Seasons Greetings from the Office of the President!
As the year draws to a close, I want to extend my warmest holiday greetings to all of you in our Southern community. 2023 has been filled with challenges and achievements, and we have many successes to celebrate. We cut the ribbon on our new School of Business, and we had a groundbreaking year in grant awards headlined by a $3.2 million commitment from the National Science Foundation to support STEM diversity.
We renovated Jess Dow Field and saw many victories in our athletics programs. We reopened our campus planetarium, made many new inroads in our early college programs and saw dramatic growth in the arts. Our nursing and social work programs receive $3 million to reverse the workforce shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and Autism Spectrum Disorders continue to embrace the needs of the community with dynamic, customized programming and trainings.
These are just a few of the many wonderful things happening at Southern, and they’re a reminder to us that everything is possible, no matter the challenges facing our community and the wider globe. Our commitment to excellence shines brightly. May the holiday season bring you joy, peace, and rest.
Thank you for welcoming me as your interim president. I look forward to seeing what we will achieve together in the New Year.
Happy Holidays, Owls!
Dr. Dwayne Smith
Interim PresidentÂ
