NEXT STEPS: BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS

"Next Steps: Building on Our Strengths"
Accompanying PowerPoint (5.14 MB)

INTRODUCTION
It is a pleasure for me to launch a third new academic year.  In my remarks to many of you last week, I shared what I believe is an exciting sense of momentum on campus.  In physics, the notion of momentum involves two crucial elements: velocity and mass.  Velocity is not just motion, but motion in a particular direction.  And while mass is responsible for the inertia that makes sudden change difficult, it is also responsible for sustaining change once it is underway.  So momentum means motion, direction, and mass.  First, let me say I believe there is ample evidence that Greenville college is in motion; or to cite a phrase Dr. Longman sometimes uses, “On the move.”  I want to share some of that evidence with you tonight.  But second, and what is more important, I believe that motion is in a particular direction; the direction of transformation.  Last year at this dinner together, under the theme “Transforming Our Lives Together,” we celebrated the adoption of a new mission statement.  That statement focused our direction of transformation; not only of our students, but of our institution, and of our very selves.  I believe that mission has captured our hearts, and I have heard it echoed in conversations throughout the year.  It reminds us to cherish and retain the legacy and traditions which are essential to Greenville, but to forge ahead with radical and pervasive change for the future.  And it reminds us that real transformation comes only through the renewing work of the Holy Spirit in our lives together. Finally, I believe this year we are beginning to see the advantages that come from the mass of an entire community that is moving together.  Taken together, I am excited to think the Greenville College has a building momentum for spirit-filled transformation.  Two days ago, I heard another word for this.  Standing at the football game, I asked one of our new employees, Pedro Valentin, how his first week had gone.  He replied that he sensed a special level of expectancy, an energy, a kind of ‘buzz.’  Momentum or buzz, I hope you feel it too.

The last two weeks for me have been filled with reminders of the history and rich legacy of Greenville College.  Again the “Planting of the Ivy” and the “Covenant Communion” services stood out for parents as events which instilled great confidence.  I have received notes and comments testifying to how wonderful it was to know they were leaving their sons and daughters in a place where people cared.  I have seen advisors go the extra mile, and have heard parents…even parents facing obstacles…remark that despite our imperfections, they sensed our staff was working hard to respond.  My thanks to all of you who have worked so very hard, especially those advisors, members of physical plant staff, student life staff, and records office staffs.

GENERAL
In my remarks to you tonight, I want to use as my framework, the four major goals we set for ourselves 15 months ago in the strategic planning process of the New Millennium Commission.  This year we will be returning to review our progress on these goals and to consider revisions.  Mr. Will Krause will be taking up the mantle carried so effectively by Dr. Sharon Alger in leading this important process.  These goals are:

1. Enhance focus on liberal arts: Greenville College will link every aspect of its curriculum and co-curriculum to education for character and service. 

2. Develop human resources: Greenville College will build on its reputation for close community and achieve progress in identifying, affirming, and developing individuals and their respective gifts. 

3. Increase Enrollment: Greenville College will develop a plan for garnering campus wide involvement to achieve a traditional student enrollment that exceeds 1000. 

4. Assure Fiscal vitality: Greenville College will implement strategies to assure our long-term financial vitality.

ASSURE FISCAL VITALITY
Let me begin with the last goal, fiscal vitality.  And I want to share this in the form almost of a personal narrative.  As most of you know, the past few years have been financially stretching times for us.  The fiscal year that ended in June of 2000 showed positive turnarounds in significant areas such as net revenue and balancing revenue and expenses. This past year was the first complete fiscal year for a largely new team in the finance area.  Rick Rieder, Dana Funderburk, Jo Branscome, Natali Rinderer, and Julie Mason joined Gail Wall, and Susan Read.  Then mid-year, Melissa Cantrill moved from Financial Aid to the Business Office too.  As this new team was settling in, they were also caught up in a difficult conversion process to the new Quodata/Jenzabar financial software.  Meanwhile the bottom was dropping out of the stock market.  It’s hard to overstate the impact such a market turn has on a not-for-profit organization like ours that depends so heavily on the gifts from our supporters.  I have seen letters from other organizations, reporting significant down-sizing and mid-year appeals for additional giving.  Just Saturday, I was struck by the tone of urgency in a letter even from our beloved St. Louis Symphony Orchestra canceling a concert to allow an alternative fund-raising concert performed free for the symphony by artists who love that institution.  There were also significant changes in the area of advancement.  David Hoag’s staff readjusted mid-year as Renae Patton took Travis Klopfenstein’s place, and Dave Disch moved from public relations to take Jim Stjernstrom’s place when he retired last winter.  In an effort to wean ourselves from over-dependence on giving, we had deliberately reduced our unrestricted giving goal—the part that contributes to our operational budget—by $100,000 to $1.6 million. By early spring it was apparent that even that reduced goal was likely out of reach.  I must tell you this was discouraging to me because it seemed that our budget planning had gone well, and it seemed we were staying well within our budgeted expenditures.  My consolation was that at least in regard to that part of our financial picture over which we have the most control, our expenses, we were showing responsibility and good stewardship.  All spring, we watched the trend and it seemed we might be short in revenue by as much as $500,000.  The good news was that we saw that because of your accountability and restraint we were running under budget by as much as 3%.  That would have compensated for at least $450,000 of the shortfall in gift revenue.

