In Step with Campus: State of the University 2010

Yesterday, President Cullinan addressed the campus with her annual “State of the University” speech. She addressed the issues that are currently affecting faculty and students, including financial stability, enrollment, and goals. She narrated significant progress in the areas of Sustainability and the Climate Action Plan, with the recent addition of the Ashland Resiliency Project, about which she says, “The project is a fire hazard reduction plan for the watershed. Environmental Studies capstone students are proposing ways that SOU students and faculty can participate in baseline monitoring and tracking the project’s effectiveness.” Enrollment also saw results of the hard work of faculty and staff, with the largest number of new transfer students since 2001. The president was thrilled to announce that the overall headcount for Winter 2010 is the largest for any winter term on record for the university. While the good news was cause for celebration, the President also acknowledged the hardships that SOU has endured in the last few years, soberly noting that, “These last years have been a struggle. We’ve had to cut deeply; we’ve lost wonderful people”. Still, hopefulness rang throughout the address, with far more good news than bad, as she continued, “We’ve also worked hard to position ourselves so we can flourish and thrive even through difficult times. We’re making great progress.” Progress, indeed, as the president emphasized the unique stories that make SOU the school that it is. She noted faculty who have done extraordinary things, like Dr. John Roden, who was approved for a NSF grant for $490,000.00 in his studies in isotopes. She shared the story of Laura Armstrong, a SOU chemistry major who was just accepted to Berkeley and Stanford’s doctoral programs with full ride scholarships. The president concluded with, “We need to remember the tremendous work we do, the tremendous benefit our work brings to the region and the state- and our transformational successes with students, who currently number 5,624. Thank you for all you do.”