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President's Report to Board of Trustees |
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CAPITAL PROJECTS Houston Cole Library - The roof system and granite installation are in place. The entire project is scheduled for completion within the next 60 days. Rededication of Houston Cole Library is planned for the October 21st Board meeting. Chief Ladiga Trail - The Trail is complete through campus. Final portions of the project, connection of the water fountain, information panels for the kiosk and pavement connections will be completed this summer. A dedication of the JSU portion of the Trail will be held on the afternoon of the October 21st Board meeting. Joe M. Ford Economic Development Center - This project is complete and McCartney Construction Company is working toward completing the parking lot by the end of July. Chimney Peak - The roadbed is complete and hilltop can be easily accessed all the way. Asphalt will be applied as weather permits. Ayers Hall Renovation - Asbestos abatement by the contractor Montgomery Environment has begun and will be completed this summer. Final design and construction documents for the Ayers Hall addition are in progress. Field House, Stephenson Annex (old high school gym) and JSU McClellan - All three projects are in the design stage with the architect Jenkins, Munroe and Jenkins meeting with the respective committees. JSU Child Development Center at McClellan - Renovation work is in progress and should be completed this summer. Electrical upgrades and fire alarm replacement contracts were awarded earlier this summer. The Child Care Development Committee is working to complete budget recommendations and plans for opening the facility by January 2003. Rowan/Weatherly Hall Demolition - Contracts have been awarded and removal of asbestos has begun. Demolition and grading of the site is expected to be completed during fall. Roof Replacements 2002 - The contract awarded to Standard Roofing of Birmingham, Alabama includes the JSU McClellan Child Development Center, Sparkman Hall, Stone Center, Stephenson Hall, Mason Hall and the Pete Mathews Coliseum. This project is progressing as planned except for the Coliseum, which is being redesigned to remove two previous roofs. Pete Mathews Coliseum Swimming Pool - The filtration and pump system replacement awarded to Mid-South Controls has been completed and the pool has been cleaned, refurbished and placed into operation. UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES Fall Applications - Accepted undergraduate (freshman and transfer) applications as of July 10th exceeded last year's total at the same time by 300 applicants. Ninety-five more applications have been accepted from Georgia than this time last year. (A year-by-year comparison is in your notebook under Tab 6.) Summer Enrollment - Final enrollment numbers for May term, Summer I, II, and marathon terms will not be available until later this August. However current totals of May, Summer I, II and Marathon sessions 2002 indicate an increase in enrollment of 233 students over 2001. Summer increases are also good indicators for an enrollment increase in the fall. Athletics - JSU athletes were ranked third in overall academic ranking for 2001-02 in the Atlantic-Sun Conference following first place Belmont University and Mercer in second Place. JSU golf coach James Hobbs was named the 2002 Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year after leading the men's golf team to its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. Men's golf team members--Matis Anselmo was named Freshman of the Year, and A-Sun Tournament medallist Jose Campra earned First Team honors. Student Activities - Thanks to the leadership in Student Activities, JSU's fraternities and sororities have achieved a collective grade point average above the undergraduate men's and women's averages for Spring 2002. These achievements are significant and indicate that our greek organizations value the academic experience. Teacher Hall of Fame - Three Alabama teachers have been inducted into the Jacksonville State University's Teacher Hall of Fame. Faith Murphy Roberts, of Mobile, a first grade teacher at Peter Joe Hamilton Elementary in Mobile County, was recognized at the Elementary School level. Kimberly Anne Bain, of Pelham, who teaches band for grades six through nine at R. F. Bumpus Middle School in the Hoover City School System was recognized at the Middle School level. And Carolyn Harris Serviss, of Jacksonville, an eleventh grade U.S. history and geography teacher and a dual enrollment history teacher at Saks High School was recognized at the Secondary Level. The three inductees received certificates and will have their names inscribed on the Hall of Fame plaque which is displayed in the lobby of the Houston Cole Library. The JSU Teacher Hall of Fame, the oldest of its type in the state, was established by JSU President Houston Cole in 1969 to honor outstanding public classroom teachers. Sixty-six previous winners have been inducted into the state's oldest teacher recognition program. Annual Faculty Awards Reception - Through a peer review process, the faculty recognized outstanding individuals in its own ranks.
