JSU Newswire
Jacksonville, Alabama
 

President's Report to Trustees


President's Report

to the Board of Trustees

July 16, 2001

Capital Projects


Houston Cole Library ­ The roof system including arches and steelwork is approximately 20% completed. The red granite is scheduled to arrive the first week of August. Removal of the marble is to begin next week.

Martin Hall Renovation ­ This project is 94% complete and scheduled for completion before the end of July.

Roof Replacements ­ The contractor for roof replacements, Simco Construction, is making good progress. This project includes roofing the Athletic Field House, part of Mason Hall, the dome on Merrill Building, the Press Box at Paul Snow Stadium and the boiler room. The project is 43% complete.

Chief Ladiga Trail ­ The architect, Jenkins, Monroe and Jenkins, has resubmitted specifications and drawings to the State Department of Transportation, incorporating revisions requested by the State.

Joe Ford Economic Development Center ­ Our joint project with Gadsden State Community College is approximately 65% complete. The Alabama Legislature and Governor Siegelman approved an additional appropriation of $100,000 for the facility in its proposed 2002 budget.

Hopper Cafeteria ­ Renovation of the cafeteria to a more contemporary and attractive food court is complete. Sodexho Food Services and Trinity Contractors completed the renovations before the beginning of the Summer II term and our students and summer camp groups have been enjoying the new facility and Chef Paul Fourroux of Sodexho. Chef Paul’s personal recipes and the new atmosphere have brought renewed interest to the dinning hall. I hope you all will be able to join us in the President’s Dinning Room of Hopper Cafeteria for lunch today.

Electronic Message Board ­ In May, thanks to help from the JSU Foundation, a new electronic message board was installed in front of the Theron Montgomery Building (TMB). This new sign is being used to display announcements from JSU and its student organizations. Funding for the sign came from the JSU Foundation, JSU's fundraising entity. Funds from the sale of advertising time on the sign such as Coca Cola will be used to repay the foundation for the purchase of the sign.

University Activities Report


Enrollment Report ­ (Under Tab 6)

As of July 11th, totals of accepted applications for Fall Semester 2001 are 10.5% above this time last year. Freshman acceptances are up 191 and transfer students accepted are up 56 over last year for a total 247new undergraduates. Orientation for Fall begins July 23rd and the first two sessions are full.

Our admissions counselors, faculty, staff, students, alumni and enrollment management committee have been working hard to increase our number of new students. I want to thank them for their efforts to tell the story about Jacksonville State University so we will no longer be the best kept secret in Northeast Alabama.

Enrollment for Summer terms is above last year and credit hour production is above last year.

Housing Occupancy ­ Summer occupancy of residence halls is up 21.61% above last year. University Housing reported an increase of 83 additional residents for the terms of May through Summer II.

Spring Commencement was held Saturday, April 28th in Paul Snow Stadium for the first time since 1974. Even with three commencements a year, our graduating classes have become too large to accommodate graduates and guests in Pete Mathews Coliseum. Those in attendance totaled over 6,000 and were treated to an a cappella performance of the National Anthem by our own Randy Owen. U. S. Senator Jeff Sessions delivered the commencement address and received the Honorary Doctorate of Letters for his service to Alabama and specifically to Jacksonville State University.

The Examiners of Public Accounts completed the audit of the University for the 1999-2000 academic year. There were no formal audit findings. Under tab 10 in your folder, you will find the Jacksonville State University Investment Returns as reported for year 2000.

The Division of Administrative and Business Affairs continues to implement efficiency measures. New PC’s have been added to allow cashiers to directly correspond to students. Both internet and telephone activity by students to their accounts continues to increase. Food Court sales in Montgomery Building reflect a 12% increase this Spring over last year. Despite the bankruptcy declaration of Wallace Bookstores and the transition to University control, bookstore sales are up 8% over May of last year.

The Jacksonville State University Foundation, Inc., has released its statement of financial condition as of March 31, 2001. The Foundation’s total liabilities and net assets are $18,902,246.49 as of the end of March. The Foundation has nominated three new members: Grady (Trip) W. Leach, III, partner in Red Leach & Son’s Insurance, Gadsden; Daniel (Dan) S. Ludwig, Plant Manager, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Gadsden; and Dennis G. Pantazis, Attorney, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs, Birmingham.

The Ohio Valley Conference has officially accepted Jacksonville State University as a member, effective not later than July 1, 2003. The TAAC, now the Atlantic Sun Conference, and the Southland Conference will not release JSU earlier than a required two-year notification without substantial financial penalty. Notification has been given to both conferences and the process of the two-year timetable has begun.

JSU’s new baseball coach Jim Case is on board after a successful season at Mississippi State and has completed his staff selection. He has been recruiting and making preparations for his first season at JSU.

