TRANSFORMING OUR LIVES TOGETHER

"Transforming Our Lives Together"
Accompanying PowerPoint (5.14 MB)

It is a pleasure for me to launch a new academic year in our second All-College opening dinner.  Last year with the theme “Under Construction: Building for Our Future” I said I hoped it would become a long tradition of gathering together as a community.  Over the past two weeks, I have found myself involved in an increasing number of other wonderful traditions and believe these symbolic occasions have an incalculable value in drawing us together and reaffirming the wonderful spirit of togetherness that characterizes Greenville College.  The Fall Faculty Fellowship was wonderful, treating us all in such as way as to make us feel valued.  The “Planting of the Ivy” and “Covenant Communion” received nothing but praise from parents.  I wish you could hear the many comments. 

One father said, “I just want you to know what it means to me to leave my son in a place where Jesus Christ comes first.”  A mother who is actually involved in new student orientation at another Christian college, said, “I can’t believe how well you welcome your new students.”  Several faculty, current and emeriti have expressed deep appreciation for the affirmation of the ties that bind us together over so many years.   I sense a freer breath, a lighter heart, a more cheerful spirit, a higher energy, a more confident vision, among students, faculty, and staff.  I hope you share my enthusiasm. 

As I have said in the Fall Faculty Fellowship this is a year to celebrate our mission:

Greenville College transforms students
For lives of character and service
Through a Christ-centered education
In the liberating arts and sciences.

I realize that mission statements are usually debated to death over months or years of discussion as if everything depended on them, then quickly forgotten as if nothing depended on them.  But I am excited about what we done together and hope this year ours will become both an anchor and an engine for the transformation of our lives together.  In remarks to the faculty, I have pointed out that “transformation” must balance the old with the new.  It is not “replacement” of the old with the new.  But it is a radical and pervasive change that preserves the best of what has always been. Walking that line and doing so at a pace we can all follow is the challenge of this year. 

To walk that line requires both respect for the past as well as a genuine openness to the future.  Often this means that those who are new to the community must work hard to cultivate a spirit of understanding, patience, and appreciation for what has gone before.  Those who are long-timers in the community on the other hand must work hard to cultivate a spirit of non-judgment, willingness, and cooperation. Transformation is no less difficult for institutions than it is for the students whose lives are transformed while they are with us.  In both cases, the transformation is crippled and slowed unless the Holy Spirit controls. 

GENERAL
One of the least heralded but potentially most important accomplishments of last year was the strategic planning process.  Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Sharon Alger, and the hard work of many of you who participated the multiple sessions of multiple panel groups, the process begun last September completed its first cycle by May.  The four major goals we have made and the strategies for accomplishing them are available to all on the New Millennium Commission website: http://www.greenville.edu/campus/millennium/

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.

The first time through is always harder, so the prospects for sharpening  this plan each year and broadening our ownership and familiarity are excellent.  I plan to do this in small groups and further discussion this fall and next spring.  This plan provides the next step in a series of steps leading to what we hope will become a major campaign in the next year or two.  I will have more to say of this in a few moments. 

ACADEMIC  AFFAIRS
We in academe are often criticized for our slow pace of change.  But that can hardly be said of our faculty when it came to curricular change last year!  After some years of ground breaking, it all came together last year under the leadership first of Dr. Craig Boyd and then Dr. Brad Shaw.  The announcement of the three-year prestigious Teagle grant of $261,700 made this success all the more sweet because now changes which might otherwise have taken much longer and would have come at greater personal expense in faculty time, can now be compensated as they should.  What a blessing! 

Over the spring and into the summer the COR 101 faculty has invested almost ten days of time in a variety of planning sessions and workshops to develop unified course objectives and topics.  These beginning cornerstones whet students’ appetites for a kind of integrative scholarship that can be our hallmark.   It will "help students begin a pilgrimage of curiosity-driven, transformational learning in a Christian liberal arts community." 

We have eighteen professors teaching or co-teaching 16 sections for the fall including even a special section for transfer students.  The topics are fascinating; enough to make me want to go back to school myself:  Dr. Keener’s   Don't Just Say Something: Stand There, Dr. Snyder’s The Wild Side of Life, Dr. Sanders’ The Mating Game and Other Incredible Social Rituals, Dr. Shaw’s St. Paul Goes to the Movies, and so on!  I am also told that these COR 101 instructors have really “focused in” on their assigned students.  Admissions is already reporting far fewer freshmen coming to them for advice after arrival on campus.  I fully expect this will significantly affect retention. 

