FROM THE PRESIDENT Letter AS THE TITLE INDICATES, THE FOCUS AT NSU on excellence is something that surrounds almost all I do as President. However, after doing a bit of traveling and observing our best and brightest, that focus is a little bit sharper as of late. I had the distinct opportunity to introduce our Symphonic Band at the North Dakota Music Educators Association recently in Bismarck. The band was excellent – a standing ovation was received from a very large audience who know music and know it very well. To see our young men and women perform at that level was a real delight for me. And to have a member of our Fine Arts faculty, Dr. Darci Bultema, sing with the Symphonic Band was genuinely a special treat. Just after returning from Bismarck, I joined Don and Carmen Meyer for the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast at the Final Four in Indianapolis. Don received the John Wooden Keys to Life Award and was well spoken at this event as he was at the ESPY Celebration last summer. This time, however, Chick-fil-A presented NSU with a check for $10,000 in honor of Don’s accomplishment. As you all might suspect, Don immediately asked that it be used by the NSU Foundation for scholarships. The entirity of this $10,000 check was then doubled to make a $20,000 investment in the future lives of some really great students who will call Northern “home” for next year and future years to come. In addition to traveling to see excellence come alive, I have had the opportunity to see it here in Aberdeen as well. Our International Business Advisory Board was just in town and we celebrated that visit with a reception at our home. Connie and I were most impressed with the dedication that these people have to the success of our Center of Excellence for International Business. Presidential Scholars have been selected during the course of the past few weeks and more than one hundred twenty Wolf PACT students have been on campus for early Fall Semester enrollment. These young men and women truly define the word excellence in so many different ways! As I conclude, please know that while I’ve just selected a handful of events and people to highlight here there are hundreds of other references I would have mentioned if page space allowed. This focus on excellence is day-in and day-out. Without the generosity of our alumni and friends to the capital campaign, much of what I have shared with you would not be possible. I hope you’ll have the chance to see for yourself our students, faculty, and staff are among the very best at what they do. If you don’t believe me, just read a few pages into the magazine and you’ll see that excellence is the essence of what we do here at Northern and your support makes it happen. 27.2 MILLION 20 MILLION 21 MILLION 10 MILLION 15 MILLION 5 MILLION TOTAL CAMPAIGN GOAL: $27,250,000 Over 5 years CAPITAL CAMPAIGN UPDATE W W W . N O R T H E R N . E D U 3 A FOCUS ON EXCELLENCE This focus on excellence is day-in and day-out. I hope you’ll have the chance to experience it as the months move forward – our students, faculty, and staff are among the very best at what they do. PRESIDENT JAMES M. SMITH
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