

 

TO:                  Hendrix Faculty and Staff

 

FROM:             J. Timothy Cloyd, Ph.D.

                        President

 

DATE:             June 12, 2008

 

 

We have just completed another stellar year at Hendrix. This year has been a pivotal time in the history of Hendrix, as the College has built financial and human resources to position itself as a national leader in engaged liberal arts and sciences education. As the fiscal year ends and summer begins, I would like to report to you some of the accomplishments and milestones from the past 12 months. Some highlights from the 2007-08 academic year:

 

Enhancing the academic program

Hendrix and the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences have combined forces to offer a joint BA/MPH degree program. This new program will allow Hendrix students to begin working toward a master?s degree in public health at UAMS while completing a bachelor of arts degree at Hendrix. Students enrolled in the joint program will be able to complete both degrees in five years, shaving a year off the time that it ordinarily takes. Students may enroll in the joint program beginning in the Fall 2008 semester. 

 

This new opportunity is part of a pattern of growth in the academic program. In the past five years, Hendrix has added majors in allied health, American studies, biochemistry/molecular biology, and chemical physics. In addition, we have added minors in American studies, dance, film studies and international business. We?ve added 11 tenure-track positions to support these programs and to keep our student-to-faculty ratio no higher than 12-to-1. Our goal is to add depth and breadth to the academic program to keep our college intellectually robust. It is important that we expand the areas of study we provide as knowledge expands, while maintaining our core commitment to the liberal arts. 

 

Growing enrollment

Hendrix set a new record this year for the number of applications received for admission, with 1,740 applications received by late May, compared with 1,352 for the same period last year. We expect to enroll more than 400 new students for the fall, pushing us close to our enrollment goal of 1,300. Let me assure you that Hendrix does not plan to grow into a mega-college. We value the quality of interaction between students and faculty that develops on a small, close-knit campus. However, it is economically and academically challenging to maintain a high-quality academic program with enough variety and depth to attract today?s top students to a college with 1,000 students or fewer. It is important that we grow enough to keep our programs strong and our future secure. 

 

We have academic spaces enough to accommodate at least 1,500 students, but we will need additional housing to meet our goal of housing at least 80 percent of students on campus. Currently, we are constructing student apartments at the corner of Mill and Front streets, adjacent to the Art facilities built in 2004. The apartments are scheduled to open for the Fall 2008 semester. We will also soon begin construction of two commercial/residential buildings in The Village at Hendrix that will provide additional student housing for the Fall 2009 semester. In addition, we are investigating uses for Hulen Hall, which will be replaced by the new Student Life and Technology Center currently under construction. One idea on the table for discussion is converting Hulen into residential space; another is demolishing Hulen and building new student housing in its footprint. These ideas, and many others, are under discussion as we look to the future to determine what student housing needs we will have and how best to address them. 

 

New faculty

In the past two years, we have hired 35 new faculty members, including 16 in tenure-track positions. Some of these hires replace long-time faculty members who are retiring and others fill the new positions we?ve added. With every new faculty member we hire, we try to bring something special to Hendrix ? some new interest or ability that will enhance the life of the College. Hendrix?s reputation for putting students first and the reputations of the outstanding faculty who are already here help us attract top-notch new faculty. In Fall 2008 we will welcome the following new tenure-track faculty (followed by hiring department and institution where highest degree earned):

*	William Hacker, English, Cornell University
*	Courtney Hatch ?00, chemistry, University of Colorado
*	Brett Hill, sociology/anthropology, Arizona State University
*	Megan Leonard ?02, economics and business, Texas A&M University
*	Kristi McKim, English/film studies, Emory University
*	Aleksandra Pfau, history, University of Michigan
*	Andrew Scott, foreign languages, Rutgers
*	Bobby Williamson, religion, Emory University

 

Jewish Cultural Center established

The Advisory Board for the Jewish Cultural Center at Hendrix College met for the first time on May 19. The meeting included a public announcement of new center. Programming will begin during the 2008 fall term. Through lectures, symposia, films and discussions, the center will promote a broad understanding of Jewish culture, encompassing all aspects of sacred and secular Jewish life as well as its relationship to other cultures. The center will also highlight the long history of Jewish culture in Arkansas, seeking to heighten Hendrix students? awareness of Jewish life in the state. 

 

New Distinguished Professors

Circle Sept. 18, 2008, on your calendar and plan to join us at 11:10 a.m. that morning as we install three veteran Hendrix faculty as our newest Distinguished Professors. During the convocation Dr. Jay Barth ?87 will be installed as the M.E. and Ima Graves Peace Distinguished Professor of Politics; Dr. Ian King will be named the Harold and Lucy Cabe Distinguished Professor of Politics and International Relations; and Dr. Jay McDaniel will become the new Willis T. Holmes Professor of Religion. The professorships are open due to the retirement of Dr. A. Bland Crowder, Dr. Garrett McAinsh, and Dr. Warfield Teague at the end of the spring term.

 

Odyssey Professors

The first five of 12 Odyssey Professorships have been filled. The new Odyssey Professors will begin their work in the fall and will hold their positions for one to three years. Odyssey Professors will have special funding to support their professional development and the development and implementation of faculty-student collaborative projects. The new Odyssey Professors include the:

*	Julia Mobley Odyssey Professor - Dr. Tom Goodwin, chemistry.
*	Judy and Randy Wilbourn Odyssey Professors ? Drs. Joyce Hardin, Matt Moran and George Harper, biology.
*	Morriss and Ann Henry Odyssey Professor ? Dr. Ian King, politics and international relations
*	Nancy and Craig Wood Odyssey Professor ? Dr. Jay McDaniel, religion.
*	Bill and Connie Bowen Odyssey Professor ? Dr. Tom Stanley, economics. 

