to enter the workforce or enroll in graduate school.” When then asked how effective the University was in doing this, students rated us, as you can see from the graphic, very highly. In this kind of “gap” analysis, the ideal relationship occurs when the difference between expectation and performance on items of greatest importance and impact is zero or as small as possible. As demonstrated by the data currently on the screen, our students think the University does very well in the areas of greatest importance to them. For example, second in importance to being well prepared to enter the workforce or grad school to ONU students when they choose a university is a campus that is “very friendly and welcoming,” and, as you can see, our students rate us very highly in this regard.
The Lipman-Hearne survey, in short, provided strong evidence of student satisfaction with the educational experience at ONU. Faculty, overall, express similar sentiments. Indeed, in a survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA in 2004-05 that included our faculty, almost 85% indicated that they were, overall, satisfied with their jobs. This is almost the same as the proportion of students who indicated, in response to the question from Lipman-Hearne, that they were satisfied, overall, with their educational experience at ONU. As will be recalled, that percentage was 86%. Faculty, however, pointed to their general satisfaction in all sorts of other ways. Almost 70%, for example, noted that “faculty here respect each other;” about 85% said they were satisfied with their “autonomy and independence;” almost 80% appreciated the “quality of our students;” and a like percentage expressed satisfaction with “social relationships with other faculty.” Indeed, almost 60% allowed that there were generally happy with their “salaries and benefits!”
ONU, of course, is not perfect in the minds of our faculty. Almost half (47.3%) acknowledged that they had considered leaving ONU for another institution and more than half (55.6%) lamented that their “department has difficulty recruiting faculty.” Yet, overall, ONU faculty members seem to be reasonably positive about the environment in which they work. Moreover, ONU faculty views in this regard are stronger, for the most part, than faculty judgments at peer institutions. As we can see from the chart, more faculty at ONU express satisfaction with various aspects of their work than is the case at peer institutions. One exception to this general rule is in the area of “autonomy and independence” where ONU’s approximately 85% satisfaction level lags slightly behind the 89% level found at peer institutions. The other difference suggests a much more substantial difference between ONU and its peers. As we can see, while more than 57% of faculty at our peer institutions express satisfaction with their teaching loads, this is true for only about 49% at ONU. Clearly, there may be a need for some conversation about this matter at ONU.
Now, in view of all of this, imagine my surprise when I discovered an anxiety, uncertainty, and lack of clarity about the University’s identity when I conducted my open forums last spring and when I reviewed the anonymous notes from the focus groups a couple of our trustees conducted on campus in April. Most institutions with a solid record of progress and a generally positive environment are pretty clear about what they are all about and where they are going. Seemingly, this is not the case at ONU. Let me share some of what I learned.
In a conversation about the University’s direction and aspirations at one of the forums, a staff member was particularly blunt in her assessment of the University’s identity. “Our fundamental problem,” she said, “is that Northern hasn’t the slightest idea what it is all about.” Some of the participants in the spring focus groups were less scathing in their judgments. But, their views were similar. For example, in response to a question about what the University is and wants to be, one group indicated:
…there is no agreed upon identity….Some people are evangelical about what they think we are and it doesn’t necessarily agree with the stated mission. [The] message is incongruent.
In response to a question that asked focus group members to identify “excellent” universities, a participant mentioned Vanderbilt. After noting that ONU had some of the same characteristics as Vanderbilt, he/she then noted that “it’s hard to figure out what [ONU] is.”
In response to a similar question, yet another participant indicated that excellent institutions are ones that are doing well what they say they are doing. He/she went on to say, though: “But, [the institution] has to know what it is about in order to be judged.”
One final example is particularly pointed. In the view of one of our focus group participants, we need to determine whether we
…want to promote [ourselves] as an academic institution or …as a warm and fuzzy school and have academics as an after thought. What is it that we want to be [asks this person]. [D]o we want to be a small school with close student/faculty relationships [in a] nice setting; do we want to be a safe place where people can send their children so they won’t feel threatened in the big city and do we want to do that and still be an outstanding academic institution [;] or do we recruit because we are small, safe and cozy?
These questions are, of course, fundamental—and I have heard them repeatedly at the open forums I’ve conducted every spring for the past several years.
