Office of the president

2009 Convocation address

President Gregory L. Geoffroy
Sept 21, 2009

It's once again my pleasure to welcome everyone to this ceremony, especially our award recipients and their family members and friends. I also want to acknowledge the participation of David Miles who serves as President of our Board of Regents.

We're coming off another excellent year at Iowa State, which is truly remarkable given the budget cuts that began midway through the year and continued with our final state appropriations.

To begin, I want you to know that I personally am extremely proud of how the university responded to the budget challenges, and I am deeply grateful for the input and for the support that we received, from faculty and staff and students all across the university, as we made the difficult decisions to deal with these challenges. Despite the budget reductions, we did make remarkable progress in several key areas, and I want to mention a few of the most significant ones.

First, we had another terrific year in recruiting new students, and this fall we welcomed to campus almost 6,000 new freshmen and transfer students, bringing our total enrollment to 27,945 students, the largest in the history of Iowa State.

Enrollment highlights

Some special highlights include:

• a 3% increase in graduate enrollment, setting a new record;
• a 36% increase in international new freshmen, yielding a record international student enrollment, along with record enrollments in Veterinary Medicine, in U.S. minority students, and a 30-year high in enrollment for our College of Agriculture and Life Sciences;
• and our entering freshmen class had an average ACT score of 24.9, also the highest ever, showing an increase in quality along with overall numbers.

I deeply appreciate the hard work of everyone involved all over campus in recruiting these students, and especially the professionals in our Enrollment Services Office. It truly takes a team effort.

When I visit with our alumni and friends, and address Rotary Clubs and other organizations across Iowa, I always remind them that this success in attracting students, more than anything else, illustrates the strength of our "brand," our reputation and the perceived excellence of Iowa State, and it shows that young people and their families continue to see a great value in an Iowa State education and are choosing us over other options.

I also never fail to remind everyone that we continue to enroll more of Iowa's high school graduates and more transfer students from Iowa's community colleges than either of our two sister institutions or any university anywhere; that we continue to serve Iowans and Iowa, and we are very proud of that!

Sponsored funding up 11%

I am also extremely proud of our faculty and staff's work in contributing to the incredible year we had in sponsored funding. Last year we raised $305 million, an 11% increase over the previous year and our largest annual amount ever. An 11% increase in any financial indicator in these times is very positive.

This success in sponsored funding is a testament to the high regard in which our faculty, staff and programs are held in the external world, and as we successfully competed against other institutions and organizations for that funding, we should all take pride in that achievement.

Gifts provide 600 new scholarship programs

We also had another very good year in private fund raising, in spite of the economic downturn and the impact that it has had on people's wealth. Our goal this past year was to raise $125 million, and we exceeded that by almost $3 million. And we continue to make great progress on our comprehensive fund-raising campaign, where we now stand at $711 million, 89% of our way to our $800 million goal, with more than 15 months left in the campaign.

And while the dollars raised are important, it's the impact that the private fund raising has that is far more important, and to date, funds raised in Campaign Iowa State have resulted in nearly 600 new scholarship programs for students, 60 new endowed faculty positions since the beginning of the campaign, support for many important academic and research programs, and support for many capital projects, including:

• Hach Hall,
• Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center,
• our new Alumni Center,
• the beautiful new addition to Coover Hall,
• the King Pavilion for our College of Design students,
• the BioCentury Farm,
• Seed Science Center addition,
• our new basketball practice facility,
• and the improvements to Jack Trice Stadium,
• among many others.

It is a very impressive list of projects made possible by this fund-raising campaign, and we continue to be deeply grateful for this faithful support of our alumni and friends.

Live Green launch

Another important activity last year was the launch of our "Live Green" initiative, and it got off to a great start with the appointment of Merry Rankin as our director, with the inspiring Sustainability Symposium we held last winter, and with the many energy efficiency and sustainability improvements that were implemented all over campus. This is an important effort, and as a public university, it is essential that we lead by example, and not let up, because there is so much work to be done.

Academic milestones

This past year, we also celebrated many significant milestones and recognitions in our academic programs:

• the College of Business's launched its first Ph.D. program;
• the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences launched nation's first Global Resources Systems major;
• Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Interior Design were once again listed among nation's best programs;
• and several of our graduate programs were recognized as outstanding by US News & World Report, led by Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and Statistics, ranked second and third, respectively, among all public universities.

Student recognitions

I like to brag about how our students make us proud, and last year many individual students and many of our student organizations received national recognition, including:

• the Iowa State Daily was named top college newspaper in the nation;
• the Ag Business Club was ranked No. 1 in the nation for third consecutive year;
• the Materials Science and Engineering student chapter was named top national chapter for the fifth consecutive year;
• and the National Agriculture-Marketing Association Chapter was named National Outstanding Student Chapter for the second year in row.

Just ahead

And just ahead are several exciting success markers, including:

• tomorrow's dedication of the new facilities at our BioCentury Farm;
• also tomorrow, the formal ribbon cutting on the beautiful new student dining facilities on the east side of campus -- Seasons Marketplace;
• family weekend this weekend, with lots of parents on campus with their sons and daughters;
• and the finals of the Solar Decathlon competition will be held in Washington, DC, Oct 9-18th where our students will showcase their work and compete for the top national awards.

Before moving on to the current year's agenda, I want to thank once again the entire university community for making all of these and many other successes possible, and for keeping a positive, optimistic attitude while we continually strive to move ahead in spite of the difficult economic challenges. It's just a great Iowa trait!

