Letter from the President
Progress. It’s a word I didn’t much ponder before coming to Lake Erie College three years ago, but has become part of my everyday outlook since I arrived at this institution.
Progress can be looked at in many ways – as a journey or movement toward an end result, or as movement or change. Lake Erie College is making magnificent strides toward a myriad of goals, but more important is that we constantly do better and be better for the community in which we live, the alumni who graduated from our halls and the current students who call Lake Erie College home. They deserve to be associated with a college that continually strives to do more and be more. We want to live up to those expectations.
Excellence, Service and Tradition continue to be the three tenets of Lake Erie College. For the second year in a row, we have continued to break records and develop new and exciting programs that focus on and serve as a complement to those areas.
Enrollment
As students select a college to call home, it is the start of a new beginning for them – a progression of their life’s journey from teenager to adult. At Lake Erie College, the area of enrollment has seen immense progress as more and more students select our campus as their new home and the place to begin their new journey.
The 2008-2009 academic year marks the second year in a row that Lake Erie College welcomes a record class of new students. It is the second-largest incoming freshman class in the history of the College, with over 350 new students. We have continued to remain selective, accepting less than 50 percent of applicants, with an average cumulative high school grade point average of over 3.0.
Retention rates at the College are also improving gradually, moving from 64 percent from the freshman to sophomore year in 1992 to 74.2 percent in 2006. These rates compare to 75 percent nationally and 76 percent in the Midwest in 2005.
The continued emphasis on academics, athletics, marketing and admissions will help us enroll increasing numbers of average students from preparatory schools, who are looking for an environment like that offered by Lake Erie College. This emphasis is already helping Lake Erie to recruit a more diverse student body. The College is currently boasting a male to female ratio of 40% male to 60% female with 40% of students outside of Ohio (33 total states, four foreign countries).
Academics
Academics remain the core of Lake Erie College, and the assessment and perfection of our current academic offerings is one area in which we are dedicated to making progress.
Two new undergraduate majors, equine entrepreneurship and human resources management, were added this academic year to give students the edge needed to achieve progress in today’s business world. Many new minors were also added, including a minor in entrepreneurship that can be linked with any academic major.
Lake Erie College remains committed to our heritage in the liberal arts - fine arts being an important component of this area; however, we must create and develop programs that will attract and prepare students for today’s job market. We also continue to offer the option for an individualized major to assist students in reaching specific career goals.
The Lake Erie College Honors Program, now in its fourth year, offers a challenging course of studies for 27 students in a variety of majors. Twelve students are also recipients of Presidential Scholarships.
An excellent complement to our core undergraduate programs, two Lake Erie College graduate programs, the Master of Science in Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Education (MSEd), continue to grow and flourish.
To better meet the needs of individuals in the field of education, the MSEd program is adopting a new component to encourage leadership growth within the educational community.
The MBA program has shown tremendous growth and was named as the program of choice for employees of University Hospitals Health System, one of the area’s premier teaching hospitals and health care providers. This exclusive relationship allows us to provide tailored, on-site MBA programs to the employees of one of the region’s largest employers.
Institute for Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship
Lake Erie College helps students learn to develop their own path in life, and the newly-developed Institute for Innovation, Leadership and Entrepreneurship is designed to help them develop the skills needed to be successful in their chosen field.
Now in its second year, the Center for Entrepreneurship continues to make progress - challenging students, faculty and staff to be entrepreneurial in their thinking, and helping to fuse the spirit of entrepreneurialism across all academic disciplines.
The Center has also assisted in helping the College forge new relationships with the City of Painesville and the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. The Center regularly offers speakers, educational events and a Business Clinic to assist area entrepreneurs and provide students and community members many opportunities to network and to share ideas. Many successful student-run businesses have also begun with the Center’s influence.
The Lake Erie chapter of Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) is successful and active. The group has executed many campus activities including a fall “Welcome Back” concert which brought students and the City of Painesville together while raising money for a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.
For many years, Lake Erie College has been known for the top-quality professional development courses it offers to area educators to help them make progress in their careers. To expand, the College has begun a partnership with The Hershey Foundation. Undergraduate or graduate course offerings in Montessori education will prepare students to become nationally and internationally certified Montessori teachers.
Athletics
One pivotal area of Lake Erie College that is rapidly progressing is the area of athletics. At Lake Erie College, athletics have made a great impact in helping the College build enrollment, awareness and regionalism. The 2007-2008 academic year saw the addition of men’s and women’s tennis and lacrosse, bringing the roster to a record 20 men’s and women’s sports. The addition of new sports has also helped us renew community relations by partnering with the Painesville City Schools and the City of Painesville.