Given these facts, I think you can understand the amazement I have felt over the past several weeks as the picture from last year has emerged.  By June it seemed our shortfall in giving might be as little as $400,000 and I was grateful.  It turned out to be only $375,000.  Then I began to hear initial reports that you had saved more than we anticipated, and that some departments had even generated revenue we had not anticipated.  The figure began to rise as Dana and the auditors finalized the analysis.  The picture continued to improve and by mid-July the savings and unanticipated revenues were enough to completely cover our shortfall in giving.  I was excited and hardly dared to share this with anyone.  I wanted to be sure.  But as reassurances came, I realized that God had done a wonderful thing.  In a year when we had done our best to be good stewards, and the market had taken a tumble, it seemed the Lord wanted to remind us that His ways are above our ways. 

But friends that is not the end of the story.  I am convinced God has a sense of humor.  By late July I was being told that savings might exceed the giving shortfall.  That would mean that we would OUTperform our budget, even in a year of dramatic market downturn.  Each week, the number rose.  It became a matter of excitement in cabinet meetings.  But the analysis of your savings in expenses and the unanticipated revenues rose week by week, first to $500,000, then $600, then $700, and while the auditors have not yet finished their work, it appears that this total is approximately $800,000.  This means we not only will have covered our budget, but will have exceeded it by more than $300,000!  Who would have believed it possible?  Some of you may remember that even our budget did not fully cover our depreciation.  Remarkably, this report means we may come very close to that goal too!  For those interested in history consider this quick graphic look at revenue and expenses then NET revenue BEFORE depreciation and finally NET revenue AFTER depreciation.  I think the graphs tell a wonderful story.

I hope you’ll forgive me for drawing out this account as I have.  But my friends, I believe it is a remarkable testimony to the grace of God and to the incredible hard work of each one of you who controls expenses on campus.  In October we plan to celebrate, honoring each of you cost center managers at a luncheon.  With only one or two exceptions, every cost center on campus exceeded your budget goals, so it was not an accomplishment limited to one or two individuals or areas.  You have shown that with the right information and expectations we can perform financially far beyond what even we ourselves might have imagined.  Of course one year is not a trend, so let us commit ourselves to repeating this.  Thank you for your efforts and may we all give God the praise. 

We continue to monitor cash flow very closely.  With help from trustee Mike Coling and local CPA, Doug Stroud, Rick and Dana and I meet regularly to watch our performance and project our needs.  Because of the need last year to repay the federal Department of Education $651,000, our borrowing ran ahead of the year before.   However, thanks to the extremely careful attention Dana gives this matter, our actual need has fallen consistently below our projections and well within the constraints of our credit.  Years like last year, in which our budget performance actually exceeds our cash demands, will over time help us reduce that dependency on short term borrowing and along with it the interest we pay for it.

Let me turn now to giving.  Last year was another historic year for giving to Greenville College.  While the stock market tumble meant unrestricted giving fell short of our goal, it is important to keep in mind that it was still the second highest level of  unrestricted giving in the history of the college; second only to the year before!  But what is even more exciting, it was an all-time record high for restricted gifts.  The year ending June of 2000, total giving was $3.76 million of which $2.06 million was in restricted gifts from individuals for projects or from foundation grants such as the Teagle, Shapiro, and Illinois First grants.  But for the year ending June of 2001, that total for restricted giving was a record breaking $2.4 million!  Nearly half, or more than $900,000 of that was from the many grants we have received to do some wonderful things.  The FIPSE and Ford grants for retention and cross-cultural programs are two of the most exciting.  But the list of others is remarkable. 

Amazingly, this grant report does NOT include mention of the $1 million grant from the State of Illinois.  We first heard news of this in late spring, and received the official notice only this week.  It is funded from a source limited to “capital improvements” so we are working with state officials on how this can be spent.  While it may not be possible to target it quite so directly at technology, we believe we will be able to reallocate current budget monies to enable us to still focus on technology.  We all remember the many many news reports about our wireless network two years ago and again last fall because of the Associated Press story.  Despite the inevitable glitches that come with any new technology, I continue to hear parents and students alike remark that this focus at Greenville has played a part in their decision to come. So this grant allows us to build on our reputation for strength on the leading edge of technology.  And it is largely due to work beyond the call of duty by one man, Senator Frank Watson.  We want to say more of that later.

Not many institutions our size see this kind of grant activity so I want to thank all of those who have worked so hard to make these grants a reality.  It takes great vision, lots of hard work, and a willingness to risk disappointment to engage in grant writing.  Thanks especially to Pam Taylor and to Karen Longman for their leadership in this important area.

Let me turn now to a second goal, the New Millennium Goal of increasing enrollment.

INCREASE ENROLLMENT
As you all recall, last year was an all-time high enrollment at Greenville College.  With 954 headcount, it exceeded our previous year by more than 75 students.  That is a tough act to follow.  We had hoped that our significantly increased attention to retention through our new freshmen courses and use of the Strengths Finder would enhance retention from fall to spring last year, but the results were disappointing.  Then this spring, our increases in charges while moderate on tuition and room and board—around 4%--also made mandatory the once optional technology fee.  Taken together with the soft economy this slowed admission numbers by mid spring.  While recent media reports on state schools indicate significant increases, that is not true for them all.  SIU Carbondale reports they are down 4% overall and down 3% on campus.  That means a $2,000,000 drop in their tuition budget!  And there is also initial evidence that other Christian colleges are stable or even down this year.  Of course the final results will take time.  But initial reports on our headcount enrollment are that we have enrolled approximately 940 students.  That would be the second highest enrollment in our history and only around 15 fewer than last year’s historic high.  While this is 15 short of our budgeted goal for headcount enrollment, what really counts is full-time equivalent enrollment.  We budgeted for 930 this fall.  Initial calculations show us at 929.7!  The Lord has an amazing sense of humor!    What is more, we have an historic high number of those students in residence; putting the total around 755.  Since students living in residence enhance our revenues, this increase promises to make our usual fall budget review much simpler.  Thanks to Norm Hall and his staff for the huge and complicated job of filling our residences to maximum capacity and more.