Academic Affairs
Little River Canyon Field School ­ In May, a reception, hosted by Alabama Power at the Winfrey Hotel in Birmingham, launched a campaign to raise funds and build a facility to house the Little River Field School. Speaking at the reception were Governor Don Siegelman; Congressman Robert Aderholdt; Alabama Power Chairman, Elmer Harris; and JSU Trustee, Randy Owen. Mr. Ronnie Smith, Regional Vice President for Alabama Power, announced a challenge grant of $250,000 to assist with the construction of classroom facilities at JSU's Little River Canyon Field School. On behalf of the Alabama Power Foundation, Mr. Smith delivered a check for $80,000 to JSU to fulfill this year's pledge. Mr. Wayne Hawkins, Vice President of Marketing for ALFA, also spoke and pledged $50,000 toward the project at Little River.

ApSADS ­ Thanks to the support of JSU’s faculty and staff in Counseling and many others, the University hosted the first Appalachian School for Alcohol and Drug Studies. Drawing from Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, the School offered four days of training sessions and other presentations to teach counselors how to effectively treat addictive disorders. There were also seminars for parents of teens who may have an addiction. The School was well attended and is sure to draw even more attendance next year.

Faculty Awards Ceremony ­ More than 90 faculty members were recognized for their contributions to research, service and teaching at the Faculty Awards Presentation this Spring. Three faculty members, through a peer evaluation process, received special recognition. Dr. Mark G. Meade, Assistant Professor of Biology, received the Earlon and Betty McWhorther Award for Outstanding Teaching. Dr. Steve Whitton, Professor of English, received the Cleo and Carla Thomas Award for Service; and Dr. Russel Lemmons, Associate Professor of History, was recognized as this year's Faculty Scholar Lecturer.

Fulbright Scholars ­ Dr. Safaa Al-Hamdani, Associate Professor of Biology, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar to lecture at the University of Yarmouk in North Jordan. He will join four other JSU faculty who have received the prestigious, highly sought designation as Fulbright Scholars--Dr. Adrian Aveni, Professor of Sociology, Dr. Tom Baucom, Professor of Geography (twice selected as a Fulbright Scholar), and Dr. Gordon Nelson, Associate Professor of Education.

ROTC ­ For the second consecutive year, JSU’s Department of Military Science has been among the top 10% of ROTC units in the country. The Department of the Army uses an Annual Performance Report (APR) to evaluate each of the 270 ROTC programs in the nation. The APR process nationally ranks each program by evaluating commission mission accomplishment, cadet retention, contract mission accomplishment, cadet retention, recruiting, scholarship utilization, cadet quality, training, basic camp attendance and unit training performance. JSU again ranked 1st out of the 21 ROTC programs at all universities in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and western Florida.

Nursing Grant ­ The Department of Health and Human Services has announced a grant to JSU College of Nursing and Health Sciences totaling more than $450,000. The grant will support activities in the master's degree in the area of community nursing services.

Government Affairs


The increase of proration from 6.2% to 11.17% reduced JSU’s appropriation from the Education Trust Fund by $3.28 million. The University’s administration, faculty and staff made the necessary budget cuts to reduce budget expenditures as requested. The Supreme Court ruling of June 29th and Governor Siegelman’s revision of proration to the declaration of 6.2% has reduced the amount of proration to $1.8 million for this year.

The State appropriation for JSU’s operations and maintenance for FY 2002 is approximately 3% less than the beginning budget for FY 2001. This represents a loss of approximately $816,000 for next year and over $2.6 million over a two-year period for JSU.

In order for all of Alabama’s educational institutions, K - graduate schools, to be the economic engines of our state, we must find a way to prevent the endless cycles of proration that continue to hold our educational institutions hostage and our children’s future in jeopardy.

It is now my pleasure to introduce Dr. Bill Carr, Dean of Graduate Studies and Continuing Education. Dr. Carr has agreed to be Acting Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and will present the Academic and Student Affairs Report.

Special Report ­ The Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce has funded a very special program called REACH, Readiness Education to Achieve Career Heights. The program is designed to inform students currently in high school about the manufacturing job market here in Calhoun County. It brings together all levels of education, vocational, technical and higher education along with industry to demonstrate to young people how they can develop a career ladder to successful positions right out of high school. Dr. Kathleen Friery and Dr. Marvin Jenkins developed the REACH model and I have asked that they present it to the Board today. Mr. Duane Higgins, President of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, is here today to explain the importance of the REACH program as a model for implementation by chambers of commerce around the country.


 


Home Search Help Contact JSU
© Copyright 2001:   Jacksonville State University Pagemaster