Welcome to the start of the 2014-15 academic year. We are excited and look forward to starting the new year with new programs, new facilities and new opportunities for you.

We are continuing to look toward implementing new programs that will provide additional majors that are in demand. Building on the success of the computer and software engineering programs, this fall we will forward a proposal to the Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education for a new electrical engineering program. I am hopeful that the proposal will be approved by the Board soon and, if approved, we will enroll the first students in Fall 2015.

I am also happy to report that we have received the green light to develop and submit a full proposal to the State System for an entrepreneurial leadership major in the John L. Grove College of Business. This program is currently only a concentration.

I know that campus is not as organized as it normally is due to the continuing work on replacing our heating and cooling systems. With the fences, trenches and road detours, moving around campus is and will be challenging this year.

As much of an inconvenience as those are, when the project is finished, it will allow us to provide heating and cooling not only more efficiently, but also more cost-effectively with a savings of more than $300,000 and reduce our carbon footprint by about 40 percent. I know it’s not the campus any of us are used to, so I ask that you please bear with us in the coming months.

As we start the new year, I encourage you to fully participate in all aspects of campus life, both inside and outside of the classroom. By fully participating in those opportunities, you will enhance your Ship experience.

During the year, I will have open meetings throughout campus and invite you to stop by those meetings to ask questions or offer suggestions. It’s great to have you here and I wish you the best.

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