In the past, the increasing cost of our financial aid program has been a significant concern.  It seemed that despite increasing our price our real net revenue from each student declined each year as we gave scholarships to maintain our enrollment.  Very early reports from the Financial Aid office today show that we spent no more on financial aid this year than last—$4.8 million—but increased our net revenue per student by $1300. Thanks to Karl Somerville and his staff for their careful work to control the financial aid budget this year.

But enrollment is not just about quantity.  This year’s freshmen class shows academic improvement in what we believe has already been a great student body .  The median ACT score has increased by 1.5  (8%), and the number of National Merit Finalists and Semi-Finalists has increased from 5 to 8 . These results come in large measure from the efforts not only of the admission staff, and the hard work of our coaches, but from the willingness of so many faculty and staff to help out with preview days and scholarship competitions.  We have known for some time that our yields in enrolled students from these events is remarkably high.  But this year exceeded previous results significantly.  Last year, we found that 47% of all those who attended Preview Days enrolled, while 55% of those who attended scholarship competitions enrolled.  This year the percentage enrolled from Preview Days remained the same, but the percentage enrolling who attended scholarship events jumped to 67% meaning that we actually enroll two out of every three students who attend a competition.   Much of the credit for this goes to Jack Chism.  Our strategic goal set 15 months ago, called for us to reach an enrollment of 1000 by 2003.  This goal seems very much within reach.

An important part of increasing our enrollment is the “curb appeal” of our campus.  While we all know that new lights, new buildings, new carpet, and even beautiful flowers do not directly improve the quality of the education, we also know they do enhance our ability to attract and retain students.  So again this year, we can be pleased at the progress that has been made in our campus facilities.  Last year began with the exciting opening of Tower Apartments and was punctuated mid-year by the opening of the Dietzman Center.  Whew!  What a year!  The physical plant staff has again worked wonders over the summer.  Parents continue to remark how beautiful the campus is, and our convocation speaker last week, alumnus Dr. Roy Bahl, who has not been on campus for 15 years, said he could hardly recognize it!  Sandy Neralich and her staff have cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned again.  It shows!  Greg Riggins, Mark Garrison, and Ella Peters have planted, watered, and mowed.  It shows!  There’s a remodeled business office, a new parking lot north of the recreation center, new steps on the Union, some unattractive green blocks missing on Joy, new carpet in Admissions and even Snyder Hall!  The fire escapes on Holtwick and now Dallas are complete, and from what I understand, the physical plant staff saved us thousands of dollars in the major plumbing repair right here in Armington.  I want to thank all of those in physical plant who went beyond the call of duty in accomplishing this work.  Last but not least, I think we are all proud that the College Avenue residence is open on time, and turned out so well.  I was naturally anxious that the new building not disrupt the beauty of College Avenue, and I recall that a few of our neighbors in town were concerned too!  But I have heard nothing but good reports, with even our local newspaper editor telling me he thought it was a “credit to the community.”  If you haven’t had a chance to visit, I hope you’ll make a point to join the dedication ceremony scheduled for Homecoming weekend, and have a look around.  I want to thank Rich and Keith Richardson from R&K Construction, Salim Rangwala the architect, and most of all, Phil Amos, the head of our physical plant who undertook the project management for us as an overload above and beyond his normal duties.  My hats off to Phil, who no doubt absorbed plenty of pain to make this project virtually painless for the rest of us. 

The enhancement of technology also improves our amenities and thereby plays a part in improved enrollment.  This past year, under the shared leadership of Rex Catron and Will Krause, Information Technology Services, provided internet connectivity to a number of community organizations.  Signals were “shot” wirelessly to the Bond County Housing Authority, Bond County Courthouse, Courthouse Annex, Greenville City Hall, Greenville Public Library, and Utlaut Hospital.  In some cases this even includes wireless redistribution within those facilities.  Network storage was provided for all employees and students.  A new Help Desk capability has been implemented with tracking of every call.  Ninety faculty and staff received new or upgraded laptops.  The mailroom was moved to a new location and Elizabeth Yeakel hired as a full-time assistant. The Dell purchase plan was implemented for incoming students, the I.T. staff was restructured, and a new position created to improve support for the Quodata/Jenzabar products. While the process of conversion of our information systems has been—and continues to be—one of the most painful things we’ve done in the past few years, my impression is that we are winning.  Billing and Financial Aid modules have been implemented and tied to the Finance system.  The Student Records module has been converted and both summer and fall enrollment were performed on Jenzabar.  It is certainly our hope that the implementation of web course tools will eventually come along too; despite the recent struggles.  As my Italian forbears would say, “Paso a paso se va lontano”…”Step by step you go a long ways.” 

ENHANCE THE FOCUS ON LIBERAL ARTS
Let me turn our attention now to the first of our strategic goals; enhancing our focus on liberal arts.  I remain convinced that this is what makes Greenville College distinctive and if we are clear about this strength we can build on it to become an even healthier institution. 

