Our greatest age is before us and it can be greater still if we continue to work together.
By Robert A. Scott, President, 91吃瓜网
Introduction
Good afternoon.
Welcome to my ninth State of the University Address. First, I want to welcome and thank Dr. Gayle Insler for听becoming Acting Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and compliment her for making the听transition from dean to acting provost appear so seamless and effortless. Gayle, thank you!
This fall, we will celebrate many milestones: The Departments of Music and Dance turn 70; and we open new听facilities for performing arts, recreation and sports, and early childhood education. To help celebrate, we have听formulated a new campaign: 鈥淏e part of IT鈥濃�擝e part of the excitement, vitality, community, possibility, creativity,听tradition鈥攁ll words which contain 鈥渋鈥� and 鈥渢鈥� in sequence. So, I invite you to be part of 鈥渋t:鈥� to be part of the听excitement in a vital community of numerous possibilities creatively marking and making traditions.
The new facilities for academic programs and campus life are symbolic representations of our strategic goals to听date. 鈥淚.T.鈥� I think of Imagination and Transformation鈥攊magining new possibilities for enhancing interactions, new听ways of coming together; transforming the breadth and depth of our community through new opportunities, and听new social spaces.
鈥淚.T.鈥� I also think of Integrity and Transparency鈥攖he architectural design of the new buildings makes manifest our听desire to be open, available, and transparent.
Be part of IT! And what is 鈥渋t?鈥� 91吃瓜网, of course. So in this season of using two letters to foster听celebration, I will use two others to present the State of the University: 鈥淎 and U.鈥�
Think AU鈥攖hink gold (and brown), yes, but also think Achievements Unveiled and Aspirations Unfulfilled.
Achievements Unveiled
Adelphi has grown in strength, service, and stature as reflected by the accomplishments noted in the听handout. (See page 8.)
During the past seven years, enrollment has increased by over 50%; admissions selectivity, as measured听by SAT scores and high school class rank, has increased significantly; the number of faculty has听increased to over 300 from 195; the faculty teaching load has been reduced to 18 from 21; when听the current faculty contract expires in 11 months, salaries will have increased 50% in eight years;听fundraising for annual giving has increased more than 400%, and capital and endowment gifts have听increased from negligible to over $36 million in four years; new construction has added nearly 200,000听square feet of instructional, recreational, and residential space; and the endowment for student and听faculty support has more than doubled to $105 million.
And there is more. During the past academic year, we earned accreditation from AACSB International听for the School of Business, making it one of 10% of all business schools worldwide so accredited, and听NCATE accreditation for the Ruth S. Ammon School of Education. We also received full accreditation听from the Council on Academic Accreditation for our master鈥檚 program in speech-language pathology听and our consortial doctoral program in audiology.
Both the Princeton Review and the Fiske Guide to Colleges, two popular college guides, cite Adelphi for听excellence in teaching and student achievement, and for the third consecutive year the Fiske Guide听named Adelphi as one of 26 鈥淏est Buys鈥� in private higher education in the country.
In a year when higher education was stained by scandals in student financial aid and study abroad, and听struck by the credit crisis because of aggressive financing, Adelphi stood out for integrity.
We believe in transparency and good governance, and value the trust placed in us by those we enroll,听employ, and enlist. We took no shortcuts; we serve as stewards of an historic institution with a听remarkable history. The trustees and I are ever mindful of our responsibility for the future even as we听build on the past.
Still other achievements include the International Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, Systems听Thinking and Complexity; the Women Peace and Justice interdisciplinary events, continued this听year as ICAN (Imagine Change, Act Now); the influential social health indicator reports of 鈥淰ital听Signs,鈥� which is based on the premise that society is concerned with more than share prices and bond听markets; the path-breaking work on immigration related to our Center for Social Innovation, with a听dozen faculty members doing important and interesting research on this controversial issue; another听Telly, cable television鈥檚 Oscar, for the Exploring Critical Issues television series; the recognition gained听by the Long Island Center for Nonprofit Leadership; and the continuing recognition for the Adelphi听University鈥擭ew York State Breast Cancer Hotline and Counseling Center.
The University also gained recognition for our efforts at 鈥済reening鈥� the campus, through geothermal听heating and cooling of the new facilities, and environmentally sensitive construction guidelines听(resulting in a LEED Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council), grounds maintenance,听housekeeping materials, and food services, all with the cooperation of University units and student听clubs and organizations.
The arboretum status of the trees and bushes is enhanced by the extraordinary caliber of international听artists whose works of sculpture are exhibited throughout. I tell visitors it is nearly impossible to walk听across campus without learning something new about the natural world and the created world, without听being informed or provoked, comforted or challenged, as should happen at a university.
