January 22, 2020
Welcome to the Spring 2020 semester! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. Our Spring semester is off to a great start.
By now, I hope you have heard the news that we are moving ahead with the purchase of the former Engman Natatorium as the permanent home for our Civil Rights Heritage Center. More news related to this and the return of Dr. Darryl Heller as its director can be found here: .
Enrollment for the Spring 2020 semester is in and we have 4,614 students enrolled. This is 117 fewer students than this time last year. However, the year-to-year level of decrease has slowed compared to previous Spring semesters: 139 fewer students from Sp 19 to Sp 18 and 202 fewer students from Sp 18 to Sp 17. We continue to show strong growth in certain segments of our student body, for example our LatinX enrollment saw an 11% increase over spring 2019 and graduate enrollment continues to increase. We will continue our work with recruitment and retention efforts to keep these trends moving in a positive direction. It will take all of us to continue to improve our enrollment and thanks to those who have stepped up.
We are excited to have Paige Risser join us on Jan 27th as the new director of communications and marketing. And, we have a new chair of Social Work here at IU South Bend, Dr. Otrude Moyo. Please join me in welcoming both of these leaders to our community.
Chief of Staff interviews are in progress, with the goal of having someone on board as soon as possible. Also, Michelle Rosemond has accepted a position at Georgia Gwinnett College. We wish her well in her new position. In the transition, Dr. Betsy Lucal, Professor of Sociology, has agreed to serve as interim director of the Titan Success Center. Thanks to Betsy for serving in this role!
We have launched the search for a permanent EVCAA. Information about the search, including members of the committee and the position profile, is posted on this website: . New information about the search will be added throughout the process. For questions about the search, please contact the search committee co-chairs, Justin Amellio (Associate Professor, Theater) or Dr. Vicki Roman-Lagunas (EVCAA, IU Northwest) or my office. A survey has been prepared for members of the campus community to provide input on the priorities, traits, and experiences that you think the next EVCAA should possess. Access the survey with this link: .
The current Campus Strategic Plan (2014-2020) has concluded and the Campus Directions Committee (CDC) has recommended that we get started with the development of a new plan. Based on a recommendation from the CDC, I am pleased to report that Dr. John Welty will return to campus to facilitate an engaging, inclusive campus wide process. As you may recall, he is a retired university president and has a wealth of experience in helping universities develop strategic plans. Because of his previous visits to campus, he is also familiar with the opportunities and challenges facing IU South Bend. To help disseminate information about this important process, a website will be ready soon with more information. Stay tuned for opportunities to participate and provide your input into our new plan.
The next Coffee with the Chancellor is scheduled for January 30 at 3:30 in the Alumni Room, Administration Building. Topics include an overview of the new campus administrative structure and the results of the MyVoice staff survey and follow up activities. Bring other questions as well as good news to share.