Betz Challenges Faculty, Staff To Make College Experience Unforgettable For Students

Betz Challenges Faculty, Staff To Make College Experience Unforgettable For Students

NSU President Dr. Don Betz addresses faculty and staff during the annual Orientation Meeting, emphasizing the need for open communication, teamwork and creating a memorable college experience for students.




NSU President Dr. Don Betz presents Vice President for Administration Kim Cherry with a replica of the NSU clocktower in recognition of her service as interim president.

TAHLEQUAH Focusing on the student college experience, working as a team and creating an atmosphere of open communication were the central themes emphasized by Northeastern State University President Dr. Don Betz in his first address to the campus community on Monday.

Were here today to honor the past, to embrace and share the present, and to forge the Northeastern State University team as we create the vision and build the future, said Betz. This is a new time. Now we have the mantle of opportunity and responsibility to craft the future. We must all accept our roles as stewards of this historic institution and its values. You are all invited to be a member of this team and to know that what we do from this point on, we shall do together.

Betz, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Dalton Bigbee, Faculty Council President Dr. Craig Clifford, Vice President for Administration Kim Cherry and Dean of Student Affairs Laura Boren each addressed members of the NSU faculty and staff about what to expect during the coming school year at the annual orientation meeting held in the Center for Performing Arts.

Placing great emphasis on the college experience, Betz encouraged faculty and staff to take the time to get to know and mentor students during their time at Northeastern. Since most of the incoming freshmen were born in 1990, it is essential to keep in mind where they come from and what they are familiar with, he said.

With schools across the region facing declining enrollment, our challenge is to find a way to engage our students, said Betz. What we have to become is the most irresistible place to learn together and to work together. If we do it the right way, students will hear about it and want to come here.

Betz also plans to draw the university community together through a number of different avenues designed to increase communication, including hosting University Assemblies to address questions and concerns in a town hall-style format.

This is a huge effort in collaboration, to teach and to learn and to serve, said Betz. No one can do it alone. We must find new and relevant ways to communicate with each other and work together.

Bigbee, with assistance from Dr. John Schleede, dean of the College of Business and Technology, Dr. Kay Grant, dean of the College of Education, Dr. Paul Westbrook, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Dr. Martin Venneman, dean of the College of Science and Health Professions, and Tom Messner, interim director of Libraries, introduced the newest members of the NSU faculty.

Implementing changes to the universitys general education requirements, preparing for Oklahoma Research Day on Nov. 14, providing greater assistance to students interested in studying abroad with a new director of International Programs, and studying the accountability requirements laid out in the new Higher Education Act approved by the U.S. Congress are all academic projects that will face the university during the coming year.

As the NSU Faculty Council President, Clifford encouraged faculty members to get involved on campus and to consider representing their colleges and departments in the academic organization.

After serving the past year as interim president, Cherry has retaken the helm as the vice president for Administration. She was presented with the first Order of the Clocktower award in recognition of her service during the transition period.

In her update to the campus community, Cherry highlighted the minimum wage increase the university implemented in July. The federal minimum wage increased to $6.55 on July 24, and the universitys minimum wage increased to $6.75. The university is also budgeting for a one-time stipend to full-time faculty and staff in January if funding remains available.

Cherry also mentioned the continuing need to recruit students and keep them at the university, as more and more of the universitys budget is becoming dependent on tuition and fees and less state funding is available.

Around 200 students signed up for the guaranteed tuition program which was implemented this fall in an effort to maintain lower tuition rates for college students. Under the program, students who enroll at NSU as first-time freshmen can sign up for a fixed tuition rate for four years.

Northeastern State University has a tremendous impact on our communities, said Cherry. We are an enterprise expending almost $180 million last year, which benefits Tahlequah, Muskogee and Broken Arrow.

Boren echoed Betz in encouraging faculty and staff to get involved with students on campus to make their college experience more special.

In Student Affairs, you will notice that we are shifting from a staff-initiated effort to more student-led efforts, said Boren. Events like Homecoming activities, the Fall Festival and Kaleidoscope are all being organized for students by students.

The goal of Student Affairs is to not just engage students for the first few weeks of the school year, but throughout their entire college experience, Boren said.

Our students can teach us great things, but we have to step up and give them the opportunity, said Boren.

Returning to the campus at a historic milestone, Betz told the campus he was excited about the upcoming Centennial Countdown and Centennial Celebration, honoring the universitys educational foundation and guiding the institution into its second century.

When you think back about where it began in an organized way and what people were thinking when they did it they werent thinking about the moment, they werent thinking about the next month nor the next year. They were thinking about how deep can we plant these seeds to make sure that things can grow and that people will grow and that society will flourish.

The NSU Centennial Countdown launches on Wednesday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. with the Community Picnic. A number of activities are planned to increase awareness of the Centennial Celebration, which kicks off on March 6, 2009, also known as Founders Day. The date marks the 100th anniversary of the Oklahoma legislature authorizing the purchase of Seminary Hall and the surrounding land from the Cherokee Nation to create Northeastern State Normal School. A complete schedule of events can be found at www.nsuok.edu/centennial.

Were going to showcase not just what we've done, but also who we are and what we do, said Betz. Look at the Centennial as an opportunity to embrace that past and to celebrate it in high voice and at the same time to know that we are launching that second century.

Through all of the activity on campus during the coming year, Betz reminded faculty and staff that the universitys focus needs to remain on the students.

Were not building widgets here, we are creating the future, said Betz. Our goal is to make the college experience as great as possible for each and every student.

8/18/2008

Published: 2008-08-18 00:00:00