Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Message from the President

Dear Faculty and Staff, 

Welcome to Week 2 of the spring semester! This is the first installment of a letter to the university community, with updates on planning activities and priorities for the University of New Orleans. It will not duplicate the information contained in the weekly Campus News, but this message—sent to all faculty and staff—is aimed at fostering shared understanding and transparency. 

I also promise to keep it brief so that it is easy to scan quickly!

 I am excited to share that we will launch a process to update our university plan later this month. There will be five task forces, each co-led by faculty and staff leaders, that will focus on: 

• Enrolling and Retaining Thriving Students
• Supporting our People and Enhancing our Culture 
• Research, Innovation, and Economic Development, 
• Alumni and Community Engagement, and 
• Finance, Infrastructure, and Sustainability 

I will ask each task force to recommend no more than five important priorities in each of these areas that we can bring forth for endorsement by the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, and Student Government Association by the end of the spring semester. Please consider nominating (or self-nominating) colleagues to serve on these task forces by Jan. 20, using this link: https://neworleans.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_07MiOe4loMrx3O6 

There is no priority more important at this moment than supporting the success of our students—from the time that they consider applying until they graduate. To this end, we will create a Division of Enrollment Management, based in Academic Affairs, that unites the Offices of Admissions, Financial Services, First Year Advising, the Registrar, and Veterans Services. We will launch a national search to recruit an accomplished leader to serve as Vice President for Enrollment Management later this month, and I hope that you will participate in the search process when candidates are brought to campus. 

Thank you for all that you do to make UNO a vibrant and supportive campus for our students to learn and grow—both inside and outside of the classroom. 

UNO Proud, 

Kathy Johnson, Ph.D.

President
The University of New Orleans