Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:
Welcome to the 2024-2025 academic year at Â鶹´«Ã½! For those who are new to the University, we are pleased to extend a warm Monarch welcome. We look forward to sharing our traditions and building new ones with you as part of our caring community. To those who are returning, welcome back for another exciting year in your personal journey and another successful chapter in our shared history.
The 2024-2025 academic year represents the first year following the integration of Eastern Virginia Medical School and the establishment of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Â鶹´«Ã½. We are truly growing our outreach and impact as the Commonwealth’s largest and most complex academic health sciences center. Although hard work and sheer determination defined integration planning over the past three years, now is a pivotal time in bringing together our students, faculty, and staff in order to embrace the limitless opportunities before us. And, this Thursday (August 29, 2024), we will officially dedicate our newest academic building, located at 41st Street and Monarch Way and home to the Ellmer College of Health Sciences. This state-of-the-art facility houses classroom, clinical, and laboratory spaces, as well as collaboration areas and faculty offices. For this special event, we will be joined by a number of state leaders, generous donors, and community members, including the college namesakes, Dennis and Jan Ellmer. It will be a special day as we continue to usher in a new era in health sciences!
Throughout campus, we are fully dedicated to modernizing our facilities and infrastructure. We have officially entered the second half of our planning effort associated with the development of a 10-year master plan. A complete plan will be finalized and adopted next year. Additionally, operational and technical teams across campus are working diligently on a multi-year Salesforce implementation, which will provide a streamlined process for employees to access various administrative functions and offer high-quality and personalized services to students.
As a student-centered institution that has always been deeply committed to both engagement and success, we are beginning to see increasing levels of achievement among our talented students. For this fall, our retention rate has increased to 77 percent after reaching an all-time low of 72 percent just three years ago. This significant increase is a clear testament to our shared focus on academic excellence and student success.
To build upon this incredible momentum, we will be embracing a mobility mindset in our daily efforts. The mobility mindset is deeply rooted in enabling flexibility in our traditional practices and enhancing understanding for the unique needs of individuals. This includes, but is not limited to: accelerated programs, badges, certificates, and micro-credentials. This approach reminds us that there are many ways in which we can adapt to the learners of today and tomorrow. In addition to a mobility mindset, we will double down on student success, enable robust online learning experiences, and pursue revenue diversification. These focused efforts will be critical to our current work and future success.
Without question, this is a special time to be part of the Monarch Nation as we are truly leading the way in the region, state, nation, and world. As we continue to navigate a multitude of events in our personal lives and society as a whole, I strongly encourage all Monarchs to exercise care, compassion, and civility in our everyday interactions. Please be reminded that hate and violence will not be tolerated by our institution. Indeed, this is a wonderful community and one that I know can and will continue to embrace differences and opportunities with a great deal of kindness and respect given our long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. GO MONARCHS!
With Monarch Pride,
Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D.
President