President J. Michael Adams
Academic Convocation

September 23, 2009

The video of this address is available for viewing online.

Introduction — With Peter on the Porch

Ten years ago, this month, I appeared before my first Fairleigh Dickinson University Convocation. I asked you then to step back in time to a porch in Rutherford overlooking the abandoned Iverson castle. I wanted to personally connect with our founder’s vision. And I wanted to share that connection with you.

I quoted Peter Sammartino, who looked at the castle — admittedly under the influence of two martinis — and had the courage to ask, “Wouldn’t it be fun to start a college?” Peter and Sally and many colleagues did just that, they started something wonderful and rare — known today as Fairleigh Dickinson University. Yes, I believe it was fun, but I know it was also a lot of work.

At convocation, a decade ago, I suggested, “Why don’t we return to our founders’ vision and build a more global university?”

This past July 1^st marked the 10^th anniversary of my service to this great institution. A lot has changed over the decade. There are many new faces in the audience. In fact, nearly half of all full-time faculty were hired after I arrived. So there are many new attitudes, opinions and insights to consider, respect and appreciate. But there are also fundamental values and enduring principles that continue to guide us.

This past summer was a special time for me — a time for reflection and review. During my remarks today I’d like to focus on two decades. I’d like to look back to review a decade worth celebrating. And then I’d like to challenge you with a few thoughts to imagine the next decade at FDU.

Not to Revisit History, but . . .

It is difficult to see what is no longer here — but it is important to sharpen our focus to do just that, if even for just a moment.

Ten years ago this fall FDU’s mission was to be the “Regional Leader in Lifelong Learning.” I am committed to lifelong learning, but I told you and the Board then that a mission must inspire, a mission must be aspirational.

Today our mission is to prepare world citizens through a global education . . . [giving students] the ability to participate, lead and prosper in the global marketplace of ideas, commerce and culture.

I recall the circumstances of drafting that statement. Geoff Weinman, you were in the room as five of us crafted the words of a new direction for our University.

The mission was endorsed without edit by both the Faculty Senate and the Board of Trustees. And we set off to translate a mission statement into a sense of mission across the University.

Ten years ago we had six condemned buildings on two campuses. Tony Adrignolo, I followed your suggestion that first September and took the campus tour for prospective freshmen. Let me tell you, it was an amazing experience. We didn’t look like a university.

One of my earliest priorities was to clean up the place.

Since 1999, we’ve torn down all those dilapidated structures and either renovated or built ten buildings. Dick Riccio, how many paths and lecture room seats did I ask you to repair? Rich Bronson, how many benches did you build, demolitions did you direct? Joe Kiernan, how many classrooms did you upgrade? Ken Greene, how many offices did you refurbish, how many studios or laboratories did you renovate? Nicholas Baldwin, to how many 600 year-old rooms did you add bathrooms, and bring a T-1 line to our 13^th century Wroxton Abbey?

Our campuses were cleaned up, and a prospective student tour today is a joy to take.

Ten years ago I tried to send an e-mail message to all faculty and staff in the University. My message crashed the system. I was asked, in the future, to wait until after 10:30 at night. Neal Sturm, you and Brian Domenick will remember that environment.

Since 1999 we’ve implemented a new central e-mail system and invested in expanding appropriate technology across the entire University. We installed data projectors in all public classrooms, implemented the Blackboard Learning Management System, established a 24-7 Help Desk and committed to a faculty laptop program that recycles every three years.

Yesterday’s Achievements Are Today’s Realities

In addition to remembering what is no longer here, I think it also important to focus in another way. Sometimes, we don’t see what exists around us. Consistency of presence can make things invisible. Some do not recognize the transformation of this University and how FDU’s environment, programs and opportunities have changed.

However, others have. The American Council on Education, the premier higher-education organization; The Middle States Commission on Higher Education; and NAFSA all cite Fairleigh Dickinson for its distinctive and powerful efforts to provide a world education for the 21^st century.

Outside our campuses, when others look at what you are doing here, there is awe and admiration. Inside, many still do not see what is happening here and how unique we really are.

Have you paused to take a look? Have you been a participant?

