Happy New Year! I believe it's going to be a good one. We have a great university to serve, a thriving community to support (and that supports us) and the intellectual power of 16,000 minds to move us forward. For sure, good things can come from this place.
The writer, Mary South, and I are kindred spirits on the subject of looking at the bright side. She wrote:
"I'd better start by admitting I am an optimist - not your run-of-the-mill, happy-face Pollyanna-type. I'm Old School - an extreme optimist of the sort that went out of style around the time of Don Quixote."
As I look toward the possibilities for the New Year, my head is buzzing with ideas and projects to move us forward. Specifically, I offer the following:
Martha's 9 Wishes for '09:
1. Increased freshman retention rate.
2. Increased graduation rate.
3. A grand opening of the Trent Lott National Center of Excellence for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship
4. External research funding in excess of $100 million
5. Increased private funding of $1 million for scholarships.
6. Funding for the first buildings on the Cross Creek campus.
7. Raises for our employees.
8. Positive national stories about our great university.
9. Locked-down plans for our Centennial celebration in 2010.