STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS, APRIL 16, 2009

Good afternoon. Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to join me here today. Not only is this my first State of the University address as your new president, but we've discovered it may well be the first-ever such address in the 96-year history of this university.

I think it's important in an ordinary year that we gather as a community to take account of Georgia State's current status, as well as to talk about plans for our future.

But this year is not an ordinary year. The university is experiencing major leadership transitions, with a new president in place and the search underway for Ron Henry's successor as provost.

Other factors that make this year extraordinary are that the global economy is in a crisis of historic breadth and depth, a recession has led to unemployment rates higher than seen in decades, and sharp declines in state revenues have led to funding cuts for public higher education.

The pace of change because of leadership transitions and economic forces is much greater than in a typical year. Many people are made uncomfortable by change, or even the prospect of change.

On the other hand, Barack Obama ran for and was elected president of our great nation on a platform grounded in "change we can believe in." Indeed, it is a time of great change, in the White House, in the economy, and on our campus.

Our university is four years shy of celebrating its 100th anniversary, and it has a history of amazing changes. For nearly one century Georgia State has proven itself, time and time again, adept at growing and adapting to meet the needs of Atlanta and Georgia as they have grown, both in size and in impact.

Today, I will focus on how far we have come since Georgia State was accorded "research university" status in 1995 and where we need to head in the near term as we strive to achieve recognition as one of our nation's urban research universities.

Perhaps the question I have been asked more than any other since being named president of Georgia State is: "What is your greatest challenge?" I think most people expect me to answer, "the economy" or "the budget." There is no disputing that navigating the present budget climate is a challenge, but it is not the greatest challenge we face at Georgia State when you take the long view of where we are and where we're headed.

We will get through this economic storm. Georgia State, at this very time, is stronger and better positioned than ever before in its 96-year history.

Demand for a Georgia State education has never been higher, the students we are recruiting are the best in our history, and the faculty is the strongest ever. We will emerge from the storm, headed in the right direction, and with wind in our sails.

So, taking the long view, what is our greatest challenge? I believe it's changing people's perceptions. Since being designated a research university, Georgia State has made great strides at raising the quality and impact of our educational programs. We have made great strides at raising the quality and impact of our research programs. And, we have formed numerous constructive partnerships that are having tremendous impacts locally and globally.

But our greatest challenge is becoming recognized, here in Georgia, as well as across the nation and around the world, as the university that we have become, and we are becoming.

ATTRACTING A NEW STUDENT DEMOGRAPHIC

Consider the following facts comparing Georgia State in 1995, and today:

• In fall 1995, a new student enrolling at Georgia State was significantly more likely to be a transfer student than a freshman. Today the opposite is true.
• Freshman applications have increased dramatically since 1995, from 2,200 then to likely more than 12,000 for this fall.
• The average SAT score has increased from 1003 in 1995 to 1081 in 2008, and it's projected that this fall we may hit 1100 for the first time in our history.
• We anticipate that the incoming freshman class will be both the largest in history and the best prepared! In fact, for the first time at Georgia State, we have created a waiting list of prospective freshmen because the pool of qualified applicants exceeds our capacity to enroll them.
• Not only do we have more, better-prepared students, but we also are seeing greatly improved rates of student retention and progress to graduation. For example, whereas first to second year retention stood at less than 70 percent in 1995, those rates now exceed 80 percent and are increasing.
• Furthermore, students today are averaging higher course loads and are graduating in a timelier manner.

Consider the story of Haley Drummond. With a 4.0 grade point average and a 1380 on the SAT, the Thomas County Central High student had her pick of top-ranked colleges._Thankfully, she chose Georgia State. Now in her second year, Haley is a junior majoring in speech communication. She hopes to one day teach at a major university, like Georgia State.

And this week, we are proud to announce that Georgia State has three Fulbright grant recipients, all from the College of Arts and Sciences. They are Tyler Owens in theater and speech, Yasmin Rahmani in chemistry and Sydney Lanier in literary studies. Tyler will direct Shakespearean theater in the United Kingdom. Yasmin will do medical research in Spain, and Sydney will study language and literature at Queens University, Belfast.

