SPEECHES & STATEMENTS: FALL 2006 CONVOCATION
Friday, August 25, 2006

I want to begin this conversation in an environment of gratitude. First, thank you all for being here this Friday afternoon to hear and respond to my vision for John Carroll in the forthcoming year. I also want to
take this public opportunity to thank you for the cooperation and support you have extended to me in my first year and three days as president. The folks who accepted the early retirement proposal, the
good will in adjusting to difficult staff and administrative changes, and the willingness to face realistically the challenges that we face together -- all of this is witness to the fundamental health of our community at John Carroll. I do not take these or any of you for granted.

I want to open up for you the way I view the challenges that face us in the coming year, perhaps several years. Before I do this, I am happy to introduce two key administrative leaders, Mr. Brian Williams the
Vice President for Enrollment and Doctor Luis Calingo, the Dean of the Boler School of Business.

After I conclude my comments I will provide you with the opportunity to ask questions regarding any issue you wish clarified further.

What are the challenges that we face as a community of learning? I have organized these under three headings [1] the Campus Learning Environment; [2] the Planning Retreat Priorities; and [3] the Quality of
our Campus Community.

1. Campus Learning Environment. The essential component of our mission is that of learning. As a center of solid teaching and research, John Carroll possesses a 120 year-old tradition and sustained reputation for excellence and success. Students leave John Carroll with very positive experiences and feelings about their time at Carroll and are well prepared to take their place in society. We must sustain this mission. In this context I see the following challenges:
   • To engage students at every academic level -- core and premajor; major, minor and/or concentration, and in professional goal-setting
   • To invigorate our academic program with relevance and freshness
   • To ask each academic department, to reflect, to wonder, to seek improvement, and to act resolutely in light of this self–examination
   • To identify and increase learning communities, e.g., as was done so tellingly by the faculty and administrators involved in the Poverty and Solidarity Initiative
   • To give focus to study abroad and global education opportunities that will be more integrated with our mission and learning goals
   • To uncover ways to involve the entire university community in enhancing this learning environment – for each of us is responsible for part of this process

While I will speak more directly about the Planning Retreat a little later in this presentation, I want to emphasize some priorities that emerged from the Retreat.

• First Year Seminar. A committee of faculty members is presently evaluating the FYS. I applaud their work and encourage the rest of the community to participate in this important discussion. At the same time, I want to add a few considerations to this conversation related to some of the goals, strategies and suggestions from FYS discussions taking place nationally.

FYS is, for many institutions, part of a retention strategy of engagement. Research shows that retention is related to relationships, connections and engagement. And for many students the first few weeks of the first semester are critical in determining whether they will return in the spring and the
following year. A number of things are possible to improve engagement: block scheduling a FYS section with another first year course; block scheduling a first year course by residence hall or wing; including a group service component in FYS; even work study increases retention—though I have not been able to think of a connection between FYS and work study. FYS might be able to engage our institutional core values more directly as well—justice, community, diversity or even engaging the world. None of these alternatives would fundamentally change the FYS learning goals but are, or seem for some to be, prohibited by the current formulation of the FYS which is embedded in the Core document. Any of these possible adjustments might improve the student experience and thus retention.

The questions around Advising are being addressed by another faculty committee. Some students express concerns regarding advising. It may not be advising in the major, but there are many other advising situations and we must address these matters.

We also need to discuss whether this is the time for us to consider a core curriculum revision. It has been over a decade since we looked at the core curriculum. The Core Curriculum is how we achieve our learning goals. How do we best do that now in this global environment?

Faculty leadership and choices will determine what we do next.

All of these issues—FYS, Advising and core curriculum are
being addressed in terms of our learning goals but now must
also include discussion of admissions and retention.

• Admissions and retention. Our undergraduate enrollment goal is 3,400. That translates into a first-year class of 850 and between 100 and 200 transfer students to offset attrition. The Graduate enrollment goal needs to be set somewhere between 800 and 1,000. In the coming year the Committee on Enrollment and other groups will discuss how to implement these goals.

We must evaluate our retention efforts and strategies. Our retention rate is good, but attrition has increased by 4-10%. This recent decline could result in our inability to maintain our six-year graduation rate of over 75%. A graduation rate which hovers around 70% does not reflect well on an institution as selective as we are. New attention, strategies and initiatives are required.

I realize that there is no quick solution to the task that confronts marketing and admissions, the two key areas in recruitment. But new strategies are required. Please be clear, numerical growth is not the final goal. We must always be attentive to our mission of education for leadership and service. But we cannot accomplish this goal without the necessary net tuition revenue.