Craig Boyd is taking the lead, assisted by the Religion Faculty, to develop COR 102 on spiritual formation;  Dr. Jerry Eichhoefer is spearheading COR 201 on science.  And in my mind, COR 401, yet to be developed will certainly be the crown jewel of the curriculum.  We want to help students realize that the education they get at Greenville liberates them from narrowness of attitude and narrowness of training.  These bookend and other COR courses are a big step in this direction.

To my mind, what is even more important, is that taken together with the “check off” requirements in writing and quantitative reasoning and especially cross cultural study, we now have a framework that gives the whole program coherence and better still, allows us to fine tune the whole program as time goes on.  As faculty launch the new year, we are aware that many are shifting from four hour courses to three hour courses.  It is hard for anyone who has not taught to understand what an effort it is to repackage material.  My hat is off to those who have dared to do this so pervasively across the curriculum.

The year was blessed with more than just the Teagle grant.  I will show you a list in a few minutes.  One other special one for academics is the three-year Shapiro grant of $105,000, combined with a matching grant of $250,000 to begin building an endowed chair at Greenville College: If matching funds are found it would be The Shapiro Chair for Jewish-Christian Studies.  We have already received gifts toward this match and have another proposal for $150,000 pending.  The applicant pool includes several very promising candidates, the first of whom will be with us for interviews in September. 

As many of your heard at the faculty retreat, The Gallup Organization agreed to donate 650 "Strengths Finder" instruments to Greenville College for use with our campus community, including all first-year students.   A variety of national leaders in the field of retention believe that a strengths-based approach could have a significant impact on student success.  It will be used in the COR 101 classes and when taken together with Dr. Tom Morgan’s focus on retention, we believe the retention at Greenville will increase significantly.  It is obviously much more economical to retain a student than to recruit a new one.  I hope each one of you realizes how crucial you are to that task too.  Time after time, parents and students tell me that what drew them to Greenville is the warmth of the whole community.  A smile, a word of greeting taken at your initiative, makes more difference to students than you can imagine.

Most of you are aware that we are waiting to hear whether a proposal to FIPSE, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education has been awarded by congress.  This shared project would allow GC and Eastern College to build on the Gallup Strengths Finder and our increased focus on retention to implement a four-year comprehensive approach to retention that links affirming students' strengths, service-learning and career planning.  The idea is to apply this strengths-based approach to our entire community.  I believe all or most of you have used this instrument and hopefully found it affirming.  We are a diverse body and we can work together far more effectively if we understand the special contribution each of us can make. 

Lee Noel of the Noel-Levitz Group, John Gardner, Senior Fellow of the National Resource Center for the First Year Experience and Professor at U of South Carolina, as well as Don Clifton, Chairman of The Gallup International Research Center, all wrote glowing support for this grant.  I am delighted to announce that only today we received official word the grant has been awarded in the amount of $464,000 to be shared with Eastern over the next 3 years.  Congratulations Dr. Longman!  The benefits go beyond the funds to include a significant feather in our caps for this highly competitive award.

As if that news is not enough, Dr. Sandy Schmidt received word today that we have again been granted funds from the state of Illinois for a cooperative program with Kaskaskia in the amount of $58,000! 

Last for mention, Greenville was named as one of seven CCCU schools to benefit from a $198,000 Templeton Foundation grant to support a study of faith development in college students.  Dr. Susan-Hughey Rasler is working with Dr. Sharon Alger and Dr. Karen Longman as the team guiding this project on our campus.

Our faculty continues to devote themselves not only to excellent teaching and advising, but to significant scholarship of discovery.  Just a few examples: Dr. Craig Boyd was selected in a national competition to participate in the Rhodes Consultation on the Future of the Church-Related College.  As part of the project, Craig will be organizing a series of discussions on campus this fall focusing on the present and potential future influence of the Wesleyan mission of our College. Dr. Susan Hughey-Rasler presented an overview of Greenville's work with the Fowler faith-development interviews at the Institute on College Student Values at Florida State University in February. 

Dr. Bob Snyder continues to be interviewed on radio and TV regarding his views on the impact of Jubilee on two-thirds world development.  Among others, Dr. Hugh Siefken, Dr. Alaine Togbe, Dr. Rick Stephens and Dr. Donna Hart had articles accepted for publication in a variety of journals.  Dr. Jerry Eichoeffer participated for the second summer in a month-long "Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity," funded by the John Templeton Foundation in a national competition.  Rick Stephens was named Associate Editor of Sociological Practice: A Journal of Clinical and Applied Sociology, and for the fourth year in a row, the (SLIAC) St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.  After 16 years coaching, Rick now has over 400 wins and is in line to become president of the NCCAA, national Christian athletic association.

