Welcome to a New Academic Year

September 3, 2007

Dear Rutgers Faculty and Staff:

Welcome to a new year at Rutgers! There is much excitement as we begin the semester and good news to report. For the first time in our history, annual fundraising for Rutgers topped $100 million in 2006–07, for which we owe thanks to the Rutgers University Foundation, development officers across the university, and your own generous contributions.

Each of our campuses has important beginnings this semester:
Our transformation of undergraduate education in New Brunswick is under way as the School of Arts and Sciences welcomes its first new students, Cook College has officially become the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, and we have newly appointed campus deans and deans of students on the Busch, College Avenue, Cook, Douglass, and Livingston campuses.

Camden greets its first-ever doctoral students as we launch the nation's very first Ph.D. program in childhood studies. Progress continues on the new School of Law facility, plans are in the works for renovating the gymnasium, and the Campus Center has more dining options in a more comfortable setting.

Three new deans begin their tenures in Newark: Philip Yeagle at the Rutgers–Newark Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Michael Cooper at the Rutgers Business School–Newark and New Brunswick, and Adam Graycar at the School of Criminal Justice. We anticipate the start of construction of a new facility for the business school's Newark programs later in the year.
This is an important year for the university as we prepare and discuss our self-study this fall and host the Middle States reaccreditation team next spring. We embrace this opportunity to examine and improve upon our outstanding programs of teaching, research, and service.

I will be speaking about our goals and aspirations in my Annual Address to the University Community on Friday, September 28, at 1:10 p.m. in the Rutgers Student Center on College Avenue in New Brunswick. You are invited to attend the address or to watch the webcast via my website at http://www.president.rutgers.edu.

Please accept my best wishes for a successful and rewarding academic year. As always, I thank you for the work you do in serving our students, the university, and the people of New Jersey.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey