August 15, 2008, 10:30 a.m. - Jarman Auditorium

Good morning. It is so good to see all of you today. I know I say this every year, but can you believe that it is mid-August and our freshmen will be arriving one week from today?

As the saying goes, time flies when you are having fun – so we must be having a blast, because time is surely flying by….of course, there are some that say time flies as you get older, but I much prefer having fun to getting older – so that is the story we are sticking to!!

Joking aside, I hope that you have had a great summer and the opportunity to get away from work for some rest and relaxation and are now renewed and ready to begin the new academic year.

I want to thank everyone from all areas on campus for working so hard over the summer. We had over 5,000 visitors on campus for conferences; we have been working to get the residence halls ready for our students; we have been admitting students, housing students, awarding financial aid; holding orientations and open houses; we have been getting the grounds in top shape; and, the list goes on – and the list is too long for me to thank each of you today – plus, I know I would leave someone out – so just let me say a big “Thank You” to all of you for what you do to make Longwood University the best place it can be. And, I know you do that year round – not just in the summer, but this is my once a year opportunity to tell you that I appreciate each and every one of you for your contributions to Longwood University. This University would not be what it is without you.

I am pleased to announce that we have two new deans that will be joining us this year. Unfortunately, neither were able to come today since they have not started their new positions yet.

Dr. Paul Barrett has been hired as the Dean of the College of Business and Economics, effective September 1. Dr. Barrett has 30 years experience in business and nine years of teaching experience at the college level.

Since 1992 he has served as a managing member of Barrett and Company, LLC, a professionally licensed executive coaching, tax, accounting, and financial planning services firm in Baltimore, Maryland.

From 1992 to 2001, he was an adjunct faculty member for the Community Colleges of Baltimore County, Maryland, where he taught accounting, finance, marketing, and business courses.

Dr. Barrett received his Ph.D. in organizational leadership from Regent University, M.Ed. from Towson University, and B.A. from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Dr. Anthony A. Koyzis has been hired as the Dean of Graduate and Extended Studies and will start his new position on September 10th.

Dr. Koyzis is currently the Dean of the School of Education, Counseling and Graduate Studies at Wayne State College in Nebraska.

Dr. Koyzis holds a Ph.D in Educational Policy Studies; a M.A. in International and Comparative Studies; and, a B.A. in Economics, Political Science and History – all from the University of Iowa. (Kathy Worster is pleased about that!)

In addition to his strong background in management and educational leadership, Dr. Koyzis has a wide range of academic experience that includes teaching, research, counseling, international education and cross-cultural studies.

Both new deans are excellent assets for the University and I know they will work hard to keep their respective areas moving forward.

I would like to also welcome any others who are new to Longwood since our President’s Welcome last August. Please stand and let us all see you and give you a big Longwood Welcome (applaud).

Thank you for joining the Longwood family.

Over the last couple of years, the President’s Welcome has been timed so that we were able to announce our standings in the U. S. News & World Report’s list of America’s Best Colleges. Unfortunately, this year we are meeting a little earlier – date wise – than previous dates and; therefore, we do not have this information yet – it should be available in approximately a week and we will keep you posted.

We do know, however, that Longwood University is among 139 schools in the Southeastern U.S. listed in the Princeton Review’s 2009 Best Colleges: Region by Region section.

These national rankings are important as they help keep us on the radar screen of our prospective students and their parents. As you have heard me say before, if you are not in the rankings, you hate them; if you are in the rankings, you love them AND we love them!

As you can imagine with the first day of school approaching, I have daily communication with Bob Chonko, Dean of Admissions. The latest numbers that he has – and please remember these are preliminary numbers, since there are still 10 days before school actually starts and anything could happen – but as of now, we are looking at a freshman class of approximately 1,060. That is an increase of 72 students from last year’s 988.

The quality of this year’s applicant pool, with a 3.4 GPA and a 1095 SAT, is higher than last year’s.

The transfer student numbers appear to be coming in around 165, which is somewhat smaller than last year’s transfer population. We have experienced more transfer cancellations over the summer, which may be related to the declining economy.

Other factors that may be at play in the decline of transfer students include the fluctuation in enrollments in transfer degree programs at the community colleges and the fact that other Virginia universities have expanded their transfer admissions’ recruitment and enrollment of community college graduates as part of the requirements of the Restructuring Act passed several years ago, which makes this an even more competitive market.

We expect total enrollment on and off campus to be about 5,000 students.