These are trying times and in times like these, one's "attitude" makes a huge difference, and I am very proud of the "let's just get to work and together determine how to deal with these challenges" attitude shown by you and the rest of our colleagues, and with that continued attitude, we will prevail and succeed at the highest levels!

Let's now turn to the year ahead, where I see three major areas that will command so much of our attention all year long.

First, we must successfully handle the budget challenges -- those with us now and those yet to come.

Second, we must carefully and thoughtfully chart our course for the future as we develop our next Strategic Plan.

And third, we absolutely must continue to keep a strong focus on excellence and impact in everything we do.

More belt tightening likely

Let's start with the budget situation. This year we must continue adjusting to the budget reductions that have already been made, and the staffing and program changes that have occurred across the university that are affecting all of us in one way or another. But we must also prepare for what lies ahead -- the certain run-out of the federal stimulus funds, the looming possibility of a mid-year cut in this year's state appropriations, and even further belt tightening as we look to FY11.

As I am sure you know, much of the federal stimulus funds we received have been used to replace lost state funding for a number of programs and lost salary support for many positions and the people who fill them. It's a way to give us time to search for alternate funding sources for those programs and positions, and I know that in many cases alternate sources are being found. But everyone must realize that those funds will disappear on June 30th and if other funding sources have not been found, then those programs and positions will have to be eliminated, and we just must be ready for that.

Reversion possible

If you've been following Iowa's budget situation, you also have to know that the state continues to face a serious shortfall, and there is the very real possibility of a significant mid-year reversion in our state appropriations. We will learn more after the Oct. 7th revenue estimating conference, but no one should be surprised if, after that, we are asked to absorb a mid-year reversion.

I have been working with the university's leadership team to evaluate various options for dealing with such a cut if it comes, but so much will depend on how large it is and when it is that we learn it. But I promise to keep you well-informed as that situation unfolds. And everything we hear also indicates that budgeting by the state for FY11 is going to be difficult, with the possibility of even further reductions as that budget is put together.

It promises to be a very challenging legislative session, but I can assure you that we will do our absolute best to convince our elected leaders of the importance of preserving the excellence that we have worked so very hard to grow here at Iowa State, and how damaging further reductions would be.

Higher ed landscape is changing

When one considers what's happening here in Iowa and all across the United States in funding for public higher education, it is clear that the landscape for higher education is changing, and the real challenge for all of us is how to best adjust to those changes and to the new fiscal realities while staying true to our mission, and still finding ways to fulfill it at the highest levels of excellence and impact. We simply have no choice but to decide what it is that we can do best, exactly where we want to be a strong leader, and then focus sharply on those areas while letting other areas go.

Since the budget crisis started and cuts had to be made, I've been asked so many times the question: "How can we be expected to meet all of our responsibilities, with fewer people and with less support?" I try to answer that by pointing out that this is a time when all of us have to start thinking differently, as individuals and as units. First we have to look for new ways of doing things -- think outside the box -- finding efficiencies where they can be had, including using modern technologies. And most importantly, we must prioritize our activities and responsibilities so that we focus on the truly important ones, while stopping activities that in the past may have been important, but that are no longer at the top of the list.

I know that it can be very difficult to do -- for individuals and for departments and units to let go of programs and activities that we've been so strongly attached to, and to give up the "entitlements" that many of us have become accustomed to. But in these times we have little choice but to do that.

The world of higher education is changing, and we simply have no choice but to change with it. Those individuals and those institutions that embrace change and pursue it energetically and smartly will prosper, while those that don't will fade. We must make sure that Iowa State University is clearly among the former!

Strategic Planning even more important

A second major priority for this year -- one that so much builds on those remarks -- is that we must carefully and thoughtfully chart the course for our future as we develop our next Strategic Plan. And it's in times like these that strategic thinking and strategic planning become even more important.

The key planning committees have been appointed by Provost Hoffman and have started their work, and there will be lots of opportunities for campus and constituent input as the planning progresses and as the new Strategic Plan is developed. And as it is being assembled, it is important that we keep in front of us the elements that I asked to be included in the plan:

• That we look to where we want Iowa State to be in 2050, and that we lay out the near term actions that will move us in those directions;
• That by 2050 we must be a powerful magnet for attracting outstanding faculty, staff, and students to join us;
• That by 2050 we must be recognized around the world for the impact we have had and are having in addressing the major issues facing our planet -- in energy sufficiency, food security, water availability, infrastructure, sustainability and climate change, and animal and human health;
• And that we be regarded as a treasured resource for Iowa, for our nation, and for the world.

That's our ambition, and that's what we must plan to achieve!

And finally, this year we must continue to keep a sharp focus on excellence and on having a high impact in everything we do, despite the budget challenges and the difficulties they cause. This is extremely important, and we must not let the economic recession and our own budget challenges cause us to lose focus on being a truly outstanding university. We must maintain our high standards and high expectations, for individuals and campus units, and we must continue to encourage everyone to achieve at a high level, like those honorees we will celebrate in a moment.

Iowa State is a great university, and I would argue that we are one of the best universities in the world in fulfilling the land-grant mission. We must continue to maintain that leadership, and I am convinced that we will, because of our terrific students, our focus on providing them with an outstanding education; because of the tremendous support that we receive from our alumni and friends; and most of all, because of the outstanding work of our colleagues, like those we are honoring today.

Thanks to all of you, and thanks for everything you do to make Iowa State the great university that it is!