Seemingly, therefore, questions and concerns about ONU’s identity abound. As I’ve already indicated, this surprised me. I suppose the main reason for my surprise was and is that ONU’s identity has never been unclear or an issue to me. From the beginning, I have understood that ONU offered extensive professional programming. I have understood, as well, that this is not something we started doing recently, say in the last 30 or 40 years, to pay the bills, but, rather, something that has been at the heart of our institution practically since its inception. After all, as our history books tell us, the College of Engineering was founded in 1882, the College of Pharmacy in 1884 and the College of Law in 1885. Indeed, the latter is the second oldest law school in Ohio. I have also understood that President McIntosh fought hard in the 1950’s to retain ONU’s professional programs when some wanted to convert the institution into a liberal arts college. Writing in the Ohio Northern Alumnus in July, 1952, for example, he noted that
On Saturday, June 28, 1952, a group of Ohio Northern University officials met in the President’s office for the purpose of hearing from the President a proposed statement on policy and the discussion of the same…[It was to address the question] Shall Ohio Northern continue in the field of professional education or shall it become merely another Liberal Arts College or perhaps a Junior College offering a two year course of study on a college level? [Logsden, 102]
This issue came up again in 1954 when North Central turned down ONU’s application for accreditation. At that time, McIntosh wrote:
It was a bitter disappointment to all of us. There were those in the faculty who were convinced that our second attempt would also be unsuccessful….And, there was a real concerted effort to have us close down all the professional colleges and make our application as a College of Liberal Arts only. [Logsdon, 101; Belch, 35]
Fortunately, President McIntosh vigorously—and successfully—resisted these proposals and ONU made another application for accreditation as a “complex little university.” [McIntosh language quoted by Belch] It was approved in March, 1958.
To me, therefore, there is plenty of compelling evidence in the record to sustain a strong argument that ONU has been committed to professional education for well over a century. Indeed, as the McIntosh example makes clear, the University has consciously chosen to reiterate that commitment—that identity—when it has been given the opportunity.
Yet, it is equally clear to me now as it was at the beginning of my tenure in 1999 that all of this professional programming is grounded, fundamentally and inextricably, in a thorough, pervasive and rigorous education in the liberal arts and sciences. It was, after all, none other than H.S. Lehr who said in the first University catalogue in 1871:
We aim, not only to impart the best instruction and to have our students independent thinkers, but also to assist them in acquiring the best modes of communicating what they know to others. We strive to combine the practical with the theoretical.
It was also none other than H.S. Lehr who created the Franklin and Philomathean Literary societies on the first Friday after the opening of school in August, 1871 so students would have opportunities to hone their thinking, debating, writing, and researching skills as well as to socialize. There can be no doubt, therefore, that a commitment to liberal education, as the core and foundation of all other education, was at the heart of our founder’s concept of education from the beginning.
But, what does this history teach us about the identity of our institution? In my view, it tells us some very powerful things. It tells us, for example, that we are neither a liberal arts institution nor an institution specializing in professional preparation. It tells us that the education we offer is neither exclusively liberal nor exclusively professional. It tells us that what distinguishes ONU, what makes us unique, is our ability to combine liberal and professional education into an integrated, challenging educational experience. It says, in short: Yes, we do liberal education. Yes, we do professional education. In fact, we do both.
I want this morning, therefore, to make a proposal to you. I want to urge you to embrace our unique, very special identity. I want to encourage you to acknowledge that ONU is not a liberal arts college and it certainly isn’t a vocational school. Rather, we are a very special institution that blends and integrates professional and liberal education into a unique learning experience. Moreover, we do this through exceptionally dedicated faculty and staff who prize the student, as H.S. Lehr taught us years ago, above all else.
If you accept this proposal, we can, hopefully, temper the debate about who we are. There will be no need to regret that we cannot compete with this national liberal arts college or that one. There will be no need to feel inferior when comparisons are made to Oberlin, Dennison or Kenyon or to feel uncomfortable or incredulous when we identify Bucknell or even Case as a peer. Rather, we can take great pride in being something different, something distinctive. And, we can demonstrate that because of our long experience with our distinctive form of education, we do what we do far better than most others. We do not, in other words, need to aspire to be like Harvard or Yale, Carlton or Bowdoin, Amherst or Grinnell. Rather, we can insist that we provide an entirely legitimate—and, in the contemporary era, highly attractive—educational program that has great value in its own right and that other institutions may wish to emulate.
And, guess what? At the present time, there is a great deal of national interest in and support for the kind of educational programming institutions like ONU offer. In an article in the October, 2004 issue of The Atlantic Monthly , Richard Freeland, president of Northeastern University in Boston argues that a “Third Way,” that he labels “practice-oriented education,” has emerged in American higher education. He notes that some American universities have adopted a “new paradigm of undergraduate study” that “systematically integrates liberal education, professional education and off-campus experience to produce college graduates who are both well educated and well prepared for the workplace.” (141) I guess when he decided to use the descriptor “new paradigm” he was unaware of the educational vision of H.S. Lehr and the University he created in 1871. Regardless, the educational approach our remarkable founder created and that ONU has pursued and practiced for 135 years now, is, today regarded as the “Third Way,” or “the next great idea in American higher education.” We deserve to take great pride in H.S. Lehr’s vision and to celebrate and advocate it every chance we get. He was obviously in the forefront of the educational thinkers of his time—or any other time—and it is, therefore, fitting that the institution he created carry on his legacy in the 21st century.
