Florida A&M University News March 9, 2016 Innovation and New Partnerships Will Help Move FAMU Forward - From the President's Desk Hello Rattlers, As our students and faculty enjoy a well-deserved spring break, I encourage everyone to pause and refocus on the important role Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) plays as an incubator of innovation. The teaching, research, learning, and training we do here is life-changing, and that is why we must remain focused on meeting our goals and objectives. We are a land-grant university with a unique designation. Since receiving this distinction under federal legislation passed in the 1890s, our mandate has been to provide a high-quality education to underserved individuals and low-wealth communities. To remain true to this mission, we must find unique ways to serve our students while aligning our efforts with the goals outlined for us in the performance-funding model established by the State University System Board of Governors. Florida A&M University has every intention of excelling in meeting our objectives from the Board of Governors and the goals set forth by our federal mandate. Therefore, we have a plan to improve our recruitment and retention rates, as well as enhance timely graduation and debt reduction. The first step to ensuring success is to take a step back and review what changes or improvements need to be made to get us to our goals. After careful analysis and consideration, we uncovered some inhibitors that often go unnoticed, but have a huge influence on student recruitment and retention, in particular. Housing and athletics are big student attractions for any university; they play an important role in the decision-making process for prospective students. As one of the nation's leading and largest historically Black universities, we share a common problem in that our housing inventory is very dated, averaging 55 years old. Our stadium, which seats 25,000, was last renovated in the early 1980s, and our field house needs a complete upgrade. Our academic profile is strong, but the conditions of our housing and athletic facilities can seriously impede our ability to compete for prospective students. These problems are not going away and must be addressed to improve the value of the FAMU educational experience and meet our performance metrics. Making our University profile whole is crucial. Innovation is the weapon in this battle. We are looking for unique public-private partnerships that are tailor-made to help us resolve our infrastructure difficulties. Using new revenue sources and emphasizing less reliance on state funds is also important. The Public Education Capital Outlay (PECO) fund for Florida's 12 public universities consists of roughly $115 million annually. Our housing need for a 1,400-bed facility alone exceeds $200 million. As a result, we are considering the idea of renovating, preserving, and utilizing our historic women's dormitories as a part of upholding the FAMU legacy. New funding trends point to privatized housing, which would free up revenues for academics. The trends in student housing are constantly changing but offer the opportunity to offer state-of-the-art living facilities, which are a priority for students searching for a university to attend. The stadium and field house facilities require even more diversified funding strategies because of the restriction of state dollars. For example, a new, modern stadium and field house would have a domino effect on meeting our performance goals. It would (1) invigorate the recruitment of athletes and students, (2) re-engage alumni, (3) invite investors to become stakeholders in our success, and (4) demonstrate that we are ready to rebuild one of the most extraordinary athletic legacies in American history. We have to think big. This is an opportunity to bring everyone to the table in a project that could significantly revitalize the Southside. Public-private partnerships pool community resources. The city and county have a vested interest in the benefits of a new conclave that has a host of retail venues, thousands of consumers and even a hotel! The partnerships between financial institutions, and local and federal governments are also interested in innovative ways to invigorate economic development that produces jobs. FAMU is ready to get started. It's all about innovation and we're ready to use it to move FAMU Forward. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-592-4820 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.