Dear Colleagues:

Yesterday I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the first session for our incoming Faculty Senate.  It was not only an opportunity to recognize the exceptional leadership offered this past year by Dr. Dick Evans, but a chance to hear from incoming president Dr. Reginald Green. Before moving on, I want to say thank you to Dr. Evans. Thank you for your hard work, thoughtful contributions, and exceptional leadership.  Dr. Green’s introductory comments resonated so well I thought I would share them unedited.  Let me emphasize a number of themes important to the future of the University of Memphis, including the great opportunities ahead, the constancy of change, the importance of collegial dialogue and debate, and the empowering nature of hope.  I want to thank Dr. Green and all of our senators for their hard work and commitment to the University of Memphis. I look forward to working with you.

 Go Tigers!

 M. David Rudd, Provost

 Faculty Senate President Reginald Green’s Inaugural Remarks

Members of the Faculty Senate,

 In the words of Charles Dickens, “These are the best of times; these are the worst of times.” At the University of Memphis, the budget is being reduced by 20 million dollars, departments are being “right-sized,” a new budget model is being developed, and new leadership is in the President’s Office.

Each of these occurrences brings challenges to the faculty. However, opportunities come with each challenge. Opportunities abound to change the way we think about delivering services that will enhance the academic achievement of the students we serve, and opportunities abound to transcend the mundane with the intent of instilling greatness in our students and ourselves.

I would like to inaugurate the 2014-2015 session of the Faculty Senate with words of hope and unity. This year, let us continue to work toward unity.

The University of Memphis is one, and its future and outcomes affect all of us. If we understand this, work toward excellence, and understand that our vision is a common vision, then, shared governance becomes the logical result, even in the midst of change.

Speaking of change, other than the speed of light, and that is debatable; the only constant in the universe is change. To resist change is to suggest that our current practices and procedures are flawless, and I am confident that you would agree that they are not. Therefore, we stand to benefit from meaningful partnerships with the administration so that collectively we engage in processes and procedures that will enhance the quality of the education our students receive.

Granted, we can debate among ourselves and challenge the administration relative to select components of various changes. However, select changes appear to be imminent. Nevertheless, within those changes lie the seeds for a bright new future full of hope; it is our opportunity to seize the day and become one body in communion with each other, our students, and the administration.

Communication is an indispensable element in the human experience; effective and timely communication enables the creation of shared meaning and understanding. To internalize the powers that lie in the spoken word, in humor, and in the creative spirit, we have to foster a sense of oneness with the administration. Making these connections, we take a Unified Holistic Approach to Action. We commit to inspiring our students to find and create meaning in their lives, their work, and the lives of others in a world that sometimes appears meaningless. We commit to becoming a greater university, the greatest university in the Mid-South. We cannot have a great university without a great faculty!

Let us never underestimate the power of collective intention, nor fail to honor integrity and individuality while being committed to cohesiveness and unity. Let us always infuse our work and the work of others with the magic of enthusiasm and the joy of accomplishment so that collectively we become all that we are capable of becoming.

Therefore, our role can become one of engagement in the decision-making process, seeking to be actively engaged in reaching any decision that affects the faculty or that the faculty is responsible for implementing. To that end, the theme proposed for this year is “Connecting the Senate, the Faculty, and Administration for an Enhanced Culture of Shared Governance.”

As a Senate, our focus must be on evidence-based reasons for the positive actions we seek from the administration. Let us become even further engaged and take a proactive stance, rather than a reactive one. Let us bring ideas to the table in a timely manner, ideas that demonstrate to the University, community, and the nation that as a Senate, we are making a positive difference in global education. In essence, the University faculty must be able to see and appreciate our positive and proactive work.

One major task that lies before us is the identification of one to three goals that we will strive to achieve. Then, we need to put an accountability system in place to measure our progress toward their achievement. This can become our first order of business in our orientation meeting scheduled at the beginning of the fall semester.

It is my hope that you will share the vision “Connecting the Senate, the Faculty, and Administration for an Enhanced Culture of Shared Governance.” In the words of Dr. Viktor Frankl, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms-to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Dear Colleagues:

TBR has awarded a $40,000 Student Engagement, Retention and Success grant to Dr. Shannon Blanton, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Programs & Professor of Political Science, to implement “Academic Coaching for Students on Academic Warning.” The team of UM researchers who will implement and complete the project also include Dr. Colton Cockrum, Assistant Director of CARES, Cecilia Olivares, Director of CARES, Bob Baker, Director of the Center for Athletic Academic Services, and Dr. Karen Weddle-West, Director of Diversity Initiatives & Dean of the Graduate School.