2. Planning Retreat Priorities. After two days of focused and rigorous reflection, discussion,
   and debate, the group of faculty, staff, administrators and representatives of the Board of Directors that gathered at Punderson Manor rated four areas as most important for the future of John Carroll: [a] the Campus Facilities Master Plan, [b] Commitment to Service, [c] Marketing and Enrollment, and [d] Vision, Mission, Core Values and identification of our Strategic Initiatives.

a) Campus Facilities Master Plan
We confront here a cluster of demands on our attention and resources. Let me simply share some of these demands:

• Parking
• Apartment style student housing
• Student Center and Rec Plex improvements
• The future of Bohannon
• Resources required to build community and to improve as a learning community
• Our relationships with the neighborhood and the city of University Heights

In short, how can we utilize our facilities to be even more attractive to applicants and improve learning and the student experience?

How can we improve the environment for learning at JCU?

How can we enhance the student experience at JCU?

The UPG is the group which will lead the Facilities Master Plan Process. Early this fall the UPG will review a Draft Request for Proposals which will then be sent to firms experienced in facilities master planning for institutions like us. We hope this process will take only 12-18 months to completion.

After receiving the recommendation of the planner, the UPG will make a recommendation to me and I will work with the Vice Presidents to make a recommendation to the Board of Directors. Ultimately, it is the Board which will set the priorities for the JCU Facilities Master Plan.

b) Commitment to Service
Our rhetoric is heavy with references to service; but, so too, is our performance. We have to continue to bring our words and actions into close, effective harmony. Let me suggest some areas where we could possibly still grow as a community dedicated to service.

Availability:

• Office Hours—evenings, lunch hours, school breaks--
  Christmas through New Years day. We must begin a discussion of how those of us who work in service offices can make our services available during these periods.
• Quality of Presence to our publics: Enhanced service to students, parents, alumni and
  colleagues. One stop shop services for students—often this is Bursar and Financial Aid services provided in a common location and with a focus on high quality student services -- helping each student to resolve practical dilemmas without unnecessary trauma -- we must work toward this.
  

The new Center for Community Service can be an example of what we can do at our best. Service is clearly a core value which defines JCU—everyone says that. This new model we have created for the center is:

• Integrated with our educational vision—Service and Learning
• Continues a long tradition at Carroll for which we are known in Cleveland—it helps develop the graduates we want and for which we are recognized and respected
• More visible and more centrally located to students

All of this is true but the new center is even more as it:

• Is Coordinated across Campus unit boundaries
• Reaches into the Cleveland Community for service partnerships and the Advisory Board

c) Marketing and Enrollment
While I have already emphasized the importance of this area, let me sketch the specific steps we have taken to implement the suggestions from the Planning Retreat.

1. New Board Committee
   This committee will look at both marketing and enrollment as they require synergistic but unique strategies. Board members are excited to assist us. Everyone knows we need better Marketing. The Board is ready for investments in telling the JCU Story and how we can improve our visibility and put us on the map as regional institution.
2. Enrollment
   i. New VP and new processes and strategies
   ii. Review of current strategies and implement new strategies

d) Vision, Mission, Core Values and Strategic Initiatives document
We hope to develop a clearer, more focused statement of our identity and our mission. Let me be clear that there are essential elements in this brief, refined identity and mission statement. Some of these are the following: JCU is within the Catholic and Jesuit tradition; JCU is committed to excellence in learning for leadership and service; JCU wants to serve this community and region.

A draft of this document will be shared and broadly discussed this year.

3. The Quality of our Campus Community. During tomorrow's student orientation I will share with our students frankly and honestly, my resolve to underscore three priorities for our culture: [a] Respect for Individuals, [b] Responsibility for the quality of our campus community and for each other, and [c] Diversity.

Again, let me sketch out my concerns and hopes, indicating along the way the role faculty, staff and administrators must also play in creating a wholesome and supportive campus culture.

a) Respect for Individuals
Students look towards the custodians of the tradition here at JCU—to faculty especially – to validate the values we profess. We simply cannot say one thing and model another. We who
represent academic and professional authority bear serious responsibility to model this respect. Such a task can be radically counter-cultural in our society today where invective too often replaces honest debate, where suspicion of particular races and religions displaces trust, openness and authentic dialogue, where fear makes us withdraw from anyone different.

b) Responsibility for our Campus Community and for Each Other
The pain that we all felt this last year over the destructive combination of alcohol abuse and sexual assault should strengthen our resolve to face these issues squarely. Young people have to learn; we expect them to make mistakes; but the mistakes must not be ones that brutalize, dehumanize and destroy lives. There is no place at John Carroll for students who violate one another or for those who knowingly stand by while such violence takes place. I will plead with our students this year to take responsibility for the culture that they create in residence halls, on-campus and offcampus.