•  Have you invited a Global Virtual Faculty to partner with you to bring world views into the classroom? We now have over 70 professionals and scholars from around the world who are available to join you online. FDU has repeatedly earned national recognition for our use of technology to bring the world to campus.

•  Have you taken students abroad? More and more faculty are leading short-term study-abroad courses as an appealing alternative to a full semester away. Ask Rose & Dan Twomey about the power of short-term study abroad.

•  Have you visited our latest campus in Vancouver? After in-depth evaluation, Middle States gave FDU-Vancouver its highest rating and cited it as the model of international campus development. Chris Capuano will be happy to speak with you about opportunities there.

•  Have you explored how to participate in U.N. conferences and meetings through our Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC? FDU is the only University in the world to have earned that distinction.

Minerva Guttman and Glennena Haynes-Smith were FDU delegates to a recent conference on global health in Geneva, Switzerland. Ask them if it was worthwhile.

•  Have you invited speakers from universities around the world to visit and had them stay in one of the Visiting International Guest suites in our two newest residence halls?

•  If asked, could you tell someone about our hugely successful programs designed for Spanish-speaking and Korean-speaking adults? Called Puerta al Futuro and MiraeRo!, these innovative offerings combine intensive English-language training with college-level coursework.

•  Have you clicked on www.gig.org to explore our Global Issues Gateway Web site? It will amaze you with powerful learning resources and access to FDU’s global events and programs. Perhaps you also might want to contribute to our faculty-edited online journal, Exploring Globalization.

•  Did you attend any of the U.N. Pathways lectures or videoconferences from the United Nations? Were you with us last year when we welcomed U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon? Have you had dinner with an ambassador yet?

Since 2002, we have had at least two ambassadors visit each New Jersey campus each semester. By my count, the total is more than 50 diplomats. Tell me another university that offers such richness of information, diversity and insights. There isn’t one.

•  Did you participate in any of the Hot Topics or Interrogating Boundaries discussions on global issues? If not, give it a try — you will not be disappointed.

•  Have you yet worked with the Office of Global Learning to add an international dimension to your courses? Have you collaborated with the Office of Educational Technology to help bring global resources from the Web and interactive media to the classroom?

Give Jason Scorza or Cathy Kelley a call. They will introduce you to a world of possibilities, opportunities and assistance.

There is so much more to say about this incredible University and what you have created over the last decade. I could talk about the faculty with global research and collaborations, about new programs and courses with international dimensions, about dual-degree partnerships with institutions around the world and about the continued strength of our Wroxton College campus.

I could also talk about our overall rise in enrollment, particularly among first-time, full-time students. And I could mention the fact that we have become an increasingly selective institution.

I could talk about the great success of the most ambitious capital campaign in our history. FDU NOW: The Campaign for Fairleigh Dickinson University has raised more than $40 million — that’s more than this institution had raised in its entire history. People are inspired by what they see happening here, and they are eager to support and play a role in our continued success.

But in changing we have kept faith with our foundation — the emotional ties that unite us, the family-like bonds that connect us, and the overwhelming degree of commitment to each other. It is this ethic that makes our community immeasurably stronger than a mere collection of individuals.

My wife, Susan, and I were welcomed by you a decade ago. You invited us in, and we are joyful to be part of this incredible family

Thank you! Thank you for who you are. Thank you for what you represent. Thank you for what you have created.

Fairleigh Dickinson University is a different institution than it was a decade ago.

The Landscape of Challenges

It is also a different world than it was ten years ago.

The recent global economic crisis has affected all dimension of our work. You know the sacrifices we are making. You know the constraints we face. But, so too does every college and university in America.

We know that demographic changes will drastically alter the look of our campuses. The number of new high-school graduates will gradually decline until 2015. There will be dramatic changes in the racial, economic, age and ethnic mix of our population. The largest growth segment will be Hispanic students, a majority of whom will be first-generation college students coming from low-income households.

The growth of the for-profit education industry will continue. Despite, or maybe because of, the recent economic crises, enrollment rates are soaring for many of the for-profits.

