President's Insider Fall 2014

FALL 2014

President’s

INSIDER

FROM THE DESK OF GREGORY G. DELL'OMO, PH.D., PRESIDENT OF ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY

We are now in the process of rolling out our new strategic plan, "Preparing Students for a Lifetime of Engagement, Leadership, and Well-Being."

Putting the plan together has taken a great deal of time, thought, and collaboration with stakeholders throughout the university community. The question we kept asking ourselves as we developed it was, "How does the new strategic plan continue to build the university’s value proposition?"

We all know that, with the changes taking place in higher education, one of the major obstacles is a rising cost of tuition, which is really making issues of accessibility and affordability come to the forefront. So we are looking at the value proposition – our price relative to the return on the investment the student gets, and their families get, by coming to Robert Morris University as opposed to going someplace else.

The Gallup-Purdue Index, a new study on a university's impact on its students, is an integral part of our planning. It has identified six factors of a college education that correlate strongly with being engaged at work and thriving in your personal life: having a professor who made you excited about learning, having professors who cared about you as a person, having a mentor who encouraged you to pursue your life’s ambitions, working on a project that took more than a semester to complete, having an internship that applied classroom learning, and being extremely active in extracurricular activities and organizations while in college.

Gallup has surveyed 30,000 college graduates, and they found that while 63% say they had at least one college professor who made them excited about learning, only 27% say they had a college professor who cared about them, and only 22% of college graduates had a mentor. Only 14% had all

three. But if they did have all three, they were more than twice as likely to be engaged in their current jobs, and also almost twice as likely to be thriving in their personal lives – socially, physically, financially, in their communities, and in their sense of purpose.

Looking at internships, projects that last more than a semester, and extracurricular activities, only 6% of all college students had all three of those as part of their experiences. And if we take all six factors, only 2.7% of all college graduates had all six of those components.

Imagine what we could do if we could fill that gap, and make it so that all of our students have all six of those experiences. That’s what Robert Morris University needs to do.

So the focus of our new strategic plan is clear: to institutionalize the most important kinds of experiences for our students – educational and inspirational – and to do so at a competitive price point, on a growing and attractive campus, and with great immediate outcomes that are professionally focused. As we succeed, this will become a very powerful message, not just for our current students, not just for our recent graduates, but for all our alumni, no matter when they earned their degree.

Sincerely,

Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Ph.D.

President’s

INSIDER PREPARING STUDENTS FOR A LIFETIME OF ENGAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, AND WELL-BEING: THE NEXT STRATEGIC PLAN Robert Morris University's new strategic plan sets the vision for the next five years, strengthening the university's commitment to prepare graduates for a lifetime of professional and personal fulfillment through high-quality engaged learning opportunities and talented faculty who care about each individual student.

The new Gallup-Purdue Index affirms that college graduates who are engaged in their careers and thriving in their daily lives are also those who say they:

- had a professor who made them excited about learning - believed their professors cared about them as a person - had a mentor who encouraged them to pursue their goals and dreams - worked on a project that took at least a semester to finish - had an internship that applied what they learned in class - got very involved in activities and organizations outside the classroom

Fewer than 3 percent of graduates nationwide say they experienced all six. The new strategic plan aims to change that for RMU alumni. In order to help make that possible, the university has entered into a direct partnership with Gallup to measure how well the university delivers on those important experiences, both to validate successes and point the way forward for improvement.

The new strategic plan has six main pillars:

1. ADVANCING ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

RMU will expand its innovative emphasis on engaged learning, offering more opportunities to supplement lectures and labs with learning outside the classroom through the Student Engagement Program. The university also will continue to encourage its faculty to act as mentors for their students and to spark their love of learning. "We want academic credentials, we want people who are excellent teachers, we want people who are connected to their industry," says David Jamison, J.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "But most of all, we want faculty members who care about student connections, who want to interact with students, because the research shows that connection is critical to student success."

