Friday, December 21, 2018

Greek Life Update

In response to disturbing allegations of hazing within our Greek community earlier this fall, the University immediately suspended all new membership education activities and commenced an external investigation. In its initial findings, our external investigator (Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP) has shared with us detailed, credible and corroborated information about additional incidents within our Greek community, all of which are deeply troubling. These recent incidents include allegations of assault, forced ingestion, and physical and mental abuse. Such incidents jeopardize the health and safety of our students, and there is absolutely no place for such misconduct within our campus community.

Our students’ safety remains our highest priority. We condemn these recent incidents because they collectively threaten the health and safety of our students. The severity of these allegations, though, compels us to consider not just the safety of our students, but also the ideals of basic human decency and the general respect for the safety and well-being of others. We will not tolerate such reckless behavior, and we must elevate the behavioral and cultural expectations of our students going forward.

To that end, upon reviewing the external investigator’s initial findings, the University has placed several Greek social organizations on interim suspension. For those organizations that are not suspended, the moratorium on new member education activities will be lifted effective the beginning of the Spring 2019 semester. I want to emphasize, however, that the investigation remains ongoing for all Greek social organizations. There remains the possibility of further sanctions for any Greek organization, pending additional findings through our Student Code of Conduct.

To strengthen the overall Greek life experience, and to change the culture to one where students respect and value one another’s health and well-being in accordance with the values espoused by such organizations, we will be implementing new requirements for all members of social fraternities and sororities beginning next semester, including mandatory educational sessions on a variety of topics. I have also asked the Division of Student Affairs to conduct a comprehensive review of the process that governs recognition for fraternities and sororities. This review will include (but not be limited to) structure, membership, risk management, community expectations, and recommendations for new procedures and process.

I remind everyone that if you suspect hazing in any form within any group, team or organization, please contact our Dean of Students Office, or call the Hazing Hotline at 866-755-4293. Our ability to intervene and stop hazing depends on all of us.

The health and well-being of our students will continue to be our highest priority, and I look forward to working with our Greek student leaders, chapter advisors, alumni leaders, and my colleagues in Student Affairs in ensuring this priority. Together, we will eradicate hazing and other misconduct on our campus, we will elevate the behavioral standards and expectations for all our students, and we will change a Greek culture that desperately needs it. As a community, we at Bloomsburg University can and will do better.

Bashar


Thursday, November 8, 2018

Strategic Priority: Student Success


Strategic Priority: Student Success.

It’s no secret that enrollment at colleges and universities around the country has been declining for several years, including here at BU. Recently I spoke to our campus Forum (an open session for faculty, staff and student leaders) about our strategic priorities for the coming years. One of the top priorities for the coming year is student success.

By enrolling at our institution, our students have entrusted us with their future -- to provide them with high-quality relevant education in their chosen field of study, and to prepare them to compete in the 21st century.

Dr. Daniel Greenstein, our new State System Chancellor, stated this same sentiment during a recent visit to campus: “The challenges … boil down to one, really, how to sustain the system and our universities in order to ensure that all students can affordably get the education they need after high school to support themselves and their families; to participate in the 21st-century economy; and to contribute to their communities.”

To move our students towards that goal, we must be diligent in keeping our students involved with campus life, especially in their first year.  A theory called Alexander Astin's Theory of Involvement, details how student involvement in co-curricular activities such as student organizations, leadership positions, and activity in campus residence halls has a positive correlation with retention and academics (Kuh and Pike, 2005).  Because of the positive aspects of co-curricular involvement, universities have been encouraging students to become involved.  To foster development of that goal here at BU, we’ll look to expand our civic engagement and service learning opportunities along with co-curricular activities for our students.

I am charging our faculty and staff with the goal of raising the retention rate for first-year students by a modest one to two percent. Just a one percent increase is an additional 18 students.  Over four years, that amounts to an additional 72 students.  Our biggest area of concern is our undeclared student population where just 58 percent of the students persist into year two.  Helping these students find a direction will take much work, but we are committed to this goal.  I am confident that the BU family of faculty, staff and administrators are poised to meet and exceed this goal.

