September 21, 2022

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to provide a campus update to the ETSU Board of Trustees during their quarterly meeting. It was my great pleasure to share that the university has recently achieved historic milestones for new student enrollment, graduation rates, and employee satisfaction. 

Highlights of my report include: 

• Our incoming class of 2,056 students for fall 2022 is the largest in a decade and represents a 25% increase in the past two years; 
• Overall enrollment increased by 195 students over last year, with a total headcount enrollment of 13,738 undergraduate, graduate, medical, and pharmacy students;  
• ETSU’s graduation rate is the highest in the school’s history – 55% of our students graduated within six years; 
• U.S. News & World Report recently ranked ETSU in the top 100 colleges in the nation for the least student debt; 
• Faculty from the Clemmer College received a $1.25 million grant to enhance education in rural school systems; 
• Our engineering program received the prestigious ABET accreditation; 
• ETSU recently won a federal grant to support first-generation students; 
• Forbes magazine and Statista recognized our institution as one of the best employers in Tennessee; and 
• The results of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Best Colleges to Work For” survey indicate that ETSU employees reported higher job satisfaction than the national average. ETSU scored 76% in overall job satisfaction and support, an increase from last year and above the 70% average for other R2 Carnegie Research Classification institutions across the country. Overall, ETSU employee satisfaction increased in every category compared to the previous year. 

These numbers and other success indicators are reflective of the work that our students, faculty, and staff have undertaken to advance the mission of improving the quality of life for people in this region and beyond.    

Celebrate 'ETSU Together' Event Tonight

As part of our International Day of Peace celebration, the Office of Leadership and Civic Engagement will host “ETSU Together” tonight at 7 p.m. A highlight of the event will be an aerial drone show in which more than 100 music-synchronized drones will light up the campus skies. Join us this evening at University Commons for music and other fun events.  

Save the Date: 2022 State of the University Address

The ETSU community is invited to join me on Friday, October 14, at 10 a.m. for my annual State of the University Address. We will gather in the Powell Recital Hall at the Martin Center for the Arts. During this event, I will provide an update on the overall health of the institution, outline trends occurring in higher education in our region and across the nation, and discuss strategic initiatives to occur across the ETSU community over the next 18 months. Light refreshments will be served. I look forward to seeing you on October 14. For those who are unable to attend, the State of the University Address will be streamed online here.     

Free App Month Continues

Help us spread the word: September is Tennessee Free Application Month! Prospective freshmen and transfer students can apply to ETSU and have the $25 application fee waived. Applicants should visit etsu.edu/apply and use the code ETSUFREEAPP23 to receive the fee waiver.    

Symposium on Innovation and Education for the Bioeconomy Set for October 27

Save the date: Next month, local, state, and national leaders in education, government, and industry will join community stakeholders for a “Symposium on Innovation and Education for the Bioeconomy.” The event will take place on Thursday, October 27, and is hosted by the ETSU Research Corporation. More details will be made available soon.    

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