January 14, 2008

A very happy 2008 to all of you! I trust you all enjoyed time with family and friends over the holidays.

Welcome back for the second semester and all that it will entail – all of us will be engaged, one way or another!  While having a restful holiday, I did have an opportunity to think about the future.  Hence, I am enthusiastic about the months ahead and I am convinced 2008 will be a banner year for Creighton University.  Some useful information follows:

Dean Searches:
As previously announced, Creighton has successfully completed searches for two decanal positions.  Prof. Eric Chiappinelli has been named Dean of the School of Law effective July 1.  Eric is presently the Associate Dean for Alumni and Professional Relations at Seattle University School of Law.  His law degree is from Columbia University.

Dr. Robert Lueger has been appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences effective July 2008.  Presently, Bob is the Associate Provost for St. Edward’s University in Texas.  He has had significant faculty and administrative experience at Marquette University. 

I want to publicly thank Dr. Anthony Hendrickson, Dean of the College of Business, and Prof. Craig Dallon, Associate Law Dean, and their committees for conducting these searches in a highly professional and expeditious manner!

Tobacco-Free Campus:
The strategy work group, led by Dr. Syed Mohiuddin, has made a great deal of progress toward the implementation of a tobacco-free policy.  Hundreds of members of our Creighton community provided valuable insight and policy refinement via an online survey to the group prior to the holiday break.  To assist everyone in keeping informed and involved in this effort, a comprehensive communication plan is being formulated.  It will include formal and informal communication, an internal educational campaign, briefings, updates at key meetings, town hall discussions and much more.  A special website will also provide updates and information.  The University is providing coaching and support to help people comply with this effort, offering tobacco-cessation programs, an interactive tobacco-cessation website for students, educational events, pharmacy discounts and much more.  View the policy.  The Creighton University Medical Center went tobacco-free on January 1, 2008, while the Cardiac Center went tobacco-free on November 16, 2006.  

Technology:
As we begin the new year, I thought it would be helpful to update everyone on the Creighton Data Center project.  We, Creighton, are spending a large amount of financial capital to properly outfit and upgrade the Creighton Data Center to accommodate expansion, growth, proper backup, proper cooling, and proper power with backup generator, fire suppression and added physical security.  Currently, Creighton has too many mini data clusters sitting around campus that are not properly designed, backed up or protected by fire suppression or power generators.  These mini clusters/ data environments are a trend we must move away from as they challenge our collective ability to properly secure, protect and back up data that is critical to the success of our students, faculty, and researchers, as well as critical to the patient care we provide.  I have asked my Vice President of Information Technology, Mr. Brian Young, to work with all areas as we bring all systems and data into the secure, climate-controlled, and newly renovated Data Center.  We will be completed with the upgrade to the Data Center in May 2008.

Law School Online Testing:
I wanted to offer my congratulations to our School of Law and our Division of Information Technology for the success with the use of online testing.  This past semester, approximately 300 law students used the new computer-based testing with much success.  As one student commented to me, “Online testing was great, less stressful and much easier than hand-writing in blue-books.”  Special thanks to Doug Reynolds, J.D. Rummel and Tricia Sharrar for making this a success for our law students.

Hospital Update:
Creighton University Medical Center’s “Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program” is now one of only 12 accredited blood conservation programs in the United States.  CUMC is now not only the sole blood conservation program in Nebraska, but the next closest hospital accredited for bloodless surgery is in Chicago, IL.  Bloodless medicine is an innovative way to provide patients the ability to avoid blood transfusions through evidence-based healthcare and techniques. 

Events of Interest:

• The following Martin Luther King Jr. events will be taking place on campus, thanks to the hard work of the Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee:
• Sunday, January 20, 4:30 p.m., Mass at St. John’s Church
• Monday, January 21, 4-5 p.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at St. John’s Church
• Tuesday, January 22, 7:30-9 a.m., Unity Prayer Breakfast at Mutual of Omaha Ballroom in the Skutt Student Center
• Wednesday, January 23, 11:30 a.m., Martin Luther King Jr. Cake & Choir at Fireplace Lounge in the Skutt Student Center
• Thursday, January 24, 4:30 p.m., Student Panel Discussion in Skutt Student Center Room 105
• Friday, January 25, 4 p.m., African American Church Night-“Violence a Total Perspective” at St. John’s Church

• The 30th Anniversary of the BioInformation Center (BIC) will take place from 3-5 p.m. on January 18 at the BIC.  The BioInformation Center was built and occupied in May 1977.  It brought together collections and staff from the School of Medicine Library, the St. Joseph Hospital Library, and printed books and journals from the other health science schools.  A Learning Resources Center was begun with grant money from the National Library of Medicine.  In addition, a Biomedical Communications department was brought into the BIC building.  Thus, the BioInformation Center became a state-of-the-art facility, providing library services, multimedia resources, television production services, graphic arts, and photography.  The building won several architectural awards and was officially dedicated January 12, 1978.  The 30th anniversary celebration on January 18, 2008, will be recognition of the services delivered and the staff who provided those services over the past 30 years. 

• I want to encourage all Creighton faculty to join me at the All University Academic Forum on Distance Education:  Extending the Creighton Experience.  The forum will be held Wednesday January 16th from 3:00-4:30 p.m. in the Hixson-Lied Science Building, Room G4.  As a collaborative effort between the President’s Office and Vice Presidents Borchers, Enarson and Young, the goal of this forum is to discuss opportunities and expansion of online learning.  Several faculty members who have taught online will join us to share their experiences.  Graduate School Dean, Dr. Gail Jensen, will moderate the panel.  I am very supportive of this forum as I am confident we can greatly expand and enhance our efforts in this educational space.  Please make time to join us and engage in this important conversation.

Construction:

• On the construction front, it is safe to say the Harper Center is growing before our eyes.  There is a lot of activity on the interior of the building—drywall, painting, ductwork and such.  The project appears to be on schedule for an August 2008 opening.

• The Wareham (a.k.a. O’Keefe) Building is very close to completion. University Relations, Alumni Relations, and Marketing and Public Relations have moved into the renovated facility.  Creighton Medical Associates Patient Services will be moving shortly to the Wareham Building from the Labaj Building. 

• Other deferred maintenance and renovation work continues across the campus.

Enrollment: 
Numbers for the spring semester appear to be strong; slightly down from spring of 2007, but within budget expectations.  The application pool for the undergraduate class for fall 2008 is running well ahead of last year. We are some 650 applications better than year-to-date.  Don Bishop suggests that bodes well for a targeted freshman class of 1,000 first-time students.

Again, welcome to the new semester.  Thank you for what you are doing to make Creighton an even better university and a better place to work. All best wishes for a happy 2008!
  

John P. Schlegel, S.J.
President