Others among the faculty have been active applying their disciplinary expertise in service.  Jack Chism and Warren Pettit participated in the work of World Hope International; Jack in the Philippines and Warren in Honduras.  One of Warren's assignments was to develop a public relations video about World Hope's work in that region. 

Still others on our staff and administrative staff have stood out for their special contributions.  The recent Record highlights the great quantitative and qualitative success Brian Patton has had with growth in the track and field team along with their honors as the top NCAA division III academic team.  As I remark in the Record, I took special delight that he beat out both my alma maters that ranked below GC in the top ten. 

Rob Harley and his assistants had a .500 season, and his even larger team (66) this year tell me they expect it to be even better.  The reports of 15 football students receiving Christ and another 15 rededicating their lives to Christ in the past two years, show that Rob and his assistants understand Greenville is about transformation of the entire person.  This past year, 335 students participated in the athletics programs.  That represents over 1/3 of our resident student body!  

Some of you know the very hard work Deb Miller and others have done to complete the conversion of the Records Office to Quodata.  With Finance, Admissions, Students, Financial Aid, and very soon Billing converted, only Advancement remains.  I believe this will give us all the integrated, timely, and accurate information we all want and have needed for a long time to make Greenville a better place.  Many thanks to Deb and her staff for that effort and prayers as they work now to smooth out the remaining wrinkles.

We cannot overlook the creative contribution of faculty in shaping two new majors.  The average student will change majors three times in four years.  And the average graduate will now move through 6 careers in a lifetime. So the choice of major seems less and less important, especially in a college of liberal arts.  In fact while recognizing that some areas like pre-med and education require early identification of direction, I hope there can be discussion of a policy which discourages or even prohibits the declaration of a major before the sophomore or even junior year. It could become a real signature tied closely to our mission. 

So on the one hand we want to avoid the proliferation of majors that attract few students and burden our course offerings with small classes.  On the other hand, it is a good thing when integrative majors, consistent with our mission, can be creatively shaped primarily from existing courses and current faculty, and serve to attract students.  Two new majors will be offered this year: Digital Media (guided by Warren Pettit) and Media Promotions (guided by Veronica Ross).  Veronica is also finishing revisions of the 3rd edition of her textbook too!

Finally, in the area of academic affairs, let me mention five final areas of progress.  First, a series of women’s dinners were hosted throughout the year as a new initiative to encourage GC's female students to consider fully using their education and abilities.  The fact that women at Christian colleges come with lower self-esteem than men, and unlike the men leave on average without appreciable improvement is a concern we all want to address. 

Second, last year 2,034 books and audiovisual materials were added to the Ruby E. Dare Library, making a total of 125,872 items, plus over 5,000 bound periodicals. The Library Catalog is available on line, with a brand new interface for Web access.  We have access to over 30 on-line databases of general and specialized periodical indexing. Most of these have updated their interfaces this summer, for even easier searching. Many full text articles are available, and a new service through the state of Illinois allows access to over 1500 books in full text. 

The library has added some low-vision assistance technology equipment and improved interlibrary loan technology with $5,000 grant money from the Illinois State Library.  Students like Niki Vaughn use this on a daily basis to see the screen and even hear out loud what is on the screen in several of her classes. 

Third, the ZIES continues to work on several large, long-term projects including wetland creation in St. Louis County ($800k), wetland monitoring near Defiance, Missouri ($350k), and biological control of thistles at Mobil/Exxon's Monterey Coal Mine near Carlinville, Illinois ($80k). They are nearing completion of the EPA-grant supported Clean Lakes study of Governor Bond Lake, the local water supply for Greenville and Bond County, and will begin development and implementation of watershed restoration projects next spring. 

Exciting new developments include proposals to perform 3 more Clean Lakes studies for area water supply reservoirs ($160k), wetland identification and restoration on 1,600 acres along the Missouri River near St. Louis ($21), 600 acres of wetland creation further upstream on the Missouri River (1.82m), wetland/prairie restoration on 150-300 acres along the Illinois River (funded by The Nature Conservancy and the Corps of Engineers)($15k), habitat assessment and restoration planning on 6,600 acres of the Illinois River (with The Nature Conservancy)($15k), and prairie restoration along the newly designated National Highway (US Route 40) between Greenville and Mulberry Grove ($26k). Whew! 

Fourth, thanks to the generous contribution of Wes and Darlene Phillips we have received funds to replace the mass spectrometer that has been so desperately needed in the sciences.   Its benefits to physics, biology, and chemistry are significant and its value in recruitment and retention cannot be overlooked either. 

