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Dear NSU Family,

Recently, I created two educational initiatives that will soon place Norfolk State University in an advantageous academic position. In my opinion, the Spartan Crusade for Academic Success (SCAS) and the Academic Excellence, Partnerships, Institutional Advancement and Enrollment (APIE) programs will undergird NSU’s historic mission of access and affordability as well as impact and build a stronger Hampton Roads and Virginia.

Because I want you to discuss these initiatives with community members and friends, I’m providing you with a snapshot of both. I will keep you updated on these as well as other programs in upcoming issues of Making Waves.

NSU’s historic mission of access and affordability continues to be a vital and significant priority. This mission is beset by many challenges including student financial difficulties and lack of college preparedness. If President Barack Obama’s “Race to the Top” goals for postsecondary education are to be achieved, increased college graduation rates will be required at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. As one of the largest HBCUs in the U.S., Norfolk State University is well positioned to assume a leadership role in advancing educational attainment in the Hampton Roads region and engaging fellow HBCUs in this national imperative.

Summary of Program Objectives:

SCAS will be a multifaceted strategic initiative to promote educational success and college preparedness at elementary, middle grades and high school levels. To effectively address the relatively low, postsecondary educational attainment challenge, NSU proposes a major institutional initiative involving its faculty, students, the School of Education, other academic units and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs to strategically promote academic success for low-income and minority students at elementary, middle grades and high school levels in the Hampton Roads region.

This initiative, the Spartan Crusade for Academic Success, will involve strategic alliances with regional school districts, high schools and community colleges and other external partners. SCAS will deploy multiple interventions at various levels of student development (K-16). A five-year funding cycle is proposed to effectively implement and monitor the impact of SCAS, which will be envisioned as a sustained NSU initiative and collaborative beyond the funding cycle. In addition, SCAS will provide enhanced academic support programs for NSU students to significantly increase student retention and student graduation rates. As we go to press with this publication, I am proud to announce that soon Booker T. Washington High School will sign on as NSU’s first SCAS-partner school.

My second initiative is APIE.

Academic Excellence

• Increase the academic quality of the curriculum throughout the University

• Strengthen and expand NSU’s program mix and on-line learning instructional offerings

• Strengthen and further develop the graduate program with a focus on graduate-professional programs

• Promote faculty and student research and scholarship

• Facilitate and increase applied research and technology transfer

Partnerships

• Increase NSU’s role in regional, state and national economic development partnerships

• Leverage NSU’s strengths in STEM and applied research to support state employment and economic development

• Enhance and promote alumni programs and partnerships in support of NSU’s fiscal health and vitality

• Increase and promote collaborative efforts with military partners in the Hampton Roads region

• Strengthen and increase partnerships with regional community colleges and high schools

• Increase and promote partnerships in the creative arts to enhance cultural life in the region

Institutional Advancement (External Support)

• Strengthen NSU’s institutional profile and brand regionally, statewide and nationally

• Strategically promote NSU’s major academic strengths and centers of excellence

• Strengthen and increase fundraising and external support to sustain and increase academic excellence

• Promote alumni engagement and alumni initiatives to increase external support for NSU

Enrollment

• Manage strategic enrollment growth commensurate to NSU’s resource capabilities

• Strengthen and increase student retention and student graduation rates

• Facilitate strategic growth of graduate students enrolled at NSU

• Promote enrollment of adult learners and community college students at NSU

Sincerely,
Tony Atwater, Ph.D.
President