Lake State President dishes on university's plans for upcoming year

OPEN LETTER

TOM PLEGER, LAKE SUPERIOR STATE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT

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What follows is an open letter from Lake Superior State University (LSSU) President Tom Pleger to LSSU and both Sault Ste. Marie communities.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – As a new school year approaches and the students return to our community, I want to share an update with the campus and Sault Ste. Marie communities on where Lake Superior State University and Michigan higher education are heading.

LSSU is in the midst of a transformation. We are evolving to better serve our students, community, and the region. Our efforts are focused on changing our Culture, Academics, Finances, and direction towards stabilizing and growing our Enrollment (CAFE). Here are some of the initiatives we have started.

Culture. LSSU is embracing “Students First”. As the smallest public university in Michigan, we should be number one in student success and support. To that end, we have reorganized our front door student services to a “First Stop” model. This is becoming the norm in smaller institutions, allowing for greater efficiency and is an immediate point of reference for students to get help with financial aid, housing, student support and other campus services.

This summer, we opened our campus’ cultural center (the Arts Center) to the public and began to host pre-released movies. The summer movie series was a big hit with both the campus and local community. We have invested in our arts programming and will be releasing a yearly schedule of performance and production events. We were also extremely honored to host the Summer Arts Festival on our campus.

Another cultural lead being taken by LSSU is moving to a tobacco free/smoke free campus this academic year. It is important that we ‘teach’ and model healthy lifestyles for our students.

We are also changing our culture in terms of decision-making and the flow of information. The hierarchical structure has been flattened and efficiencies have been made by combining administrative and support functions resulting in a more integrated institution. We changed our communication structure and now have a campus-wide e-mail system and a new shared governance system. Starting this fall, LSSU has adopted an 8:00 a.m. free-hour that allows for campus meetings, dialogue, and a shared time period for collaboratively focusing on university business.

Additionally, an integrated marketing team has been established that connects admissions, public relations, athletics, student life, and administration to promote the institution in our community, region, and beyond.

Academics. We’ve established a two-college model. This year we founded the College of Arts and Sciences. This college will unite the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the fine arts into a single academic unit. These disciplines are the foundations of all majors and provide a broad liberal education. With this configuration, we will be able to better foster interdisciplinary experiences and thinking; as well as provide an intersection of the sciences, arts, and humanities, which is critical to our graduates’ success in a knowledge economy.

We have also created a new College of Professional Studies to house our signature professional, technical and health fields. These disciplines are in high demand and will benefit from being housed together to take advantage of shared assets, faculty, and facilities. LSSU is known for its strong professional and technical fields, and we are now organized to provide an even stronger graduate who possesses a broad-base education and focused hands-on learning.

Finances. Working closely with our Board of Trustees, LSSU has redesigned its budgeting, data collection, and analysis processes. We are going into the year with a balanced budget with revenue and expense estimates that are grounded in defensible data. The institution has developed an interconnected communication structure around our budgeting that will allow us to be flexible and responsive, analyzing our revenue and expenditures in real time. LSSU approved its first master plan for facilities in more than fifty years. This plan is a roadmap to investments in our infrastructure. The first phase in our master plan includes the completion of the South/Considine Hall renovations and developing the Center for Freshwater Research and Education.

Enrollment

LSSU is initiating an enrollment management strategy that will allow us to redefine how we award scholarships and financial aid to attract and retain students. We have also developed enhanced strategies to reach out beyond our region via digital marketing and online advertising. LSSU has flattened its tuition to “One Rate” for all North American citizens. Our marketing is focused on telling the story of all that our campus and community have to offer. LSSU’s hands-on academic programs coupled with our international setting in the heart of the Great Lakes make us the place to experience the best of Pure Michigan’s recreational activities and culture.

We are also moving to bring non-traditional/adult students back to campus to change careers, finish a degree, or simply pursue their dreams. And of course, our “Students First” initiative is aimed at retaining students by assisting them with their academic and campus life needs.

In all areas of operations and institutional outcomes, we are intentionally choosing to focus on Excellence. We are rolling out new evaluation processes that include assessment of our employees, our programs, our operations, and institutional outcomes. We need to eliminate programs that are no longer in demand and respond to emerging and future demands.

These changes are significant and dramatic. Our sister institutions, the state, and our stakeholders are taking notice. Change is sometimes difficult and challenging. It requires new approaches, ideas, and ways of doing things. It requires understanding too, knowing that not everything we try will be immediately successful. The future of LSSU is bright and the choices we are making today will benefit the university long into the future. The UP, all of Michigan, and our surrounding states are experiencing a time of dramatic demographic and economic change. Michigan’s public universities are responding. LSSU’s transformation must occur if we are going to stay competitive in one of the greatest periods of change in American higher education.

The vision for LSSU’s future is one of integration, excellence, and improved visibility. Working together along with our greater SSM community, we will make Lake State even greater.

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