Personal attention is just as important for the university's expanding online learning options. Two out of three RMU online students in a recent survey say the university delivers rigorous academics, professional focus, and engaged learning better than other schools. Their responses tell the story: "wonderful professors who have given me crucial career advice and helped me to continue my academic and professional goals" … "availability of all professors when I have needed them" … "an online advisor who went out of her way to assist me, proving Robert Morris truly cares about my educational goals." "Our mission is to make online students part of RMU's life," says Derya Jacobs, Ph.D., vice president and senior vice provost, "and to provide exactly the same RMU experience that our traditional students receive to make sure they are engaged and professionally successful."

2. UNIVERSITY OF CHOICE FOR STUDENTS

The new strategic plan focuses on expanding the university's commitment to its students over the course of their entire lives.

That commitment to RMU graduates' personal and professional well-being begins with their first contact with the admissions office as prospective students, and continues long after graduation, as they move through their careers and seek opportunities for professional development and personal growth.

Significant expansion is planned for the career services center, along with even more robust alumni relations programming.

"We're all connected – academics, student life, athletics, student support, and career services," says John Michalenko, vice president for student life. “It's all about the physical well-being, social well-being, and the academic preparedness, and when you leave Robert Morris, you feel passionate that you actually got what you paid for from this institution." And you are excited to remain connected to the university on many levels, including giving back so that future generations of RMU students can carry on this great tradition. The relationship never ends; it just changes and matures as time goes on. Consider recent graduate Mike Boylan '12 M'13, who credits his RMU experiences in the classroom, at conferences, and in his on-campus IT work and internships with preparing him for his current job with a major computer corporation. “The university has invested a lot in me. I just felt it was right to invest back in the future of RMU," says Boylan, a President's Council member for the last two years.

FALL 2014

3. UNIVERSITY OF CHOICE FOR FACULTY AND STAFF

Just as the university strives to ensure its graduates become engaged in their workplace, the strategic plan also calls for measures to make RMU an engaging workplace for all its employees, faculty, and staff. Particular emphasis will include helping talented staff members identify career paths within the university, and offering developmental opportunities for them to assume higher-level positions throughout the university.

The university also seeks to expand opportunities for staff to mentor student workers. Ellen Wieckowski, vice president of information technology, explains how helping her student IT workers prepare to enter the workforce is among the most uplifting aspects of her job. (One of her recent success stories: Mike Boylan.) "It's just so rewarding to see that you've been a part of the development of this young person, and that they're doing so well in their career," she says.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE AS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

With the construction of a new building for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences set to be completed in time for the start of the 2015-16 academic year, RMU takes another step toward the completion of five distinct "academic villages" with a livinglearning environment and state-of-the art academic facilities and technology to enhance high-quality teaching, learning, innovation, and research for each of the five schools.

• The new building will allow the School of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science to expand to occupy all of John Jay Center.

• The School of Business has its own new building, as well as Massey Hall.

• The School of Communication and Information Systems has a new home at Wheatley Center.

• The School of Education and Social Sciences has fully renovated and expanded space in Nicholson Center.

With enrollment steadily growing, the university is also assessing athletics and recreational spaces and student housing to consider whether and what kind of expansion may be necessary. Driving these decisions is the objective of contributing to student engagement in all phases, enhancing a dynamic and vibrant living-learning environment that creates a strong sense of place and community.

5. SOLIDIFY AND LEVERAGE THE RMU BRAND

The university will build on the success of its "Changing Lives" campaign, bolstering the message of service to the community with a strong emphasis on professional experiences, particularly through meaningful internships that apply and reinforce lessons learned in class. Inherent in this message is the concept of a holistic "RMU experience" that is personal, caring, and rigorous, and that maintains the professional focus with great outcomes for which the university is known.

At the same time, our message will stress that RMU addresses its students' maturation process with an aim to produce graduates who contribute successfully in an ever-changing world, and thus are prepared for a lifetime of professional engagement and personal fulfillment. And just as the university's impact extends beyond its alumni community, RMU's story will continue to be aimed at engaging not only graduates and potential students but also the region as a whole.

6. STRENGTHEN RMU'S FINANCIAL POSITION

The generous support of our alumni and other donors and friends has fueled the university's success so far. In order to achieve the objectives described here and other milestones as the university expands its size, reach, and effectiveness, significant additional investments will be required. At the same time, RMU will continue to emphasize tuition affordability, sound financial management of its assets, and a focus on continuously strengthening the overall value proposition of a Robert Morris University education for our students and their families.

