Today@Sam Article

Academic Year Kicks Off with President’s Opening Remarks

Sept. 3, 2024
SHSU Media Contact: Emily Binetti

President Alisa White of Sam Houston State University kicked off the new academic year by addressing the campus community at the annual Faculty and Staff meeting on Aug. 29.

Offering a reflection on the past year's key achievements White's presentation showcased notable accomplishments by faculty and staff, along with significant research and work anniversary milestones.

“Over the past year, SHSU secured 86 grants, totaling $32.1 million in funding. This is remarkable given the fact that our total funding in 2018 was $6.9 million. That’s a nearly five-fold increase in six years,” White said.

Success from the College of Osteopathic Medicine was also featured. The college graduated its inaugural class of Bearkat medical doctors, with the Class of 2024 achieving a 100% placement rate into residency programs.

“The college received the highest level of accreditation for ten years from the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. No other newly created osteopathic medical school has ever achieved this distinction,” White said.

White also remarked on the victory of University Advancement’s first Day of Giving event, raising more than $237,000, and the success of Integrated Marketing Communications with the debut of the first phase of an extensive rebranding initiative.

Unique circumstances in enrollment were acknowledged by the president as she thanked faculty and staff who embraced strategies to help students enroll.

“Universities across the country have been dealing with challenges related to rolling out the new FAFSA application, and throughout the ordeal, our division of Strategic Enrollment and Innovation worked to keep families and prospective students informed,” White said.

Construction updates mentioned included the addition of 192 apartments to the student housing inventory, progress on the future Health Professions Building in Conroe, planning stages for a new university hotel and the Active Learning Building.

The president welcomed Dannie Moore as the new vice president for Student Affairs, and complimented the entire Student Affairs team for their efforts in boosting Bearkat Camp to serve 300 additional students.

White applauded the success of SHSU Athletics for numerous accomplishments during the Bearkats first year in Conference USA and expressed her excitement for the future with transformations underway to enhance experiences for fans. This included upgrades to the university’s athletic facilities.

Highlighting each point of the strategic plan, White stressed the university’s roadmap to success by focusing on initiatives that directly reflect progress and move the university forward.   

“Across many areas, our university is on track, or ahead, on our journey to accomplish big things. Our forward-looking strategic plan is influencing the direction and pace of our progress,” White said.

Specifically, the university will embrace internal community-centric efforts such as its ELITE and evolve programs, which empower students from all backgrounds to find academic success through SHSU’s hands-on approach. The university also continued its external prestige and is ranked in the top 8% of colleges and universities nationwide for community engagement.

Outside the classroom, White highlighted the university’s historic and contemporary efforts to serve its broader communities.

“We answered the call when the state needed to train forensic scientists, criminologists and cybersecurity experts to address crime and cyberterrorism,” White said. “We answered the call to produce more primary care physicians, especially for rural and underserved populations.”

Along with the Health Professions Building, White pointed to the new state-of-the-art Dominey Observatory, one of only three wheelchair accessible space observatories in the entire region, as a prime example of the university’s enhanced local and state influence.

She likened tireless efforts to meet state and national demands in the science and healthcare industries to commitment to veterans in need of a supportive university environment. SHSU received enhanced rankings for their efforts in this space, including the 2024 Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Gold Award presented by the Texas Veterans Commission.

“Sam Houston State University has always answered the call. We will continue to be asked to solve problems” White said.

The president segued into many of the obstacles facing the education community, and society as a whole, including teacher shortages, wage gaps and misinformation. She sought to remind listeners of higher education’s unique role in solving issues of the highest demand.

“Universities are keepers of institutional, cultural and government memory. We must provide accurate instruction of history in context so that our people understand how the world came to be as it is today. Higher education is a public good; it benefits communities by educating citizenry, engaging with community partners, reducing public support needs and investing in economic development.”

Assessment of these external obstacles included the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, which White said will be felt for an entire generation. She pointed at the latest State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) results, which showed a 21 percent collapse in math and science performance since 2019.

“Statewide, nearly 600,000 students in grades three through eight are below grade level,” White said. “More than half-a-million aren’t reading at grade level. These stark data illustrate the toll the pandemic took on the students of Texas, and there’s a long road ahead.”

However, she reiterated SHSU’s unique position to do their part in an ever-changing world by meeting these challenges head on. A large part of this initiative includes the approval of the Sam Houston State University Polytechnic College, which will address critical learning losses, provide opportunities to earn valued credentials for non-traditional students and create new pathways to pursue four-year degrees.

“It’s a solution our state, industries and corporations, as well as our students, need. Another distinction is that we will serve as a research-based catalyst and facilitator for economic and professional development,” White said.

While acknowledging broad challenges and orchestrating creative solutions, White concluded her speech by pledging continued focus on the programs and values that have made Sam Houston State a cultural pillar and a force in higher education.

View Strategic Plan Update Handout

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