 

Odyssey Projects

Hendrix students keep developing innovative Odyssey Projects that combine the critical thinking skills developed in the classroom with real world action in a way that makes learning more meaningful. In the April 2008 funding cycle, the Committee on Experiential Learning awarded Odyssey Grants totaling $97,284.20 to 25 projects. Since the Odyssey Program?s inception in the fall of 2005, the CEL has awarded more than $906,000 to support student and faculty projects. This fall, Hendrix students will explore the world of fashion design, create a limited edition comic book, and help others in the community be prepared for emergency situations. They will travel the world to research topics ranging from the development of Spanish castles to the historic architecture of Florence to the evolution of AIDS organizations.

 

Faculty Achievement 

Hendrix faculty continue to excel in the classroom and beyond. For example:

*	Dr. Jay Barth, an associate professor of politics, was named Arkansas Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
*	Dr. Mark Schantz, professor of history and director of the Odyssey Program, published ?Awaiting the Heavenly Country: The Civil War and America?s Culture of Death,? which was favorably reviewed in the April 17 edition of the New York Review of Books and the Jan. 21 edition of The New Yorker.
*	Dr. Ian King, professor of politics and international relations, wrote ?The Political Theory of Darwinism: Zoon Politikon and the Evolutionary Case for Social Democracy.?
*	Dr. Carol West, professor of English, received the 2007-08 Exemplary Teacher Award from the Division of Higher Education of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church.

 

Student Achievement

Hendrix students continue to earn accolades for their academic excellence and outstanding performance. 

 

As the semester came to a close, 19 top Hendrix students were elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society?s Beta chapter at Hendrix College. The students selected for membership in the nation?s oldest and most prestigious honor society demonstrated intellectual integrity, tolerance for other views, and a broad range of academic interests.

 

Forty-three Hendrix students were invited to present their work at The National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at Salisbury University. They were among 2,800 student presenters and faculty advisors from all 50 states and numerous territories and nations.

 

Students also continue to show a genuine concern for others. Campus Kitty, a student organization that sponsors a week of fundraising events on the Hendrix College campus, had its most successful year ever. The fundraisers netted $42,025, an increase of $6,000 over last year's total, which was a record-breaking one itself. The money is donated to local charitable organizations that serve the public good.

 

Hendrix students receiving national awards include:

*	Kelly Zalocusky, the 19th Hendrix student to be named a Goldwater Scholar in the program?s 20-year history. She is a junior biology and psychology major from Belleville, Ill. Additionally, three Hendrix students received Honorable Mention as Goldwater Scholars. They are:

	*	Adam M. Jacobs, a junior from Benton. 
	*	Bethany Edwards, a junior from Little Rock. 
	*	Luke Erickson, a junior from Chesterfield, Mo. 

*         Katie Pratt, a senior from Shreveport, La., was named a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar. She was sponsored by both Rotary clubs in Conway. The Cultural Ambassadorial Scholarship will allow her to study Spanish for three months in a Spanish-speaking country, immersing herself into a foreign culture.

*         Jennifer Tate, a senior from Germantown, Tenn., was named an American Graduate Fellow by the Council of Independent Colleges. She is one of two recipients nationwide and will receive up to $50,000 per year to fund graduate study. She plans to earn a Ph.D. in English Literature at Washington University in St. Louis.

 

An event-filled year

The 2007-08 academic year was filled with activity from beginning to end. We kicked off the year in September with former presidential candidate, basketball great, and U.S. Senator Bill Bradley as our special guest for the opening of the College?s new $23 million Wellness and Athletics Center. 

 

Next we announced a new $100 million goal for our comprehensive campaign with a Charting Progress event in Little Rock in October. Throughout the spring, we took the charting progress message to cities and towns around the nation, building momentum for the campaign, which will run through 2010. We recently topped $77 million in gifts and pledges and, with the support of alumni and friends, are moving steadily closer to our goal.

 

In March, we launched construction of a new Student Life and Technology Center expected to open for the Spring 2010 semester. Raising money to fund the $22.8 million construction cost is a key goal of the campaign. The building will house our innovative Odyssey Program, as well as providing space for the religious life programs and the Jewish Cultural Center, along with offices for student affairs staff, student organizations and student programming spaces. The building will include the kitchen and dining hall, the campus post office and a 24-hour Educational Technology Center, providing cutting-edge technology for both work and play. The ETC will connect students and faculty to their peers around the globe in real time.

 

In April, we invited the Conway community to campus for Friday Night Stix, an event that drew about 1,500 visitors to the Wellness and Athletics Center for an evening of family fun and the final home game for the College?s new lacrosse team, one of two new intercollegiate sports added in 2007-08. The women?s field hockey team played their inaugural games in the fall. 

 

In May, family and friends gathered under the oaks between Ellis and Fausett halls to hear U.S. District Judge William R. ?Bill? Wilson, a 1962 graduate, give the commencement address and to see 204 Hendrix students receive their degrees and begin their journeys as the newest alumni of Hendrix College.  

 

As the year winds down, it is appropriate to think back over what we have accomplished together. The students have gone and the campus is quiet as summer begins at Hendrix. The faculty and staff are preparing for the 2008-09 academic year and the unique set of challenges and changes it will bring. I look forward to seeing you in the coming year and I hope your summer includes time for reflection and relaxation.

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