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2002 Annual Report
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Enrollment Sets Another Record

For the ninth year in a row, Susquehanna University began the fall semester with a record-breaking enrollment. Total enrollment for the 2003-2004 academic year is 1,895, breaking the previous year's total of 1,865. Incoming students included 501 first-year students and 31 full-time transfer students. The Class of 2007 is one of the strongest and most diverse classes in Susquehanna's history. A record 29 incoming freshmen were high school valedictorians or salutatorians. Nearly 90 percent of the incoming freshmen were in the top two-fifths of their high school classes, and 10 percent -- another benchmark for Susquehanna -- describe themselves as being part of an ethnic minority group.

Doors Open to Stretansky Concert Hall

Students, faculty, alumni, and community members combined their musical talents and artistic interests at a Celebrating the Arts Weekend on February 7-9 to formally dedicate a new Center for Music and Art. Musical highlights included an inaugural performance in the 320-seat Cyril Stretansky Concert Hall. An alumni choir featuring 165 members from the classes of 1972 to 2002 joined the university's choir, chorale and orchestra for a Masterworks Chorus performance in Weber Chapel Auditorium. A Lore Degenstein Gallery exhibition, "The Art of the French Poster: Cognac, Café, and Culture," coincided with the 10th anniversary of the gallery and the adjacent Degenstein Center Theater. Funded by a grant from the Degenstein Foundation, the new Center for Music and Art offers enhanced teaching facilities that support both a new collaboration between music and art and the expanding role of the university as a community arts resource.

Center for Law and Society

The Arlin M. Adams Center for Law and Society at Susquehanna University marked its second year with a lively dialogue titled "Hate Speech: What Price Tolerance?" in March. President of the American Civil Liberties Union Nadine Strossen and Georgetown University Professor of Law Mari J. Matsuda spoke at the well-attended event, the second in the annual Arlin Adams lecture series. Strossen, a professor at New York Law School, is co-author of Speaking of Race, Speaking of Sex: Hate Speech, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Matsuda is co-author of the book Words that Wound: Critical Race Theory, Assaultive Speech, and the First Amendment. Gary S. Gildin, professor of law and director of the Miller Center for Public Interest Advocacy at Penn State Dickinson School of Law, moderated the dialogue. An educational video of the program was produced for distribution to high schools and law schools.

Resource Access Grows

Students and faculty are supporting research and complementing classroom work with a growing network of information resources through the university's Blough-Weis Library. Students and faculty had access to more than 14,000 periodicals in online, print, and microform collections in 2002-03, an increase of more than 27 percent over the previous year. Access is also easier, thanks to a new system for ordering, delivering and tracking inter-library loan materials. Usage has grown by 12.3 percent for print and microform collections, 47 percent in media collections, and 25 percent for electronic databases, a resource that has produced a dramatic, 138 percent jump in use since introduced in 1998. The library has also enhanced facilities with a renovated multimedia center for media and music collections.

Students and Faculty Abroad

Despite post-9/11 fears, a growing percentage of Susquehanna students are complementing on-campus studies with study abroad. The total number of students abroad in 2002-03 represents more than 34 percent of the junior class. One hundred and twelve students studied abroad in summer, semester, or year-long programs. The figure includes 48 students in the Sigmund Weis School of Business London Program which expanded to offer programs in both the fall and spring semesters. A dozen students and two faculty traveled Down Under in late May 2003 through the university's Focus: Australia program. Another 22 students and two faculty members spent 14 days in Costa Rica and Nicaragua over winter break as the university's 2003 Central America Service Learning/Mission Team, coordinated through the Office of the Chaplain.

Active Career Preparation

Ninety-seven percent of the Class of 2002 reported being employed or enrolled in graduate or professional school within six months of graduation, according to the Center for Career Services annual survey. Sixteen percent of the class - including 26 percent of the graduates from the School of Arts, Humanities and Communications and 22 percent from the School of Natural and Social Sciences -- entered graduate or professional school. One hundred and eighty students from all three schools registered for credit or non-credit internships through the center. In the Sigmund Weis School of Business, approximately 85 percent of students complete at least one summer internship prior to graduation.

Highly Satisfied Students

Results of the 2003 spring-term student satisfaction survey indicate student opinion of the university continues to be highly positive. Administered every other year, the survey helps to identify areas of success and also areas in need of improvement. More than 1,000 students rated quality and satisfaction in 35 areas. The highest 2003 quality ratings -- very good to excellent -- were given to the academic program (94.1 percent) and the faculty (89.1 percent). Also highly rated were faculty concern for students and academic advising. Satisfaction with fine/performing arts facilities and the first-year experience improved significantly since the previous edition of the survey. Opinions of the quality of career planning and the food service also improved, and both library facilities and computer facilities continued upward trends over the past two surveys. Reflecting a pattern in previous surveys, students again gave highest satisfaction ratings to the level of challenge in courses, the general condition of buildings and grounds, and personal safety and security of property.

Expanded and Enhanced Curriculum

Programs of study for Susquehanna students now include a new major in graphic design through the Department of Art and a new secondary education option in writing. The university now offers programs leading to secondary certification in 18 majors in addition to early childhood and elementary education. The university faculty also took moves in 2002-03 to revise portions of the Susquehanna Core curriculum, that program of broad liberal arts studies required of all students. Beginning in the fall of 2003, a new Writing and Thinking course replaced the Core writing seminar. Faculty from across the disciplines teach the new course, which has been adapted from Harvard University's required expository writing course.

