As you know, we have been confronting a rash of robberies and other incidents on or near campus that have, once again, raised my level of concern about the issue of campus safety. We have tried to communicate as effectively and openly as possible with the campus community about these incidents and continue to post regular updates on the “Safety First” link of the university Web site (http://www.cua.edu/safety/).

Father O'Connell meets with Chief Ramsey.

I encourage all the members of the university community to refer to that link often. I had a very useful meeting with Chief of Police Charles Ramsey and three of his ranking officers in my office on April 6 to discuss our safety concerns.

I have also established the Presidential Task Force on University Safety and Security and have appointed W. Michael Hendricks, vice president for enrollment management, as its chair. Michael had experience with similar issues in his previous employment. We are in the process of appointing other members of the administration, faculty and staff to this eight-member task force. I have asked Susan Pervi, vice president for student life, to appoint a student task force on the same issue to work directly with her and her staff in the Division of Student Life. She, in turn, will represent the students’ concerns to the presidential task force. In addition, I am in the process of signing a contract with a very experienced and well-known security firm based in New York City to do a comprehensive safety audit of the campus and its environs. Its report will contribute to our own excellent Department of Public Safety’s strategic efforts to keep us all safe and secure.

The incidence of crime that we have encountered this year is discomforting, for sure. At the same time, we need to maintain our perspective and keep in mind that CUA and its community members are not the only ones who have been targeted. Our neighbors in Brookland and elsewhere have faced the same problem. We need to keep our composure, our focus and our vigilance as we address the situation. We cannot bring an end to neighborhood crime but we certainly can make every reasonable effort to keep ourselves as safe as possible. That may mean changing our ordinary patterns of behavior a bit. Please be assured that I have your safety as my top priority.

On a much more pleasant note, I had the privilege of being in Rome for a few days in the latter part of March for the consistory of new cardinals. A current member of our Board of Trustees, Archbishop Sean O’Malley of Boston, was among those to receive the cardinal’s biretta and ring from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Also among those honored was a former member of our board, Archbishop Emeritus William Levada of San Francisco, who took the Holy Father’s place as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The ceremonies were beautiful and inspiring. 

The highlight of my Rome trip, however, was a day spent with our students who are studying in Rome. On March 23, I celebrated Mass for them, their faculty and some visiting parents in St. Peter’s Basilica. Following Mass, I had coffee with a group of them. Later in the day, I attended class taught by the director of the Rome Program, Dr. David Dawson-Vasquez, an alumnus of CUA’s School of Theology and Religious Studies. He gave a magnificent lecture on the life and work of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. We visited the Jesuit churches and his rooms at the Jesuit residence. After class, students and faculty in the CUA architecture program joined the liberal arts group I had been with all afternoon. I hosted the group of about 45 for dinner at Abruzzi Ristorante. Professor Stanley Hallet was on hand as was the director of the CUA Architecture Program in Rome, Professor David Shove-Brown. It was truly an extraordinary day. Our students were wonderful and their professors — inspiring!

Earlier in March, before the Rome trip, I had celebrated Mass for students in our men’s and women’s discernment groups. I had dinner with each group after the Mass and spent the evening with them. About 30 students were able to attend. We are so blessed to have the conventual Franciscans with us on campus. They have not only inspired a whole new approach to Campus Ministry in the last eight years; they are also so attentive to our individual student needs. Along with their incredible lay staff, they have awakened the soul of CUA. During the spring break, under the direction of Campus Ministry staff, our students traveled to Belize, Jamaica, Florida and Alabama to work with the poor and needy. Many other students are associated with Habitat for Humanity. This summer, a group sponsored by Campus Ministry will be returning to Panama for three weeks.

On March 14, I met with all the academic deans to talk about university finances and planning. After a comprehensive presentation on the financial structure of CUA by Dr. Julie Englund, vice president for finance and administration, treasurer, I engaged the deans in a lively discussion about what the university needs to do to create more fiscal flexibility. It was a very serious meeting, with much thoughtful input from the deans. I asked them to help the university create more breathing space in its financial planning by increasing faculty/student ratios, expanding teaching schedules, considering night classes, utilizing full-time faculty for more teaching and so forth. I used the example of student retention, noting that if we simply moved ahead three percentage points in freshman retention — from 82 percent to 85 percent — by 2009, we would add almost $2 million to the bottom line. The provost and the deans assured me that they will work very hard to reshape our way of doing business in the academic sector.

Our undergraduate enrollment strategies are working well. Undergraduate applications are up and we project a good freshman enrollment. Graduate applications are fairly level. 