And last, but by no means least, it is exciting to see the continuing good enrollments and GOAL as well as the heavy groundwork being laid for expansion in the Decatur area and a possible new masters degree in education.

Our many thanks should go to Karen Longman for her leadership.  It has been a remarkable year, and especially so as it has been her first year among us.

ADVANCEMENT
The 1999-2000 year will go down in the books as the highest year ever in institutional gift support bringing in $3,775,000. Restricted giving totaled more than $2 million, and unrestricted giving exceeding its goal of $1.7 million.  Foundation (Grants) giving commitments were more than $900,000 representing one of the largest years ever in foundation support.  Our hats off to David Hoag and his hard working staff for their role in this. 

In preparation for the NCA visit next spring comparisons of giving are being compiled for the report.  Our gift support is average (4 year) is up to $3.1 million from $1.5 million.  Also, it is important to note that the last four years have been the largest in the history of the college.  We have much to be thankful for God’s continued blessings on us.

The list of significant restricted projects for this past year adds to those we celebrated last September: The Claussen Plaza improvements of more than $90,000 were dedicated in June; more than $15,000 of lighting improvements through the generosity of alumni and our board chairman; and of course the Dietzman Center (classroom building/bookstore).  Seed gifts were secured to fund a portion of this building, along with a long term lease with Family Christian Stores.  This new classroom/bookstore facility will add needed classroom space, and faculty offices along with a 5,000 square foot bookstore (5 times the current space), an ATM machine, and a gourmet coffee shop (Jo’s Java). 

The building is the first new construction on campus since the early 90’s, and is valued at more than a $1 million dollars.   It will be completed by the end of the year, and classes will begin spring semester in the building.  I can hardly wait.

As we move toward a capital campaign the pieces are falling into place.  First, the launch of our foundation, then the strategic plan, followed by the master planning task force now in its final weeks of work.  The task force will be making its report to the community, which will determine the “physical plant” needs over the next years.  The committee has overlaid the strategic plan from the New Millennium Commission to guide and direct its work. 

The next phase in planning deals with a comprehensive capital campaign.  The college has recently selected Staley, Robeson, Ryan, and St. Lawrence, an international fund raising consulting firm with offices in St. Louis, to conduct a campaign feasibility study this fall.  It is exciting to consider how God may use these steps to advance His work here. 

One final project has been the “Working Capital Fund,” which has helped us be less dependent on local banks for cash flow.  More on this in a moment. The Greenville College Foundation completed its first year in existence.  I am delighted to say that with the help The endowment grew by more than 7% to just under $7.6 million, while still being able to distribute more than $300,000 of endowment distributions to the college. 

As the new fiscal year begins the entire Advancement staff and the president are committed to contacting Greenville’s top 100 donors face to face by December along with other advancement activities.   When you realize that a gift of only $10,000 puts a donor among the college’s top 25, you can see the enormous personal attention the Advancement office seeks to provide to a high percentage of the college’s gracious contributors. 

STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Student development has undergone significant changes this year.  Let me mention a few highlights.   For several years, Dr. Tom Morgan has worked and dreamed for greater integration of student development and the academic side of the college in a kind of “seamless curriculum.”  Along with this he has been passionate about retention.  So during most of last year plans were laid for a restructuring which has moved Student Development to Academic Affairs. As of July 1,  Mr. Norm Hall and Mrs. Lori Gaffner now both report to Dr. Longman, and Tom moves to half-time with most of his time focused on retention. 

Our freshmen to sophomore retention rate rose slightly this fall to 73% compared to 72% last fall.  By making this a priority this year, I hope to see this number go even higher still.  Tom will lead a revamped Retention Task Force that has prepared focused retention strategy in each of the last two years.  It has been based on the “expectation-performance gap scores” from our students’ responses to the annual SSI (Student Satisfaction Inventory) that we administer annually with over 500 other colleges nationwide.  Cabinet members are readying their responses for a review in mid-September. 

In addition, Greenville joins 82 other Council for Christian Colleges and Universities members who participate in the Quality Retention Project.  Dr. Laurie Schriener who visited our campus this year has served as major consultant, and Lee Noel of the Noel/Levitz Group has been a chief proponent and has provided company resources at significantly reduced rates.  Our participation in the fourth year of this project will focus on developing a retention program to address what has come to be called the “Sophomore Slump.”

