By Matt Kiernan
Alumni Hall held an almost full-capacity crowd when President Jack Miller presented his opening speech for the new school year, which focused on community outreach and highlighting major changes over the years.
Miller was eager to congratulate the university on the progress it has made in the past few years since he arrived at the school. He spent much of his address reviewing the differences that have come about in that span of time and reinforcing the fact that the university still has much to do in the way of improving.
“When I first arrived I saw a campus with great strengths, great potential and weaknesses,” said Miller.
Miller said he moved to a school that had the characteristics of a soon-to-be outstanding school, but needed improvements such as renovations of buildings and graduation rate increases. He described CCSU as having wonderful faculty and excellent programs but with a campus that needed a good polishing and system that needed changes for various subject matters.
“If you put it all together, there was a vision and plans,” said Miller.
New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart spent some of his time at the lecturn discussing the strong improvements that the university has made with its “Town/Gown” relations with the city of New Britain. Many of the problems that were straining relations between the two entities had to do with underage drinking and loud partying by students living in the area surrounding the campus.
While evidence of improving relations between the university and the surrounding neighborhoods is mainly anecdotal, Miller used statistics to detail the changes between 2009 and years past.
He said that there was $27 million worth of improvements used for the physical plant and infrastructure of the campus; an increase of six-year graduation rates from the ’05-’06 year’s 40 percent to the ’08-’09 year’s 46 percent and external funding grants being increased from $2,433,000 to $4,300,000 in that same time frame.
A main topic of concern continues to be financial aid, but that has also seen improvement with greater funding. Miller reassured those who think there isn’t enough financial aid for students by saying the funding rose from $52.7 million to $67.2 million and that there’s still money to be given for scholarships and loans.
New Britain Superintendent of Schools Doris Kurtz brought forward the issue of students not graduating on time, a main concern for the university. She emphasized that when students graduate from high school; they need to have been given the skills necessary to prepare them for college.
“Part of the reason they don’t graduate is because they’re not well prepared enough and have to take remedial classes,” said Kurtz.
The deputy director of the New Britain Museum of American Art Maura O’Shea and communications professor and director of the University Museum Collaborative Karen Ritzenhoff discussed past experiences they have had with the university and the NBMAA working together to hold exhibits. O’Shea even presented Provost Carl Lovitt with a dress made of canvas bags that a student made.
President Miller presented the Distinguished Service Award to Associate Vice President of Institutional Advancement Nick Pettinico in honor of the services he’s provided to the university over the 25 years he’s spent there. Although Mr. Pettinico couldn’t be at the meeting to accept the award, he was thanked for going out of his way to improve the university by doing such things as organizing the Vance Lecture series, Honorary Doctorates and CSU professor ceremonies.
While the budget for CCSU is always a topic of discussion on the campus and at meetings, the President chose not to cover the topic in length at this particular meeting.
President Miller ended the meeting by expressing his belief that he’s convinced CCSU will be an outstanding university in the years to come.
