Letter from the President
Issue date: 8/25/08 Section: News
Editor's note: The following is a letter written by Western Illinois University President Al Goldfarb to both students and staff in regard to the current school year.
Dear Campus Community,
As we prepare for the 2008-2009 school year, I would like to welcome new and returning students, faculty and staff to Western Illinois University. As Elaine and I begin our seventh year at Western, I cannot emphasize enough our appreciation for the campus community's dedication and support.
As we begin a new school year, it is especially exciting to note the many new academic offerings at Western. New undergraduate and graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences and a new master's degree in museum studies are now available at our WIU-Quad Cities campus. At the Macomb campus, a bachelor's degree in religious studies is now offered, as well as the Bachelor of Science in nursing, which provides additional education to registered nurses who have completed an associate degree or a three-year diploma program. Students at WIU-Macomb also have available a new integrated undergraduate/graduate computer science program, which allows students to complete both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in just five years. We're also pleased that, at its June meeting, our Board of Trustees approved a four-year nursing degree program and a bachelor's degree in engineering. We will request approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education this fall so these new programs can begin as soon as possible. We also had our first doctoral student in Educational Leadership complete his dissertation defense this summer.
We hope you also notice the positive impact our construction projects are making on our campus. The new "green" Multicultural Center, directly south of the University Union, is progressing and we anticipate hosting a grand opening celebration in late Spring 2009. The center will house the Women's Center, Casa Latina, Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and the International Friendship Club. The expansion of the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center, which will provide enhanced recreation facilities to our campus community, is expected to be completed during the fall semester. We also anticipate continued work this semester on the Memorial Hall renovation.
Dear Campus Community,
As we prepare for the 2008-2009 school year, I would like to welcome new and returning students, faculty and staff to Western Illinois University. As Elaine and I begin our seventh year at Western, I cannot emphasize enough our appreciation for the campus community's dedication and support.
As we begin a new school year, it is especially exciting to note the many new academic offerings at Western. New undergraduate and graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences and a new master's degree in museum studies are now available at our WIU-Quad Cities campus. At the Macomb campus, a bachelor's degree in religious studies is now offered, as well as the Bachelor of Science in nursing, which provides additional education to registered nurses who have completed an associate degree or a three-year diploma program. Students at WIU-Macomb also have available a new integrated undergraduate/graduate computer science program, which allows students to complete both a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in just five years. We're also pleased that, at its June meeting, our Board of Trustees approved a four-year nursing degree program and a bachelor's degree in engineering. We will request approval from the Illinois Board of Higher Education this fall so these new programs can begin as soon as possible. We also had our first doctoral student in Educational Leadership complete his dissertation defense this summer.
We hope you also notice the positive impact our construction projects are making on our campus. The new "green" Multicultural Center, directly south of the University Union, is progressing and we anticipate hosting a grand opening celebration in late Spring 2009. The center will house the Women's Center, Casa Latina, Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center and the International Friendship Club. The expansion of the Donald S. Spencer Student Recreation Center, which will provide enhanced recreation facilities to our campus community, is expected to be completed during the fall semester. We also anticipate continued work this semester on the Memorial Hall renovation.
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