President Hammond sets theme for new year,
names FHSU's 2011-2012 distinguished scholar

Dr. Edward H. Hammond, president of Fort Hays State University, unveiled "Hope: The Silver Lining" as the theme for the 2011-2012 academic year during his address this morning at the annual Fall Convocation. Noting that FHSU "makes the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes," the president described how the university has overcome the difficult economic challenges of the past three years.

Another highlight of Fall Convocation was the introduction of faculty award winners -- the Faculty Member of the Year Award, the Edmund Shearer Advisor of the Year Award and, the university's highest honor, the President's Distinguished Scholar Award. The President's Distinguished Scholar, who receives a medallion and a $1,500 cash award, is selected by President Hammond from recommendations forwarded to him by an evaluation committee of previous presidential scholars. The committee is chaired by the FHSU provost, Dr. Larry Gould.

Amy Schmierbach, associate professor of art and design, was named this year's President's Distinguished Scholar. Dr. Bob Meier, professor of Informatics, was named the Faculty Member of the Year for 2011, and Dr. Amy Finch, professor of communication disorders and department chair, was named the Shearer Advisor of the Year. In addition, Dr. Jeff Burnett, winner of last year's Shearer Award, was announced as the National Academic Advising Association's Outstanding Advising Award Winner in the Faculty Advising Category. He will receive the award at the NACADA National Conference in October.

President Hammond flew in from southeast Kansas, where he was attending the annual retreat for the Kansas Board of Regents. He began his State of the University Address to the nearly 500 assembled faculty and staff by conveying thanks from the Regents chair, Ed McKechnie.

"It became obvious during the retreat that FHSU was a different sort of institution," President Hammond said. "Because of the efficiencies we have put in place, we have been able to drive down costs and we are the most rapidly growing university. As I was leaving, the chair called me aside and asked me to thank the faculty and staff for what you have accomplished. That wouldn't have happened without everyone's support, and they know that."

Explaining that he defined hope as "desire and expectation rolled into one," the president said FHSU refused to be negative. "We believe we can control our own destiny," he said.

He pointed out that at a time when it had downgraded the credit rating of the federal government, Standard and Poor's Rating Service raised the long-term rating for FHSU to an A, which is the highest possible rating for universities. He attributed the stable economic outlook to strong upward enrollment trends, tuition revenue flexibility, an extraordinarily low debt ratio of less than 1.5 percent of expenses, the high cash ratio that allowed FHSU to give raises to faculty and staff, and a strong history of strategic planning. "We make our strategic plans work," the president said. "In each plan we laid the foundation for where we are today."

The first plan -- "High-Tech/High-Touch" -- spanned the years 1990 to 2000. The high-tech component included a computerized campus, free access to the Internet, and students who were taught to be computer literate and flexible. The high-touch component included personalized advising, small class sizes and the extensive use of full-time faculty in the classroom. "In that first strategic plan, we focused on internal improvements," he said.

The second plan -- "Affordable Success" -- was in place from 2000 to 2010. It was characterized by a large scholarship program, low tuition, a placement rate of at least 90 percent every year, an emphasis on community leadership and study-abroad opportunities for students. "In the second strategic plan, we said, 'Let's grow the university,'" he explained.

The third plan -- "Forward thinking. World ready." -- began last year and will continue to the year 2020. "We aren't done yet," he said of the current strategic plan. "We've just started." He said the new plan involves commitments to growth; to life-long learning; to entrepreneurship; to intellectual fusion, which means tearing down walls and getting faculty and staff all working together; to social relevance; to global engagement; and to learner outcomes.

"FHSU is different," he repeated. "If you look back, you will see growth in enrollment, endowment and budget. FHSU carries a responsibility to continuously renew itself and has met that responsibility for the last 25 years." Enrollment more than doubled from 5,567 in 1990 to an estimated 12,500 in the current semester. The FHSU Foundation has grown from an endowment of $10,771,308 in 1990 to $51,191,280 at present. The budget has grown from $34,992,065 in 1990 to $94,184,519 today.

"We would love to call time out when we are on top and just sit there and bask in that glory," President Hammond concluded. "That is not possible. We must look for new ways and better ways to education our students. We are either getting better, or we are going to get weaker. We can be different because each of you are committed to a quality of education that we can be proud of."

The Fall Convocation, held in the Beach/Schmidt Performing Arts Center, also featured introductions of new faculty and staff and presentations by Provost Larry Gould, Faculty Senate President Chapman Rackaway and Classified Senate President Randy Kitzman.

"We've been asked to do more with less, and the administration has made a point of removing restraints so that we can do that," Rackaway said. "I worry about faculty morale, however, because you cannot continue to do that for a prolonged period of time." He noted that while it remains a rewarding profession, college teaching is under pressure from forces of change. "We must drive the forward momentum at FHSU," he said. "My goal is to continue moving the Faculty Senate forward and to turn words into action."

Classified Senate President Kitzman outlined the role of his group, which includes passing along information from President's Cabinet, dealing with new issues, such as the recent state buy-out plan, and advocating for classified employees at the state level.

Provost Gould called for a few faculty to step forward as "next generation faculty." "Faculty labor is needed now more than ever given the difficulties and changes we are facing," he said. "I think we are in a unique set of circumstances. The wolf is really at the door this time."

He explained that the notion new generation faculty had nothing to do with age. Rather, he said, it describes faculty who are prepared to deal with such challenges as the advent of the Internet, which means universities are no longer the keeper of knowledge; cloud computing, which does not require knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system; the blend of generations in high education; the transformation of the economy that requires new skill sets; new and inflated national expectations of higher education; and the need for a new learning model.

The provost and the president both urged participation by faculty in the national Red Balloon Project, which challenges American higher education to re-imagine undergraduate education.

Award money for the Faculty Member of the Year, research, service and teaching awards is provided by Tom Thomas, president of Commerce Bank, and the membership of the Provost's Council.

The Faculty Member of the Year was chosen from among the previous academic year's winners of Research, Service and Outstanding Teaching Awards. Those winners were Dr. Rick Packauskas and Dr. Eric Gillock, both associate professors of biological sciences, in research; Meier and Scott Jones, instructor of management and marketing, in service; and Burnett and Brenda Craven, instructor of English, in teaching. Each of those awards carries a $500 cash benefit. Meier, as Faculty Member of the Year, also receives a $1,000 award.