Although we anticipate enrolling 1,000 new students in the next five years, I have become a bit concerned about the lack of progress in graduate enrollment, both full and part time. Much more attention must be paid to graduate recruitment, which is the primary responsibility of the deans and faculty in the graduate schools. We had about 65 fewer graduate students than was budgeted this year. No one can really give me a good answer to the question “why?” I have begun discussions with a firm that specializes in exhaustive analyses of programs, product and market, with a view to bringing this firm in to help us. We need help, for sure.

My vision for CUA is to have us do an extraordinary job recruiting undergraduates in the next five years so that we can move the institution forward. There are many implications to such an effort — housing and services, for example — but, I believe, if we do not capture our share of the market now while the demographic trends (i.e., pool of prospective university-age students) are in our favor, we will pay the price for many years to come.  Some have questioned this in the past but now see that we must move in this direction.

The Board of Trustees, meeting on March 20-21, approved the budget for FY07.  The board had already approved the increase in tuition and fees in December. The administration has invested a great deal of effort considering the possibility of constructing new residence facilities to keep pace with growing undergraduate numbers.  After consideration by the executive committee and the finance committee, the board approved the administration’s recommendation to move forward with new construction.  Work will begin immediately, although actual construction will not begin for one or two years.

In the area of student life, we have been seeing a significant increase in students with disabilities. We have likewise observed an increase in students who seem to need counseling and other help and attention. This has put great strain on staff. Conversations with other colleges and universities reveal they are undergoing a similar experience. CUA is responding as best it can to student needs in this regard.

In the development area, we see an almost $2 million increase in total giving over last year at this time. The Annual Fund and National Collection are down a bit by comparison to last year. The athletic campaign is $1.1 million away from its goal.  Renovation has begun on the football field.

On April 7, Dr. John Convey, Dean Larry Poos and I traveled to St. John’s University in New York to meet with its president, provost and deans about possible areas of collaboration. It was a very productive day. Among the things we discussed were sharing space on the Rome campus of St. John’s, co-sponsorship of scholarly conferences, NYC-DC internships for our respective students, possible faculty exchanges and joint programs. With the input of deans and faculty of both institutions, the provosts will determine what will "work" for each and for both.

A scene from Oklahoma, one of the offerings of this year's President's Festival of the Arts.

This year, once again, Dean Murry Sidlin and his extraordinary faculty brought out the very best in the students of the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music as they presented the annual President’s Festival of the Arts over a two-week period at the end of March and beginning of April. Each event in this festival, dedicated to American composer Aaron Copland, was a delight to the ear. I mentioned to Murry that I leave performances saying to myself “We’ll never be able to surpass this,” only to find that he and his faculty manage quite well to do just that. My gratitude to the students, faculty and, of course, Dean Sidlin for this brilliant festival of extraordinary music and other intellectual accomplishment. I also want to thank the staff of the Pryz and all those who provided technical support behind the scenes. Your work was amazing!

On the calendar for the latter half of April are two important events, both student-focused. The first is our annual Odyssey Day, to be held Friday, April 21. Hundreds of admitted students and their parents will visit campus. It is a very important day for them – and for us – as they make their final decisions about which university to attend. Whatever our job titles are at CUA, all of us are called to be ambassadors for the university. This is especially true on Odyssey Day. So let’s all go the extra mile that day to make our visitors feel welcome and to show them all the wonderful things that Catholic University has to offer.

The second noteworthy event is the American Cardinals Dinner — our major scholarship fundraiser for students. It will be here in Washington at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on Friday, April 28. Planning is coming along well and we expect another highly successful dinner. I am already working on a site for next year’s dinner, which will be in Las Vegas.

Some members of the university community have inquired about Benemerenti medals, the Vatican honor that had been conferred in the past upon faculty after 25 years of service. I have asked the Holy See for medals for eligible faculty on two separate occasions. I was initially told that the number requested was too high. I offered to stagger the request in two groups and was then told that the Holy See did not want the medal “automatically” conferred but, rather, saved for the most extraordinary service to the Church or its institutions. Hence, the automatic flow of medals has stopped but not because I have not asked for them to be awarded. Dr. John Convey recently received the medal and I am quite sure all will agree that he has provided extraordinary service. I hope everyone understands that some things are simply beyond our control.

It’s hard to believe but the academic year is almost over. With Easter arriving on April 16, graduation and SUMMER are just around the corner. Following the end of school and throughout the summer, I will be getting together with small groups of staff to talk about our mission and service as The Catholic University of America. It is my intention to continue focusing on university fundraising and on spreading the word about this great institution. 

To all our Jewish sisters and brothers, Happy Passover, and to all who celebrate the Lord Jesus, Happy Easter!  My thanks to all the members of the university community for your continuing dedication and commitment.
 



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