Let me begin by telling you about the new changes in our spiritual formation programming.  Last year, under the creative direction of our Chaplain, Lori Gaffner, a developmental curriculum was launched which allowed alternatives besides attendance at chapel to fulfill our requirements for spiritual formation.  It was developmental because while the overall number of “credits” expected actually increased for all students, they were given more flexibility in how these were earned as they progressed through their four years.  This is consistent with our conviction that all of our liberal arts should be tailored to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual developmental stages of our students.  Students can grow spiritually then not only by attendance at large chapel sessions, but by systematic involvement in Bible studies, lectures, and even physical activities.  This year, the innovation in the spiritual formation curriculum continues.  Partly because of pressure for space in the Free Methodist church, but partly because we believe that diversity in spiritual experiences can promote better development, this year, Greenville College offers chapel options five days a week and not just three.  On Mondays and Wednesdays chapel will be held in the church as usual, with the service on Monday in more traditional style and on Wednesday in more contemporary style.  On Tuesdays, chapel will be held after lunch; again in the church, but will consist entirely of quiet time for prayer and meditation.  Members of our religion department will be available for students who wish counsel.  What a wonderful opportunity for the kind of reflection that is not only so rare in our busy lives, but which is essential to the liberal arts.  Then on Thursday evenings, chapel will consist of Vespers, run entirely by students, but with leadership especially from students in our ministerial programs.  Again what an exciting opportunity for these who are called to serve to exercise his or her calling and gifts among their fellow students.  Finally, on Fridays, each week will be different.  Every other Friday, the whole community will meet in H.J. Long, the only space currently available to accommodate us.  It remains important we believe, that we all gather together from time to time.  On the alternate Fridays, there will be a range of options available.  Some have remarked that we do not have enough opportunity to gather together to become acquainted, to share our lives, and to pray.  So on four of these Fridays this fall, we will be offering a new chapel exclusively for you our employees.  I have been told that some employees feel that attendance at chapel is discouraged, or that the time must somehow be “made up.” I want to assure you that is not the case.  While certain functions may require coverage, and need to be worked out with supervisors, I want every employee to feel that chapel is important and that they are welcome.  So I urge you to do all you can to be present at least for these four special community gatherings.  This may be only a small step in that direction but I believe it will be a good one.  We expect to share some light refreshments, some song, some testimony, and certainly some prayer.  I also hope we can use these occasions as opportunity to recognize members of our community who have done a particularly good job.  I am excited about these new steps and hope you are too.  I look forward to seeing you in chapel.

Of course our general education curriculum is at the heart of our vision of liberal arts.  Work has continued over the past year to implement the changes approved over a year ago.  Brad Shaw has done a magnificent job of guiding this effort that is being supported for three years through the $260,000 grant from the Teagle Foundation.  This fall we are again offering first-year students an exciting array of freshmen seminars in COR 101.  In addition to a section specifically designed for Honors students and another for transfer students, there are 15 sections of COR 101 being offered.  Topics this fall include: Movies, Music, and Me: Where Do I Fit in Today's World - taught by Veronica Ross, Show Me the Money: The Sociology of Sports - taught by Edwin Estevez, Jesus Rocks in Four Part Harmony - taught by Professor Emeritus Jim Reinhard, Making' Babies, Makin' Money, Makin' Trouble: Woman in the 21st Century - taught by Lori Gaffner and Georgann Kurtz-Shaw.  While we had hoped that these freshmen seminars would result in substantially improved retention from the freshman to sophomore year, our retention rate appears to be approximately the same as last year.  This puzzles me since we have focused so much effort on helping more of our students fit and succeed at Greenville.  So under the leadership of our Director of Retention, Tom Morgan, with support from Dean Longman and our new coordinator of Strengths-based efforts, Nancy Gaines, I want to make retention a continuing high priority this next year.  The "good news" is that we did see significant improvement on student advising last year.  When we compared scores from the Student Satisfaction Inventory between last year (with COR 101 faculty advising freshmen) and previous years, we saw statistically significant improvement in three key areas: Students viewed their academic advisors as: 1. More approachable; 2. More concerned about their success as individuals; 3. Better at helping them set goals.  This is "good news" since nationwide studies confirm that two items are of greatest importance to students:  Quality of classroom teaching and Quality of academic advising.

We also made strong progress on the "delivery" of COR 102, which has been shaped by Craig Boyd in consultation with his colleagues in the Philosophy/Religion Department.  This course, called Introduction to Christian Thought and Life, replaces the previous Bible & Culture course...but the long-standing weekend trip to Chicago continues to be a significant component of the course.  Jerry Eichhoefer has been primarily responsible for shaping COR 201, Foundations of Science, which was pilot tested last year.  This fall the course is being delivered in a truly interdisciplinary fashion, with teaching responsibilities shared by Mark Ehrhardt (Chemistry) and Greg Sanders (Sociology), along with Jerry (Computer Science).  I have long felt that real integration must begin with our faculty.  But it’s very very hard work, so I am particularly impressed by the commitment these talented but busy faculty have made to this important step toward a more coherent integrative curriculum.  The capstone of the new general education curriculum (COR 401) is still under design by Royal Mulholland, and is scheduled for implementation in the final year of the Teagle grant.  Jessica Estevez has been making good progress on developing the "Cross-Cultural" requirement that was approved by the faculty as part of the revised General Education curriculum.  Several courses have already been designated as "CC" and others are scheduled for review.   Funds from the Teagle grant and from Greenville's FIPSE grant will support the modification or development of "CC" courses over the coming year.  Both Dean Longman and I are strongly supportive of the faculty's commitment that every GC student should have a cross-cultural experience as part of their Greenville College education.  It is my hope that before long, this might even include a minimum 2-week cross-cultural experience for most of our students.

