President Murphy Gives State of the College Address

February 2, 2009

On Monday, February 2, 2009, JSC President Barbara Murphy spoke to members of the college community about the present and future of Johnson State College. Though she acknowledged these are “sober economic times,” she said that she found many reasons to be hopeful, and proceeded to outline the six areas that would be considered priorities over the next several years:

1. Enrollment. As the college faces a smaller population of high school students and declining numbers of out-of-state applicants, it is important that we employ the best messages and strategies to recruit students who will thrive at JSC and who will commit to taking advantage of all the college has to offer.

2. Early and Ongoing Student Success. Our retention and graduation rates continue to rise, as we continue to strive to retain our enrolled students and help them to achieve their educational goals.

3. Academic Planning. The college will be using a variety of assessment tools to gauge the success of our academic programs and goals.

4. Campus Master Planning. Improvements to campus will include renovations in SHAPE, upgrading science and art labs, changes to the campus main entrance, and upgrades in buildings’ energy efficiency. President Murphy called these projects “important, reasonable and well-scaled for our campus.”

5. Development. The college will continue to support fund raising efforts to obtain outside funding for a variety of initiatives as well as scholarships and building projects. Given the current and projected level of state funding for higher education in Vermont, and the need to keep tuition as low as possible, said President Murphy, external funding through gifts and grants has the potential to be the most transformative.

6. Community Relationships. The college will continue to deepen and expand community relationships, focusing on new ways to have sustained interactions with our neighbors.

President Murphy acknowledged that these goals were ambitious, but that they were also necessary and timely. She also expressed confidence that the college would weather the current challenges.