Welcome to Fall 2010

Dear FIU Family,

Welcome to the fall semester! I hope you had a great summer and are ready for an exciting and invigorating academic year. We expect a record enrollment for 2010-2011, so please plan accordingly in timing your arrival on campus and parking your vehicles.

For our new students, welcome! Thank you for entrusting your education to FIU. In the next few years you will gain the skills you need to be an engaged global citizen prepared to compete in the 21^st century marketplace.

For our returning students, welcome back! This year will offer even more opportunities to gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes of global citizenship, both in and outside the classroom.

I encourage all of our students to immerse themselves in the FIU experience. Come to a game – our football home opener is Sept. 11 against Rutgers. Go to an exhibit at one of our museums. Participate in the many discussions and lectures that bring prominent leaders, thinkers and decision makers to our campuses. Visit our university calendar for more information.

I know all of you are as proud of FIU as I am, so show your pride! Homecoming is just a few months away, from Nov. 1-6. It’s a perfect time to participate in the many activities planned that week and show how proud you are to be a Panther!

For our faculty and staff, I trust you will make all of our students feel welcome as they return to campus or step on campus for the first time. We are working on a one-stop-shop enrollment process, but in the meantime, please go out of your way to greet students and help those who are in need of assistance as they walk around our campuses these first few weeks. Thank you for letting them know that for us every student counts.

Soon, I will also be calling on our faculty and staff to make a strong statement in support of our crucial fundraising efforts by participating in a faculty and staff campaign that we will launch in the next few months. Giving begins at home and I hope you will join me in showing how much you love this institution by making a donation.

With students at the center of everything we do, we are ready to move forward in this new era.

Thanks to efforts led by our Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, President’s Council and alumni, we have gained much support over the past year, within the FIU community and the South Florida community, for our vision of FIU as a leading student-centered urban public research university that is locally and globally engaged.

As many of you know, this vision, which I outlined last year in the  Hit the Ground Running work plan, involves revitalizing and expanding FIU’s financial base, achieving results-oriented student-centered academic excellence, enhancing the quality and impact of research and creative initiatives, and engaging the community.

This year will be about realizing that vision! By the end of the year we expect to have our new  Worlds Ahead strategic plan. This strategic plan is being developed with Hit the Ground Running as our guide. We have identified four strategic themes – arts, environment, global and health which will be the foundation for teaching, research and engagement in the next five years.

I encourage you to visit the Strategic Planning website for information on the development of the strategic plan and to offer your feedback on our planning efforts.

Engagement will also be a major theme for us this year. Led by our new Office of Engagement, we are forging public-private strategic partnerships based on your research and creative energies, to address our region’s most critical issues. FIU already is partnering with key organizations in our community to find innovative solutions to transportation, health, environmental and other challenges. We are also working with strategic partners to place our students in internships, giving them the real-world experience they need to complement their FIU education.

Engagement is a pillar of our Worlds Ahead branding campaign, which is also moving forward. To see the latest engagement tool, designed specifically for new and future FIU students, visit the Worlds Ahead website.

Once again, I would like to wish you a productive, challenging, exciting and successful academic year. I look forward to seeing you around campus!

Mark B. Rosenberg
President