Another trend that we have picked up, and one that our sister institutions are also experiencing, is a large increase in students who are registering as “undeclared students.” In the last two years, the number and percentage of the freshman undeclared majors has doubled from 11 percent to 22 percent.

We are being proactive on this issue. Last year you will recall that I announced that Dr. Ken Perkins would be taking over a new area for the University called Student Success. Well, I am pleased to report that Dr. Perkins has been extremely busy over the past year putting in place a series of measures to help ensure that Longwood students succeed in their academic endeavors.

The Office of Student Success now encompasses the Admissions Office, the Academic and Career Advising Center (formerly known as the Career Center), the Learning Center, the First Year Experience, and Athletic Advising.

Knowing that there is an influx of undeclared freshmen coming in, Dr. Perkins has strengthened the advising program.

We are expecting these changes to be very beneficial in the retention and progression of students through their academic career.

The demographics of the incoming freshman class are very similar to last year: 33 percent male, 95 percent in-state, 85 percent white, and 15 percent other races.

Also, this fall, there will be 26 Chinese students from Anhui University of Technology – four are returning students for their second year and 22 are new students, all of whom are business majors. We will also have two professors from Anhui, one English professor who will be teaching the Chinese language at Longwood for the year and the other is an Economics professor, and “vice-dean” in Anhui’s School of Economics, who will be working with our faculty and observing classes. He may teach in the spring semester and Dr. Evelyn Hume may go to Anhui to teach.

Both Evelyn Hume and Claire La Roche taught in China this past summer, but had to return before the Olympic Games began!

We have three student exchange programs this year:

• We will have two students from the University of Geneva, Switzerland – one of Liberian nationality, the other Swiss – who are in the School of Interpretation and Translation there, majoring in English and languages. Here they will be studying a variety of courses to learn about American culture, as well as study English. One of Longwood’s students will be going to the University of Geneva this fall to study French language and translation.
• In another exchange program, one student from the Advancia Business School in Paris, France will be at Longwood taking business courses and one student from Longwood’s College of Business and Economics will be going to Advancia this fall to study business and French.
• We will also have one student from the University of Plymouth, England, who will study English courses and Longwood will send students to the University of Plymouth in the Spring semester.
  While it appears now that we may have a record enrollment, we must all keep in mind that we always lose a few students for whatever reason during the first two weeks, but this year we have to also remember that the economy could play a role in what the final numbers show, as well as the impact it could have on future enrollments.

All of the on-campus and University-managed housing is at capacity.

As you know, Cox Hall has been undergoing renovation over the past year, but, thankfully, that will be completed in time for our students to move in this fall.

Because of the large number of first-year students, we have had to re-open Main Tabb and South Ruffner, which were scheduled to be closed this year. Freshmen will be housed in Tabb this Fall and transfer students in South Ruffner.

While we allowed all students to move off campus who asked to live off campus and met the criteria, we still have retained more of our residential student population with 130 more continuing students in Longwood managed housing than we had last year at this time.

I think, in part, that is a reaction to the Virginia Tech tragedy and the desire of parents to keep their children in University-managed housing because they feel that it is a safer living environment. In addition, many realize that they can’t cook or “keep house” like they should!

The Residential and Commuter Life office has had a busy couple of months as they have worked to house all these students and they have done a great job.

As I mentioned earlier, we are very pleased that the Cox Residence Hall Renovation project will be completed in time for our students to move in this fall. This residence hall has under-gone a true extreme makeover – it has gone from dingy halls with dreary rooms, to modern fixtures highlighting the halls and study rooms and really nice living quarters for our students.

Sustainability is now a theme throughout our capital projects – whether new construction or a renovation, such as Cox. The renovation included new energy efficient windows; local and renewable resources such as Virginia brick and linoleum were used in this project; and, interior air quality is maintained by using low Volatile Organic Compounds Paint (otherwise known as VOC paints) and energy saving compact fluorescent lighting, which was used throughout the building.

This summer was the beginning of a five-year process to make necessary cosmetic and functional improvements to Curry and Frazer Residence Halls. Curry was taken fully off-line for the first time since it was built in 1969. Over the summer, doors were replaced and the lobby was painted and upgraded. Over the next four summers, additional projects will take place to address floor and ceiling tiles, as well as HVAC and plumbing issues.

I am sure that for those of you who have not been on campus this summer, seeing the new Communication Studies and Theatre Arts building has been a real eye-opening experience! There has been a lot of activity on the south-end of the campus. The three-story, 41,000 square foot facility is on schedule and should be completed in early 2009. I know that Dr. Rao and the rest of his department cannot wait to move into their beautiful new home. They certainly deserve this wonderful new building!

