September 5, 2012
This year I will deliver the State of the University address on October 3, at 3 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. The entire Georgia State community is invited to this presentation that will include a report on our progress in implementing GSU’s strategic plan, and a brief overview of what you can expect during our Centennial Year in 2013. Georgia State continues to enjoy strong momentum, and our future is extremely bright. I look forward to sharing details of our progress and promise for the future when we gather on October 3. Read more »
August 20, 2012
This is one of my favorite times of year, as we kick off a new academic year and welcome new and returning students to campus. This semester holds special significance, as we gear up for the launch of our centennial celebration in 2013. Read more »
May 2012
As the semester comes to a close, I invite the entire Georgia State community to join me in recognizing and honoring nearly 4,000 graduates who will celebrate the awarding of their respective degrees this Sunday, May 6, at the Bachelor, Masters and Specialist Commencement Ceremony. Our keynote speaker is Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity. Ms. Escarra is a GSU alumna, and her message is sure to be inspirational. The ceremony is Sunday at 2 p.m. in the Georgia Dome. Read more »
April 2012
This is the time of year when there are a number of important events around campus to celebrate excellence among our faculty, staff, students and other members of the GSU community. This Friday, I invite you to attend the Service Recognition Ceremony, where we will honor more than 500 GSU employees for their "Milestone" years of service, as well as present the Carl V. Patton President's Awards for Community Service and Social Action and the George M. Sparks Awards. The event is Friday, April 6, at 3 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. A reception will follow. I look forward to seeing you as we celebrate the good work of our colleagues and students. Read more »
March 2012
The weather outside signals that the change of seasons is upon us, and here in Atlanta we know that this means a glorious springtime is on the horizon. It is only a matter of weeks until the azaleas are in bloom and the Georgia landscape is stunningly beautiful. Read more »
February 2012
We are now approximately one year into the implementation of the Georgia State University Strategic Plan for the decade 2011-2021, and the first year has been both active and productive. The plan, ratified in a unanimous vote of the University Senate last January, is serving as a guide for the university as we approach our second century. The plan sets us on a course to become one of the nation's premier public research institutions. We will achieve this preeminence because of our distinctiveness, not because we seek to copy other models or paths that may have worked in the past or elsewhere. Read more »
January 2012
Welcome back to campus following what I hope was a restful holiday break filled with joy and anticipation for the New Year. The year 2012 promises to be an exciting one for Georgia State University. Read more »
December 2011
As the semester winds down, and anticipation of a well-deserved break grows stronger, do not forget to take advantage of the host of arts exhibitions and performances, athletic competitions and other events taking place on and around our campus. This weekend, for example, the GSU School of Music and the Rialto Center for the Arts will present GSU's 14th annual Gala Holiday Concert. In addition, I invite everyone to attend a campus-wide holiday party on Friday, Dec. 16, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Student Center Atrium. There will be food, festive music by the Georgia State School of Music and plenty of opportunity for fellowship with friends and colleagues. Read more »
November 2011
I am delighted to announce that the keynote speaker for GSU's undergraduate, graduate and specialist commencement in December will be Dr. Helene Gayle. Dr. Gayle is the president and chief executive officer of CARE USA, a leading international humanitarian organization based in Atlanta. CARE's poverty-fighting programs reached 82 million people in 87 countries last year. Since joining CARE in 2006, Dr. Gayle has led efforts to reinforce CARE's commitment to empowering women and girls to bring lasting change to poor communities. An expert on health, global development and humanitarian issues, Dr. Gayle spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. She then moved on to work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues. Dr. Gayle chairs the Obama administration's Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and serves on the President's Commission on White House Fellowships. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including being named one of Newsweek's top 10 "Women in Leadership." I'm sure you join me in looking forward to her inspirational remarks as we gather at the Georgia Dome on December 14 at 11 a.m. Read more »
October 3, 2011
