Chancellor McCormick's 2007-2008 welcome address to system faculty and staff

Hello. I am Jim McCormick. As chancellor of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, I am pleased to greet you again at this, the beginning of a new academic year. I appreciate the opportunity to share some thoughts with you.

Every new academic year brings a sense of excitement and anticipation. I feel it every fall, and I like to think every student starts the year excited about what they have chosen to study and happy with their choice of college or university. Our job is to support them in realizing their goals.

One special group that may need and deserve our attention is the veterans who are entering higher education for the first time or returning to a campus. We are so pleased that we will have an opportunity to serve these men and women as they reintegrate into their civilian lives. We are working closely with the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. I am confident that we now have the resources in place to provide the extra help some of them may need. And I appreciate that many campuses have established veterans centers. I know this required finding resources within your campuses to do that.

I urge each of you to make a special effort to welcome and support our veterans - just as you do for every student - in having a successful college experience.

I am proud to be an advocate for the 32 colleges and universities in this system. We have had many accomplishments in the last year, and I look forward to many more this year.

For example, we had large gains in the number of students taking online courses. And, at least 13 colleges reported gains in the number of underserved groups enrolled or improvements in retention rates. This is important progress that supports our strategic direction to improve access and opportunity for more Minnesotans.

We were successful in articulating a strong case for our system at the Capitol. The Legislature and governor provided a significant increase - $151 million - in our state appropriation. This new money will go a long way toward building a stronger system.

These funds will be spent on our campuses to upgrade our technology infrastructure, expand access and opportunity initiatives to underrepresented groups on our campuses and cover the cost of inflation.

I am hopeful that this surge of new money will help us leverage our resources to better serve the people of Minnesota. We are the largest provider of new college graduates in the state. Employers are looking to hire graduates who are well prepared for being productive workers and citizens. As you know, Minnesota's population also continues to diversify. Consequently, we are continually looking for new ways to understand and reach more students from underrepresented groups. Many of them have come from different parts of the world - including some war-torn countries - so it may take some effort on your part to understand different cultural practices.

Overall, I believe this year's legislative outcome was a vote of confidence for our college and university system. And I look forward to the next session of the Legislature, which will be a bonding year for much-needed capital improvement projects. Many of these projects will continue to add and upgrade new classrooms and science labs so the learning environment will better support the teaching and learning that goes on between faculty and students.

We already have begun meeting with legislators and encouraging them to visit our campuses so they can understand firsthand why we will need an additional $271 million in state support for major repairs and improvements in this vast enterprise.

Did you know that we are responsible for about one-third of the state's real estate? Specifically, we have more than 839 buildings and 320 acres of roofs. I believe we can take pride in our stewardship of these grounds and facilities. I know many of you work very hard to keep our aging boilers functioning and our campus grounds looking sharp. This is important work, and it makes a difference for our students, faculty and staff to be in inviting surroundings.

We have made some wonderful progress this year, but the start of a new academic year gives us an opportunity to fulfill our mission. Every day I remind myself of this mission, which is:

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will enable the people of Minnesota to succeed by providing the most accessible, highest value education in the country.

I want you to know, too, that each of you plays an important role in fulfilling that mission, just as every college and university in our system contributes something unique to their local areas and the state. Thank you for the hard and critical work that you do on behalf of your students. I wish you the very best for a successful, innovative and fulfilling academic year.