January 10, 2024

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that each of you enjoyed a restful break and the opportunity to spend time with loved ones. 2023 just flew by, marked by notable accomplishments from our University community – faculty, staff, and students alike. As we look ahead to a promising 2024, I am truly excited about the momentum we have gained and our bright future ahead. I extend warm wishes for a Happy New Year and a welcome back to our Spring semester of 2024! Here we go…

I have exciting news to share related to spring enrollment. We anticipate a ~4% increase in overall enrollment compared to last spring, building upon our growth trajectory from the fall.  The positive trend extends to the upcoming summer and fall semesters, with record-breaking applications for Fall 2024! We continue our important work of developing our Strategic Enrollment Plan (SEP), with our second consultation taking place at the end of the month. Additionally, Carnegie will be back on campus on February 6 and 7 to present the findings from their market analysis and the branding strategy to elevate and expand our market presence. I highly encourage you to attend the sessions. More information will be provided by our central marketing team. Lastly, we continue our website redesign to ensure a seamless and engaging user experience. Thank you to all who have worked diligently to advance these critical initiatives. These strategic endeavors collectively contribute to sustained market success for Georgia Southern.

As with spring, the Georgia General Assembly convenes this week for Georgia’s Legislative Session. Over the next few months, we will be spending more time in Atlanta, helping to advocate for Georgia Southern and University System of Georgia initiatives. A crucial aspect of the Legislative Session involves the passage of the state budget for the upcoming fiscal year. This is the next step in our annual budget prioritization process. As you remember, in August we initiated this process by modeling projected budget reductions and by asking each division to assess and document their budget prioritization and needs. We will present these updates and our budget overview to Faculty Senate and Staff Council the end of this month, tying all of this information together at its current step in the process. 

At Georgia Southern we have a great story to tell of our students’ successes and their positive impact on the region. Take Kenneth Nwagu for example, an engineering graduate student who seized the opportunity to gain hands-on experience through his master’s thesis project, which involved creating a device to test the accuracy of drills, burs, and blades produced by Brasseler USA^® Surgical Instrumentation. Collaborating with Dr. Drew Snelling, Kenneth delivered the finished product to Brasseler, where it is already in use. Kenneth’s achievements underscore the significance of our advocacy for legislative support and the importance we place on fostering corporate and community partnerships. These collaborations are not only integral to fulfilling our University’s mission but also crucial in providing our students with transformative experiences that shape their future success.

I’ll finish where I started this letter — I am truly excited for 2024 and the impact we will have on our region and our state!

Sincerely,
Kyle

People. Purpose. Action: Growing Ourselves to Grow Others!