In addition, we are looking to increase transfer enrollment by two to three percent and graduate school enrollment by five percent in year one.

There is much work ahead of us in the coming years, but with everyone working towards the common goal, we will be successful.

It’s been said that it takes a village.  For us here at BU, we as a family are committed to ensuring student success – and as I stated during my inauguration address, I am determined to achieve this priority “with my pack of Huskies by my side.” 

Bashar

Monday, August 20, 2018

A new school year is upon us


The calendar in my office and the weather outside indeed indicates that summer is still with us. But, for those of us in higher education, August means the start of another academic year is here. Many of our returning students have been busy this summer with internships and study abroad trips (along with their summer jobs). Weekly I hear from our faculty about the great work our students have been doing at these internships, some of which we have been able to highlight on our website. I hope you’ll take a moment to read over some of the stories.

 During the week of Aug. 20, we will welcome the class of 2022 to campus. Move-in week is a milestone event in the lives of both students and parents. For many of our students, they are the first member of their families to attend college. They venture into the unknown, but we are here to assist them in any way possible. Our Orientation Workshop Leaders (OWLs) are not afraid to offer a helping hand to someone who might be lost or needs a hand pushing a cart of a ramp or a hill. During move-in week many bonds of friendship are formed among our new students as they take part in many activities and learn what it takes to be on their own for the first time.

I can also report that it has been a busy summer for work crews here on campus. Some days have been tougher than others maneuvering around lower campus and getting to upper campus has been a challenge at times. If you have not been here over the summer, you will notice some big changes.

To start, the entrance to campus at Lightstreet Road, Swisher Circle and Country Club Road has been undergoing a summer-long rehabilitation. Turning lanes have been built, sidewalks added, curbing installed and new lighting will brighten the area at night. It will hopefully relieve the backups that occur in the morning and afternoons as well as when we host big events.

Also, work continues on the Lycoming Hall renovation with the exterior stairway construction still to be finished along with air conditioning and other inside renovations.  On upper campus work on the pool is being done and a new addition to Redman Stadium is on the way. (I hope you’ll get to the season-opener on Sept. 1 to see what’s new.)

I hope that everyone enjoys what is left of the summer season and has a great 2018-19 academic year. As always, if you see me out on campus, in a dining hall or having a coffee, please come up and say hello. I want to meet as many of you as possible.

Go Huskies!

Bashar

Thursday, July 12, 2018

It's Been a Great First Year


The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” may be cliché, but it’s so true for me. Where have the last 12 months gone? It seems like only yesterday I was arriving to Carver Hall to humbly serve as the 19th president of Bloomsburg University. Now more than 12 months have passed and I can stop, look back, and reflect on how much I have enjoyed getting to know our students, our faculty and staff, and our many graduates. You’ve embraced me and made me feel part of the BU family in ways I could never have imagined.

As I sit here and think about all that has happened, I am honored to have been a part of so many wonderful events and look forward to meeting more new people in the next 12 months.

We had many highlights in the last 12 months starting with last August when we have welcomed more than 1,600 new students to the Husky family. That was followed by the dedication of Soltz Hall, our new suite-style apartment building and the close of the It’s Personal capital campaign, the most successful one in university history. In December over 400 students became the first BU graduates with me as president. In late April I survived the inauguration ceremony, and in May we celebrated the graduation of over 1,500 Huskies.

Our students continue to show all of us how they want to help those around them by holding the biggest Big Event in school history; putting on one of the most elaborate Make-A-Wish reveals ever for a local child battling cancer; hosting the annual Bocce Ball Bash for Special Olympics as well as the annual Relay for Life event for cancer research.

Another one of the enjoyable parts of this job has been the chance to meet and talk with everyone. My chats with students in Starbucks, the dining halls or just walking through campus, have given me a real sense of what is important to them and reminds me daily of why I got into higher education. I’ve also had the chance to meet with many faculty and staff (both active and retired) and find out what they like about working here at BU and ways we can make this an even better place to work.

