Greetings from President Rojann Alpers

Welcome back to a new academic year and the challenges and opportunities of academia. First, allow me be extend my appreciation for the extraordinary work that was accomplished by the ASU Senate last year in response to one of our greatest economic challenges experienced in recent years. The re-organization of many of our academic units now provides us all, with opportunity to re-think, re-consider-reflect and re-commit to our work as teacher, practitioners, service-providers and scholars.

I believe this last year has demonstrated to ourselves, our students, our community and our administrators that we are indeed an American-class university and community of extraordinary scholars. I believe tough times may remain ahead for all of us, but I am also absolutely certain we will again, and again, rise to the occasion. Let me invite each of you to re-invest in our shared governance responsibilities and be an active participant as we continue to re-envision our preferred future, innovative collaborations, creativity, productivity and contributions.   Finally, please allow me to end with quoting the preamble to our Constitution:

“University governance requires communication and collaboration among faculty, staff, students, and administration. Collective wisdom improves decisions, promotes consensus, and builds trust. The faculty and academic professionals of Arizona State University, through this constitution, provide for the organization and procedures by which they may efficiently and effectively contribute to the governance of the university in support of its collective effort to promote the economic, social, cultural, and environmental health of the communities it serves.”

Best wishes for an outstanding 2009-2010 academic year!