Dr. Blanton explains, “The primary purpose of the project is to pair students who have been placed on Academic Warning with an academic coach for individual meetings throughout the semester.  Graduate students specializing in counseling-related fields will serve as coaches, and will meet one-on-one with freshmen students to help them develop a clear vision of their own goals and career path. While both lower and upper division students go on academic warning in any given semester, the largest proportion of students are continuing freshmen, so this initial pilot project will focus on students in that category.”

The study seeks to explicitly incorporate use of the Degree Compass tool in the coaching program.  This software uses an algorithm based on an individual student’s transcript and academic performance, as well as data from thousands of other students, to generate individualized course suggestions. “Analysis has shown that students who selected courses in this manner had a much higher success rate than students who selected courses on their own,” Dr. Blanton continues. The grant will permit the University to afford the use of this software while the pilot project advances.

Academic Coaching is the topic of University of Memphis’ Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) required of our SACS accreditation process, and a featured part of the University’s Access to Success plan to reduce the success gap for underrepresented minorities and Pell-recipient students. 

Congratulations to Dr. Blanton and her team for advancing student success initiatives.  In addition to the recognition from TBR, her successful grant application deserves our enthusiastic applause.

Go Tigers!

M. David Rudd, Provost

Dear Colleagues:

Two University of Memphis teams of faculty researchers have been selected to receive research grants from the Tennessee Board of Regents in a competitive evaluation process.  Each grant is for $40,000. One team of faculty researchers (Dr. Yonghong Jade Xu, Dr. Chloe Lancaster and Dr. Cynthia Martin) is from Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research and the Office of Institutional Research; the other (Dr. Gregory Washington, Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes, Dr. Susan Elswick, and Dr. Robin Lennon-Dearing) is from Social Work.  Congratulations to each of these researchers on securing this funding!

In November 2013, the TBR Office of Academic Affairs disseminated a call for research proposals designed to support faculty research with the primary focus on underrepresented and target sub-populations with the overarching goal of increasing the understanding of pluralism in the education enterprise and the global world in which our institutions must function. The TBR received twenty proposals related to numerous aspects of diversity, locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. They are recommending funding eight proposals –two from U of M.

The Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research proposal focuses on STEM student graduation rates.  Dr. Cynthia Martin, with OIR, explains, “In Tennessee, the six-year graduation rate of science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) students in four-year institutions is only about 20 percent, with African American students at a rate lower than 15 percent.  Consistent with the goal of the recently emplaced outcomes‐based funding formula that rewards the State higher education institutions ‘for the production of outcomes that further the educational attainment and productivity’, this project seeks to identify institutional interventions that will effectively improve the retention rates of STEM students, in particular African Americans.”

The Social Work proposal is titled “The Students Helping Students Program: ‘Response to Intervention’ in Higher Education.” Response to Intervention (RtI) is an evidence based practice model in K12 education that is used to identify “at risk” students and give them additional educational supports to promote success. Dr. Susan Neely-Barnes explains, “Although well established in K12 education, research on its use in higher education is lacking. The project will use Masters in Social Work students serving as graduate assistants to screen undergraduate BA in social work students on writing skills, study skills, reading fluency, stress management, and coping skills. Undergraduates who are identified as “at risk” will be offered either one-on-one or group intervention targeted to the identified skill area. Students will also be encouraged to use existing campus resources when appropriate. Reassessment will occur monthly and students will stay in the program until supports are no longer needed.”

The excellence of the proposals brings distinction to the University of Memphis and both teams are to be congratulated for their outstanding success.

Go Tigers!

M. David Rudd, Provost

Dear Colleagues:

The Master of Health Administration program is receiving lots of attention this month when Modern Healthcare magazine ranked it 19th among top business graduate schools for physician-executives. The Memphis Business Journal picked up the story last week to amplify the praise:

http://www.bizjournals.com/memphis/news/2014/04/04/university-of-memphis-healthcare-program-receives.html

The MHA program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME). The 53-credit hour program offers both on-campus and executive options designed for both recent college graduates and working professionals.