With the arrival of October we are well into the semester and the calendar is filled with many campus-wide events, including those organized around Homecoming to welcome alumni and friends back to campus. Homecoming week is October 17-22, and this year we will honor five graduates with Distinguished Alumni Awards. This year's honorees are: David Dodd (B.S. Mathematics '71, M.S. Mathematical Statistics '77), CEO of VaxyGen Holdings; Dr. Rhonda Scott (Ph. D. Nursing '97), Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services at Grady Health System; Kathy Berry (A.B. Journalism '72, M.B.A '86), former executive director of the Georgia Press Association; Carolyn Curry (M.A. History '79, Ph. D. History '87), founder and director of Women Alone Together and Scott Slade (A.B. Journalism '89), WSB Radio anchor. These are exceptional GSU alumni, and we look forward to recognizing them for their many and varied accomplishments. Read more »
July 18, 2011
I am pleased to have this opportunity to thank the many people responsible for the recent GSU faculty and staff conversion to the Microsoft Office 365 with Exchange E-mail Service. Under the direction of the Division of Information Systems and Technology (IS&T), led by Associate Provost/CIO J.L. Albert, it took many talented people who worked for months - years, in some cases - to make the migration seamless for most of our employees. While there are isolated migration-related issues still being worked out, already it is clear that the move to Exchange is an important step forward for our campus. Read more »
June 20, 2011
I am pleased to announce that the addition to Classroom South is complete and should be ready for fall 2011 classes. The 23,500-square-foot addition houses three computer labs with 100 workstations and 15 general purpose classrooms for a total seating capacity of about 700. Furniture and equipment are arriving this week, and the building should be ready with A/V and computer installation by the first week of August. Read more »
April 29, 2011
As we close out another academic year, I want to thank all of you for an extremely productive spring semester. As you know, this semester Georgia State adopted and began implementing the Strategic Plan that will guide us for the next decade. As I said in my State of the University address, the five goals in our Strategic Plan are "an integrated whole that is much greater than the sum of the individual parts. This is a plan that will make Georgia State University an even more exciting and stimulating place to work, and it is a plan that will increase the value of a Georgia State diploma." Read more »
April 15, 2011
I was delighted to see more than 500 of you Wednesday afternoon at my third annual State of the University Address. In the speech, I updated the university community on implementation plans for GSU's strategic plan, which was approved in January. I also was happy to highlight many of the wonderful accomplishments and milestones of our faculty, staff and students over the past year, including record admissions figures; several student academic achievements; recent successes in our Alumni Association and GSU Foundation; the launch of Panther football last fall and much more. If you were unable to attend, feel free to click here to view a video of the speech or read a transcript. To view the rest of this newsletter, click here to read more »
April 1, 2011
I invite the entire Georgia State community to attend my third-annual State of the University address on Wednesday, April 13 at 1 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. I will discuss next steps in the implementation of GSU's strategic plan, highlights and kudos of the past year and much more. A reception will follow. Read more »
March 15, 2011
I am pleased to announce the rescheduling of the President's Invited Speaker presentation by Dr. Karl Gerth, which was delayed earlier this semester because of winter weather. The presentation will be April 18 at 3 p.m. in Speaker's Auditorium. Dr. Gerth is an internationally acclaimed expert on Chinese consumerism who will be visiting us from the University of Oxford, and his presentation is certain to be stimulating and thought provoking as he discusses how China's emerging consumer culture will have a global impact. Read more »
February 15, 2011
I am delighted to announce that former President Jimmy Carter has agreed to be GSU's commencement speaker this spring. Mr. Carter's leadership on a variety of global issues, his passion for education and his devotion to Atlanta and Georgia make him an excellent choice to provide wisdom and guidance to our graduates. I invite you to join us for GSU's Bachelor, Master and Specialist Commencement Ceremony on May 7 at 2 p.m. in the Georgia Dome. As always, commencement is free and open to the public. Read more »
January 31, 2011
As you've likely heard, the University Senate last week unanimously passed GSU's strategic plan, which will help guide our university through the next 10 years. The process was extremely thorough, involving input from faculty, staff, students, alumni and many others, and I appreciate the diligence of the Strategic Planning Committee during their nearly year-long project. In coming weeks, months, and years, we will use the strategic plan to help guide budgeting and decision-making as we strive to advance GSU to new levels of academic excellence and achievement. Read more »
January 18, 2011
Welcome back to campus after an unusual week of snow, ice and sub-freezing temperatures. First, let me thank the more than 130 employees who helped maintain the university while we were shut down. This includes, for example, housing and dining employees who came in Sunday night and stayed all week to make sure our resident students were fed and provided with an appropriate environment. Likewise, campus police continued patrols, while grounds and facilities staff worked diligently to prepare campus for re-opening. I want to thank these employees and many others who helped us get through this unusual (for Atlanta) weather event. Also, due to last week's closing, late registration and the fee deadline have been extended to Friday, January 21, 2011 at 5 p.m. Read more »
