April 11, 2019 Faculty and Staff: The end of the spring semester is always a wonderfully chaotic time on campus. We are celebrating our soon-to-be graduates while recruiting a new group of first-year students, and at the same time attending to the needs of our continuing students in their current classes and registration for the fall, not to mention saying farewell to longtime trusted colleagues who are retiring. The mix of emotions is vast and the stress level high. Self-care is important during these times and I hope you are scheduling time for yourselves. Perhaps some of you are taking some time out to enjoy the campus as spring has begun to paint the campus with beautiful foliage that reminds us that winter is but a memory. I know Sophie, my labradoodle, is enjoying the extra ball-throwing time as she helps me with my own self-care. While I know I am asking a lot, I hope that you will take some extra time to remind students to register. Ask students to address any holds they might have on their accounts. Make sure they have filled out all financial aid information. Our goal is to get at least 72.5 percent of current first-time, full-time freshmen registered for the fall semester, along with meeting our other continuing student enrollment goals. How can you help? Faculty: take a few seconds at the beginning of each class to remind students to register. If you have department Facebook or another social media presence, post reminders for students to register. Staff: as you are interacting with students in your offices, or see them in the halls or on campus, ask if they have registered. It will go a long way toward helping us achieve our retention and enrollment goals. And it’s good for them to know that we care about their academic futures. I do have good news to share. We are approximately 986 registered students ahead of where we were last time this year. I thank all the faculty and staff advisors who have been hard at work getting our students registered! et’s keep moving toward our goal of retaining more students! Again, please take some time to enjoy the wonder that comes with the end of an academic year. I thank you for all your work as we move toward Commencement. Sincerely, Richard J. Helldobler, PhD President