As a community we bear the embarrassment and misrepresentation that too often follow public airing of alcohol abuse and sexual assault reports. Students still perceive John Carroll as a place of safety and mutual care; however, applicants and their parents, civic leaders and
donors may not. There is too much at stake for us not to address this problem consistently and wisely.

c) Diversity
We must prepare our students for their future world, a world more global and more diverse. We must also reach out to students of color to make sure that we do all we can to make JCU a place of welcome, achievement, and pride for them. We need to look hard and critically at our faculty and administrative hires to include women and men of color. The fact is that John Carroll possesses almost the least diverse student body among the Jesuit Schools. Out of the 14 Jesuit colleges and Universities participating in the Lumina grant, JCU is 13th in terms of student diversity, JCU is 10th in the amount of federal aid to minority students, 7th in minority retention rate, and 7th in graduation rate.

I am deeply troubled by these rankings.

We certainly would not do better if we compared our faculty and staff diversity.

College of the Holy Cross (Worcester MA)
Santa Clara Univ. (Santa Clara CA)
Fairfield Univ. (Fairfield CT)
Fordham Univ. (New York NY)
Marquette Univ. (Milwaukee WI)
Xavier University (Cincinnati OH)
John Carroll Univ. (Cleveland OH)
Le Moyne College (Syracuse NY)
Canisius College (Buffalo, NY)
Univ. of San Francisco (San Francisco CA)
Wheeling Jesuit University (Wheeling WV)
Spring Hill College (Spring Hill AL)
University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit MI)
Saint Peter's College (Jersey City NJ)

What is interesting about this group of schools is that we are likely near the top in student academic ability. . . Yet. . .

Other campuses have clearly been more serious about and more committed to building a diverse campus community of faculty, staff and students. That must change! We are
doing our students a disservice not to change given our world and its more global future.

Therefore I have asked for a report regarding the diversity of every pool for every search. If we cannot diversify the pools we cannot even hope to hire diverse candidates.

This is the first step in our commitment to improve diversity. Other steps will follow. Once we have more significant numbers of faculty and staff of color it will be easier to recruit and hire persons of color and candidates will be more likely to be interested in joining us and becoming more diverse and will be less of an afterthought for our community.

On August 10th, I received a letter from a number of senior women faculty asking us to review our performance in regard to the hiring, mentoring, promotion and tenure of women faculty.

• Need for conversation
• Need for examination
• Need for a commitment to support junior faculty to be successful

There will be more discussion regarding their concerns.

This is our challenge and our opportunity. We can do better, but only if we work together.

A couple announcements and then I will take questions and close with a story.

1. I will continue my lunches with randomly selected groups of eight to 10 faculty each time. I had lunch with about 50 full-time faculty over the course of last year. I hope to be even more aggressive in scheduling these lunches this year and connect with the rest of the faculty before the end of the academic year.
2. I intend to visit various administrative departments more often during the year and you may even find me wandering the halls of your faculty and administrative office areas from time to time. One of the few times I was able to do this last year I was asked if I was lost, and some times I was—but not this time!
3. I will be in Croatia to deliver the commencement address at the Jesuit Business school we have had a relationship with for some years and then to Armenia again for the second and last accreditation visit which will be followed by my first Georgetown University Board meeting. I will be away from September 1-21.
   
4. The Mass of the Holy Spirit will be celebrated on Thursday, August 31st at noon. I invite you all, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, to join us for this traditional prayer invoking God's blessing and spirit to assist us as we begin another school year.

Let's take a few minutes now to hear your questions. There are microphones in the aisles. Please raise your hand and a microphone will be brought to you. If you are in the middle of a row, please make your way to the aisle. Please identify yourself and your department and then ask your question. If I need to refer a question to one of the Vice Presidents or Deans, I will do that.

Thank you for coming. I am starting for me a new tradition. I wanted to provide you an overview of some of the opportunities we will face this coming year as a campus community. Normally I will begin each academic year with a convocation address. I plan to conclude each spring semester with a state of the University address in the late spring which will be followed by an end of the year reception. In future years I may take this opportunity to address new questions or opportunities for the University.

We are educating our students for Leadership and Service with and for a new world where justice will be realized more often for more people. That may not be a huge improvement for our world, but it is something and it is our contribution, our part. JCU is very good, but we can be better—let's see how much we can accomplish this year. We are transforming students' lives and our own in living out the JCU experience. Thank you for joining us today and for your contributions to the building of this great University!