A Strategic Approach to Middle States

Ongoing efforts to craft a new strategic plan dovetailed with preparations for the university's upcoming ten-year accreditation review by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. Building on a previously approved statement of strategic vision and themes, a campus-wide planning advisory group has drafted "A Plan for Greater Intellectual Engagement and a Stronger University Community 2003-2008." The faculty and the Susquehanna University Board of Directors Committee on Planning and Priorities approved the draft in the spring of 2003. The draft builds on priorities generated by eight task forces in a comprehensive self-study required to prepare for the Middle States team visit to campus in the spring of 2004.

Twenty-Five Years of Service

Approximately 1,100 Susquehanna students - about 60 percent of the student body -- participated in volunteer service during 2002-03. Collectively they contributed more than 48,322 hours - the equivalent of more than 25 years of work -- to community, national and international projects. The number of students living together in the university's celebrated volunteer Project House System increased to more than 390 members. Each member performs two to four hours of service weekly. Through "Greeks in Service," 405 fraternity and sorority members volunteered a minimum of six hours per month. Interest in service learning continued to grow with a 15 percent jump in student participation and the addition of four new service learning courses. More than 500 students, faculty and staff, including university President L. Jay Lemons, volunteered time at 38 sites in 10 communities in August 2003, marking the 10th anniversary of the freshman community service day, newly named SU S.E.R.V.E. (Susquehanna University Students Explore Regional Volunteer Experiences).

Classroom and Community Outreach

The university's Science-in-Motion program delivered hands-on science activities to more than 150 high school classes throughout the region in 2002-03. The university sponsored two vans equipped with the latest science equipment and laptop computers and staffed by a trained, certified secondary science teacher for classes in chemistry and biology. Susquehanna is one of 10 colleges and universities to administer this state-funded program designed to encourage and improve science education in secondary schools. Continued state funding for the program in 2003-04 is uncertain. The Office of Continuing Education led work to create a new Community Education Resource Center in Sunbury's Degenstein Library. Funded by a $500,000 grant from the Degenstein Foundation, the center opened in the fall of 2002. In its first year of operation a coalition of nine area educational institutions and agencies provided information about educational opportunities in central Pennsylvania to more than 650 people.

Distinguished Guests

Distinguished guests shared expertise and perspectives in a rich series of 2002-03 lectures and events. Former U.S. Sen. George J. Mitchell, who spearheaded the 1998 Irish Peace Accord, delivered the 2003 commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Also honored with degrees were Hazel J. Brobst '51 Brown, former director of the Division of Children and Youth Services in the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health; William A. Gettig, an emeritus member of Susquehanna's board of directors and president and chief executive officer of Gettig Technologies; and the Rev. Michael L. Cooper-White, president of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. International relations expert Julia Chang Bloch, former U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, was the 2002 Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow. The annual Alice Pope Shade Lecture was delivered by Robert Wuthnow, director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University. Pat Mitchell, president and chief executive officer for the Public Broadcasting Service, was the guest speaker for the annual Sigmund Weis Memorial Lecture.

Arts in Action

An eclectic series of concerts, recitals, and performances by students, faculty, and guest artists reinforced connections between academic goals and public events during the 2002-03 season. Aquila Theatre Company's A Midsummer Night's Dream kicked off an Artist Series that included the African-American dance ensemble Philadanco, the St. Olaf Band, the River City Brass Band and the Kandinsky Trio. Lore Degenstein Gallery exhibitions included French posters from the university's own collection, paintings and sculptures of Monhegan modernists, and photographer Edward Steichen's Vanity Fair portraits. The Visiting Writers series featured a record nine authors, including for the first time a writer of children's literature. A Middle Eastern film festival, complementing courses and seminars for an interdisciplinary Focus on Islam initiative and co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program, presented six recent films.

Information Technology

Significant upgrades to network infrastructure in 2002-03 have improved security, reliability and speed in information technology resources at Susquehanna. The year saw a dramatic increase in visits to the university Web site by external and internal users. The number of faculty, staff and students using BlackBoard Web-based course management software has grown significantly. The program is now thought to be part of the educational experience of more than 90 percent of Susquehanna students. Students and faculty have access to 17 "smart" multimedia-equipped classrooms and 11 computer labs. The university has also worked to refine a comprehensive information technology plan to guide budgeting and capital investment planning.

Gifts and Grants

Ongoing generosity from alumni and friends during 2002-03 provided gift receipts to the university totaling more than $5.3 million, including more than $1.7 million for the Susquehanna University Fund. Institutional grants included a $100,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust to support information technology upgrades to laboratories in biology, chemistry, and geological and environmental science. In all, more than 1,100 students a year are expected to benefit from the technological upgrades. An $18,000 grant from the William G. McGowan Charitable Fund has established the McGowan Scholars program in the Sigmund Weis School of Business. The program recognizes and supports an outstanding business student who shows potential for a lifetime of accomplishment and leadership.

A Solid Year in Athletic Success

Matt Deamer '03 captured his second MAC javelin title and competed in the NCAA Division III championships for the fourth straight year while Ryan Gleason '04 competed in the NCAA Division III Cross Country championships for the second year in a row. One hundred and ten SU scholar-athletes were named to the MAC All-Academic team. Mike Bowman '03 became the second Susquehanna athlete in three years to earn national honors as Verizon's college football Academic All-American of the Year.