It's students like them who illustrate that Georgia State today is not the commuter or night school that it once was. Haley, Tyler, Yasmin and Sydney, congratulations!

Indeed, we are attracting brighter, more talented students like these four, and that will only enhance our status as a thriving, research-focused university in the years to come. That is not to say that we do not enroll transfer, part-time or commuting students. We surely do. Indeed, that is part of our mission as an urban university.

But Georgia State today has a core undergraduate student body that is more traditional, meaning that students begin here as freshmen with strong academic credentials and progress toward graduation at rates comparable to other research universities. The size of that core has grown significantly, and all indications are that we will see continued growth there for the foreseeable future.

Georgia State's athletic profile also has changed dramatically since 1995. Then, we were part of a relatively non-competitive conference. Today, we are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, one of the most competitive in the nation.

Now under new leadership, there is a renewed excitement about athletics at Georgia State. That excitement will only intensify in fall 2010 when our football program kicks off in the Georgia Dome. The addition of football is yet another example of how Georgia State is providing the complete college experience in the heart of a major city.

ASPIRING TO BE A PREMIER RESEARCH UNIVERSITY

Now, let's turn our attention to Georgia State's growth in research since being designated a research university. A few of the metrics typically used to compare research universities include Ph.D.s awarded, grants and contracts received, and sponsored funding expenditures. Georgia State has experienced significant growth in these areas, as well, since 1995.

• Whereas we awarded 130 Ph.D.s in 1995, 196 were awarded in 2008, the third successive year in which the university set a record for Ph.D. degrees awarded.
• Sponsored program awards for grants and contracts increased from $24.8 million in 1995 to $62.2 million in 2008.
• And sponsored expenditures increased from $20.5 million to $54.2 million.

So, what does all of this mean? Where are we in our aspiration to become a premier urban research university? Have we made "it," whatever "it" may be?

The answer is... Hardly! Combining an advertising slogan from the 1960s with a bit of poetry, I put it this way: We've come a long way baby, but we have miles to go before we rest.

It has been my experience that once you get on the research university treadmill, you don't get off - the pace gets faster, the university grows increasingly stronger and the work is ever more challenging, stimulating, and rewarding. A friend and colleague is fond of saying, "first you creep, then you crawl, you walk, you run."

In 1995 Georgia State University got on the treadmill. It had passed the creeping and crawling stages. Georgia State was walking, albeit at a research university pace, and that pace has been increasing over time. Now it is time to start running.

The good news is that we are prepared to run. Under President Carl Patton's leadership, with huge contributions by Provost Henry, the deans, faculty and staff, the foundation is in place for Georgia State University to advance to the level where it will be recognized near and far for excellence and accomplishment.

BECOMING A DESTINATION OF CHOICE

During the 20th century the land-grant universities that were created during Abraham Lincoln's presidency came into their own, rising to join elite private institutions as preeminent centers of education, scholarship and research, but with unique missions that were spelled out in the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act.

Many of our nation's urban universities, Georgia State included, were founded in the 20th century, well after the time of Lincoln, and are now positioned to advance to the point where they will stand shoulder to shoulder with those universities that came into their primes during the past century, with our own unique missions as urban-serving institutions.

Richard Florida, an internationally noted urban theorist, and author of global best-seller "Rise of the Creative Class," makes the argument in recent work that emerging mega-regions, including the Atlanta-Charlotte corridor he dubs "Char-lanta," are becoming the organizing forces of population and economic activity. That is to say, the world is not flat. The world is spiky, and getting spikier.

Indeed, Char-lanta is by some measures a top-10 mega-region already, and recent migration patterns and demographic projections give us every reason to believe that our region will only continue to rise in activity and influence in the decades ahead.

What this means for Georgia State University is an even larger pool of accomplished scholars, stellar researchers and talented students. The opportunity to be both bigger and better is staring us in the face.

We do not face a choice between quality or quantity. We have the opportunity to enhance quality at the same time that we grow, and thereby increase our impact in Atlanta, in Georgia and around the world.