I have already shared the excitement on campus from having so many financial resources from outside grants enabling us to do things we could not otherwise do.  While it is impossible to tell you all of what is going on in each of these, let me mention one or two. 

You'll recall that last year we began building toward Greenville's first endowed chair—one in Jewish-Christian Studies—thanks to a $350,000 pledge from the Shapiro Foundation in Chicago.  $105,000 of this is to support the position for three years, and the balance as matching fund to permanently endow a substantial portion of the position.  Not one member of the Shapiro board had ever visited Greenville College, yet our "B & C" students had won the heart of the foundation chairman, Mr. Shapiro when they visited his synagogue on their trips to Chicago.  After receiving news of the grant, a national search was launched for the person who would spend the next three years holding a joint position in our History and Religion Departments while also working with our Advancement staff to raise matching funds for an endowed chair in Jewish-Christian Studies. This spring we were pleased when Karen Strand Winslow accepted our offer to fill this post.  She's one of the exciting new faculty members who has joined us this year.  Karen is finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Washington, has had a life-long interest in Judaism and the Jewish roots of our faith, and is an ordained Free Methodist elder.   Over the spring months we raised $50,000 toward our $250,000 matching grant; since Karen's appointment, she has already raised more than $10,000 in additional funds. We were also delighted to have Mr. Schubert, current foundation representative finally come as our guest this past spring. 

Grants from the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of  Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) are exceedingly competitive and Greenville is honored to be partnering with Eastern College on a grant of $464,000 over this three-year period.  The grant links us with The Gallup Organization in an effort to help our students understand their strengths, to think about how their strengths relate to career options, then apply those strengths through service learning and cross-cultural experiences.  A ten-person FIPSE Steering Committee is guiding this effort, working in three sub-groups (students, faculty and staff).  I hope you have all met Mrs. Nancy Gaines, a campus counselor who is also serving as "Strengths Project Coordinator".  This year's emphasis will be on our sophomore students... national studies indicate that sophomore students often feel overlooked and they tend to drop out at a disproportionate rate.  Here's what Dr. Don Clifton, long-time CEO of The Gallup Organization, recently said about our project:

"... I want to congratulation you and to endorse your program.  Greenville College is the first college or university to incorporate the StrengthsFinder in a longitudinal study of student and faculty development.  Your results will be of national interest.  However, the most significant outcomes will certainly be in the lives of your students.  We at Gallup are pleased to be partnering with you."

Earlier this year Greenville received word that the Ford Foundation had approved a three-year grant of $807,000 to support a collaborative project designed to link Christian colleges with urban churches and inner-city ministries.  The lead institution is Calvin College (MI); other partners are Goshen College (IN), Knox College - an "Historically Black College" (TN) , and Greenville. A total of $177,572 will come to GC, allowing us to hire two people who will develop tutoring programs in urban settings and help these students fit and succeed at Greenville. The search for a project director is currently underway. 

One final comment about foundation giving.  While in Denver last month, I visited with John Bass the head of the Crowell Trust.  Each year, for many years, they have given Greenville College $50,000.  I discovered that this year, because of the downturn in the market, the trust had reduced the number of awards it gave from 130 to 35.  GC was still among the 35.  I further discovered that even of the 130 usually awarded typically only 6 were unrestricted; i.e. not tied to a specific project.  When I asked Mr. Bass why GC should be singled out as among the surviving 35 this year, and among the elite 6 honored with unrestricted gift, he replied that Greenville College’s credibility was impeccable, our reporting outstanding, and our programs diverse.  What a compliment! 

The dream of Greenville College offering a three-track M.A. program in Teacher Education took significant steps forward last year, including a unanimous vote of approval by the faculty and GC's board of trustees.  Ed Blue and Dave Holden have done exemplary work in overseeing this project, which currently is being readied for review by North Central.  A donor has already committed start-up funds to the first year and has agreed to extend that support through its first three years. Also under the leadership of Ed Blue, the Committee on Teacher Education (COTE) is working hard to complete by December, a lengthy study of our various teacher education programs.  The state requirements have changed dramatically, so each of 12 faculty is currently working hard on completing their respective program “reviews” or “portfolios.”  Because as many as 30% of our students are involved in these programs in one way or another, this project is absolutely crucial for us to retain our accreditation.  We count on Ed and these key faculty for this important work.

The Academic Enrichment Center tutors tutored 85 students in 32 subject areas last year. Director, Tonya Holman, made on average 105 student contacts and 24 faculty contacts per month.  For the 2000-01 school year we had 15 students participate in off-campus programs.

Under the direction of Dean of Students Norm Hall, significant restructuring was undertaken in Student Development this past year.  Students are still getting used to the new names for staff in the structure.  RA s (Resident Assistants) are now RC s (Resident Chaplains).  And RD s (Resident Directors) are now CRE s (Coordinators of Resident Education).  At the suggestion of the Greenville College Student Association, we implemented a new Student Activity Fee.  Establishment of this fee allowed Student Development to give back significant programming funds to the general budget and underwrite the new Director of Residence Life position. Pedro Valentin, a 1996 GC graduate, was hired for this key position.  Coordinators for Men's and Women's Residence Education were also appointed. 