THE GOAL

Even before there was a Gallup-Purdue Index, Robert Morris University proclaimed six core values: Changing lives. Engaged learning. Academic excellence. Professional focus. Global perspective. Individuals matter. The university continues to be dedicated to those six core values. In many ways, they are mirrored in the six collegiate experiences the GPI has singled out, and that RMU is committed to making possible for every one of its students.

Five years from now, our goal is to have even more people, both regionally and nationally, recognize Robert Morris University as a "best value" among mid-sized, private, comprehensive universities – one that offers students a highly personal and engaged educational experience that successfully prepares them for life. Or as our strategic plan says, a lifetime of engagement, leadership, and well-being.

FALL 2014

President’s

INSIDER REAL WORLD, REAL ENGAGEMENT During his years at Robert Morris University, Besart Stavileci '12 learned many of his most valuable lessons outside the classroom. The Kosovo native, who majored in actuarial sciences and now works as an actuarial analyst at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care in Boston, says his internships and extracurricular experiences as an RA, math tutor, senior class president, and founder of the international student organization Carpe Mundum were invaluable in preparing him to work with a wide variety of people. Getting involved in leadership roles on and off campus also gave him more opportunities to practice other real-world skills. "Juggling classes, a part-time job, and extra-curricular activities is a great exercise in effective time management," he says. "You're forced to organize your day in such way that everything fits, and that's really important for happiness both in and out of the office."

Directed engaged learning includes campus leadership opportunities, internships, community service, and global experiences. Mike Funyak, who will graduate in May with a bachelor of science in business administration, credits the engaged learning process for broadening his RMU experience. In addition to two internships, Funyak has served as marketing director for Sentry Media and is currently a global ambassador for RMU, a peer mentorship program for international students. "I've matured since I arrived here, and have learned a lot about myself and others," he says. "These organizations have provided me a chance to know what it's like to be in the workforce and deal with real-life situations."

That will include more courses designated "engaged learning intensive," as well as interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts across campus. "With the new initiatives, we will connect across all schools and departments," he says. "For instance, a professor may be doing something that the rest of the university doesn't know about – say, a professional development mentorship program. Is it something the whole university can adopt? We can spread the message more effectively."

Faculty workshops, forums, and brown-bag lunches will be part of the equation.

For the college students, the interaction is just as valuable.

"Working at Mooncrest gives the RMU students an experience where they reach out to others and aren't focused on themselves," says Procopio. Such experiences help college students become more well-rounded human beings, in and out of the workforce. "What they bring is invaluable – their integrity, their own set of values, their example," says Procopio. And that's what truly engaged learning is all about – becoming a happy, successful, empathetic human being in the classroom and beyond.

Stavileci's experiences are exactly what Anthony Moretti, Ph.D., has in mind when he talks about "engaged learning." An associate professor of communications and the newly minted director of RMU's Center for Innovative Teaching and Directed Engaged Learning, Moretti is excited about his mission: expanding the role of experiential learning at the university. "We want to ensure that we have the technology and pedagogy options to assure teachers can be their best, and that students have the best possible learning environment," he says.

Sometimes, it's the experiences away from the textbooks that make the most impact. For instance, between 50 and 60 students volunteer at the Mooncrest Afterschool Program each week, helping disadvantaged children complete homework and leading them in organized play.

But it's about more than homework help, says Sister Rene Procopio, executive director of Mooncrest Neighborhood Programs. "The students' role modeling helps give these children a different perspective on life," she explains.

"Their home life is not the best; some of the mothers and fathers are on drugs or incarcerated, and the children feel a lack of love and attention. While the RMU students are here, the children have an opportunity to be with someone who will show them something better."

Another focus is online learning. "We really want to ensure that faculty who teach online stay in the mix," says Moretti. Whether it's online or in a traditional classroom, students learn best when their professors truly care about them. "That's a real strength for us," he says. "At RMU, our faculty cares. We can shout that very loudly."

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