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September 18, 2008 — Back to Normal

Dr. Joseph Savoie -- Thu, 09/18/2008 - 3:05pm

Dear Faculty & Staff,

Getting back to a normal routine this week has certainly been a welcome change. It is my sincere hope that you and your family were not too adversely affected by the recent storms. There are many families, including those of our students, who are still cleaning up and trying to get their lives and property back to normal. If you are dealing with staff members or students in such a situation, thank you for being as understanding as possible.

A Special Note of Gratitude

I was impressed with the professionalism and team work of our staff during the hurricane preparations. There is a core group of men and women…staff and students…who work diligently behind the scenes to ensure that university students and property are taken care of before, during and immediately after a storm. This enables other employees to tend to their homes and families. There are far too many to acknowledge individually in this forum, but I am grateful for their work and want to acknowledge Joey Pons, campus safety director, and other employees in the following areas who remained on duty throughout the storm: academic affairs, student affairs, student personnel, information networks/technology, housing, university police, maintenance, student union, parking & transit, food services, public relations, NIRC, CADE farm, and international affairs. If I missed an area, please excuse the oversight and know that all are appreciated.

Early Semester Observations

It was exciting to have so many students back on campus and I enjoyed the first day of classes when I had the opportunity to meet our students at the Cajun Field bus stop and on campus. Their energy and enthusiasm was contagious. I thank you for your extra effort to assist our students, particularly the new ones. Whether it was with help to find buildings, volunteering to serve as a mentor, handing out fruit and donuts on the first day, or organizing activities like Welcome Week, every action was important and appreciated. I’ve shared my thoughts about ways we can enhance those first few days of school with the staff in the appropriate areas, but if you have an idea to share, please do so by replying to this email.

Your Email Messages

Regarding the emails I’ve received over the past few weeks, please know that I appreciate and read every one. I regret that I cannot always respond personally, so you may hear from Liz Landry with answers to your questions. Liz, in her new role as my executive assistant, is responsible for overseeing the operations of the President’s Office, handling special projects and managing my schedule. I will often depend on her to troubleshoot and gather information.

Transition Advisory Team Recommendations

In my last email to you I said that future messages would discuss specific ways we’d respond to recommendations of the Transition Advisory Teams. One such recommendation being addressed now comes from the Student Issues Advisory Team and the recommendation was to create an enrollment management task force to address recruiting, enrollment, retention and graduation rates. A task force has been formed and the university is working with Kevin Crockett, president of Noel Levitz, the nation’s largest strategic enrollment management firm. Mr. Crockett is on our campus this week working with staff from across the university. With his guidance over the next several months, we will put into place structures and strategies that will help us meet ambitious enrollment, marketing and student success goals (more to follow).

Upcoming Events

Recently you should have received an invitation to a reception at the LITE Center on September 25 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The reception is being hosted by the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission to thank UL faculty and staff for bringing conventions, meetings and special events to the area. All employees are welcome, so please plan to join us.

I hope to see you at our first home football game this Saturday at 6 p.m. when the Ragin’ Cajuns take on the Kent State Golden Flashes. Remember…Wear Red!

Dr. E. Joseph Savoie
President
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

president@louisiana.edu