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President's Report |
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CAPITAL PROJECTS Houston Cole Library Exterior Project is completed and the re-dedication ceremony is set for 1:00 p.m. today. To note this occasion, each of you as Trustees has received a piece of marble from the old exterior cut in the shape of the State of Alabama. This was provided by the courtesy of Carolyn Minerich of Carmen Industries. The marble was cut using a jet stream of water, the specialty of Carmin Industries. I am very proud to say that Ms. Minerich was Alabama's Small Business Person of the Year, and she is very grateful to JSU's Small Business Development Center for helping her begin her business. Library Elevator Replacement Provisions added to the specifications by the consulting elevator engineer have been integrated into the construction documents. The anticipated bid date is December 10, 2002. Work is sequenced and programmed so as not to seriously affect activities in the building during construction. Ladiga Trail Completed with exception of the kiosk, dedication set for today at 2:00 p.m. Joe M. Ford Economic Center Parking Lot Project is nearing completion. Only remaining item is the sign at the entrance after which final inspection date can be set. Chimney Peak The roadway is complete and awaiting final inspection. The planning for the observatory/planetarium can now begin. Ayers Hall Renovation Design and construction documents are in progress for this building which will house the departments of technology, psychology, mathematics and computer science along with academic computing services. Projected bid date is December 10, 2002. Roof Replacement 2002 The Child Development Center and Sparkman Hall are basically complete. Stephenson and Stone Center have minor work to be completed. The Coliseum replacement roofing schedule can now be established. Rowan/Weatherly Demolition Completed and waiting for final inspection to be held. The fine-grading of topsoil and forming/pouring walkways is underway. This area was finished in such a manner as to allow for a future parking lot, as indicated on the University Master Plan. Soccer Field Work is progressing as well as possible with the recent rain. The anticipated completion date is late November 2002. McClellan Child Development Center Renovations Renovation work is in progress and should be completed by mid January. Playground and kitchen issues are the remaining items to be resolved. Cole Auditorium/Hopper Cafeteria Chiller Replacement Contract has been awarded, chillers are on site and waiting on cooler weather for installation. Stone Center Chiller Replacement Specifications are in design phase and will be advertised in October with bid opening November 1. Field House Renovations Architect is finalizing construction documents for bid process. Stephenson Annex Construction documents are being completed for final review by the University and State. Bid documents are to be released in January, with construction to begin in the spring. McClellan Building 3181 Preliminary documents have been forwarded to the State, Gadsden State, and Jacksonville State for approval prior to the completion of engineering and construction bid documents. Pre-qualification of contractors anticipated to begin in January with construction in early spring 2003. Stadium Light Pole Corrections The contract has been awarded to Louana Construction Corporation. Work will begin November 6 after football season. UNIVERSITY ACTIVITIES Fall Enrollment 2002 - undergraduate enrollment totals an all time high of 7,323 and graduate enrollment an all time high of 1,607 for a combined total enrollment of 8,930; adding the Northeast Alabama Police Academy, the total rises to 8,968. This Fall there is a 49.6% increase in the number of students taking at least one Internet course; 12% of JSU students take at least one Internet course for a total of 1,089. Comparisons of public four-year schools in Alabama indicate that JSU grew by the largest percentage this year, 7.1%. Only three colleges grew by more than 5%, with four institutions reporting declining, the average growth was 2.9%. (comparisons is in your notebook under Tab 6.) Jacksonville State University recently achieved an "A" rating by Standard & Poor's for the General Tuition and Fee Bond Issue that you will take action on later this morning. The rating was awarded following a visit by Standard and Poor's representatives coordinated by JSU's financial advisors Blount Parrish Investment Bankers. The "A" rating is one to which all higher education institutions aspire but few are able to achieve. Jacksonville State University's Spirit Drum and Bugle Corp returned from their successful summer tour with a 10th place finish at the DCI(Drum Corp International) 2002 World Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. The National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) moved into their new central office at JSU. The NCGE's mission is to enhance the status and quality of geography teaching and learning at all levels. The Council, formerly located on the campus of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, entered into a five year contract with JSU. The council has over 3,500 members and is directed by JSU's Dr. Michal LeVasseur. The University received a $1.8 million NASA grant that will establish the Von Braun Scholars (VBS) program at Jacksonville State University to motivate greater interest in math and science among public school students. The $1,843,000 NASA grant will fund a four-part program series: Aerospace Certification for Educators (ACE), Gaining Excellence through Aerospace Resources (GEAR), StarQuest and FlightQuest. ACE and GEAR are educator support programs while StarQuest and FlightQuest are student programs. The grant will fund the Von Braun Observer's Project, in which students will have access to a radio telescope via the Internet. The observatory, which will be constructed and operated by JSU, will house a 14.45-inch telescope. The new observatory is to be constructed as part of the Chimney Peak Project. The United States Department of Education awarded Jacksonville State University a $412,000 FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education) grant that will boost the University's Little River Canyon Field School Program. This grant is a result of the efforts made by JSU Trustees Randy Owen and Red Etheridge supporting the efforts of Pete Conroy in Washington, D.C. Please note among your materials the University's Audit Report for 2000-2001 from the Department of Public Examiners. I hope you will review this document in detail. But for now let me ask you to turn to page 45, Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs. JSU has again received an "Unqualified" opinion with no material weaknesses. (You will note that our internal auditor did report one finding of internal control in Housing and one finding and questioned cost in financial aid, both of which have a corrective action plan attached.) Our Institutional Advancement Division has published and distributed the 2001-2002 Annual Report. I hope you will take the time to read this report and review some of the great things that together our faculty, staff, students, alumni and you as trustees are doing for higher education. You may already have received at your home address the Fall 2002 edition of the alumni newsletter Gem of the Hills. This issue features articles about JSU graduates like Judy Shanaberger Sullivan, the first woman to work as a NASA launch engineer, Rick Burgess and Bill Bussey of the "Rick and Bubba" radio show and others as well as information about our "Homecoming Hoedown 2002." I would like to ask Dr. Glen Browder, JSU's eminent scholar on American Democracy, to make a special presentation. RECOGNITION OF MR. SERVISS I am pleased to announce and recognize Mr. Joe Serviss as the newly appointed Vice President for Institutional Advancement. Mr. Serviss, no stranger to higher education even before assuming his development post here in 1989 spent 8 of his 20 years in the military serving in institutions of higher learning. He worked three years at JSU as an assistant professor of military science and five years at the Armed Forces Staff College and National Defense University, where he ended his military career as chief of the evaluations division. Mr. Serviss has served for the past two years as president of the Alabama Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He also serves on the executive board of the 22-county Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America. SACS UPDATE Over the last two years we have involved you as trustees in our process of re-affirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. We are now in the portion of this cycle where we have completed a draft of the self-study and are refining the document through broad review, preparing it for completion by the end of this semester. Our visiting team from SACS will be on campus at the end of February and the process will culminate in the reaffirmation in December 2003. I would now like to ask Dr. Martha Lavender to provide an update of the University's Self-Study process. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REPORT I would now request Dr. Rebecca Turner, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, to present the Academic Affairs Report. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my report. |
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