A number of excellent speakers were brought to campus in conjunction with the chapel program.  As a part of the spring chapel theme on the problem of suffering and evil, and supported by generous donations from the Shapiro and Chatlos foundations we were able to hear from Michael Medved, Dr. Michael Peterson, Dr Jeff Schloss, Dr. Diane Komp, and internationally known Jewish speaker and author, Rabbi Harold Kushner.

In a new joint venture with the Associated Colleges of Illinois and McKendree College, and under the leadership of Howard Olver and Norm Hall, Greenville hosted more than 20 inner city high school students on alternating weekends throughout the fall last year.  The purpose was to acquaint them with the idea of attending college and to motivate them to prepare academically so they can qualify for admission.  The program was so successful, that the St. Louis Rams committed $5000 to continue it this fall. 

Over this past summer, and in this case without the participation of McKendree, Greenville hosted this same group of students for a week of Summer Academy; the first such effort by the ACI.  Many thanks go to that group of faculty and staff who gave sacrificially to teach exciting classes for this group of students. 

Student Development sponsored a number of continuing events which serve as important constants in our program for transforming students’ lives:  27 students gathered last fall for the annual fall spiritual retreat at Green Pastures Retreat center near Jacksonville.  85 students and faculty participated in the second annual Urban Plunge in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area.  They worked in inner-city agencies, churches, and benevolent organizations to offer help of many kinds. 

And just last month, 48 student leaders participated in the third annual Walkabout, which is 10-day leadership training exercise in the wilderness.  This year it took place in the north-east Smokey Mountains as the beginning of an intensive staff training program for the new year.  And finally, three sexual harassment workshops were conducted by for students, faculty, residence life staff, and staff.

One of the greatest challenges this past year has been the ongoing work to adjust to a constantly growing resident population.  Our philosophy of education encourages life in residence.  If the character forming modeling we believe is so important is to be effective, there must be that sense of community.  But to find places has become increasingly difficult.  Just from last fall, the percentage of our students wanting to live in residence has jumped from 73% to 84%, and what is more, the mix has shifted so that we now have more men than women. 

Our resident population has grown in just 24 months from only 606 to 720, an increase of 114 now the largest campus population in the history of the college.  All of this presents a wonderful but nevertheless difficult problem for the student development staff.  Newly created spaces in Tenney, Joy, Janssen, and Tower Apartments still have not relieved the press.  More on this in a moment. 

FINANCE
While I have said that student development has experience significant changes this year, it still does not match the changes in the area of finance, especially with regard to personnel.  Mr. Rick Rieder assumed the position of Vice President for Finance on January 1.  We were praying for sometime for the Lord to lead just the right person into this crucial position.  Mr. David Hoag chaired the search committee and after reviewing the resumes of 75 plus applicants, and interviewing three of those, Mr. Rieder was offered the position. 

As you recall, after 9 months or more of unsuccessful searching, we postponed the hiring of a Controller until the new VP was on board.  One of Rick’s first tasks was to hire a controller.  He actually began this process prior to beginning his employment with Greenville College.  On February 14, Mrs. Dana Funderburk started at Greenville College.  Dana, a CPA, brings with her a number of years of experience in the field of accounting. It is hard to overestimate the daunting challenge she has faced to completely restructure and reconcile our internal financial systems.  But in the face of this, she comments that “Every day gets better.” 

Mrs. Jo Branscome started at GC last fall as the secretary to the VP for Finance.  She came to GC from Utlaut hospital.  She has also assumed responsibilities for events like this one.  Thanks to Jo for her hard work! One week ago Mrs. Natali Rinderer joined the business office team in the position of Coordinator of Benefits and Payroll.  She combines many of the tasks previously assigned to Pam Taylor, John Liss, and Ceridian Services.  Natali comes to Greenville College with several years of payroll experience. 

Also, just one week ago, Julie Mason started in the position of part-time Student Payroll Coordinator replacing student assistants who have previously done this work.  Julie also brings to GC a background in payroll and bookkeeping with a family-owned business. 

As of July 1, Mr. Rex Catron is focusing his complete attention to the campus-wide direction of information technology and telecommunications.  This change will allow Rex to work with all campus constituencies to improve and enhance the use of technology across campus.  Kenny Hampton joined GC full-time as Director of Media and Conference Services.  Kenny will also be teaching. 

Steven McClure and Rick Murphy joined the IT staff last year as Computer Support Specialists as part of the modest expansion built in to the laptop initiative. We also welcome Jennifer Ciavarella as part-time Mailroom Assistant.  Jennifer helped out in the mailroom last year on a temporary basis.  Finally, we had a number of new staff join us in the physical plant area.  Sandy Nerelich, our new custodial supervisor, comes to GC with 20 years experience with ServiceMaster.  In addition, Ian Baird, Greg Riggins, Doris Krankel, Linda Oglesby and Mark Macon joined the custodial staff during the past year. 

