Office of the President

These are challenging times for higher education in the United States, and in Michigan in particular, as state and Federal support for publicly-funded education have been reduced. And yet, there is a greater need than ever before for higher education. Indeed, I believe that higher education is the single best way for moving the state in new, more economically prosperous directions.

As a small university, Lake Superior has experienced the challenges of publicly funded educational support particularly acutely. Yet, despite these economic challenges, LSSU remains a gem. It has continued to provide the kind of individualized, student-oriented, academically rigorous, hands-on education of the type that is decreasingly found in today's era of mass-production, mega-universities. Specifically, we have offered – and continue to offer -- some of the most personalized and engaged undergraduate educational experiences to be found in any publicly supported university.

These opportunities include (to name just a few): one of the few undergraduate Fisheries and Wildlife Management programs in the region, the state's only accredited undergraduate program in environmental health, the region's only fire science program accredited by the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress, and a variety of engineering programs options in robotics that are unparalled at the undergraduate area.

Regardless of academic area, our commitment to educating in a hands-on, personalized way shines through. Our professors are here because they want to teach, not just to do research – although they do a substantial amount of research, usually involving our students. We believe in the value of learning by doing and in training students at a level as high as they are able to go.

Future Directions

Building on this distinguished foundation, the University is launching a number of initiatives to help us rise to the next level of excellence. These include:

• Helping to assure that all of our graduates are well-prepared to compete in today's increasingly international and multi-cultural world;
• Adding new majors in innovative areas, including at the Master's level;
• Raising non-tuition money for adding new buildings and enhancing academic and athletic excellence
• Increasing the visibility and the reputation of the institution and its academic
  programs; and
• Working with our thousands of productive and satisfied alumni to help us maintain the same high level of excellence they experienced as students here at LSSU.

These are exciting times at Lake Superior State University. I welcome the opportunity to discuss our future directions with you. Please feel free to contact me at president@lssu.edu.

Sincerely,

Rodney L. Lowman
President