Finally, the new G.I. Bill is of special interest to Adelphi, not only because the University was changed听by the veterans who entered in 1948 and 1949, and the possibilities that it offers to today鈥檚 service听men and women, but also because several of us had a hand in writing the new legislation. Adelphi will听participate by providing special scholarships to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Throughout the year, the 鈥淎chievements Unveiled鈥� I value most are the answers given by students,听both undergraduate and graduate, and faculty, to these questions: 鈥淲hat are we doing well? What do听you wish we had changed last week?鈥� More often than not, students talk about teaching and advising听that has transformed their lives, and faculty talk about their commitment to a form of student contact听that is transformational and not just transactional. All this gives proof, it seems to me, that Adelphi is听the 鈥渆ngaged鈥� University in the classroom as well as in the community.
So this fall, as we dedicate the Alice Brown Early Learning Center, the Center for Recreation and听Sports and related facilities, and the new Performing Arts Center, with its state-of-the-art dance, drama,听and music facilities, as well as the related faculty and staff offices and program improvements, please听remember that all this is part of our mission: to learn, to teach, and to transform, in a never-ending听quest to improve.
Yet even as we seek to improve, let us not take for granted the progress we have made. As we听consider these 鈥淎chievements Unveiled,鈥� please recall those many moments, such as the launch of the听public phase of the 鈥淐ampaign for Adelphi鈥� and the video associated with it, that made last year so听exceptional.
Aspirations Unfulfilled
For all that we can cite as good, or even excellent, there is more for us to do. We have unfulfilled听aspirations based on our role as a university; based on our mission and heritage; based on the听investments we have made in people, facilities, and technology; based on the goals we have set for听ourselves. We have improved in strength, service, and stature, but have much more to accomplish.
To help identify broad goals for the future, we are engaging in a strategic planning process with听the assistance of an outside firm, Eduventures, that has helped us before. The Strategic Planning听Committee, chaired by Professor Jennifer Fleischner, will hold a series of meetings this fall with faculty,听staff, students, and trustees, as well as alumni and friends, to hear from you regarding priorities for听improvement, enhancement, expansion, contraction, or elimination; to clarify assumptions; to consider听strategies, timing, and responsibilities for fulfilling priorities; and to identify resources needed. I hope听this process will help us think in new ways: inside out and outside in; from the unit to the University;听from the University to the universe.
We can use this process to consider the meaning of an Adelphi degree; to suggest what common听understanding about the world will be held by a student who enters as a freshman and another who听transfers in with junior standing, when each will receive an Adelphi baccalaureate degree; to consider听what a 21st century approach to nursing and healthcare should encompass; to consider social policy听in bolder and global terms as a companion to preparing social workers; to consider how best to frame听our courses and programs to prepare leaders for management positions in a broad array of enterprises,听not just in business; to consider how to foster more cross-disciplinary activities between and among听distinctive academic units.
This process also gives us a renewed opportunity to build on the extraordinary work of the Middle听States Self-Study teams and to consider how best to strengthen student life and student satisfaction鈥攆or undergraduates and graduate candidates, for commuters and those who live on campus, for students听who bring prior education and life experience to their education at Adelphi.
Strategic planning also provides an opportunity to think about the identity we want for Adelphi;听the role and shape of an Adelphi education that gives as much attention to individual character and听community citizenship as it does to careers and commerce.
I think of our liberal arts and sciences foundation for undergraduates in terms of three clusters of听courses, some existing, some new, some combined; three clusters that emphasize the world we meet,听i.e., the natural world; the world we make, i.e., culture, history; and the world we want, i.e., ethics,听morality, and law.
We must give emphasis to the natural world if we are to understand the fundamentals of science and听the choices arising from its discoveries. We must give emphasis to culture if we are to convey to听students the importance of history and context, imagination and exploration, as well as the universal听themes of the true, the good, and the beautiful.
It is through culture that we learn the value of 鈥渄eliberate and imaginative wandering,鈥�1 as Stephen听Graubard put it, and avoid the twin faults of 鈥渟taleness of imagery鈥� and 鈥渓ack of precision鈥� in thinking听and writing, as George Orwell phrased it.2
We must give emphasis to the world we want if we are to understand the various systems of thought听through which people mediate between the world they meet and the world they make.
