A prospective student learns about CUA at Odyssey Day.

As I write this column, classes for the 2006-2007 academic year have ended, students are preparing for final exams and those who will graduate are looking forward to Commencement exercises. We have much to be grateful for as we wrap up this school year. It has been challenging, as all academic enterprises should be, but challenging in a good way, because the focus throughout the year remained where it should be — on teaching, on research and on preparing our young charges for life after college.

The one major distraction of the year, not on our own campus to be sure, but so tragic as to touch all universities in America, reminded us that as a community we must remain vigilant about our safety and especially that we must reach out to those few among us who are deeply troubled. I was proud of the way our community responded in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings, coming together so quickly in prayerful support of those affected. Father Bob Schlageter and Vice President Susan Pervi and their staffs were highly proactive in their responses. The CUA administration is always looking for ways to enhance our security and to be well prepared in time of emergency. I am convinced that one of the best preventive measures is for everyone on campus to familiarize themselves with security procedures. In this issue of Inside CUA, we feature an article that speaks to that point. Please take the time to read it by clicking here.

Besides the shootings at Virginia Tech, the other higher education-related issue that garnered significant media attention in April concerned investigations into the student loan industry and some questionable practices engaged in by a few agency administrators and university financial aid professionals at various institutions. We have no reason to believe that anyone at The Catholic University of America is receiving improper benefits from any student loan lender, but in a spirit of due diligence, we have been conducting in-house audits to ensure that there have been no past, nor present, interactions with lenders that would be considered unacceptable. All faculty and staff to whom this policy applies are expected to follow the Conflict of Interest policy and submit forms as provided at http://policies.cua.edu/finance/finance/Conflict%20of%20Interest/Conflict.cfm.  Anonymous tips regarding financial fraud can be made by calling 202-319-4500. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the highest standards of moral and ethical behavior.

In last month’s column, I told  you that Vice President Julie Englund, Associate Vice President Cathy Wood and I traveled to Wall Street in mid-March to meet with potential bond insurers as well as the rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s, in preparation for the bond we are seeking to support our residence hall construction. We learned recently that, even with the additional debt we will be taking on to finance our construction initiatives, CUA will maintain its A2 (S&P) and A (Moody’s) ratings! The agencies commended CUA for strong financial management and great success in enrollment. This is wonderful news indeed and I commend Julie, Cathy, Vice President W. Michael Hendricks and everyone else who had a hand in preparing for the insurers or in securing for us such favorable ratings.

April is always special at CUA because each year during that month we are called not only to remember our past but also to focus intently on our future. The 10th day of the month is Founders Day, when we commemorate CUA’s founding and recollect the reasons for its establishment. Two other events that month focus on our students, who are our lifeblood and guarantor of our future existence.

The first student-focused, forward looking event was Odyssey Day, which fell this year on Friday, April 13. It was our largest Odyssey Day ever, with more than 630 admitted students visiting campus, along with their parents. We rely on hundreds of people — admissions staff, faculty, students — to make this event a success. And it’s not a one-day affair. In the admissions office, the entire week is the busiest of the year for welcoming visitors to CUA, with more than 200 families (approximately 600 people) coming to campus between Tuesday and Thursday. Throughout this week university staff, especially in admissions, were kept busy day and night running events or preparing for them.
 

Father O'Connell at the 18th American Cardinals Dinner.

The efforts exerted during April 9-13 are consistent with the hard work we have witnessed throughout the year under the leadership of Vice President Hendricks and Director of Admissions Christine Mica. I salute them and the staff and faculty who have been instrumental in the great success we are witnessing in the undergraduate admissions area. We expect to enroll a freshman class of 950 (an increase of 100 over last year). This will be CUA’s largest freshman class ever and it will be drawn from the largest applicant pool CUA has ever attracted —  almost 5,000 applicants. As a result, we have a waiting list of more than 500 prospective undergraduates for fall 2008. The process has been very competitive and our acceptance rate has decreased 10 percent from last year.

The second forward looking, student-focused event in April is the annual American Cardinals Dinner. This year’s dinner  —  our 18th —  was in Las Vegas on Friday, April 27, at the Four Seasons Hotel. Approximately 500 people —  along with five U.S. cardinal archbishops  — attended. We raised $1.2 million, with the proceeds earmarked for CUA student scholarships. Our students  —  who had major speaking and performing roles at the dinner —  were smash hits, proving once again that they are our most effective ambassadors for Catholic University. The Mass preceding the dinner produced a solid turnout from the Catholic community. Las Vegas is well known as a gambling mecca; less well known is that the Catholic community there is growing by leaps and bounds. At the conclusion of the dinner, Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, archbishop of Boston, announced that next year’s dinner will be held in Boston.

The success of the American Cardinals Dinner is the result of meticulous organization and lots of hard work. I want to acknowledge and thank Vice President Frank Persico and Presidential Events Coordinator Suzanne McCarthy for their exceptional efforts in organizing the dinner.

Two other events in April are worthy of note. I received word from Michael McLane, director of libraries, that  his office’s recent "Food for Fines" program generated more than 400 cans of food, which were donated to Emmaus House.  Donations were made by students in lieu of paying library fines, as well as by library staff and others.

Barristas join ARAMARK's Roland Depew and CUA's Ralph Scherini and Carl Petchik for the April 27 grand opening of CUA's Starbucks.

Also, I’m told that our many campus coffee drinkers were gratified to see the Starbucks open in the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center on April 27 and that business that day was brisk. It is one sign among many that good things are continuing to happen on CUA’s campus.
 
We will begin the summer dress code (“appropriate business casual”) on Monday, May 14. I am authorizing the vice presidents in their respective areas to grant permission where possible for offices reporting to them to close at noon on Fridays throughout the summer beginning Friday, May 18, and continuing up to and including Friday, Aug. 17. Beginning Monday, Aug. 20, the university will resume the usual business dress code and regular office hours.

Almost immediately after Commencement, our students will be embarking on two mission trips hosted by Campus Ministry.  Fourteen students and two professional staff members will be leaving May 15 for a two-week trip to Belize. The next day an identical number of students and professionals will depart for Honduras. 

Next year promises to be interesting. During the summer Dr. James Brennan takes over the reins of the academic affairs office from Dr. John Convey. By the beginning of the fall semester, we expect to have chosen a developer for the transformation of our south campus. Also in the fall we will play host to the $1 million Opus Prize awards ceremony. In the course of the new academic year, the construction of Opus Hall and the renovation of Keane/McGivney Hall will be in or near the home stretch.

Busy as we all are and will continue to be, I trust that everyone will make time to enjoy the summer season, to relax, to reflect and to re-energize. You remain in my daily prayers throughout these summer months. May God bless you and keep you safe.

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