My challenge and invitation to you, today, therefore, is to assume the leadership roles that will enable ONU to achieve the visibility and prominence in American higher education that the quality of its programs, students, faculty, and facilities and the genius of its Founder deserve and, indeed, mandate!
Fortunately, there is now an association in American higher education that can help us with this responsibility. Know as the Associated New American Colleges (ANAC), this group consists of 23 institutions and states in its web materials that it is “…dedicated to the purposeful integration of liberal education, professional studies, and civic engagement.” Although I don’t know whether we would be either eligible or acceptable for membership, we’re certainly going to seek additional information. Moreover, regardless of whether we are invited to join this group, it is good to know that there are universities and colleges in this country these days that explicitly share our educational philosophy.
But, if we are going to accept and celebrate our identity as a unique integration of liberal and professional education, we must also accept the implications of this identity for what we do at the University. We must comfortably acknowledge, for example, that most students come to college so they can get jobs. An AAUP nationwide poll released in June makes this very clear: When asked about the “primary purpose of higher education,” more than two-thirds (67.6%) “said that it was to teach students skills that they could use in their careers.” Only a little over a quarter (26.3%) thought it was “to teach students to think critically,” though this response was much stronger among individuals with a college degree than it was with those who had not graduated. (p.3) ONU students completely concur with this judgment. In the 2005 HERI Freshman Survey, for example, almost three –fourths of our entering students indicated that being “able to make more money” was a “very important” reason for deciding to go to college. In addition, about 80% of them checked “to get a better job” as a “very important” reason and 79% put “to get training for a specific career” in this category. In each case, moreover, the proportion of ONU students answering in these ways was higher than it was among our peers.
Equally important, other reasons for attending college got more support among the students at our peer institutions than they did among ONU students. For instance, while only 29% of ONU students characterized “to become a more cultured person” as a very important reason, 47% of the students at our peer institutions put this reason in this category. On the issue of gaining “a general education and appreciation for ideas,” the difference between ONU students and their peers was 9%, with 67% of the peers and 58% of the ONU respondents saying this was a very important reason.
Clearly, therefore, ONU students are here to learn skills and develop professional capabilities that will enable them to pursue particular career directions and, if the national data are correct, that’s precisely why their parents want them here. Although I know there are faculty who believe career preparation is the wrong reason to go to college, we must, if we are to accept and celebrate our identity, acknowledge this thinking and motivation and find ways to create meaningful and challenging educational opportunities for life and work. Actually, though—and this may surprise you—I think we’ve already achieved this at ONU. In the HERI survey that I mentioned to you earlier, faculty were asked about this matter. Specifically, they were asked to identify the “very important” or “essential” goals for undergraduates. More than 90% of the ONU faculty pointed to preparing “students for employment after college.” In sharp contrast, only 66.3% of the faculty at peer institutions gave this response. And oh yes: In extremely sharp contrast to the general public, 100% of the ONU faculty and about 99% of the peer faculty designated “develop the ability to think critically” as a “very important” or “essential” goal for undergraduates in the HERI survey.
But, it is not just our role as the educators of professionals that we must positively and comfortably acknowledge if we are to accept and celebrate our unique identity. We must also acknowledge, promote, emphasize, and insist on the other part of our unique learning paradigm, namely liberal, life long education. Thinking critically is a goal and must be an outcome of an undergraduate education, just as our faculty insist. But, so is a focus on the common good as I emphasized when I talked to you in this forum last year. So is a focus on civic responsibility, racial understanding and global interdependence. And, so is a focus on ethics, philosophy, literature, history in all of its grandeur and eloquence, and the vast, intriguing, and constantly evolving findings of modern science. A commitment to topics like these is our responsibility too.
Now, most of you, I know, stress these kinds of things every day because you are, like me, deeply committed to liberal education and the goals of the general education program the faculty has created. Yet, when I reviewed the data from the faculty survey I have repeatedly referenced this morning, I was a bit surprised at what I found. When asked to identify “very important” or “essential” goals for undergraduates, smaller proportions of ONU than peer faculty mentioned “personal values,” “responsible citizenship,” “community service,” and “enhanced self-understanding.” And, on the question of whether “instilling a basic appreciation of the liberal arts” was a “very important” or “essential” goal for undergraduates, the differences between ONU and peer faculty were very striking. As we can see from the screen, almost two-thirds of the peer faculty cited this as a “very important” or “essential” goal, while less than half of the ONU faculty felt this way. Other hints that we might not be stressing some of the vital components of a liberal education in our instruction were in the survey as well. For example, less than 70% of our faculty said they used “class discussion” in “most” or “all” of the courses they teach. For our peers, the proportion was almost 80%. In contrast, almost two-thirds of the ONU respondents said they used “extensive lecturing,” while only slightly more than half of the peer faculty gave this response.