I think of this form of education as liberating鈥攍iberating students from their provincial origins no听matter what their status or demographics. An essential goal of a liberating arts and sciences education听is to teach students how to test the truth and distinguish between and among the ways of knowing听that tend to confuse even the well-educated. I believe there are three primary ways of knowing truth:听through empirical evidence, or facts; through emotion, including fear, bias, and ideology; and through听epiphany, or revelation, belief. In each case, we can define a 鈥渕oment of truth.鈥�
I believe that each way of knowing truth is valid; that no one way is the only way; that each way has听the potential for integrity; that each way can be valid without denying the validity and integrity of the听other. I also believe that each way of knowing is valid only in its sphere: we cannot argue successfully听against a truth held by belief, such as a belief in God, by relying on empirical evidence alone, no matter听how passionately pursued. Nor can we argue against a fear of flying by using facts only. The belief is听valid to the believer; the fear is valid to the fearful.
Yet we must take a stand against ideological fear-mongering by exposing the nature and character听of fallacies asserted in the name of 鈥渢ruth.鈥� It is much too easy for students and others to access the听internet and read whatever is purported to be true, and to repeat it. Even well-trained journalists need a听refresher course in distinguishing fact from opinion, superstition, and belief.
As part of our planning effort, we will review the faculty-approved 鈥渓earning goals鈥濃�擟ommunication,听Critical and Integrative Thinking, Quantitative Reasoning, Information Literacy, Global Citizenship,听and Artistic Understanding and Expression鈥攁nd consider how best to achieve and assess them.
A grant from the Ford Foundation will assist us in assessing the effectiveness of our various听international initiatives, seeing how we can coordinate them more fully to ensure that they are听strategic, and identifying the steps necessary for becoming more global in our teaching and learning.
In thinking about our role in the world, we also will need to consider more fully how we reflect the听diversity of the communities we serve. Diversity in all its dimensions鈥攅thnicity, nationality, gender,听age, background, and philosophy鈥攊s essential not for appearances sake, but for how it enhances a听community鈥檚 vitality in thinking about its future.
Progress requires assessment of learning outcomes, of the effects of a university education, a topic we听have heard about with increasing frequency, especially in relation to our Middle States Self-Study.听But assessment is important not only because of external requirements, such as minimal amounts听of instructional time required and licensure results reviewed, but also because it is the nature of our听profession. As teachers and scholars, we 鈥渁ssess, diagnose, prescribe, adjust practice to reflect new听research, (and benefit from training and experience).鈥�3 We need to be able to say, as Clifford Adelman听does, 鈥淭his is what this degree represents, this is what the student did to earn the degree, and (this is a听moral) warrantee (that) has been issued on behalf of both institution and student.鈥�4
Another important task for our strategic planning exercise is to consider the role of scholarship and听creative activity in our mission and reward systems. The award-winning scientist and author Lewis听Thomas wrote,
Only two centuries ago we could explain everything about everything, out of听pure reason, and now most of that elaborate and harmonious structure has come听apart before our eyes鈥e need science, more and better science [I would say听scholarship], not for its technology, not for leisure, not even for health or longevity,听but for the hope of wisdom which our kind of culture must acquire for its survival.5
In this same vein, the historian Stephen Graubard called for a new form of scholarship, asking:
Is it possible that the most imperative need today is to acknowledge that the world is听not becoming uniform, that national, religious, social, political, cultural and intellectual听identities call for a kind of scholarship more respectful of difference, prepared to听acknowledge complexity鈥攁ware of how scholars in other countries see their world.6
We want our students to be 鈥渙pen to new knowledge and able to advance it,鈥�7 鈥渇or the hope of wisdom听which our 鈥ulture must acquire for its survival,鈥�8 as Thomas and Graubard have said.
In 1876, in his inaugural address as the first president of the newly opened John Hopkins University,听Daniel Coit Gilman said that the opening of the university means a wish for less misery among the听poor, less ignorance in the schools, less bigotry in the Temple, less suffering in the hospital, less fraud听in business, less folly in politics鈥� (resulting in) more security in property, more health in cities, more听virtue in the country, more wisdom in the legislature鈥�9
These are both noble and basic goals for any university鈥檚 mission of teaching and service as grounded听in forms of scholarship dedicated to improving all three dimensions of its mission through useful听knowledge and creative wandering.
Through our strategic planning process, or exercise, I ask that we come to a common understanding听of multiple forms of scholarship, including creative activity, as they relate to Adelphi鈥檚 mission, values,听and goals. While I agree with the four modes of scholarship articulated by Ernie Boyer, and expressed听often by our faculty鈥攖he scholarship of Discovery, Integration, Application, and Teaching鈥擨 think we听too often become stuck on how to distinguish between basic responsibilities for teaching on the one听hand and the scholarship of pedagogy on the other. 10 We need to find better ways to reach a common听understanding of these paradigms.