Furthermore, because of unique features of our heritage and of our student body, in addition to our location in the heart of Atlanta, an international hub with all of its arts, cultural, and corporate assets, we have the opportunity to become a major destination of choice in higher education: a destination of choice for students; a destination of choice for faculty members; a destination of choice for funders and philanthropists.

You see, Georgia State University has a heritage of graduating students who have gone on to become leaders - leaders in business, leaders in government, and leaders in the community. In addition, we have one of the most interesting and compelling student bodies in the world.

Our student body is diverse in race and ethnicity to the point that it represents the future demographic profile of our nation. For example, for the current semester our student body is at least 27 percent black, 11 percent Asian, 5 percent Hispanic and 4 percent multiracial.

The diversity of our student body is a strength, one that we value and one that positions us to have a tremendous impact in preparing future generations of leaders. Indeed, just last week, I was pleased to learn that Georgia State's Model United Nations team won the top award at the Model U.N. Conference. Georgia State's 29-member team won the outstanding delegation award and the outstanding position paper award. Congratulations, Dr. Rashid Naim and his team, many of whom are with us today.

So, what do we need to do? How do we build on these strengths to emerge as a premier urban research university? How do we accelerate our rise as a destination of choice? And, what about the economy?

STRIVING FOR THE HIGHEST ACADEMIC QUALITY

First, let's talk about what we need to do and what we need to continue doing, and then we'll examine how the economy may play a role. Our top priority must always be striving for the highest possible levels of academic quality. That means going further to recruit, retain and graduate well-qualified students. We can and we must become the national model for diversity in higher education, where all combinations of gender, race and ethnicity succeed at high rates.

We also must increase efforts to graduate students prepared to rise to positions of leadership, not only in the business and government worlds, but also in the arts, humanities, sciences, and professions. We will harness all of the unique assets of Atlanta to prepare Georgia State students to embrace and experience the future, today. We also will continue our commitment to access for transfer and non-traditional students.

The other major area of emphasis must be enhancing our research and scholarly profile. It is imperative that we increase the breadth and depth of our scholarly impact. We do this by strengthening our research infrastructure; by enhancing our efforts to support faculty in securing prestigious awards, such as Fulbright grants, Guggenheim fellowships and other highly competitive scholarly programs; by growing our sponsored research portfolio; by increasing doctoral degree production; and by increasing the rate at which faculty achievements are translated into the development of new products and companies.

One important step toward achieving these aims will be the launching of a new stage in the areas of focus initiative. That should happen once the new provost is on board, perhaps with a call for proposals as early as this fall. Likewise, we also must more aggressively pursue GRA eminent scholar appointments.

Embedded in those few goals are many other efforts and priorities. For example, we need to raise ever-increasing levels of philanthropic support, so that we will have the scholarship dollars needed to recruit talented and deserving students, so that we can recruit and support the best and brightest faculty, and so that we can continue to help rebuild downtown Atlanta so that it has a truly outstanding university, with world-class facilities, at its core.

In the mid-1990s, the Georgia State University Foundation typically raised on order of $3 million to $4 million a year. Today, that is about $15 million. And while that represents great progress, we need to double that number to maintain our valuable initiatives while nurturing new ones.

DOING OUR PART

Success requires that every one of us approach each day with an attitude that we can and we will make a difference. Part of that success means working harder to protect the unique urban environment in which Georgia State is located. Indeed, because of our downtown location and the ages of many of our structures, there are special challenges in "going green" at Georgia State.

But we are making progress in doing so. Through groups like the Staff Council's Green Issues Committee and the student-run Sustainable Energy Group, Georgia State is working to better protect our planet for today and for generations to come. Did you know that during the past five years, Georgia State has more than tripled the amount of would-be waste that it recycles? Last year, we recycled 320 tons of paper and six tons of cans and bottles. The goal this year is 400 tons. This is a good beginning, but we can, and we will, do better.