These findings gave me some pause. My worries crystallized, though, when I read a provocative commentary in Newsweek this summer by Fareed Zakaria. Perhaps some of you read it as well. It was entitled “How Long Will America Lead the World?” and focused, basically, on the question of whether another country or perhaps, bloc, would someday replace the U.S. as the dominant country in the world just as America had replaced Great Britain, which, at the turn of the 20th century seemed unchallengeable. Although he presents evidence for and against this proposition, Zakaria doesn’t, ultimately, answer the question. His commentary, though, prompted me to think about the issues he had raised and, simultaneously, to wonder whether questions like this were being explored and debated in ONU’s classrooms. I also wondered whether students were being taught to read commentaries like Zakaria’s critically and to raise, as appropriate, questions about logic, argument, and data. Finally, I wondered whether solutions and syntheses, options, alternatives and strategies, and contexts and foundations as they related to questions like the ones posed in Zakaria’s commentary were an integral part of the education of an ONU student.
My answers to all of these questions were positive. Nevertheless, it is worth emphasizing this morning that critically and thoughtfully engaging the eternal issues as well as the issues, problems, and challenges of our time is what education, at its finest, is all about.
Now, as you think about my proposal to you this morning, namely to accept the very special and distinctive identity of ONU, let me conclude with some discussion about some of the things that are likely to be going on at the University this year. First, there will continue to be construction! Although we will not initiate the second phase of the housing transformation project until 2007-08, there will be other projects to keep us busy. This fall, for example, we will start the renovation of Weber Hall. This will involve the addition of a new wing to the east side of the building and complete renovation of the existing facility. As everyone knows, the Admissions Office is the front door of the University, the place most guests come to first when they visit the campus. It is important, therefore, that this building conveys the first class, quality image of the University that is found in our academic programs and in most other aspects of the institution. In addition we hope to begin the restoration of the Phi Kappa Theta house, which now belongs to the University, some time in the late spring or summer. Although there are lots of interested parties and possibilities, no decisions have been made at this time about how this house will be used once it is renovated. We also expect to move forward this year with the planning for a new $15 million science center. In fact, we hope to be able to make a major announcement about this project in the next several weeks. I suspect you will also notice the renovations in the McIntosh Center that we will undertake during the course of the year. They are intended to complement the renovations in the White Bear Inn, which will open on September 1, and the Faculty-Staff Dining Room, which will open September 25. Finally, we need to take a careful look this year at the options and alternatives available for the programs in the Hill Building, the Lehr-Kennedy House and the Advancement Division.
Programmatically, we know progress will be made this year on the integration of entrepreneurship into the Business and Engineering curricula because of the Kern grant. We hope, as well, that there will be continuing constructive, cross-college conversations about the programming that would be appropriate for health care administration. Other innovative programming will also emerge, I’m sure, as our deans, two of whom are brand new and none of whom has served for more than 5 years, promote planning effort in their colleges.
We will also want to keep a close eye this year on our new relationship with Sodexho. As I’m sure most of you know, we entered into a contract with this company this summer to take on the responsibility of providing campus services. The goal of our negotiations with Sodexho was to ensure that all of our existing employees retained their positions and that their benefits would remain the same when the new company took over. As everyone in this auditorium knows, the appearance, maintenance and overall condition of the campus are vitally important to the success of the University. Hence, we will need to make sure that the quality of the service does not decline in this new relationship but rather improves. We will also need to make sure that the significant budget savings that are anticipated materialize. In short, we will want to make sure that our expectations are met in full. Our contract includes a 60 days notice provision after one year and thus we are in a position to make changes if this were to become necessary.
Along with all of this, we will continue our efforts to diversify our student body geographically, ethnically and globally; complete the revision of our facilities plan and finalize and implement, with the guidance of our new communications and marketing director, our integrated marketing plan; continue our efforts to address faculty and staff salary issues as well as the contributions the University makes to the retirement plan; and initiate campus conversations about the criticisms and recommendations of the Spellings Commission, which is being touted by some as a landmark study with huge implications for higher education. In addition, we will have to deal with all the unexpected problems and pressures that will be brought to us by things like wind, ice, and rapidly changing international events.
In all, I look forward to an eventful year. But, because of all the extraordinary people in this room and the incredible study body we are privileged to work with, we will, I know, respond productively and successfully to all challenges and contribute another great year to the continuing history of this fabulous University.
And, oh yes: On September 5, we will welcome a new Bear to town. Be sure to join us for all the fun and festivities beginning at 11:30 in the Activities Room.
Well, thanks, again, for your patience with another (too!) long State of the University speech. Most importantly, though, thanks for everything everybody in this room does every day for this fabulous University. YOU are what makes it great! On behalf of Toby and myself, have a SUPER 2006-07!!