For several months last fall, we employed the services of an outside accounting firm, West Inc., to analyze cash flow, balance the checkbook and provide data on finances.  With the arrival of Rick and Dana, we discontinued these services.  During the spring semester, the business office worked tirelessly to see that the books were reconciled and data was available to analyze our financial condition.  Unfortunately the analysis determined that we were significantly under budgeted for our actual spending.  A number of items that should have been budgeted in the past, simply were not included.  This meant that our budget process for this year 2000-01 would be difficult. 

In the initial stages of the budget process for 00-01, Mr. Rieder sent out budget worksheets for all budget managers to complete.  After the completion of these worksheets, they were compiled and submitted to the Cabinet for review.  The Cabinet spent some 20 hours in meetings to reconcile a budget covering operating expenses and payment on debt principal, but not fully covering depreciation.  This was acceptable to the trustees. Further work over the summer has revealed even more areas which have been historically under-budgeted and some new expenses. 

As of this date, we still have a shortfall of some $300,000.  After enrollment numbers have been solidified, we will be adjusting both budgeted revenues and expenses to represent actual enrollment.  We are hopeful that the majority of the dollars needed to cover this shortfall will be realized.  Even if we are able to do this, we must not forget that  this still means we are only covering operating expenses and principal debt payments.  We are not yet able to fully cover depreciation through our operating budget.  Because depreciation is a real expense over time, but not a cash outlay, it is this budget line which ordinarily provides cash for maintenance, capital improvements, and debt repayment.  In order to achieve financial stability we must move quickly to achieve this goal. 

Cash flow has been an area of tremendous concern since the summer of 1999, made worse in large measure because of the discovery of accounting imbalances with the US Department of Education..  We have monitored it with outside help every month since then.  We increased our line of credit at the bank to $2,000,000.  In addition, we received loans from individuals of $450,000 at the rate of 7%.  This rate is very favorable, as the bank rate is currently 10.5%. 

With careful management of our cash we borrowed $2,075,000 instead of the $2,400,000 that was projected.  $1,625,000 was from the bank and $450,000 was from individuals.  As of September 1, we were able to pay back $1,000,000 of the $2,075,000 borrowed.  This is all good news, especially considering that during this same period we completely repaid $651,000 plus interest owed the government. 

For fiscal year 1999-00 which ended this past June 30, the Board of Trustees, has changed our auditors, contracting now with the firm of Clifton Gunderson, LLC.  We have substantially reduced our audit fees this year by performing much of the work in-house.  The auditors are wrapping up their work this week and will submit their report for the Administration and Board in November.  They have taken a very hard look at our finances with a new set of eyes.  They will report an operating [not overall or even unrestricted] deficit for the year ended June 30, as there has been for the past several years. 

Even though we made substantial adjustments to reduce expenses, the budget we were operating from was unrealistic. Indeed we did reduce expenses on the order of one-half million dollars, however we had no idea that our expenses were so far under-budgeted.  This is an important issue as we look to the current fiscal year and expect and require that we live within our budget.  I believe with the newly created chart of accounts and accurate timely financial reports that this goal is attainable.  This is a goal we all must own, and I need your help and understanding as we work to make this happen. 

In a continuing program to modernize and provide accurate information, the business office is continuing the conversion to the Quodata system this year with the addition of two new modules, payroll and cash receipts.  Bringing payroll in-house will save the College several thousands of dollars. July 1, 2000 we contracted the management of our former student accounts with ECSI.  ECSI is tracking and actively billing all former student accounts.  This should aid in the effective collection of a large number of former student accounts. Just as depreciation is an expense but not real cash out, these unpaid accounts are a revenue but not real cash in, and they significantly hamper our ability to operate. 

It saddens me to think of former students unwilling to be responsible for their debt, and the impact that has on our collective work together here.  But we must be more helpful to them in providing them with the information they need, and the opportunities to do the right thing. 

As some of you heard in the recent faculty session, on July 1, 2000 the College changed its’ risk management insurance to a new company, Guide One Insurance.  This change provides the College with broader coverage as well as savings in premiums.