And finally, as I travel the state and around the country to meet with our alumni, there is one common theme I hear over and over and that’s about how “someone at BU changed my life.” That power of transforming the life of someone (and their family for generations to come) is something we can’t take lightly. I am also thankful for all our alumni and friends who continue to support current and future Huskies. Every gift has an impact, more than you can imagine.

There is a lot of work to be done in the next 12 months, but I know, with the help of my pack of Huskies by my side, we will continue to be successful and accomplish our mission which is to educate the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond.

Until next month, GO HUSKIES!

Bashar

Friday, June 15, 2018

Helping our global understanding

Recently I had a chance to travel to Atlanta to address the Global Awareness Society’s annual international conference. What a wonderful gathering of individuals led by Chang Sub Roh and Jim Pomfret who work so hard to make this world a better place for everyone.

Our world today is more interconnected than ever before in human history. Travel around the globe can be done in 24 hours. My uncle who was the first in our family to arrive in the United States traveled by boat from Syria.

It took 105 days for him to reach the U.S. Imagine what you can do now in 105 days. It is longer than a college semester and 25 percent of a master’s degree.

Communication across continents once took months. For that same uncle, it took a month for a letter to make it back to Syria and another month for his family to respond. Think about that, 60 days to communicate with one another. That’s unimaginable to us today where we can pick up our phone and send photos and videos to anyone anywhere on the globe.

But despite all these incredible advances, as a society, we still struggle with understanding and acceptance of our neighbors, not just in our own country, but from around the world.

A program that will help our global understanding of each other is the study abroad program here at BU. We have five faculty-led trips this June to parts of Europe and the Middle East. There, our students meet and learn from their fellow citizens of the world because it is only through a mutual understanding of each that we can reestablish a society with no hate or fear. Where we can all enjoy the fruits of the world, no matter, who might have produced them.

It is my hope that more and more of students will look into and take advantage of our study abroad program and not be isolated from their fellow man. If you’re a parent of a BU student, please encourage your child to think about this worthwhile program.

I hope, if you are fortunate enough, to enjoy some quiet time this month as the weather finally warms. It has been my honor to serve as president of Bloomsburg University for just shy of one year now. In that time I have come to truly understand why this “college on the hill” is such an important part of so many lives.

The next 12 months will be an exciting time in the life of this university and everyone here will need your support. All the best.

     Bashar

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Celebrating Black History Month

During the month of February we celebrate Black History Month. The story of Black History Month begins in 1915, half a century after the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. It was in the fall of that year that Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson and minister Jesse E. Moorland founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, a group committed to studying and promoting achievements by black Americans and other peoples of African descent.

Known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the group sponsored a national Negro History week in 1926, choosing the second week of February to coincide with the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. President Gerald Ford officially recognized Black History Month in 1976, calling upon the public to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

Here at Bloomsburg University, I am proud of the programming we currently offer and hope that we'll be able to offer more in the years ahead.

We started BU's Black History Month with a lecture by Mr. Wil Haygood, a distinguished writer, author, Pulitzer Prize finalist and reporter. Mr. Haygood is best known for his book which was later turned into the critically acclaimed film, The Butler. Mr. Haygood gave an inspired talk to a large crowd on where we are as a society and how 'only light can drive out the darkness."

There will be several more lectures and presentations throughout the month in celebration of Black History Month.

But I want to highlight one very important discussion to be held on Friday, Feb. 16. Organized by CGA president Joar Dahn, "Beyond the Fountain", a discussion of racism in our community. It will be held in the Kehr Union Building, multi-purpose rooms A-B from 5 to 7 p.m. As Joar has said it is his goal is to bring people of all colors together to discuss diversity and how we can all learn from each other. This is a young man who cares deeply about this community and wants to make it a better place for all of us. I am so proud of him for what he is doing with this discussion and it is my hope that we come out and share our experiences. I'll be there and I hope you will be, too.

     Bashar