Chapter 1
Overiew and History

 

University History Part 2

Throughout its history, the university’s commitment to students has remained constant. To meet student needs, SVSU offers a selection of more than 70 programs leading to bachelors, masters, and specialists degrees. Class sizes remain small, allowing for individualized instruction; 73% of classes are taught by full-time faculty. Student support programs in both academic and non-academic areas are readily available to all.

SVSU has always taken pride in many aspects of its culture, especially its strong commitment to good teaching. The university has 244 full-time faculty, 84% of whom hold doctoral or terminal degrees, compared to a faculty of 176 a decade ago. The number and diversity of new faculty have contributed to the university’s transformational change. In fact, 46% of the current full-time faculty have come during the past seven years. In addition to teaching General Education as well as major and/or graduate courses, many of these faculty have assumed campus leadership positions.

This larger, more diverse faculty has enabled the university to offer new and expanded programs, including several new graduate programs, a new communication-intensive General Education program, and multiple new majors and minors. Similarly, the increased numbers of staff have expanded other campus services and operations. As a culturally diverse maturing institution, SVSU is now focused on building a distinctive reputation through a well-defined mission and programs that reach beyond the regional purpose its founders envisioned. The university has also worked to attract more highly-qualified students. More than $2 million in scholarships were awarded for the Fall 2003 semester. With its Presidential Scholarship program, now in its eleventh year, for example, the university now attracts more of the region’s valedictorians and salutatorians than any other state college or university.

Growth in Presidential Scholarship Recipients
Presidential Scholarship Recipients
Figure 1-5
(Enlarged Graphic)

Over the past five years, SVSU has also been the recipient of major federal and state grants, which have generated and funded programs as diverse as school/ university partnerships, technology integration, and environmental studies. These new initiatives have complemented the academic, technological, and physical expansion of the campus.

SVSU recently completed the largest physical growth spurt in the University’s history. The past decade has seen $170 million in construction. In the interval of the current five-year plan, the campus has completed $62.1 million in construction projects:

Thus the square footage of campus facilities in Fall 2003 was 19% larger than in Fall 2002. Funding for these projects was provided by the university, including a $9.5 million “Creating the Future” campaign, private donors, and the State of Michigan.

Percent of Physical Plant Built or Under
Construction: 1963-2003
Physical Plant: 1963-2003
Figure 1-6
(Enlarged Graphic)

With the completion of these projects, 64% of the total campus space will have been completed over just a relatively brief 15-year span–a remarkable period of growth. This expansion has allowed the university to more fully realize its mission, establish a more vibrant campus community, and become a “magnet” for the region, creating opportunities for people to improve their careers and their lives.

During this decade of growth, the University has likewise matured in multiple dimensions of its service to constituents; to cite a few additional examples:

Because SVSU has matured as an institution, the opportunities and challenges facing this generation of faculty, staff, and students are different from those of the founding generations, as this Report will demonstrate. The university focus has evolved from establishing basic programs to developing uniqueness: offering distinctive programs that set SVSU apart from other institutions, defining its niche as it competes for students and resources.