The world of higher education is rapidly changing. Simply put, a diverse range of students has a greater number of learning alternatives. We must adapt to this environment, while remaining true to our mission and values.

The Fairleigh Dickinson University of 2019 must be vastly different than the FDU of 2009.

The FDU model of today does not have to be the one of tomorrow. In fact, I emphatically challenge that the FDU of today must not be the FDU of tomorrow.

The Next Opportunity — Apart from the Crowd

When our mission was announced in 2000, we were in the vanguard. Today, though, the term global is seemingly everywhere. ACE recently reported that close to half of all colleges and universities now make specific reference to international or global education in their mission statements.

So where do we go from here? What about us can be different and exceptional?

We must look to the next iteration of Fairleigh Dickinson University. What will define FDU in 2019?

Beginning now, and together with you, I would like to envision the next decade. We must move beyond the limits of our sight to envision what might be.

I challenge us to spend the coming year to talk and to hope, to analyze and strategize, to aspire and to dream.

We need your ideas. The direction we travel from here and the speed at which we move is not set from above, but instead guided by the collective wisdom and purpose of a motivated community.

Let’s begin to ask, “What if?”

Just think what we can do for our students.

•  What if every FDU student either studied abroad or spent some time living and learning in another culture? Abroad or near home, we can insist upon opportunities to develop meaningful insights.

I’ve said before that students don’t necessarily need to journey around the world to experience another culture. Time spent on a Navajo Indian Reservation could bring new cultural insights. Or go to downtown Fort Lee where you get a genuine taste of Seoul, Korea. What if we better used the diversity of our own region as a learning tool?

•  What if all FDU courses were blended or web-enhanced to better utilize the resources of the Internet and further bring the world to our classrooms.

•  What if we expand our global network with new international affiliations, seeking a dual-degree partnership for every academic program in the University?

•  What if we further export the successful model of FDU-Vancouver? Where in the world do you want to see FDU? Buenos Aires? Nairobi? Al-Riffa, Bahrain?

•  What if we travel more often along our U.N. Pathways and strengthen our connections with the world body?

•  What if students begin to seize the enormous benefits of the Fulbright program? We had the great joy last semester of learning that senior Ramatu Musa became the first FDU student in recent history to win a Fulbright Fellowship.

•  What if we set a goal that by 2019, 10 percent of our faculty will have received grants for short- and longer-term travel and research as Fulbright scholars?

•  What if we create our own for-profit division, sharing profit with participants just as a corporation does — allocating shares and distributing earnings.

•  What if we require every incoming freshman to bring his or her own passport?

•  What if 10 percent of our full-time faculty serve as FDU delegates on United Nations CONGO committees?

•  What if we actually issue an e-book to every freshman, containing every textbook required for their entire first year?

These are just a few examples. The scope of our visions need not be defined by one person or one moment. We have a larger wealth of creativity and ambition from which to draw. The “what ifs,” the range of possibilities, the scope of our opportunities, are truly limitless.

An FDU education is as much or as little as faculty want to make it. That’s not unique to our institution. The best universities are defined by their faculty.

If faculty believe it important to prepare students with world lessons — if they themselves see international dimensions to their work and make connections into the world — then that will translate into their teaching and their research. Faculty can only inspire world citizens and provide a global education if they themselves are models of global educators.

Fulfilling the Mission — Giving our Students the World

Dear friends, it’s been an incredible decade here. I thank you with all my heart for your support, your friendship and your dedication. Ten years does seem like a long time, but it has gone so quickly.

Susan and I cherish the time we have spent at Fairleigh Dickinson.

Going forward, what I strive for are not unified methods or practices, but a unified commitment; a shared purpose to build bridges and to prepare students who are capable of succeeding in a new world.

I challenge you to continue the journey with me. I challenge you to now add your chapter and verse to the unfolding adventure begun on a Rutherford porch by Peter Sammartino.

Dare to make another mark of innovation.

Take pride in our past, and seize the opportunity to shape our future.

Seize the opportunity to further redefine higher education for the 21^st century.

Seize the opportunity to add to the luster and distinction of this exceptional University.

And in doing so, give our students the world.

Thank you.