This year's Walk-About program was a huge success, with 54 students and campus leaders participating.  By now most of you have heard Pedro’s encounter with the bear.  If not, be sure and ask!   Consistent with Greenville’s personal touch, last spring Student Development also implemented a "Care Team" approach.    Of 18 sophomores who were deemed most "at risk" in January and assigned to be involved in a "Care Team", 11 were continued on probation for this fall semester and eight raised their cumulative gpa.   Another exciting new program implemented this year, are the Covenant Communities involving 105 upper division students in 22 housing units.  These groups of students elect to live together and shape their life together around themes of various kinds.  Topics range from Spiritual Autobiographies to Daughters of Eve. Clearly, Student Development initiatives have become central to the FIPSE commitment to becoming a "strengths based" campus.

Under the direction of Athletic Director Doug Faulkner, Greenville's student athletes have also had a remarkable year.  Many of these students did well academically, with 69 athletes recognized within the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference as "all academic"  i.e., having a cumulative gpa of 3.5 or higher. 

Coach Brian Patton was named NCCAA Men's Coach of the Year (for the second year in a row).  The Men's Track and Field team won the NCCAA Championship, the first national championship in any sport for Greenville College.  The Greenville team amassed five new school records, 19 season best performances and 14 lifetime bests.  Congratulations again to Brian and his team! 

Coach George Barber and his men's basketball team traveled to Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina in March where they played in the NCCAA National Tournament (March 15-17).  George was also selected to coach the NCCAA Mission Europe All-Star Basketball Team.  The team toured the Czech Republic in late May.  In addition, George coordinated the "Second Annual Greenville College Special Olympics".  Over 40 student volunteers assisted with the Special Olympics, which drew over 80 participants from local schools. 

Finally, let me remind you of the very important 5-year focus visit by North Central Association which occurred in April.  Sharon Alger—recently “semi-retired” across the street—did the lion's share of work in preparing Greenville's report, which addressed the 1996 visit team concern for monitoring Greenville's progress in the four areas:  Financial condition, Enrollment trends, GOAL, and LAMP.  The visiting team was very impressed with the thoroughness and professionalism of our report, and gave unqualified endorsement to our accreditation.  In fact the team chair, remarked that, “It was a different college from the one visited by the team in 1996.”  Thank you to Sharon and to all those who helped us clear this crucial hurdle

DEVELOP OUR HUMAN RESOURCES
Let me turn now to the fourth and final strategic goal, developing our human resources.  Four faculty were granted tenure in the past year, Ed Blue (Teacher Education), Jerry Eichhoefer (Computer Science), Steve Heilmer (Art) and Richard Huston (History/Political Science).   In addition, Donna Hart was promoted to full professor and Richard Huston was promoted to associate professor.   Rich was also granted a one-year sabbatical; his family has returned to his "roots" in Paraguay where Richard is conducting research as a Fulbright Scholar this year.  It was certainly a big year for Rich. To have a second Fulbright Scholar on our faculty in only three years (Brad Shaw was the other) is a remarkable testimony to the quality of our staff. Many institutions have never had even one such honor.

Congratulations to Chris Woods, who completed his DMA in Trombone Performance at the University of North Texas and to Rick McPeak who also recently completed his Ph.D. in Historical Theology at SLU. 

Three long-time employees officially retired at the conclusion of the 2000-2001 academic year.  I say “officially” because “unofficially” in usual Greenville style, my impression is that each one of them is actually still employed at GC, continuing to do many of the same things they have always done, thereby helping us in important ways!  Sharon Alger, Galen Peters, and Marie Siefken. 

Many of our faculty deserve special recognition for their significant accomplishments in the past year. I wish I could mention them all, but please let me share a few.  Art professor Steve Heilmer, whose statue Plentiful Grace: Mother’s Milk was dedicated at Seattle University's Chapel of St. Ignatius. Both of the major metro newspapers in Seattle carried feature stories on the statue.  Added to tenure and a sabbatical, it’s been a big year for Steve too!  Congratulations Steve!  Zahniser Institute of Environmental Studies Director David Patrick, authored an article entitled "From Eternity to Eternity" as the closing pages of the Journal of the National Wilderness Conference (2000).  In addition, ZIES was awarded three new "Lake Projects" - based on their excellent work on the Governor Bond Lake study.  A Free Methodist pastor from Pittsburgh sent me a clipping from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (8/13) featuring Howard Zahniser and his national role in the 1964 Wilderness Act, pointing out his education at Greenville College and mentioning our Institute. Marie Siefken, was recognized by her colleagues through the naming of the campus Advanced Biology Lab after her.  A plaque at the door of the lab acknowledges the contributions Marie has made over the years to the science and math division.  Jerry Eichhoefer returned this summer from his third month-long seminar in Oxford, as part of the CCCU's Templeton-funded project to explore the interfaces between science and religion.  Dean Dave Holden in addition to making good progress on his doctorate, has now seen 700+ students involved in the GOAL program.  Dave has developed "articulation" agreements with various feeder institutions, including Richland College in Decatur and Parkland College in Champaign-Urbana and is working on others with Frontier and Kaskaskia. In the face of some shortfall in enrollment, Dave managed expenses so well, GOAL still managed to show an unanticipated budget surplus.  Good work Dave!  Alain Togbe had an extremely productive summer, with two professional papers accepted for publication and two papers delivered at two professional conferences (one at Duke University and one at Laval in Quebec).  Lori Gaffner was elected by her peers from the 100+ CCCU institutions to chair the "Commission" of CCCU Chaplains.  Her work includes coordinating the planning group for the national conference of CCCU Chaplains.  Hugh Siefken and many of the science faculty have invested literally hundreds of hours in building an observatory on the property of the Ayers Field Station.  While Hugh has guided this effort, the math and science division faculty have been encouraged to invest Saturday mornings in the construction project.  If all goes according to plan, the observatory should be ready for use next semester.  At how many colleges would the science faculty take on such a major project as a volunteer labor of love?  This same group of faculty has worked closely with the advancement office to raise $100,000 to purchase the new Mass Spectrometer and 40-50 new microscopes.  Craig Boyd, participated in a month-long Templeton Seminar at Calvin College during July titled "Biology and Purpose: Altruism, Morality, and Human Nature in Evolutionary Theory."   Craig also continued his work with the Rhodes Consultation on the Future of the Church-Related College and continues to spearhead our new liaison group with the Free Methodist denomination. Bob and Alice Snyder, are on leave, currently living in Mozambique where Bob is serving as Country Director for Food for the Hungry.  The Snyders are working this fall to develop a curriculum and budget for a proposed semester program in Zimbabwe and Mozambique (GIZMO).  Bob is also to be commended for his publication of an article in "Creation Care" magazine.  Joe Culumber, has expanded participation in the LAMP Master's Program this past year. As you saw, LAMP is one of those programs from which we derived significant and unexpected additional revenue last year.  Joe has recently taken on the interim pastorate of the Lighthouse Church in St. Louis and has been exploring the possibility of partnerships there as a base for student internships and/or a semester urban program.  Brian Hartley was selected for a prestigious NEH Summer Seminar at Ohio State University.  Brian's seminar was led by Dr. John N. King, one of the leading scholars in the field of English Renaissance Literature. Teresa Holden, traveled to Houghton College in June, where she participated in the Houghton Institute for Integrative Studies.  This year's Institute topic was The Idea of Liberty.  Last February, Veronica Ross and her co-author began updating their book, Questions of Communication:  A Practical Introduction to Theory.  The book is receiving both national and international publicity. Michael Johnson & Ani Chaussee, worked this year with one of GC’s lab bands, For All the Drifters.  We were thrilled earlier this summer when The Drifters took both national and international awards in Estes Park, Colorado, at the Gospel Music Association competition.  I am told The Drifters received a standing ovation for a 30-second sound check.  And I understand that in her introduction of the group, the emcee, Margaret Becker, told 8,000 people, “If you want to study contemporary Christian music, Greenville College is THE place to go!” 

