Welcome back to campus.
As many of you have settled back in to your residence halls, classrooms, and offices you have likely noticed a few changes on campus.
A walk through the freshly painted academic corridors is a great antidote for any winter blues you may have. Billboards and radio advertisements are advancing Ramapo’s hands-on learning opportunities and interdisciplinary curricula---two of the four pillars that help our students push intellectual, personal, and professional boundaries. Colorful flags, printed materials, and a re-design of many of our Web pages now promote the College’s Pushing Boundaries campaign.
Roofing professionals are also on campus and will be for the next several months as they work to replace the roofs of buildings A-E, the Library, G-Building, H Building, the student center, and Pine Hall. As part of this Public Private Partnership, a third party is shouldering the expense of the roof replacements and will be installing environmentally friendly and revenue generating solar panels. This project is a good example of our institutional focus on innovation and stewardship—two forces also driving the College’s Strategic Planning Task Force. The Task Force, comprised of 25 faculty, students, staff, and others, begins their work toward developing a new Strategic Plan this semester.
Ramapo College is also making headlines again. For the seventh consecutive year, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked Ramapo College as among the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges” for 2012. Ramapo is one of only three New Jersey public institutions of higher education included in the 2012 list. The headlines don’t stop there.
Did you know that our men's basketball team is 13-5 overall and 4-3 in the NJAC and our women's basketball team is 11-6 overall and 3-4 in the NJAC? Be sure to catch the impressive Ramapo Roadrunners in action this season.
Finally, as part of Ramapo College's commitment to campus climate, the Diversity Action Committee (DAC) collects data on diversity and campus life via the Campus Climate Survey. A campus wide e-mail with a link to the survey will be sent on February 6. I strongly encourage all students and personnel to complete this 20 minute survey.
In addition to the survey, DAC will also present Diversity Convocation on Wednesday, February 8 at 3:00 pm in the Sharp Theater of the Berrie Center. Community leader, activist, and founder of The Balm in Gilead, Dr. Pernessa Seele will speak about diversity in her work with grassroots institutions dedicated to the health status of people of the African Diaspora.
I am pleased to welcome you back to campus and I look forward to another successful semester.
Sincerely,
Dr. Peter P. Mercer
President
