By Mary Rainwater
Staff Reporter
HUNTSVILLE —
Sam Houston State University’s new president Dr. Dana Gibson gave her first “State of the University” address to faculty and staff Thursday at the new Performing Arts Center, speaking to both the challenges and opportunities ahead for SHSU.
“Sam Houston State University has a history of strong leadership,” Gibson said. “To be the 13th president in 130 years is a testament to that strength.
“We can all benefit from the foundation that our past presidents have built,” she added. “I feel so honored and blessed to build upon those great legacies.”
Gibson, who previously served as SHSU’s Vice President for Finance and Operations, feels that experience allows her to understand the workings of the university.
“Sam Houston’s strongest asset is our culture and that ‘get it done’ attitude is critical to who we are,” she said.
Gibson also recognized and praised the accomplishments over the past year of recently retired president James Gaertner, including:
• Completion of the “phenomenal James and Nancy Gaertner Performing Arts Center.”
• The fact that Gaertner was able to provide faculty and staff salary increases based on merit from a 3-percent merit pool in the face of looming reductions.
• Creation of a new College of Fine Arts and Mass Communication.
• Enrollment growth from fall 2009 to fall 2010 to an estimated 17,300 or about 3 percent, including a 100 percent increase in distance learning students.
• Being listed by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a one of only two public universities in Texas as “one of the best colleges to work for” in the nation (the other being the University of Texas at Austin).
• The commercialization of a research project for purifying wastewater that could eventually earn millions of dollars for the university in patent royalties and share of profits.
• “And last but not least, the recently completed and hugely successful $60-million-plus Capital Campaign.”
While proclaiming a tremendous enthusiasm for her new role as president, Gibson also reported that the future would not be without its challenges, especially in the area of state funding.
“SHSU could see a reduction as high as 10 percent of state funds,” she said. “Our leadership team has already discussed how best to respond to these cuts and my commitment to you is to lessen the impact on students, faculty and staff and the quality of our academic programs.
“As we head into the legislative session, our goals will be to minimize cuts, fund tuition revenue bonds for desperately needed facilities and, in the long run, improve our standing in per student funding.”
The aforementioned challenges could be countered by meeting the needs of a more diverse group of students to help close the existing education gap in Texas.
Plans to begin construction on a new classroom building in The Woodlands later this calendar year, as well as increases in online courses and degree program offerings were mentioned by Gibson as ways to meet that need.
“We are up to 351 online courses,” she said. “We’re now offering 11 master’s degrees totally online and we have a new Bachelor of Science in criminal justice beginning this fall.
“We must take advantage of these opportunities to grow our programs, sustain our quality and serve more non-traditional students.”
Future enrollment growth is likely to be among those “nontraditional students,” those over 25 years of age, working, and with family obligations, and many of whom will prefer the flexibility of online course work.
“We are poised with opportunities to educate the nontraditional student without decreasing our expectations of our students or the quality of our academic programs.
Sam’s culture of nurturing each student is as important for older and working students is it is for undergraduates on campus.”
Gibson wrapped up her address encouraging faculty and staff to “keep moving forward,” as she would be working to do through an updated strategic plan and increasing research endeavors and enrollment.
“In the words of poet John Masefield, ‘There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university, a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see’” she said.
