Dear Colleagues,
As the spring semester comes to a close, I thank each of you for your hard work and dedication to our students throughout the academic year. Next weekend, we will award more than 5,300 degrees during our eight commencement ceremonies, including over 4,200 bachelor's degrees, 900 master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees and 250 professional degrees. While commencement is a time for our students to celebrate their individual achievements, it is also an important moment to applaud the collective accomplishments of our entire academic community.
We were all deeply saddened by the events that took place at Florida State University a few weeks ago. As we continue to support the FSU community, such tragic incidents serve as a crucial and unfortunate reminder of the importance of being prepared for any emergency. Our Department of Campus Safety and Security offers numerous training courses and exercises, which are regularly scheduled throughout the semester or can be requested by individuals or units. I encourage you to visit their website for additional information.
Earlier this month, I announced the appointment of Dr. Angela Wiley as our next associate provost for institutional effectiveness. Dr. Wiley succeeds Dr. Bob Boyd, who will retire this summer. In her new role, Dr. Wiley will collaborate with various campus units to align and enhance our ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide planning and evaluation processes in accordance with our strategic goals and outcomes. These efforts are crucial to improving our accreditation, assessment, and other data management processes. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Wiley to this new role.
Last month, I shared that we are continuing to advance our comprehensive Core Curriculum Review process. Like our Faculty Compensation, Workload, and Productivity Analysis, we have established both a Steering Working Group and Advisory Working Group. These representative groups will support an inclusive process this fall that engages stakeholders from across campus. Co-chaired by
Dr. Chase Bringardner and Dr. Jeff LaMondia, the Steering Working Group will lead a comprehensive campus-wide review of Auburn's existing core curriculum. This process will include data analyses, benchmarking and listening sessions that engage faculty, students, staff and other units directly connected to our core curriculum requirements, with additional recommendations from the Advisory Group.
In addition to the many student and faculty accolades our campus celebrated this month, I would like to congratulate Dean Jeff Fairbrother, who has been invited to become a National Academy of Kinesiology Fellow. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Fairbrother on this prestigious honor.
Finally, this month, we announced our newly tenured and promoted faculty colleagues and opened nominations for the next cohort of Alumni Professors. Each year, the Alumni Professorships honor five tenured faculty for their contributions to Auburn's land-grant mission and their impactful teaching, research, and extension efforts. Nominations close on May 23, and I encourage you to nominate our deserving colleagues.
I wish each of you a wonderful summer and I hope you find time for rest and rejuvenation as we prepare for another academic year. Thank you for everything you do for Auburn University! |
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