Some of the most visible events of the past year relate to the changes in the physical plant.  I know some are troubled by the attention given to such matters when you know of needs you believe are more fundamental.  I hope you will bring those matters to my attention.  As much as I believe the environment is a crucial part not only of attracting and retaining students but of encouraging all of us to feel good about the progress we are making, I am painfully aware there are matters of deep concern that may be overlooked.  We may not always agree with the decisions, and must beware not to confuse “listening” with “agreeing,” but at Greenville we are in this together, and I need your positive spirited constructive help. 

What an exciting year it has been:  Tower Apartments were ready for occupancy by August 25, 2000 as promised by the contractor.  Sixty upperclassmen occupy the brand new apartments.   The ones I have talked to are absolutely delighted.  The last of the ’99 bond money acquired earlier for the purpose of upgrading facilities was used in the following ways: Eighteen bathrooms were remodeled touching every dorm on campus.  Bathrooms in Joy were gutted and completely remodeled. Installation of integrated automatic fire alarm systems in Burritt, Dallas and Holtwick is complete.  Joy and Jansen are still underway. Fire escapes are in the process of being erected on Burritt and Holtwick.

The Union snack shop has been remodeled including new carpeting, to provide students with a more aesthetically pleasing environment.  Taken together with the previous year’s bond improvements (Snyder Parking, residence carpeting and furniture, Tenney basement rooms to house 20 students) the effect has a been a big step forward in our facilities.  Parents and local residents comment to me regularly, “I’ve never seen the campus look so beautiful.”  What you may not know is that much of the bond work done this summer was originally to have been done by outside contractors.  When costs made this impossible, Phil Amos volunteered to supervise and use his own crew.  Our hats go off to Phil and his team for the tremendous amount of work that has been accomplished this summer. 

I would be remiss if I did not mention the hard work and beautiful results Ella Peters gives with so much effort and so few resources.  Thanks Ella, we notice your touch everywhere.  Finally, let me add that Brent Shaw has been assisting us this summer with construction management on the Tower Apartments and new Dietzman Center. His knowledge and attention to detail has been very reassuring to us all.  The Dietzman center should have a roof on it this week and as I mentioned already, will be ready for occupancy in January 2001. Once the bookstore is moved we are planning to relocate the mailroom to the space that will be vacated by the bookstore. 

The Information Technology staff has also been very busy this summer with the conversion of records and student billing to the Quodata system.  These monumental tasks are substantially complete.  This coming year both payroll and advancement will move to the Quodata system.  This is vital to the integration of data throughout the campus, bringing to an end the conversion process begun over four years ago with the purchase then of the Quodata software. 

New technology committees have been established to provide global decision-making for technology across campus.  The five committees are: Funds Allocation, Pedagogy, Laptop program, Policy formation, and Quodata user’s group.  I look forward to seeing these groups move us to capitalize on our new reputation for leadership in technology.  Among other things I look forward to increased faculty training through the implementation of the STARS program funded last year.  

This summer also brought implementation of network printing software package that limits student printing in an effort to save costs.  And last but by no means least, as a part of the new 911 service, our phones have been converted to direct inward dial.  While this may occasion some inconvenience as we communicate our new numbers to outsiders, I believe it will present a much more professional face to those calling in.  The fewer people who hear a computer voice when they call us, the better. 

We continue to contract our food service operation with Marriott Food Services.  Sadly, Marlene Bouis will be leaving us this fall to move to New Mexico.  Both she and her husband have accepted new positions in that area.  We are currently working with Marriott to find a replacement for Marlene.  I don’t know if Marlene is nearby but you can be sure we will find an occasion to say farewell as that time approaches.

ADMISSIONS
Let me conclude with what I think may be the best news of all.   After 600 campus visitors, 15,310 phone calls, 207 scholarship competitors, and new advertising that took us to kiosks in St. Clair Mall, slides in movie theaters, ads in St. Louis metro newspapers, and KMOX radio, Admissions reports a record new freshman student enrollment this fall.   In September of 1999 we reported 215 freshmen and as of last week we show 261.  That increase of 46 is more than a 21% gain in freshmen!  By the way, we also have one and perhaps two of the new Gates Scholars from the Seattle area! 

If you add in the transfer and re-admitted students, last year we reported 307 new students.  This fall that number is 371 and that increase of 64 is again right around 21%.  This large number of non-freshmen new students is always a good thing because of the small marginal cost of adding students at the upper division level.   We were concerned that our unusually large graduating class in May meant that even with comparable retention, we would see a drop in the number of returning students by around 4%.  That did not occur.  Last September, we reported a total traditional fall headcount (FT & PT) for all four classes of 874.  This year we are showing 943, an increase of 69.  And perhaps most importantly of all, last fall that headcount translated to 857 full-time equivalent students, and this fall to 917 for an increase of 60.  So this is a new record in overall students too, over the previous all-time high enrollment of 902. 