Georgia State University is prepared to run, to be a model university for the future, to be a major destination of choice. We will pursue and achieve excellence and leadership; excellence and leadership in education, and excellence and leadership in scholarship and research.

But that is not sufficient --- necessary, but not sufficient. As I said earlier, our biggest challenge is moving the needle on perceptions of Georgia State. Because, as that needle moves, our momentum toward achieving our goals accelerates. Our ability to have a significant and lasting impact through education, research and scholarship, and constructive partnerships increases exponentially. In order to move the needle we must do an even better job of communicating.

In the days, weeks and months ahead you will see a commitment to and focus on enhancing communication, both internally and externally. There is no magic bullet, but we can and must do a better job of communicating our achievements and our unique story.

WEATHERING THE ECONOMIC STORM

So, how can we envision and plan for expanding programs or launching new ones, when state funding will be reduced? Let me be clear, while specifics are not yet known, every one of us - every student, every faculty member and every staff member - will feel the effects of budget cuts. But like I said earlier, we will weather the storm. And we'll do it together.

We must take in stride the cuts that are being passed to us as the result of decreased state revenues. The provost, chief financial officer, deans, and the fiscal advisory committee all have been working to identify where and how these cuts will be taken.

Furthermore, we have been and are looking for new and different ways to find efficiencies. For example, we have identified a two-week period between the fall and spring semesters where we can reap hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings by closing the campus.

You can expect the university to be closed, with exceptions for certain functions that cannot be shut down, from Dec. 21 through Jan. 3 There are numerous details associated with such a plan, but they are manageable and will be made public in the days and weeks ahead.

But that's just one way of absorbing cuts. There will have to be more. I thank everyone who has contributed ideas and suggestions through our Web site established for collecting budget savings recommendations. To date, more than 150 suggestions have been submitted and they are being categorized and reviewed for incorporation into the university's budget and operations.

To keep our community abreast of budget developments, as well as to continue to provide a forum for your budget savings ideas, we will be launching a budget information Web site, the specifics of which will be announced soon.

PICKING UP THE PACE

Our past shows us that Georgia State University has adapted well to change and to growing ambitions for academic excellence and impact. What was once a relatively small commuter school is today a large, thriving research university that provides access for and to Atlanta.

The potential for the future attracted a young physics professor named Steve Manson to Georgia State more than 40 years ago.

Steve is a Brooklyn-born scientist, educated at Columbia University. He wanted to teach at a university in the heart of a growing city and could have gone to any number of cities. Steve stepped onto the campus of Georgia State in the fall of 1968. He never left. Today, Dr. Manson is a distinguished, albeit humble, Regents' Professor. Steve, we thank you for your 41 years of service to Georgia State University.

About six months after Steve arrived, Billy Andrews reported to work in what was then known as Georgia State's equipment and inventory control department. That was Jan. 20, 1969. To this day, the Vietnam veteran has handled incoming property - from vans to computers to microscopes - with high praise from his supervisors. In typical fashion avoiding the spotlight, Billy chose not to be here today. But we thank him for devoting four decades of his life to Georgia State University.

You see, because of people like Steve and Billy, the position of and case for Georgia State has never been better. The pieces are coming together to create a university that will be recognized far and wide for excellence in education, scholarship, and research. And for building on a strong foundation of constructive partnerships, such as Project Healthy Grandparents, which supports grandparents who are raising grandchildren. These partnerships can only help us to increase our reach and impact.

We do all of this so that our students are prepared to be leaders by understanding and being comfortable in the diverse and global society in which they will live and work. And so the fruits of our faculty's research and scholarship will enhance Atlanta and Georgia, while having an impact that will reach around the globe. These things we can do, these things we must do.

We have a heritage of educating people who have gone on to be leaders. It is a proud heritage, and from here we go forward recommitting ourselves to the never-ending goal of building a university in which our alumni and friends can forever be increasingly proud.

For them, for us, it is time to pick up the pace and start running. In due time, we will be recognized as a premier urban research university because the scale, scope, and impact of our programs will be evident everywhere, all of the time.

Thank you. Godspeed and good day.