Join in concert, weekend activities!

Tonight, September 27, at 7:30 p.m.  at Legacy Hall, our wonderful friend, Hal Gibson, conductor of the 1976 Centennial Celebration Military Band and former CSU faculty member, will be guest conducting the CSU Wind Ensemble concert, titled "Military Connections." This will be a grand event that also honors our Assistant Rifle Coach and Olympic gold medalist Jamie Gray.

This weekend is also our annual Parents' Weekend, and there will be a range of wonderful programs, including a "screen on the green" movie at Woodruff Park, campus lectures and tours and much more.

An open letter to my Columbus State University colleagues

Columbus State University colleagues:

It is a great pleasure to share with you some of the detail regarding our recent recognition by U.S. News and World Report. This acknowledgement reinforces the goal outlined in our strategic plan to elevate our profile and performance in this most important annual assessment. I have provided you with some detailed insights below.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Georgia Summit Conference with a number of our CSU colleagues. The Georgia Summit included more than 600 University System of Georgia (USG) personnel from Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management, HR and IT. At the conference, Dr. Houston Davis, the USG Chief Academic Officer, delivered an incredibly compelling talk on the Complete College Georgia initiative.

Dr. Davis’ presentation reinforces many of the CSU initiatives that are making a difference in our national recognition and performance in retention, progression and graduation (RPG). I am sharing Dr. Davis’ presentation (PDF | PPT) for your review.

We should be proud of these efforts, which have apparently been making an impact. Consider these points about Columbus State University:

• Ranked No. 46 among public “regional universities” in the South, and No. 91 among all similarly classified universities in the South, the same ranking as University of West Georgia and Charleston Southern University.
• First time university has ever been recognized by U.S. News and World Report..
• Recognition is overdue and likely responsible to:
• Improved recognition of university and its programs by peers.
• Improved financial resources (expanded CSU Foundation allocation, endowed positions, private sector support for academic programs).
• Alumni giving rate.

• Rankings measure retention rate, 6-year graduation rate, student-faculty ratio, peer assessment, alumni giving rate, and many other factors.
• Many initiatives Columbus State University has under way to improve the university will likely also help the university continue to rise in the rankings. Examples include expanded retention efforts, continuing to increase minimum academic admission requirements, and more flexible degree completion options (Complete College Georgia).

Thank you for all you are doing for our University.

Tim

Weekend combines music, drama and football

We enjoyed a great series of weekend events on campus. I had the distinct pleasure of hearing organist, Jonathan Ryan perform in our LegacyLive! Series at Legacy Hall. In 2009, Jonathan won our Jordan International Organ Competition. Our own incredibly gifted Professor Joseph Golden introduced him, and it was a great event.

Lauren and I also had the great pleasure of seeing our terrific students perform at the Riverside Theater Complex in Anton in Show Business. The women in the cast were magnificent, and the show sold out all weekend.

Saturday, I couldn't miss watching our club football team play at McClung Memorial Stadium. It featured great weather and a great crowd.

Fall semester off to an exceptional start

I had the pleasure of seeing some exceptionally talented CSU theatre students over the weekend in a wonderful children's musical, Miss Nelson is Missing!  The cast was terrific, sets wonderful, and this was a great kickoff to our theatre season. Next up: Anton in Show Business on Sept. 20-23.

This was also the weekend for sorority rush, and our CSU Lady Cougars soccer team improved its record to 4-0 with two tough road games. Fall semester is off and running!