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Yesterday was my three week anniversary in my new position, and I want everyone to know that
I’m still very honored, excited, and enthusiastic about being appointed to be your interim provost and vice
president of academic affairs this year. To Dave Buchanan, I want to thank him for all of his dedication and
efforts over his five years as provost in leading us through some very difficult times, many involving financial
stress and significant personnel issues. From those efforts, I now step into this position with the confidence
that our institutional house is much improved due to his hard work and the hard work of many others. I wish
him well in his retirement! I am confident that we ARE in a good position to continue to strive to improve
and shape our academic programs and our overall university. And, the national news magazine pollsters seem
to think we’re still doing well, also. As you may have heard, the US News & World Report “America’s Best
Colleges” rankings for this year came out and SU’s placement in the “Top Tier in the North” this year is in a
tie for 38th place (last year we were 44th), and our ranking in the category “Top Public in the North” is 5th
place this year (we were 7th last year). And we were again listed in Princeton Review’s “Best 361 Colleges”
annual college rankings and in Kaplan’s Newsweek ranking. While not out yet, we fully expect to be listed
again in the Kiplinger’s ranking.
But, we all know there is still plenty of difficult work to be done to further improve our quality
given the demands of the very dynamic environment we find ourselves in today and in the coming several years.
For example, for the first time in many years, SU was not #1 in graduation rates in the USM last year!
Growth, academic identity, finances, workload, curriculum delivery, Gen Ed, are certainly on my
action agenda for this year. I firmly believe that this will be one of those years we’ll look back on as a pivotal
time in the evolution of this university. For those of you who have been here over the last several years or more,
don’t you just feel like “something” is in the air? Don’t you think that it’s time for us to really concentrate on
aligning this institution with our professional aspirations to realize that quality academic environment we all
crave? I certainly do! And what a great faculty class of 2006 we have in our new faculty to help us get there!
Let’s give them another round of applause. I’m extremely impressed with them. And a big applause to all of you
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for your diligent efforts in seeking out and hiring these new colleagues that will join with us in shaping the future
of this university. From issues of academic quality while growing or not, from academic curricular reform to a
higher level of academic culture, from systemic salary advancement to realistic operational budgets, from more
time for professional development to continued service, I think we are poised for that “something” to happen this
year, and I want to be a part of the leadership process that takes us forward. To lead and facilitate the way, my
staff and I will work closely with your deans and I will use all of my experiences at this university, this System,
and this State, along with my knowledge of higher education issues across the country, to help Salisbury
University develop its focus and mature into a smoother functioning “institution of national distinction” in higher
education.
As interim provost, I remain fully dedicated to the well being of this institution. I love this
institution. And as interim VP of Academic Affairs, I will do my best to further our academic mission. In both
positions, I want to “git ‘r done” right, but I can’t do it right alone; I need and ask for your help. My mission is
about you and your students, the pursuit of knowledge, and the future of this institution. But just so you don’t
think I’m all warm and fuzzy, let me give you a quote I like from Bill Cosby: “I don’t know the key to success,
but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”
But enough about ME! It’s YOU, the faculty, who ARE the heart of this university. YOU pump
the university’s life’s blood, the curriculum, which carries the knowledge, the stimulation, and the ability to
acquire knowledge to all of the cells of the body, our students. You are truly a wonderful faculty! Makes a
provost proud! But a heart can not function and survive on its own. It has to be housed in the protection of a
skeleton with supportive organs, connective tissue and muscle, and it must have energy to function. It has to be
part of an organized, connected system. I especially look forward to working with the president and her staff,
Ellen Zinner and Len Foxwell, and my colleague vice presidents of administration and finance, Greig Mitchell, of
student affairs, Ellen Neufeldt, and of university advancement, Rosemary Thomas, as they and their staffs work
