The past eight months I have had the privilege of serving as your Interim President. The experience has been phenomenal, stretching me professionally and inspiring me to think about my future career. I have jokingly told many from the Aberdeen community that they were bound and determined to make me successful! I have felt from day one that this wonderful community, including the campus, would not allow me to fail. For your never ending support, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Spending time with outstanding students, faculty, alumni and community members has given me a whole new perspective on NSU. As I’ve told many, when I arrived on campus last summer I had no idea that I would fall in love with Northern, and fall in love, I did. As I have worked with the campus in preparing for the next President, we reflected on Northern’s unique qualities and how we might better capitalize on these to define the campus and recruit the best and brightest students. We developed amarketing plan and have discussed strengtheningmany aspects of the university including distance education, Rising Scholars and E-learning, international programs, and technology-enhanced learning, to name a few. Each day I tried to keep my promise to the faculty…that we would keep moving forward and have a positive and productive year. I hope, in retrospect, we all can agree that this was in fact the case. While Northern has much strength, at the top of the list is the support received from alumni and friends. Through the Wolf PACT scholarship, Northern has experienced two years of growth and the future enrollment picture looks promising. According to our admissions staff, early indicators for the fall semester are positive with the number of applications and acceptances higher than they were last year at this time. I predict fall enrollment to be up again for the third straight year. Some of this growth may in fact be due to the economy but a more significant reason rests with the Wolf PACT. By offering a four-year guaranteed scholarship based on incoming ACT score, we are competitive across the region and can attract some very strong students. During these troubling financial times, supporting the NSU scholarship program is top priority. Thank you for whatever you can do to keep this strong. I leave you with this message…NSU has a very bright future. On July 1 we will welcome President James Smith and Dr. Connie Smith to campus. Jim and I are working together daily as we begin a smooth Presidential transition. Dr. Smith brings a wealth of expertise and is excited to begin his new position. Beyond that, I really like him…he is a warm, friendly and passionate man. Very soon NSU will be announcing a new Provost who will assume Dr. Clyde Arnold’s place as he moves into retirement. These two key leadership positions, along with a new Dean of Business, Director of the Library, and Director of Extended Studies will provide abundant new energy and ideas for future growth. As the university transitions through this era of change, join me in supporting our new leadership, as I know you will. Thank you for all you have done to make my year here so wonderful. I will miss you all but please know I will stay in touch and be supporting you from somewhere Southeast of Aberdeen! “I leave you wit h t his message. Nort hern has a very bright fut ure”. Inside this issue… SPRING 2009 2 NORTHERN NEWS: Dr. James Smith takes the helm… 6 NORTHERN NEWS: International Legislation 7 NORTHERN NEWS: Scholarship Availability and the Economy 8 NORTHERN ATHLETICS: Coach Meyer; Sports Wrap-up 15 NORTHERN NEWS: Evelyn Roberts – LAURIE STENBERG NICHOLS
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