Sixty percent of our student body comes from Illinois, and only 22 students are in the PASS Program.  I think we all owe an expression of thanks to Randy Comfort and his outstanding team of admissions counselors and staff, as well as to all those participated in the scholarship competitions for their remarkable work. 

First will all the admissions counselors and staff stand and be recognized?  And now those faculty and staff who participated in the scholarship weekends?  Finally, let me ask the coaches who have recruited so well last year to stand.  I want to add that with current GOAL enrollment of 202, and LAMP enrollment of 35 we have a total headcount enrollment of 1180!

CLOSING
Last Friday was a good day for public relations.  I was pleased to see that Greenville College was one of only 5 colleges in singled out for special mention in the Illinois section of the Chronicle Almanac issue.  They have also interviewed a number of us regarding an upcoming article on the wireless network.  On Friday I was also delighted to hear that we will receive a visitor this week from an Associated Press writer working on a story about the wireless network for the AP wire service.  I believe he will be visiting a number of classes. 

And finally, spent 30 minutes on the phone with a writer from the Christian Science Monitor doing an article on the growth of Christian colleges and the reasons behind it.  What a great opportunity to share with them our vision for a place that transforms students for lives of character and service. 

So what is the state of our college?  I want you to know that after this past year I am more aware than ever of my limitations and inadequacy for my tasks.  I want to apologize for all the times when I have failed to be the leader you wanted me to be, the leader I wanted to be, and most importantly, the leader the Lord wanted me to be.  But I also want you to know I am very encouraged.  I want you to know I am more excited and confident than ever of what our future holds.  I want you to know that each day we get better. 

In many ways this is due to the sense I have of a wonderful new cabinet team.  Encourage them when you can because they work very hard and very late.  In other ways it is due to the sense I have that so many of you are finding the patience to stay the course and work constructively with positive spirits.  But of course in an institution committed to a Christ centered education for character and service, I am most convinced it is due to the constant prayer offered to the Lord not only for our collective work but for our attitudes as well. 

Let me illustrate with another story from a few days ago.  It was the day our attorneys spoke to us.  I invited them to join me for lunch, and we went through the cafeteria line, which of course was not much of a line given that only the athletes were here.  I approached the serving line with our guests to find it bare.  Several football players were also in line waiting for a few more simple toasted cheese sandwiches to be delivered.  They were patient and quiet, but it was awkward.  I steered our guests to the salad bar, and there were no plates.  Just as I noticed it and was about to turn for help, Carol Herrin rushed up and asked what I needed, anticipating the request. 

No sooner had she attended to it than another request came to her, and she did an about face and headed off in another direction.  As she flew by me, a kind of one-woman whirling dervish, she paused, smiled the smile she always has on her face, and asked, “Dr. Mannoia, you wouldn’t have a pair of roller skates would you?” and then she was off.  That night, at about 8:30 as I walked alone along College Avenue, headed back for Joy House after dinner in a faculty home, I met Carol.  I inquired where she was headed, and she said, “Home from work; it’s convenient to live so close.”  When I remarked it must have been a long day, she replied, “Yes but a good day.”  I thank the Lord for the model of character and good attitude Carol gave me and gives many of us every day here at Greenville. 

So the state of the college is a state of transformation.  We are protecting and enhancing the best of what we have been through new efforts like the “Planting of the Ivy,” the Faculty Retreat, and the Freshman Service project.  But we are also radically and pervasively changing the way we do business.  It may be subtle and even gradual, but it is transformation nevertheless. 

The theme I have proposed is “Transforming our lives together.”  It is appropriately ambiguous.  The word together calls us to work together to transform our lives, but also calls us to work to transform our lives together.   Both are true.  The word our challenges us to transform students lives but also to transform our own lives.  Both are true.  And the theme leaves open the question of means; how and by what force is transformation done. 

The American philosopher William James, in writing about religious experience points us to our own contribution as he offers us counsel in the transforming of our lives together,

“The saints, existing in this way, may, with their extravagances of human tenderness, be prophetic. Nay, innumerable times they have proved themselves prophetic. Treating those whom they met, in spite of the past, in spite of all appearances, as worthy, they have stimulated them to be worthy, miraculously transformed them by their radiant example and by the challenge of their expectation.”  (LECT XIV & XV paragraph 105)

But the Apostle Paul reminds us of the divine contribution and speaks to us as we celebrate this theme and our mission this year when he said,

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”.  (Romans 12:1-2)

Thank you.