January 31, 2011
Dear colleagues,
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. Click here to view the plan.
Also, I commend the many talented people who work in Financial Aid, the One Stop Shop, Student Accounts, the Call Center, and the Document Management Center and other areas responsible for GSU's recent dramatic reduction in the number of students dropped from classes each semester. A few years ago, GSU typically dropped between 1,500 and 2,000 students a semester, and lost 12,000 to 15,000 credit hours, due to the inability of students to pay their fees. This semester GSU dropped 438 students and 3,600 credit hours. Many members of our staff worked through the winter storm that paralyzed Atlanta, as well as nights and weekends, to ensure our students had their registration issues resolved and received their financial aid packages by the drop date. This fantastic work translates to more students learning in our classrooms, and I commend each and every person who played a part in this complicated and time-consuming, but very necessary, process.
Yesterday afternoon I was pleased to attend a Lunar New Year's performance gala at GSU's Rialto Center for the Arts, a partnership between the GSU Confucius Institute and the Association of Chinese Professionals-Atlanta. Guests were treated to song, dance and other entertainment by performers and artists from metro Atlanta and beyond.
In closing, I hope you are having a productive semester, and, as always, I thank you for your service.
Mark P. Becker
President
In the news
Experts to speak at Haiti conference
Leading experts on Haiti and international development will convene at Georgia State University at 8 a.m. Feb. 2 in the Troy Moore Library on the ninth floor of the General Classroom Building. The one-day Haiti conference will include more than 20 scholars, who will share and assess the psychological responses and trauma in the country after the catastrophic 2010 earthquake, the cholera epidemic that ensued, the quality of global governance in response to the crisis, the economy, and politics. The event is free and open to the public. There is no registration.
