September 2006 Presidential Update

A special welcome to faculty/staff/students new to the EMU community! Near the beginning of each month I send a presidential update to the campus community. It is also posted on the EMU website for external publics to access. I welcome feedback from anyone on or off campus.

Early morning Scripture reading and prayer: In the past two weeks I've had two groups of students, a total of 9 persons, come to 1919 Park Road at 5:00 a.m. to join me for Bible reading and prayer. The best option (unless you want to take an early morning walk anyway!) is to check with Twila Yoder or me a day or two before you want to come, just to make sure I'm not traveling. I'd be happy to have faculty or staff join me as well. The coffee is fresh ground and hot tea is available.

Last Monday I reported to the University Forum that current enrollment data show an increase of 12 undergraduate students over Fall 2005. It will be another few days before we can report numbers for total university enrollment in all programs.

I also reported that a "Think Tank" group is forming with support from Lilly Endowment funds to brainstorm longer-range ideas for what EMU could be and do over the next 15-20 years. Retired biology professor, Kenton Brubaker, and his wife Shirley, are providing some staff time on a part-time basis to coordinate these conversations. This group, which will invite interested participants from the entire campus community, has no decision-making authority. Ideas generated will be fed into ongoing structures such as the President's Cabinet, Strategic Planning Council (which, for 2006-07, comprises the President's Cabinet, three faculty members, three students), Faculty Senate, and the Academic Structure Task Force (ASTF).

The ASTF, comprising two Cabinet members and eight faculty members, has met three times. This group's mandate is to review the academic structures at EMU and to make recommendations for changes. At the request of the task force itself, two undergraduate faculty members, Roger Mast and Sharon Miller, were recently added to the group. The task force meets every Monday noon. Jayne Docherty and David Brubaker, are serving as non-voting co-facilitators. The University Faculty meeting on September 25 will provide opportunity for all faculty to give input to the ASTF, a sub-committee of the Faculty Senate, and the Think Tank group. More details for that meeting agenda will come soon.

Ron Piper, vice president for finance, and Kevin Nickel, director of finance, have been preparing the annual financial statement with the auditors for the year ended June 30. The audited statement will show we concluded the year with an excess of operating budget revenues over expenditures and transfers. A strong financial year was achieved due largely to three factors, 1) growth in endowment, 2) a significant increase in unrestricted contributions (University Fund) and 3) good budget management.

Last Saturday we dedicated the new artificial turf field and watched the EMU field hockey team defeat Dickinson 3-0. An interesting story was shared at the dedication: one of our retired science professors, during the first year's use of the old turf field, calculated that to sustain the same level of activity on that space would take 10-11 natural grass fields. The coaches and physical plant folks are also quite happy not to invest hours to water, fertilize, and paint the field lines before every contest. My hope is that a large portion of the campus community will enjoy supporting field hockey and soccer under the lights this fall.

This weekend Pat and I will represent EMU at the inauguration of Dr. James (Jim) Brenneman at Goshen College. During the remainder of September I will be preaching at East Chestnut Street Mennonite (Lancaster PA, September 18) and Kidron Mennonite (OH, September 25). On September 20 a number of EMU staff and four students will be meeting in Lancaster PA with representatives of ten district conferences. On September 28-29 I join the presidents of all private colleges in Virginia for a meeting at Ferrum College. Around most of these engagements I will make donor contacts with Advancement staff.

Books I'm reading: Middle Church by Bob Edgar (last spring's university commencement speaker); Barn Burning, Barn Building by Ben Barnes (a Texas politician from the 1960s forward); American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century by Kevin Phillips; The Secrets of Word-of-Mouth Marketing by George Silverman; The Anatomy of Buzz by Emanuel Rosen.

Best wishes to all as we settle into the new academic year! Loren

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