And, as we complete the Communication Studies and Theatre Art building, we should be getting ready for the groundbreaking for the Bedford Addition and Renovation.

Can you say FABULOUS – because that is exactly what this building will be. The new updates and addition will not only provide a state-of-the art teaching environment for our faculty and staff, but it will be an artistic masterpiece itself. Much of the façade will be glass and will a modern and cutting edge flare while still blending nicely with the surrounding buildings. Also, there will be elegant water features as well as an outdoor garden for displaying artwork. Building on our commitment to sustainability, this project is being designed to achieve LEED Silver certification.

For years, our art faculty have persevered in a facility that was too small, with health and safety issues, and inadequate programmatic facilities, but those days will soon be over.

There are a number of other capital projects underway or planned.

• We have just begun breaking ground on the new Heating Plant, which is being constructed on Barlow Field. This new facility will dramatically increase the overall efficiency of the campus’ heating and hot water operations. It will also offer additional fuel storage space to improve accessibility and ease of operation.
• You will recall that we burn sawdust in our heating plant – we’ve been burning, first wood chips, and now sawdust – since the mid-1980’s and it has saved the University thousands of dollars annually. Burning sawdust is a prime example of the benefits of sustainable choices. This carbon neutral energy source is a bi-product of local sawmills. The construction of the new heating plant should be completed in the Spring 2010.
• Work is currently underway to transfer the “old Blackwell Dining Hall” into prime meeting and gathering space. Improvements include mechanical and electrical systems upgrades and many interior aesthetic improvements. This project is scheduled to be completed before August 2009.
• Once the Blackwell renovation is completed, the Jarman Hall renovation will commence. This project will encompass new finishes, an upgraded mechanical system, as well as acoustical and lighting improvements in the theatre. A component of this project will address improving vehicular access on High Street.
• Jarman Hall is an important asset not only to Longwood, but to the local community. In addition to Convocation and other University events, it has been used for dance recitals, high school graduations, and for Girl State activities, among others. The improvements to this facility will be appreciated by many!

Those are some of the major capital projects that are underway or planned, but certainly not all the projects. There are many more smaller projects also underway so the campus is an extremely busy place!

In addition to the projects on campus, the Real Estate Foundation has a number of projects underway as well.

• The design is nearly complete and approvals are being sought for both the pedestrian and vehicular bridges at Lancer Park. We feel confident that approvals from the Commonwealth of Virginia and from VDOT will come through without significant delay so we can commence construction late this year and have the bridges available in the 2009-2010 academic year.
• These bridges will cross the abandoned railroad line near Carter’s Flower Shop on Third Street and will greatly enhance access to Lancer Park and will improve safety as well as provide a more aesthetically appealing entrance for our students, parents, and guests.
• As we start to move intramural sports to the Lancer Park complex, these bridges become even more important. Currently, there are two fields and various related infrastructure under construction.
• The first field – a 400 foot square – will be used for softball and various other intramural sports. Installation of the Bermuda grass sod began the first week of August.
• The second field will be an “in-fill” artificial turf field – 200 feet by 300 feet – and will be used for various intramural and club sports. The grading for this field is nearly complete and construction should begin in the next month. This field should be ready for use by mid-fall.
• There is also a “green” element to the Lancer Park fields. A storm water retention facility called a RAIN TANK has been installed. This is an underground tank that collects rainfall (when we have any), which is then recycled for irrigation.
• The other big Real Estate Foundation project is the Alumni Conference Center, which is being planned for property owned by the Real Estate Foundation on High Street. As you probably know there has been considerable discussion of this project by the Farmville Planning Commission, Farmville Town Council, and local citizens. The Real Estate Foundation continues to work through these issues and concerns.
• Design of the Alumni Conference Center is essentially complete. Once the necessary zoning is acquired, construction could begin by mid-2009. As currently contemplated, this facility will include a 175-seat banquet facility, a board room, conference room and offices to house the Alumni and University Advancement functions.

Another project that the Real Estate Foundation is working on that will benefit the University is the purchase of housing that can be used in the recruitment of faculty and staff.

The Woodland Pond Condominiums are located off Milnwood Road behind the Food Lion Shopping Center. The Real Estate Foundation has entered into a contract with the original builder to purchase eight units (out of a total of 20) that are either vacant or that currently have a leased tenant. The contract also calls for the Real Estate Foundation to purchase approximately 11 undeveloped acres adjacent to the 20 units.