As Dr. Lisa Klesges, dean of the School of Public Health, said, “Gaining this high level recognition for the quality and value of our MHA degree validates the great opportunity that we offer in the region as well as a national standing. We are proud of this accomplishment and the contributions of our talented faculty that support the MHA program.  The program has been successful because of the hard work and commitment of our university administration, staff, students, alumni and community partners.”

While all this is impressive in its own right, the national attention will likely increase a year from now when the Executive MHA option is launched in June of 2015. Dr. Dan Gentry, professor and director of Health Systems Management Policy emphasizes that this is an innovative program that blends distance education with periodic on-campus experiential learning, professional development and career networking, while still allowing students to complete the degree in two years. Those with full time careers will now be able to earn this prestigious degree with minimum time away from their jobs.

Congratulations are in order for their national ranking, and also for the forward thinking innovation which will bring future recognition when the new program starts next year.

Go Tigers!

M. David Rudd, Provost

Dear Colleagues:

The good news out of Admissions just keeps coming!​  I have reported previously about a remarkable increase in freshman applications. Today I want to focus on the percentage of students admitted compared to those who have applied—data that US News and World Report will consider when determining our selectivity ranking.  Despite some controversy, rankings continue to play a significant role in student decision-making, particularly first-time freshman.  (http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Documents/Rankings-Institutional-Behavior-and-College-and-University-Choice.pdf).

 One of the metrics USN&WR gathers to determine its rankings is Acceptance Rate, which it defines as “The ratio of the number of students admitted to the number of applicants for fall admission. The acceptance rate is equal to the total number of students admitted divided by the total number of applicants.” (http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2013/09/09/best-colleges-ranking-criteria-and-weights). Both the applications and acceptances count only first-time, first-year students.  Remember, we get applications from many students that fall into the transfer category and returning adults learners.  Our combined total applications are at 12,000 now (across the main and Lambuth campuses). 

Given the rise in applications, the percentage of freshmen admitted to the main campus compared to the number who have applied is strikingly different this year than the past three years:

    (as of 3/26) Fall 2014          9,237 applied      4,504 admitted   or  49%                

                        Fall 2013         5,862 applied      4,342 admitted   or  74%

                        Fall 2012         6,181 applied      4,116 admitted   or  67% 

                        Fall 2011         6,493 applied      4,454 admitted   or  69%  

These figures apply to the main campus, but the percentages on the Lambuth campus tell a similar story.

 In one year the percentage of students admitted of those who applied will go from 74% to under 50%.

Without changing our admission criteria, the increase in applications is the result of a number of initiatives in admission and enrollment management which appear to be making a huge positive impact: more aggressive recruitment; an easier application process, a larger prospective student base broadening the geographic area, and fee waivers for students with financial difficulties. Collectively these efforts are attracting more and more potential well qualified students to UofM.

Betty J. Huff, Vice Provost for Enrollment Services, Stephen J. McKellips, Director of Admissions, and their team emphasize that the proof will be how many students actually show up in the Fall.  But their efforts are to be applauded for the encouraging direction the data is pointing.

The message to our prospective students is getting through.  One of the series of compelling and attractive Recruitment and Orientation postcards mailed to prospective students sums it up pretty well:

“There is only one Memphis.  There is only one you.  Find your original path here.”

 Go Tigers!

M. David Rudd, Provost

Dear Colleagues:

I’m pleased to share that Dr. Don Wagner has agreed to chair a Summer Utilization Taskforce for the University of Memphis.  The taskforce will be charged with studying and making recommendations on a number of critical issues, including:

1.  Summer course scheduling, utilization, and enrollment to improve degree pathways, critical course access, and degree completion
2. Summer budgeting and potential incentive pay
3. Exploring possible use of “free” summer courses for students that maintain trajectory on a 5-year degree completion plan
4. Complete student and faculty surveys on a range of issues about summer utilization
5. Possible development of summer programs for high school sophomore and junior level students

 As you all know, our summer programs are not fully utilized nor strategically employed.  This effort will hopefully lead to meaningful and productive recommendations about how we can better utilize our summer offerings.  If Don reaches out to you for help or input, let me offer encouragement for you to embrace the chance to participate in this important effort. 

 Go Tigers!