Dear Faculty and Staff,
The rituals of spring always keep us busy this time of year -- classes approaching culmination; course registration; the end-of-year frenzy of student activities; concerts and performances; and prospective new Lancers for the Class of 2028 visiting campus.
This year, I want to acknowledge how much above and beyond we have navigated, and to say thank you to so many of you who have been running at full-tilt for Longwood and our students.
As I mentioned at last Thursday’s spring faculty meeting, consider just one recent stretch of a few days this March, during which Longwood almost simultaneously managed each of the following: 1) hosting an exceptionally well-planned visit of the SACS-COC re-affirmation committee; 2) a Board of Visitors meeting that formalized the promotion, tenure and emeritus status for 28 distinguished faculty 3) a record-breaking Love Your Longwood Day of giving and 4) an appearance by our men’s basketball team under the bright lights of March Madness in Memphis and on national television.
To be sure, the challenges facing higher education these days are real and varied. In Richmond, resolution to the state budget is again late. This makes financial planning difficult for all Virginia public institutions, and requires of us prudence approaching the new fiscal year. While our early deposit numbers for the rising freshman class look strong, serious problems with the federal financial aid form are adding unprecedented uncertainty to admissions offices all across higher ed. More broadly, a contentious spirit of political division continues to vex our times.
In the face of all this, Longwood exhibits great strengths, especially our people --- our camaraderie and teamwork. Each of those four endeavors we navigated simultaneously late last month was led by one or another particular part of the university, but received essential help across Longwood from many hands, seen and unseen. Each also reflects traits that would be the envy of most other universities: the wherewithal (and deep documentation) for such an impeccably organized re-affirmation process; a commitment to helping faculty build careers at Longwood; philanthropic support from those who know us best; and athletics excellence that brings community pride and national attention. Thank you for helping build a university that is not just strong but distinctively so.
Lastly, I am also pleased to share the Report of the President’s Task Force on Retention, which I commissioned to undertake a cross-university examination of this important issue. Encouragingly, the task force found a culture of strength around retention at Longwood. But the report (which includes an executive summary) is also clear-eyed and practical as to where and how we can do better. I encourage you to read its findings and recommendations Wherever you work at Longwood, there is something in the report to consider. It will also be the topic at the spring meeting of the University Planning Council, along with discussion of formalizing a standing Retention Committee of the UPC. The retention report, along with the QEP and many other efforts across campus, exemplifies a strong culture of self-examination and improvement – another fundamental strength we bring to bear in our mission of shaping citizen-leaders.
I know the weeks ahead will remain hard-charging, straight through to Commencement weekend. In all of this work, you have my deepest thanks.
TR