In keeping with our goal to promote the development of our staff, two new resources are now being provided for faculty:  Christian Scholar's Review, for which Greenville has been approved as a supporting institution and Books & Culture.   In addition, a much more extensive orientation for new faculty was developed last year, and expanded again for this academic year.  All new faculty have been paired with a mentor and are involved in a series of orientation seminars this fall and continuing into the spring. 

And speaking of new faculty, let me say again what an amazing group they are.  They were all introduced before, at faculty retreat, and again to all employees two weeks ago today as Planning Week got started. So we will not take time to do so again.  But I want to take this opportunity to ask them all to stand and be recognized: Dr. Gene Dunkley (Biology) coming from Oxford, Dr. Arlene Larabee (Physics) from McMasters and most recently U Texas, El Paso, Karleen Johnson (Science Education) from teaching in Collinsville but before that from New Zealand where she coordinated a traveling program in science education, Karen Winslow (Religion/History) in building toward the Shapiro Chair as mentioned, coming from the U of Washington and teaching at Seattle Pacific, Dwight Jackson (Sociology) from St. Louis, the inner city, and Africa, Larry Moore (Music Business), whose skills we have enjoyed even tonight, from Hal Leonard music publishers and before that in music ministry at the large Elmbrook Church in Wisconsin, Dr. Jim Zahniser (Psychology) from private practice and consulting with the TriWest Group in the Denver area, and Dr. Randy Bergen (Dean of Instruction) from the Psychology department at Geneva College in Pennsylvania.  Randy also co-directs the CCCU Collaborative Assessment Project, involving 50+ schools in assessing our success in actually accomplishing the character forming missions we embrace.   Lest you think Greenville employs only faculty, let me show a few of the new faces you will likely see in some very public administrative roles too.  Pedro Valentin in Residence Life, Julie Jobryce and Michelle Sussenbach in Records, Barbara Jani and Rebecca West in Admissions.  Will everyone who is new in the past year please stand to be recognized?

CLOSING
So what then is the state of our college?  I want to close with a few thoughts about the Next Steps I hope we may take together in this year to continue the momentum I believe we have.  My priorities will be largely in two areas: On the campaign and on communication. 

We have discussed a campaign now for over a year.  And in each case the process has depended heavily on the feasibility study.  That study was commissioned to the firm of Staley Robeson in St. Louis and took the newly revised Master Plan to potential donors for their reactions.  While the final result of that study has not been formalized, two important facts have emerged which are shaping our plans.  First, the market realities make it unwise to push ahead too quickly.  So we have delayed a decision about the campaign from last November until this coming November.  Second, the interviews with potential donors revealed concern over the existing internal debt of $3.7 million the college owes to our own endowment; a debt incurred years ago.  Their understanding is that if we can put this debt behind us, we will not only feel the relief of interest on this debt amounting to a quarter of a million dollars each year, but relief of the longstanding burden this debt has imposed on our community psychologically.  My impression, and I hope you would agree, is that to move past this will not only free us up in these two important ways, but will instill confidence in potential donors as we move forward in the campaign we have contemplated.  The word already beginning to emerge when our trustees gathered in May, of your tremendous effort this past year, prompted several to say, “We want to pull our share of this load too.”  So in response the trustees all signed a statement expressing their intention to undertake a pre-campaign of their own, to personally “cover” this debt.  What a tremendous expression of ownership, accountability, and solidarity with all of you who labor daily to be good stewards on campus.  The statement they signed said, “With God as my helper, my family and I pledge to support the retirement of Greenville College’s internal debt over the next three years, with a significant monetary gift above and beyond our usual giving to the college.”

