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|Fall 2005 Welcome
August 23, 2005
Dear Colleagues:
Greetings at the start of an academic year full of promise and possibility. These are exciting times at UT Arlington.
There is much to celebrate this fall. For example, we have 35 new tenure-system faculty members. These women and men, who have already begun working in every college and school on campus, are accomplished researchers and educators, and their hiring is part of a continuing effort to increase the depth of our outstanding faculty by adding to our instructional and research capacity.
I'd also like to welcome our new vice president for Student Affairs, Dr. Frank Lamas, who joins us following many years of experience in the State of New York.
This fall, we will begin launching our new communication strategies. This communication campaign revolves around an effort to "brand" the University and reposition our image. Some of the changes you are likely to see include a revamping of our university logo, enhancements to our marketing strategies, and the launching of a new university homepage.
This fall, we will continue the development of our University's strategic plan. Last fall, I hosted a number of strategic conversations with faculty members, department chairs, students, staff, and members of the community. These conversations resulted in the revision of our planning priorities and provided the foundation for the development of our strategic plan. The academic deans, using these planning priorities as a starting point, worked over the summer to draft a strategic plan which will be in place by the start of the spring semester. A draft of the plan will be made available on the Web site for comments and feedback.
While we add the final polish to our strategic plan this semester, we will also begin to prepare for our Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) Reaffirmation of Reaccredidation visit scheduled for the next academic year. Preparations for the SACS visit will be intensive and will require your participation in a campus-wide discussion related to the selection of a plan to enhance student learning outcomes. Please watch for a memo from the Provost and me in early September that will begin this critical conversation.
I'm pleased to report that construction will soon begin on the new university club, which will be located adjacent to the courtyard in the basement of Davis Hall. The club will serve food and be a gathering place for faculty and staff beginning in the spring semester 2006. Another important construction project is the impressive Chemistry & Physics Building, which will be completed this fall and open in the spring semester. It will feature an exciting, state-of-the-art planetarium.
More students than ever will be living on campus with the opening of our newest student apartments. Meadow Run Phase II, on Greek Row and Summit Street, accommodates 200 students and brings our on-campus resident population to more than 4,400—about 17 percent of our total enrollment, the highest ratio in The University of Texas System.
Finally, I'd like to encourage you to be active and engaged in campus life this fall. Yesterday's MavsMeet was a great start. I hope to see you at the MavCookout on Wednesday.
Have a great semester.
Sincerely,
Jim
James D. Spaniolo, President
