Golfarb talks goals and future
ed komenda
Issue date: 9/24/08 Section: News
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In front of the many in attendance at Western Hall, Goldfarb took the podium and outlined the goals and future of the university.
"We need to make sure we create a fertile environment in order to plant the seeds for future generations of students, faculty and staff," Goldfarb said. "That's why we celebrate Founder's Day."
According to Goldfarb, the revised Higher Values and Higher Education Strategic Plan remains the guide for all decision-making.
"The plan's top priority is to provide faculty and staff salaries that meet or exceed peer institutions'," Goldfarb said. "This year, we received $1.6 million from the state to help allocate an additional $1.2 million to provide employees with an average salary increase of 3.5 percent."
He added that the salary increases seem to remain above the statewide average at other public universities.
Goldfarb also pointed out the future of Western Illinois' ever-expanding curriculum.
"With the number of high school graduates increasing and student recruiting becoming increasingly competitive in the state, we must, as higher values and higher education argues, have a continuous review of current and possible future curriculum," Goldfarb said
And there are many new academic programs on the horizon, he added, such as 4-year nursing and engineering programs, as well as doctoral degree programs in law enforcement and justice administration and environmental sciences.
A continued display of excellence and maintained national recognition was also discussed, as Goldfarb reminded the audience of Western Illinois' past rankings and recognitions.
"We were again a top-tier masters-granting university in U.S. News and World Report, even though we continue to admit 300 undergraduates who did not meet our minimum ACT requirements," Goldfarb said. "Still we cannot rest; we must address some key concerns."
The recent drop in freshmen enrollment was the first concern on Goldfarb's list.
"Our freshman class was smaller than our 1,900 target, but we did have an increased enrollment in the Quad Cities in transfer students and graduate programs," Goldfarb said. "We need to address why we did not meet our freshman target and developed advanced recruitment strategies, engaging all areas of our campus."
Goldfarb said a lack in state funding has made matters difficult for the university, stressing immediate action and fundraising.
"Our $60 million comprehensive campaign spanning our two campuses will, I hope, provide necessary resources for faculty support, information technologies, capital improvements and student scholarships, most importantly," Goldfarb said.
In the fiscal year 2008, Western experienced its most successful year for fundraising, raising $8.4 million, according to Goldfarb. He added that Western still needs to enhance its fundraising efforts.
Goldfarb addressed why new construction projects have been started, such as the Donald S. Spencer Recreation Center and Multicultural Center, while older projects have not been completed.
"First, I do need to remind everyone that these are projects that have been requests on Western's master plan," Goldfarb said. "For example, we have long needed a permanent home for the Gwendolyn Brooks Center, Casa Latina, the Women's Center and the International Friendship Club."
He added that the funding for the projects comes from student-supported fees and can only be used for non-academic facilities.
Goldfarb's address concluded with an outline of the university's effort to maintain campus security.
"Campus security remains a top priority, as it does at institutions across the country," Goldfarb said. "We reallocated funds to help implement the recommendations of the Campus Security Committee."
He added that although the emergency alert system, which was put to good use last spring during the shooting threat, there is still much to be done.
"We still have much to do in the coming year to maintain security; we must address ways of communicating more clearly to the campus community during times of emergency, and we must make certain that were are all trained to respond to emergencies," Goldfarb said.
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