The recent move to NCAA Division II status has also helped produce remarkable results – a broader sense of community to our campus and the addition of many fine scholar-athletes. Membership in Division II athletics allows the College to provide athletic scholarships, which in turn enables us to recruit and enroll increasing numbers of students. Today, financial aid packages are more important than ever in students’ (and their parents’) decision on what college to attend. Lake Erie College will be the only Division II college in Northeast Ohio and has a distinct advantage for recruiting a higher caliber of students from the many excellent high schools throughout the region and the country.
Student Life
Lake Erie College has a long tradition of excellence and progress. We are proud of our rich heritage and make every effort to instill the spirit of tradition into each student who calls our campus home. From a welcome-back picnic at the President’s mansion, to over 30 student-run groups, tailgating parties, theatre productions, nationally-known speakers and bands playing on the Campus Green, students have many opportunities to get involved and feel connected.
Bursting enrollment has brought about many new challenges and opportunities. To meet the needs of our growing student population, we have begun offering new housing opportunities in Founders Court, a large upper-classmen College-run apartment complex. Here, students live together in “theme” apartments which have many academic and social requirements, including group service projects.
To meet the changing needs of our students, many new student groups have been formed including Annex, which organizes a weekly gathering for worship and inspiration; Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) which provides support and a voice for student athletes; and Students Making a Difference which promotes campus service projects and community involvement.
An emerging Greek community is also giving students more opportunity to become engaged in the collegiate experience. The campus is now home to one national sorority (Gamma Phi Beta) and two national fraternities (Kappa Sigma and Tau Kappa Epsilon).
Capital Projects
The progress in enrollment, athletics and student life also bring the need for additional space. Lake Erie College has risen to meet the challenges with new and exciting projects.
The College has recently acquired an adjacent building and property that formerly housed a private elementary school. The acquisition of this property, now known as the Garfield Center, includes 14 acres of property and buildings that include 25 classrooms and other important facilities.
Our commitment to math and science will also be evident in the spring of 2009 when we begin a complete renovation of the Austin Hall of Science. The building will be completely renovated in order to be an environmentally “green” building equipped with the most current classroom technologies. We are certain that the new facility will meet the needs of current and future students for years to come.
The equine studies program continues to be an important focus area for the College in both academic and student life arenas. A new equestrian learning facility is currently being constructed and is on track to be completed in the spring of 2009. The 11,000 sq. ft. facility includes new classrooms, office space, computer labs, locker rooms and student lounge areas.
Connectivity is a large part of the college experience. Lake Erie College made it easier for students as the campus became completely wireless in the spring of 2007. The project allows students to receive wireless internet service in any of the campus buildings, residence halls and apartments.
Awareness, Fundraising and Financial Strength
As the College expands and explores new opportunities, we have used the opportunity to share with others the progress that is being made. The College has continued with an aggressive and exciting marketing campaign that challenges prospective students to “Get In and Stand Out.” This campaign can be seen on billboards and heard on airwaves in northeast Ohio, central Ohio and western Pennsylvania and is helping to build the overall awareness of the institution.
Lake Erie College touts its excellence, tradition and service, but now national organizations are also recognizing the College’s efforts and development. For the first time in Lake Erie College’s 152-year history, the institution has been ranked a “best baccalaureate college” in the Midwest according to the 2009 “America’s Best Colleges Guide” of U.S.News & World Report, named a Student Horizon’s “College of Distinction” and was named one of the best colleges and universities in the Midwest for the second consecutive year according to The Princeton Review. U.S.News & World Report also recognized Lake Erie as having one of the lowest acceptance rates in the Midwest region, which speaks of the College’s selectivity.
Lake Erie College is proud to acknowledge the generous and ongoing support of alumni, foundations, corporations and friends. Between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2008 the College received approximately $15 million in gifts and pledges. Significant gifts and pledges include a $1.3 million grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to establish a Center for Entrepreneurship, and a $4 million anonymous gift to begin renovations on the Austin Hall of Science.
Lake Erie realized the largest surplus ever in College history at June 30, 2008 and the finances of the College continue to be strong.
It has been another year of excitement - another year of records - and I invite you to review our website and visit campus to learn more about the progress that we are making.
Sincerely,
Michael T. Victor
President
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