Special Recognition - Jacksonville State University alumnus and trustee Randy Owen and the group Alabama were one of three nominees for the first annual Home Depot Humanitarian Award to be presented at the Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony. The honor was created to recognize a group, duo or individual artist in the country music industry who is committed to serving others and who has a generosity of spirit and a dedication to helping build the dreams of those in need. The award is also the first fan-voted award in the 37-year history of the ACM awards. Randy Owen and Alabama are co-founders of the Country Cares for St. Jude Kids program which began in 1989. Through radio stations, the annual event has raised more than $157 million in pledges for the children of the St. Jude Research Hospital. The radio-thon lasts two days and is highlighted by patient stories, celebrity appearances and radio station promotions. I also want to thank Mr. Owen and his wife Kelly for hosting a reception at their home in Fort Payne in support of our efforts to build a facility for our Little River Field School. Randy has chaired this effort and gained the support of Congressmen Robert Aderholt and Bud Cramer who were were in attendance, as were Fort Payne mayor Bill Jordan, DeKalb County Commission President Sid Holcomb, Cherokee County, State Rep. Richard Lindsey, and a representative from Congressman Bob Riley's office. Aderholt and Cramer were involved in obtaining a $412,000 grant to help fund the curriculum of the Field School. Also on hand at the meeting were representatives of Alfa Insurance, education leaders from the Fort Payne City and DeKalb County school systems, as well as from Alabama Power Company, which has already donated land on Highway 35 where the Field School Building will be located. Summer Dinner Theater - Taste of the Town Dinner Theater returns to the Leone Cole auditorium after a year's absence due to proration cuts. This year's plays include two comedies, a female version of Neil Simon's "The Odd Couple" began July 4 and concluded last night. "Barefoot in the Park," also written by Simon, will follow--running July 18-20 and 25-28. Our Institutional Advancement Division has published and distributed the special summer edition of the alumni newsletter Gem of the Hills. This issue features a lead article about two JSU graduates both of whom are circuit court judges in DeKalb County. A number of other articles, features and news about our campus and alumni are in this edition. I hope you will read it and share it with others. GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS REPORT Governor Siegleman approved a grant of $100,000 for JSU to initiate planning, development, and industry recruitment in a cooperative planning effort involving Alabama institutions of higher learning. The Alabama Research Alliance will be established to help develop the former Ft. McClellan properties. The Alliance board will be named by the Governor. The Director of JSU's Environmental Policy and Information Center-- Pete Conroy has been appointed as chairman of the newly established Alabama Geographic Information Council by Governor Siegleman. The purpose of the Council is to coordinate GIS related investments, practices and policies in order to minimize a duplication of public expenditures. The Council is expected to present its report on the potential of geographic information systems technology to the Governor in September of this year. RECOGNITION OF DR. FIELDING Dr. William "Bill" Fielding of Jacksonville, Dean of the Jacksonville State University College of Commerce and Business Administration, has been appointed Acting Vice President of Business and Administrative Affairs effective July 1, replacing the retiring Don Thacker who left the post at the end of June. Dr. Fielding is the most experienced person with JSU's financial affairs outside the division of business affairs. I am pleased that Dr. Fielding is accepting this role, particularly since he has headed the University Budget Committee since 1987. Dr. Fielding, Professor of Finance, joined JSU in 1968, served as Head of Finance and Economics and was appointed Acting Dean of Commerce and Business in 1996, then was appointed Dean in 1997. A Rockford, Alabama, native--Dr. Fielding holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of South Carolina. The search committee for the Vice President for Administrative and Business Affairs has narrowed its slate of candidates and are reviewing references. Interviews will be planned for fall with an appointment hopefully made by January or earlier. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REPORT I now request Dr. Rebecca Turner, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, to present the Academic Affairs Report. |
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