Consequently, over the summer, Craig Tidball (Chairman of our board), Lloyd Ganton (Chairman of our board Advancement Committee), Jack Kerber (from Staley Robeson), David Hoag, and I put together our best effort to put “feet” on this trustee vision.  We undertook the delicate task of allocating a portion of that debt to each of our 24 trustees, in proportion to our judgment of his or her ability to contribute.  For the past three weeks, and over the next nine or so, Craig and Lloyd with help from David and me, will be personally contacting trustees asking for their individual commitment.  Some of these will in turn be asked to ask others.  The goal is to come as close as we can to accomplishing this by the time trustees meet in November.  The goal is $3.7 million.  But we already have an annuity which will come to the college before long that will cover $1 million.  That leaves $2.7 million. We are asking trustees to contribute as much as possible of their commitment over the 3-5 year period of the likely campaign.  Whatever cannot be contributed in that time frame can be given over a longer period of time.  But we will have the confidence the debt will be “covered.”  Late in the spring we received a commitment of $600,000 toward this goal.  And I am pleased to tell you tonight that in the last three weeks, we have received commitments from the first five trustees contacted for an additional $950,000.  That means, thanks be to God, we already have commitments to $1.5 million of the $2.7 million we need!  I cannot impress on you enough, the need to bathe this entire process in your prayers.   Please remember our trustees and us during these weeks to come.

My second priority will be communication; both external and internal.  In the past few months I have become aware that the changes we have seen need to be made known more broadly than ever.  As Bill Gates has made clear, it’s not enough to build a better mousetrap, one has to get the word out about it!  The progress we have seen in curriculum, in facilities, in financial accountability, in enrollment, in technology, should be announced more plainly to the external community. I’m not sure enough people realize the results, for example, of George Kuh’s (Indiana U) empirical studies showing CCCU colleges have a far greater impact on character formation because of their environment than public universities, general liberal arts colleges, and even Templeton colleges of character.  I’m also not sure many people have looked at the results of the National Study of Student Engagement (NSSE) which measures academic performance not in terms of inputs but in terms of student engagement, and which shows Greenville College performing near the top.  I’m also not sure the results of the CCCU Collaborative Assessment Project (CAP) are well enough known.  They show Greenville students making more progress in identity formation during their time here than students even at most other CCCU colleges.  Friends there is great news in all this.  But we need to do a better job of sharing the good things happening at Greenville.  There is some evidence this is happening already.  I have mentioned the wonderful attention we received at the Gospel Music Awards.  You may not know however, that this was echoed on the front cover of CCM Magazine’s first College Guide issue, with photos of the Jars of Clay in front of Hogue Hall, and central attention paid to GC as the place to go for this kind of study.  And you may also not be aware that this week the US News and World Report listed Greenville College as one of the “Top Ten Best Values” among Midwestern comprehensive colleges, one of only two in the state of Illinois!  Greenville was featured with only one other school on the lead story of the morning news on WGN-Chicago.  The word is getting out.  But I believe we must do more to help those who would love to join us if they only knew.  We are already laying plans for a significant lecture series in St. Louis this fall and spring, funded with donor gifts, and I have hopes it  will help our story to be heard.  Then in the normal process of reviewing this year’s budget as enrollment settles down, I hope we can consider ways to devote some funds to enhanced public relations as we identify a new director in that area.

But I believe this communication must be internal as well as external.  This internal communication must include more information to all of you who care so deeply about what we do.  We want to continue the regular updates by email from my office and the academic dean.  We want to continue be present personally at faculty council whenever time permits.  But I regret I have not recognized enough that this communication must be more than information.  It must be personal.  So I want to extend myself further to spend time in your offices, time with students, and time together in the new chapels set aside for us all to share and pray.   My impression is that over the past couple of years, we have made significant and exciting progress in accomplishing the first three goals I have discussed: Assuring fiscal vitality, Increasing Enrollment, and Focusing on Liberal Arts.  But I confess I am not satisfied with our performance, and particularly my own performance on the goal of Developing Our Human Resources.  In particular, that goals states: Greenville College will build on its reputation for close community and achieve progress in identifying, affirming, and developing individuals and their respective gifts.  It may be that the demands placed on us in working on the others have left this one behind.  It is certainly plain from the widespread community effort in accomplishing the remarkable budget success this past year that Greenville is indeed still about people; people working together.  This is certainly our strength, a strength reinforced over and over in our strategic planning process.  So while the success in those other 3 still needs considerable attention, I believe it is time for us to begin to shift our focus more and more to celebrating one another and our remarkably distinctive gifts.  I believe focusing on our strengths can help us to appreciate the contributions each of us makes.  And doing that will allow us all to be more effective in the work we do.  In my cabinet we have undertaken to work week by week through a book based on this approach entitled, First Break All the Rules.  And I know the freshmen seminar teachers are committed to helping our students appreciate their strengths too.  Were all this building on strengths done without the Lord, it would surely be in vain.  But we are reminded in Scripture that, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.  [And] to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”  (I Cor 12:4-6) We must recognize our need for one another, every one of us.  So I urge each one of us to celebrate our community this year.  Let us make our Next Steps ones that build on our strength as a community, build on our momentum in so many exciting areas, and move us forward in our mission. 

THANK YOU