hard toward supporting the mission of this institution. The academic program and its faculty are the permanent
core of any university, but a university never reaches true eminence without dedicated, quality, support services.
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Our Administration and Finance folks work to insure that we have the necessary quality buildings and services
(the skeleton and supportive organs) for our courses, research, and offices, and the basic dollars (the energy) to
keep them running, as well as paying our salaries, operational budgets, etc. Our Student Affairs staff are
recruiting, organizing, fostering, stimulating, and helping to retain our students (the cells of our body). And our
Office of University Advancement is there to seek out private sources of money and facilities (the muscle) to
make this institution strong and distinctive, and to keep our alumni connected to their alma mater.
Let me give you just a glimpse of some exciting things that these folks are doing in support of
our academic program:
In the A&F area, ground is being broken for the TETC as I speak! We expect to be occupying
the complex in the fall of 2008. The TETC will include tiered classrooms with seating capacity of 60, 80 and 120
seats; a “mega computer lab ” with over 120 stations; teaching methods labs; a Distance Learning Center; a multimedia Reading and Re sources Center; an Adult Education Center and an integrated media center for multi-media
instruction and production. The FY 2007 Capital Improvement Program appropriated $49,589,000 for
construction with $3,650,000 programmed for equipment in Fiscal Year 2008. On a dark note, while we will
have a fine building, construction cost escalation has eroded some of what we had hoped for in quality. The
president & VP Mitchell continue to seek additional capital funding in next year' budget to restore some of this.
- In other news: The new Perdue School Building is currently expected to be completed by
Summer 2011
- The Shoreland property has been purchased & discussions will be under way this year on how
to utilize that space for anything from fine arts to sports activity center to parking garage to whatever.
- And the university’s budget for this year…..well, it looks good, thanks to increased funding for
our enrollment growth and new tuition dollars. But we need to be cautious because it’s an election year, and the
continued strength of the national economy is still not a given.
In the Advancement area:
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- As you all may be aware, the SU Foundation kicked off a multi-million dollar Capital
Campaign on June 2. I hesitate to say the dollar goal they used since they are fast approaching it and will be
strategically thinking about how and when to raise the bar even higher. At this point they are looking at a $25M
campaign but as I said... that number will be going UP! The major facets of the campaign should come as no
surprise to anyone as they are related to the campus strategic and master plans. The TETC and the Perdue School
building will be the capital projects at the center of the campaign. Scholarship support in terms of student
scholarships and various forms of faculty support will be another key element. Additionally, support for the
Library, Fine Arts, Athletics and overall Campus Enhancements and Campus Outreach will round out the mission
of this fund raising effort.
- This campaign is part of a $1.5B effort on the part of the USM and the books will close in
2011... so stay tuned about our progress. Be part of it by giving to what you find to be the most interesting.
- In addition to the Capital Campaign, the faculty of SU is fortunate to have the continuing
support of our Foundation for the purpose of grants and scholarships. You may recall that during the downturn in
the market the Foundation was forced to suspend the grants program - but they immediately re-instituted that
program when the market recovered somewhat in the past couple years. More than $30,000 was given last year
by the Foundation to the faculty for research, professional development and conference support.
While we’re talking financial support, I’d like to bring up here another organization of support
for faculty professional activities that is a branch of the Provost Office: The Office of University Research
Services. During the past five years alone, SU through your work has brought in over $21 Million in grant dollars.
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This funding has enabled us to:
- Facilitate faculty scholarly research;
- Initiate curriculum reform;
- Coordinate community outreach with local schools and community-based
organizations;
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- Enhance program accreditation and our reputation as a comprehensive
university; and
- It has involved, literally hundreds of our students in undergraduate research
projects and applied learning experiences