These condos vary in size from just under 1200 square feet to nearly 1500 square feet and are designed in both two and three bedroom configurations. When the deal is finalized, these condos will, hopefully, give Longwood another tool for faculty and staff recruitment by being able to offer a “ready to occupy” home with attractive financing options.

As you have just heard, there is a lot of activity taking place on campus and on Real Estate Foundation owned properties. All of these projects will be wonderful additions that will enhance the student environment, as well as University operations.

But, of course, there are a lot more activities going on around campus than just capital projects.

There has been a lot of work on the University’s new Campus Master Plan. Members of the Board of Visitors reviewed the draft plan at several recent meetings and the final plan will be presented to the Board for their approval at the September meeting. Later in the fall, the plan will be made available to members of the campus and the external community.

The implementation of a new Master Plan is an exciting time on any campus. A campus Master Plan provides guidance for construction of the University’s future buildings and infrastructure and helps direct the successful development and expansion of the campus in a pro-active, orderly, and efficient manner.

With the new Capital Outlay Bond Bill passed last year, it is anticipated that there will be continuous movement in renovation and construction projects. Our next big project is the renovation of French Hall for the IT Center. As you will recall, we received $900,000 to plan the renovation and that planning is underway. Funds for the renovation should be appropriated in the next biennium.

While the Capital Outlay Bond Bill offers some stability to academically related projects over the next few years, the same cannot be said for the operating budget.

As you have probably read in the newspaper or heard on the news, Virginia’s revenues are not meeting the projections. This means that we could be looking at additional budget reductions. Governor Kaine will be meeting with the Senate Finance Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and the House Finance Committee on Monday to deliver his revised revenue estimates.

He may not make specific budget reductions at that meeting, but he will give the “big budget picture” for the Commonwealth and, if he does what he has done in the past, he will give his Secretariat units specific dollar targets and the Secretaries – in our case, the Secretary of Education – will determine specific cuts for agencies and institutions.

Longwood University had a three percent budget reduction in October 2007 that totaled $1.7 million. In February of this year, the General Assembly spared higher education from additional cuts, but many other state agencies experienced a two percent reduction. It is very unlikely that higher education will be spared this time.

Hopefully, the economy will rebound fairly quickly – these cycles of economic downturn are coming much too close together.

While the economic future is a bit uncertain, there is some positive economic news I want to share with you today.

Over the past few months, the Longwood Small Business Development Center has been very busy working on a study to determine the economic impact that Longwood University had on the Town of Farmville and the local community during 2007.

The study has just been completed and is actually at the printer’s as we speak. I want to share with you some of the highlights from the study, but first a little explanation of the methodologies used.

• The study measures direct expenditures.
• Expenditures made by Longwood University, its employees, students and its visitors create jobs and income for local businesses.
• The data collection captured only the initial round of expenditures for these groups --- much of the direct local spending becomes income for Farmville business owners and their employees and suppliers.
• This local spending and re-spending of dollars derived from Longwood University activity implies that Longwood’s total impact in Farmville is much larger than reported in the initial dollar amounts quantified from the survey results.
• Therefore, a “Times 1.5” multiplier is a conservative estimate for the Farmville region so all survey results have been multiplied by 1.5 to show the reinvestment within the Longwood community of all transactions originating at the University.
• Taking the multiplier effect into consideration, the total economic impact effect on the direct spending by Longwood University and its employees, students, and visitors is $135.6 million in 2007. (Annual actual expenditures totaled $90.4 million.)
• $89 million, or 66 percent of the total economic impact, occurred in Farmville and surrounding counties.
• $73.7 million, or 54.3 percent of the total economic impact, occurred in Farmville and Prince Edward alone.
• By comparison, taxable sales for Prince Edward and Farmville totaled $281 million in 2007. This comparison indicates that Longwood’s economic impact in Farmville and Prince Edward County represents 26 percent of this community’s reported taxable sales for 2007.
• Additionally, the study estimates that the Longwood community generated more than $1 million in local government revenue during 2007, representing 11 percent of all like taxes collected.
• In addition to the quantifiable contributions of Longwood administration, faculty, staff, and students, Longwood provides non-quantifiable contributions such as the cultural, athletic, civic service, and other programs, which have a positive impact on the atmosphere and quality of life in the region.

I’ve already mentioned several times another University initiative that is having a positive impact on the University, the region, the state and the world – and that is our commitment to sustainability.