December 14, 2010
As another productive semester comes to a close, I invite you to celebrate with our more than 2,500 graduating seniors at Georgia State University's 96th commencement ceremony tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 p.m. at the Georgia Dome. As previously announced, our keynote speaker is Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, whose message is sure to be inspiring to our graduates and others in attendance. Read more »
December 1, 2010
As an exciting and eventful fall semester begins to wind down, there are various opportunities to celebrate the holidays on campus. I invite each of you to join Laura and me this weekend for the GSU School of Music's 13th annual Gala Holiday Concert. Read more »
November 15, 2010
The past week has been one of those weeks where I have had the extreme good fortune to connect with Georgia State alumni who are making huge contributions in the world. Some of these connections were face-to-face meetings, and others were electronic. In each case it has been uplifting to see how a GSU education has changed and shaped lives. Read more »
October 29, 2010
I am pleased to announce that Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has agreed to be the keynote speaker at GSU's fall commencement this year. The bachelor, master and specialist commencement ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. on December 15 at the Georgia Dome. I'm sure you join me in anticipating Mayor Reed's remarks, and I look forward to seeing many of you at the Dome in December. Read more »
October 15, 2010
I am pleased to announce plans to further enhance communication between myself and the many talented faculty, staff and students at Georgia State University. Read more »
September 30, 2010
As we progress through an eventful fall semester, I am delighted to highlight a number of programs on our campus that have recently competed successfully for sponsored support. Read more »
September 15, 2010
On Sept. 2, 2010, Georgia State University changed forever. A blue-and-white-clad crowd -- at more than 30,000 strong -- poured into the Georgia Dome to watch the GSU Panthers take on the Shorter Hawks in our first football game in our 97-year-history. Read more »
September 1, 2010
After years of hard work by many people, football has finally arrived at Georgia State University. I hope you will join me Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for GSU's inaugural football game against Shorter University. You can view a video invitation to the game here. Read more »
August 13, 2010
This is a busy time at Georgia State as we prepare for the launch of a new and exciting academic year. On August 23, we will welcome more than 30,000 students to campus for the second consecutive year. Besting records set last year, this year we will boast both the largest and best-qualified freshman class in GSU history. Read more »
July 19, 2010
I am pleased to announce that the Georgia State University Foundation raised $20,480,867 for the fiscal year that ended June 30. This represents a 13-percent increase over the preceding year, and easily surpassed the Foundation's $18M target for the year. Read more »
May 4, 2010
Last Thursday, the Georgia Legislature completed its 2010 session and forwarded a $17.9 billion state budget to Gov. Sonny Perdue. Starting with the conclusion of the legislative session, the governor has 40 days to review the budget and he may either sign or line item veto items in the written budget. We'll have a more complete picture of GSU's budget for fiscal year 2011 (i.e., July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011) once the governor has completed his work on the state budget, and once the University System of Georgia Board of Regents has completed its work on the University system budget for FY 2011. Read more »
March 31, 2010
I am pleased to announce that the commencement speaker at our Spring 2010 Bachelor, Master and Specialist Commencement Ceremony will be internationally acclaimed journalist Christiane Amanpour. Amanpour has worked for CNN since 1983, and since becoming an international correspondent in 1990 she has distinguished herself for her insightful coverage of major crises from hotspots around the globe. Read more »
March 15, 2010
I hope you had a safe and enjoyable spring break. Welcome back as we resume academic instruction and head toward the joys of May commencement ceremonies. Read more »
March 1, 2010
As you've seen in the news in recent days, the Joint Higher Education Subcommittee of the General Assembly directed the University System of Georgia to explain how it would absorb an additional $300 million cut in state funding for fiscal year 2011, which begins July 1, 2010. Read more »
February 15, 2010
On February 23, I, along with Pam Barr and Paul Alberto (co-chairs of the University's Strategic Planning Committee), will be outlining our vision for the development of what will be a bold and ground-breaking plan for Georgia State. Read more »
January 29, 2010
Let me begin by thanking the entire Georgia State community for a swift and impassioned response to the crisis in Haiti. To better coordinate our campus-wide relief effort, we have established a website, www.gsu.edu/helpforhaiti, that will act as a clearinghouse for the many ways you can help. Read more »