@ The President's Desk
Straight talk and timely information from President Roger Sublett

External Agencies

  • We reached settlement with the U.S. Department of Education regarding administration of Title IV funds for doctoral learners. 

  • We achieved full approval and support from the Ohio Board of Regents for all of our academic programs and are in compliance with all appropriate regulations governing higher education in Ohio.

  • We achieved full reauthorization from the Vermont Department of Education for all of our academic programs in Vermont for the next three years.

  • The Florida Commission for Independent Education has granted full reauthorization for all of our academic programs in that state.

  • We gained full endorsement by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association during their follow-up visit to Union’s doctoral programs.


Academic Progress

  • We have developed and launched three new doctoral programs:  the Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies (with areas of concentration in Ethical & Creative Leadership, Public Policy & Social Issues, and Humanities & Society); the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.); and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.).  We are using a cohort model for each of these programs and have received very favorable feedback from the new doctoral learners enrolled across the three programs.

  • We have reorganized our undergraduate programs to offer a Bachelor of Science with 14 majors throughout our academic centers in Sacramento, Los Angeles, North Miami Beach, and Cincinnati.  All majors and curriculum have been reviewed and approved by Ohio’s Regents.

  • We have developed online academic programs for our Bachelor of Arts degree and a new online master’s degree in Vermont.  Both have been quite successful in adding another dimension to our academic offerings and have attracted new learners to Union.

  • We are launching a new online criminal justice undergraduate program and are exploring master’s options in criminal justice management and/or public administration.

  • We are well into an intensive, three-year study in preparation for our next institutional visit by the Higher Learning Commission, scheduled for December 2009.  We are anticipating that the peer review process will result in a 10-year renewal of our institutional authorization by the Higher Learning Commission.


Community

  • The Board of Trustees, faculty, academic community, alumni, and learners worked to create a new mission/vision/values/principles statement that we have shared widely within Union. We feel it captures the historic legacy of Union’s founders and looks forward at the same time with strong guiding principles.

  • We have laid the foundations for a new International Alumni Association and a new Learner Council, both of which are currently operating in collaboration with the administration and broader academic community, reflecting the diverse populations and various program offerings.

  • Our Faculty Council has been strengthened through deeper and broader engagement, and we look forward to our third annual “all faculty” face-to-face meeting in late September. Our faculty members continue to engage in scholarly work and publish a number of papers and books each year—many of which you will see featured in the annual report.

  • We are in the process of building the membership of the Board of Trustees, attracting both scholars and visionaries who are committed to Union’s empowering educational approaches. Our goal remains to have a total of 18 members of the Board of Trustees by the end of 2009.


Property

  • We are moving forward with establishing Vermont College of Fine Arts as an independent college and have signed an Asset Purchase Agreement with VCFA, which will result in transferring the name “Vermont College,” all property in Montpelier, and the three M.F.A. programs to this new entity.  It is exciting to be a part of the creative process of creating a new college and working in collaboration with its leaders to sustain its operation in future days.

  • We have also sold the two buildings in Cincinnati and leased back, for a period of 10 years, the main structure with the tower (which we call the 440 Building and which includes the Conley Academic Center).  We have moved all of the national administrative operations into the 440 Building and find the new sense of community here in Cincinnati to be one very positive result of the consolidation.