I have asked Louise Waller and Kelly Martin to share with you a presentation that they recently made to the Board of Visitors.

Louise has been a part of the Longwood University family since 2005 as the Real Property Manager. In 2006, she began assisting with the campus recycling program and the Sustainability Committee.

Over the past two years, Louise has been involved with many sustainability efforts at Longwood and with the help and support of many of you, she has managed and expanded the campus recycling program across campus to now include plastics and aluminum. She also entered Longwood in “Recyclemania 2008;” began the first “Move-Out” reuse, recycle program; produced Earth Day 2008; and, has made presentations to many campus groups delivering Longwood’s sustainability message.

Kelly Martin is one of our own, having graduated in 2007. Prior to graduation Kelly was hired as the Campus Master Plan Assistant Coordinator and has worked diligently to incorporate sustainability into the Campus Master Plan. She has played a very active role in researching and implementing sustainability practices at Longwood and has helped in fine-tuning the University’s recycling efforts. As a member of the Sustainability Committee, Kelly compiled a Sustainability Best Practices List and has worked with Louise to develop a presentation to educate faculty, staff, and students on the definition of sustainability and the sustainable measures currently in place on campus.

Louise and Kelly – let the show begin!

[Sustainability at Longwood University Presentation by Louise Waller and Kelly Martin]

Thank you, Louise and Kelly, for a wonderful presentation on the sustainability efforts underway at Longwood. I know that I learned a great deal from your presentation – it is amazing what has been done in this area. I think we all knew some of the things that were going on, but did not have any idea of the magnitude of Longwood’s entire sustainability program.

I think you will agree that these two young ladies have done a terrific job – their enthusiasm and energy are wonderful (enviable, as well) and put a very positive approach on sustainability.

Let’s give them another round of applause for a job well done.

Now, it is time for that moment that many of you have been waiting for – the drawing of the three parking passes for the upcoming year. I have asked Louise and Kelly to assist in the drawings.

[Drawing for parking passes]

Now, I know that the parking passes are gone and I know that lunch is the next most important thing on your agenda; however, before we go over to the Dorrill Dining Hall for a wonderful lunch, I have a couple of announcements to make.

After you have enjoyed your lunch, please go over to Lankford for the Sustainability Fair. It will be worth your while because waiting for each of you is an Energy Star light bulb. According to Energy Star, “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, more than $600 million in annual energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars” (Energy Star).

So, each of us will be helping the environment by using these Energy Star light bulbs – It is our hope that as you need to replace light bulbs, you will consider purchasing the new energy saving light bulbs.

In addition to your free light bulb, there will be other door prizes given away by various departments. So, please go over to the Lankford Student Union after lunch and check out the Sustainability Fair. You might win something really cool!!

Also, starting today, in keeping with our overall theme of sustainability, ARAMARK is introducing “Trayless Dining.”

Nationally, ARAMARK Dining participated in a Trayless Dining pilot initiative during Earth Week this past spring. Results from those participating, representing over 186,000 meals, were analyzed to quantify the food waste impact of removing trays in residential venues. The results indicated a 25 percent to 30 percent reduction in food waste per person.

In November 2007, Longwood Dining weighed the amount of food waste over the course of a week from the Dorrill Dining Hall. The average daily results showed that a total of 1, 399 pounds of food was wasted every day – over $1,400 worth of food daily.

In addition to the elimination of food waste and food cost savings, Trayless Dining also conserves energy by eliminating the need to heat water for tray washing, reduces dependence on fossil fuels, saves one-third to one-half gallon of water per tray, reduces chemicals, detergents and drying agents used to wash trays, decreases discharge into landfills, incinerators and wastewater treatment facilities, and lessens the ecological footprint. It also saves money, buying water, detergents, and trays.

As ARAMARK moves forward with the Trayless Dining initiative, they will monitor the reduction of food waste and post it on the Longwood Dining website at their newly created Sustainability page.

This is a win-win for all of us – it saves food, saves money, and helps save the environment, so beginning today, we are throwing away our dining hall trays forever.

Now you may be wondering what is going to happen with these thousands of trays. Well, it is your opportunity to own Longwood memorabilia – ARAMARK is going to sell the trays for $1 each and all the money raised through the sales will go to sustainability initiatives. These trays will be available at the Dining Services office.

You will be the very first to experience the new Trayless Dining in the Dorrill Dining Hall.

Thank all of you for coming today – it is going to be an exciting year and I look forward to seeing you around campus. Now let’s go eat lunch and visit the Sustainability Fair!