It is essential that we find greater clarity in our mission for all these responsibilities in order properly to听recruit, mentor, and retain new faculty; fulfill our policies and ensure the integrity of our procedures;听and express to all faculty our expectations for excellence and the standards by which we will judge听each other鈥檚 accomplishments.
For scholarship (and creative activity in the performing, visual, and written arts), teaching, and service听are the University鈥檚 missions in fulfillment of its roles as creator of new knowledge and understanding;听as curator of what is known, whether for good or ill, whether in libraries or databases; and as critic听of the status quo and fundamental premises of society, by asking questions about 鈥渨hat if?鈥� and about听fairness, equity, justice, and new possibilities.
Earlier, I used the term strategic planning 鈥渆xercise鈥� because organizing to do it gives a community听or an organization a structured opportunity to decide on what is important and to address such items听in new ways. I also emphasize exercise because the process is as important as any plan. The greatest听value is to be found not in a tome, but in the identification, clarification, and examination of principles听and assumptions; through frank discussions across campus; followed by the formulation of a few high听priority goals that are organized according to strategies, including collaboration, and into forecasts,听timelines, and tables of accountability as a new road map for the future.
And there is more. This exercise gives us another opportunity to show our support for a campus听governance system in which the Faculty Senate, the AAUP, and the Administration are strong, distinctive,听and cooperative. Each has a role to play, and each must maintain its integrity in all that it does.
During the coming year these relations will be tested: I urge communication, communication,听communication. We are searching for new deans for the School of Business and the Ruth S. Ammon听School of Education. Later in the fall, when priorities are clearer, and the experience, qualifications,听and characteristics for a new provost are better understood, we will start a search for that position and听decide on the next steps relative to the deanship of College of Arts and Sciences.
In a month or so, we will begin negotiations with the AAUP on an updated Collective Bargaining听Agreement. We have had seven years of working together to shape the current agreement, which dates听back even farther, so I am confident we can go forward in the same manner, with common goals and听mutual respect.
Before long, I expect the EEOC case will be resolved, and will write a full report on the matter to the听faculty when it is time.
Finally, we anxiously but not passively await the successful completion of the Kresge Challenge Grant,听the smooth renovation of Woodruff Hall, and the return of all Hy Weinberg Center residents to their听renovated Cambridge Avenue home.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we have achieved a great deal together, and yet have much more to do. Institutions, like听individuals, which fail to wonder about possibilities and wander inquisitively can become hidebound to听tradition as others pass by.
This is not to oppose tradition, which is important to celebrate, as much to commemorate one鈥檚 origins听and progress as it is useful to introduce those new to the community to the heritage of the new home听in which they are now stewards. For we are each stewards of this institution called Adelphi, and need听to know 鈥淎chievements Unveiled鈥� as well as 鈥淎spirations Unfulfilled鈥� but within our grasp.
My mentor, James Perkins, former president of Cornell, used to advise me to 鈥渟ecure your footing, Bob,听then extend your reach.鈥� Working together, we have secured our footing, and have gained experience听in extending our reach while remaining calm and clear. It is time to recalibrate and do this again, even听as we understand from history that progress is not always smooth.
Our greatest age is before us and it can be greater still if we continue to work together. I assure you听that I am committed to Adelphi鈥檚 continued progress, and echo founding President Charles Levermore,听who in 1912 said,
I love this institution to which听the best part of my life has been听given, and I shall always work听and pray for its welfare.11
Please join me in this mission, and be part of 鈥淚t.鈥�
Thank you.
The State of the University 2008
1听Graubard, Stephen R. Public Scholarship: A New Perspective for the 21st Century. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2004, p. 45.
2 Orwell, George. Why I Write. New York: Penguin Books, 1984, p. 105.
3 De Courcy Hinds, Michael. Teaching as a Clinical Profession: A New Challenge for Education. 2002 Carnegie Challenge, New York: Carnegie Corporation of听New York.
4 鈥淥n Accountability, Consider Bologna.鈥� Inside Higher Education, July 28, 2008.
5 Lewis, Thomas, 鈥淏iomedical Science and Human Health: The Long Range Prospect,鈥� Daedlus, Summer 1977, p. 164.
6 Graubard, pp. 43, 41.
7 Ibid., p. 43.
8 Thomas.
9 Graubard, p. 22.
10 Boyer, Ernest L. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers, 1990.
11 Charles Levermore, 1912.
For further information, please contact:
Todd Wilson
Strategic Communications Director听
p 鈥� 516.237.8634
e 鈥� twilson@adelphi.edu