President's Message

This 2014-15 Annual Report highlights the past year at Eastern Connecticut State University. It focuses on the many accomplishments of our students and faculty, who brought pride and recognition to our campus community through their work on campus, in our local community, and in regional, national, and international settings. Their achievements reaffirmed the value and relevance of a liberal arts education in today's complex world.

During the past year, Eastern's faculty provided leadership in a multitude of ways - leading service projects in our local community; guiding students in achieving national recognition on research projects; authoring their own books; conducting other scholarship and creative pursuits; and implementing innovations on campus. In turn, our students won statewide awards, presented at regional conferences and wrote scholarly articles on their work that appeared in national journals.

This report will also tell you of institutional milestones, awards and recognitions achieved through the hard work of faculty, students and staff during the 2014-15 school year. We also invested in our future in 2014-15, with construction moving ahead on a new 118,000 square-foot Fine Arts Instructional Center that will open in January 2016. Our goal is to make this a cultural center for the entire northeastern Connecticut region.

Beyond the numbers and the bricks and mortar, I was again struck by how closely our campus community follows the six core values we hold ourselves on at Eastern. There are clear signs of our commitment to academic excellence. The engagement achieved on our campus by student leaders, as well as students engaged in athletics, research projects, community service, and other activities is a sign of empowerment for those students, at the same time it demonstrates their social responsibility to our local community. The cultural diversity found on our campus, as well as our dedication to making higher education affordable and accessible, are indicators of how much we value inclusion at Eastern. And finally, by focusing on meeting our commitments, keeping promises, and doing what we say we will do, Eastern models the integrity that it hopes it will instill in our students.

The most important sign of success for any university is how well its graduates are doing, not only in terms of how many students graduate, but the extent of their success. The stories I hear from our graduates each week tell me that Eastern alumni are doing very well, using their degrees to forge outstanding professional careers, while serving their own communities as engaged citizen leaders.

Take a moment to look back at the stellar year that Eastern has experienced. Share this publication with friends and family, and feel free to 'brag' about Eastern. We hope you share in our pride!

Elsa M. Núñez
President