During FY06 we submitted 132 grant proposals and contracts to Federal, State,
Corporate, Foundation, and Local Government Agencies.

Approximately 25 percent of faculty members are involved in grant activity as
PIs, Co-PIs, Program Evaluators, and Consultants

Eighty-four (84) of our applications were awarded to total over $3.8 Million

Over $2.2 Million is still pending.

The objective has been to increase submissions to federal agencies; FY06 shows
eight (8) applications for research funding to NSF, but they have also targeted the
U.S. Dept. of Ed, NOAA, EPA, NASA, NIH, and the DoD.

Working toward a one-stop-shop, combining pre-post functions, and changing
their name to University Research Services and initiating cross-training is by far
their greatest accomplishment for FY06.

The five most productive “Centers” (CFCL, BEACON, ESRGIS, Child Care
Resource Center and the BST Lab) account for 34 percent ($1,309,983) of our
total award dollars.
I now turn to the Office of Student Affairs, which essentially closes the loop in why we’re here, the wellbeing, positive progression, and successful future of our students. Our Division of Student Affairs builds
meaningful relationships with students prior to arrival on campus, then in and out of the classroom through
graduation, in an intentional effort to foster student success. The Division of Student Affairs is committed
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to assisting students as they prepare for meaningful careers as well as challenging students to engage in
activities and organizations that facilitate personal growth, develop successful life skills and contribute to
civic life. New student traditions New Student Experience, our amazing athletics teams, the First Year
Experience, counseling services, and career services, are just a few of the many programs our Student
Affairs Division operates. Something new you may have heard about that happened over the summer was
that the reporting line for the Dean of Enrollment Management organization was changed from the provost’s
office to the VP of Student Affairs Office. To be honest, I was skeptical at first fearing that the provost
office would be less aware of admissions operations, and the continued a tight relationship between the
Registrar’s Office with the deans and department chairs would be eroded. But in discussions with VP
Neufeldt and Dean Dané, my fears have been allayed, and more than that, I think this new organizational
arrangement will help better integrate academic affairs and student affairs to the benefit of our students, and
our faculty. With this reorganization, we are conceptualizing a framework of support and integration for
students from their recruitment, to their social and academic lives on and off campus, through to their timely
graduation and on to employment or professional schools. Working with VP Neufeldt, I will endeavor to
strengthen and integrate student affairs services with the success of your students in your classes to build the
academic culture we desire on this campus.
As to our incoming students this year, we have already met our required increase for growth this year. And,
there has been a dramatic improvement in building a more diverse student body. Our incoming class has a
scene an increase from 15 percent minorities last year to 19 percent this year. Outstanding! As for the total
amount of scholarship dollars given, we have awarded nearly $900,000 of need- and merit-based
institutional and foundation aid to new students for this year compared to $700,000 last year. We need to do
better there! And what about the SAT? Ours dropped this year. Well, you know, there is great controversy
across the nation about the new SAT and its impact on the student test taker. The cost for the test increased,
the time was extended, and the scores are a bit softer than in past years due to fatigue and because many
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students opted to take the ACT as an option, or chose not to retake the SAT, thus reducing the "repeater
SAT's", which could reduce an individual's score ~ by 30 points. SU is among a group of schools who have
noticeable differences in SAT scores, coincidentally a 30 point difference, for their applicants and enrollees
than in the previous year. The College Board is aware of the pattern and is still investigating any other
reasons behind it. The College Board did indicate that last year was an aberration in high scores across the
nation, as we also experienced at SU. If we compare to two years ago, then the difference narrows. This
morning on the news was a report the George Mason University in Virginia has decided not to require their
new incoming students to submit an SAT score. A 3.5 GPA and being in the top 20 percent of their high
school graduation class will do it.
Now let me say a few words about governance, or that sometimes illusive in-the-mind of the beholder,
shared governance. I intend to work very closely with your Faculty Senate, the Staff Senate, the SGA, and
ultimately the Forum to engage us in the operation and direction of our academic enterprise. And let me be
very clear about this, I will endeavor to NOT support the ILLUSION of shared governance. Please join
with me in trying to make that a reality! I need your help!
We are gathered here today following 80 years of evolution of this institution. Over those 80 years there
have been several landmark transitions in the nature and name of this institution. Some, I’ve been a part of
in my time here, and I submit to you that we may well be at or approaching yet another one of those
landmark transitions. Transitions happen through change. Good institutional transitions happen through
sincere systemic discussions with final decisions on change coming through consensus building. How we
proceed will have a significant impact on the quality of our lives and the nature of this institution. One of
my goals this year is to improve on the understanding and connection between the thinking and actions of
the upper level administration in our decision making processes with that of the rank and file faculty and
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staff. In my opinion, there’s not enough plain face to face talking going on around here where we engage in
civil, let me emphasize CIVIL, candid discourse on the thorny issues that hold us back, and more
importantly, candid and extensive discourse on the direction of this university. I want to put reality back
into our sense of community; I want to put trust back into our community. Community: an association of
individuals who share common goals, values, and interests. And communication: an exchange of
information using a common language. COMMUNIS - Common goals achieved through a common
language. You should expect, and demand, to see me around campus a lot this year, listening and
communicating, trying to improve our communication to strengthen our community.
As I conclude my remarks, let me leave you with a challenge. A long time colleague of mine shared this bit
of ancient philosophy with me recently, and I think it is very appropriate for how I see us going forward.
There was a very old and wise philosopher in ancient China who was renowned throughout the kingdom for
his ability to tell the future. Eventually a younger competitor came along and challenged his abilities. In the
final face-off between the two, the young man held out a bird, saying to the elder “You, who are so wise,
tell me the future of this simple bird." “Tell me its fate.” The old man looked at the bird and quickly
realized that if he said the bird would live and prosper, his rival would squeeze it to death. If he said the
bird would die, it would be set free. Finally the old man responded “you ask of me the future of this bird.
Why ask me?? The bird is in your hand.” And so I believe it is so at SU, the academic future of this
institution is in your hands, and the question is “what will you do?” So I challenge YOU, the faculty, to
take a proactive role in all of the discussions and the decision-making processes that we must pursue. And
please remember, hand in hand with decision-making authority is responsibility and accountability. You are
in the profession of higher education. I will expect you to remember to be professionals. I, as the chief
academic administrator, am here to help lead the process and work for you. But at the same time, I need
each of you to take on the responsibility of working with the president and her executive staff in being the
crafters of this institution’s quality and future. Your deans and I hope to work very closely with the Faculty
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Senate, department chairs, and all of you in the deliberative processes that will help shape our future. First
and foremost, our community needs to fully define our academic identity. Recently, as a faculty, you’ve
certainly shown how involved you can be in that endeavor, witness last spring’s course-based curriculum
vote process. For one of those of us who like to talk from time to time about the “good old days” of this
institution, last year’s discussions, debates, and vote on the curricular transformation were the most
stimulating academic events I’ve witnessed since, yes, “the good old days!” I will end with a quote from
somebody called Anonymous: “You don’t have to be great to get started, but you do have to get started to
be great.” I’ll leave you with a final thought from another age. Hit it, Chris! (“Be True to Your School,”
Beach Boys, 1965).
Dr. Tom Jones
Interim Provost
Delivered August 24, 2006