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“Academic excellence means many things.
First and foremost, it means sustaining an academic environment
of the highest standards, one that invigorates campus life with
intellectual liveliness and excitement. It means bringing together
the very best faculty and students.”
– M. Lee Pelton
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 Dear
Friends,
We have achieved much in the last five years by keeping a steady
focus on our efforts to strengthen five strategic areas: academic
excellence, student life, technology innovation, diversity and visibility.
Today, we are a stronger university.
And, yet, while there is much to be proud of, in the years ahead
we need to have a vigorous and single- minded focus on academic
excellence. If we are successful in this area, we will be successful
in all other areas as well.
Academic excellence means many things. First and foremost, it
means sustaining an academic environment of the highest standards,
one that invigorates campus life with intellectual liveliness and
excitement. It means bringing together the very best faculty and
students.
An academically gifted student body sets high standards. And just
as they are challenged, they, in turn, stimulate and encourage even
greater teaching excellence of the faculty. Our commitment to academic
excellence means making larger investments in student research,
individualized study and other special opportunities for students
to expand their intellectual horizons.
An energetic and committed faculty quickens a passion for learning
– a passion for excellence. Teaching remains the pre-eminent
activity of our faculty. Yet, our commitment to academic excellence
means actively supporting faculty research and scholarship as an
aid to effective teaching and as a means of serving humanity that
is unique to the academic mission.
Recently I asked the three academic deans – the College
of Liberal Arts and the School of Education, the College of Law,
and the Atkinson Graduate School of Management – to provide
me with specific plans to enhance academic excellence during the
next five years. Three themes emerged in each area:
- Support for leaves and other types of faculty development that
contribute to excellence in teaching;
- Support for scholarship, research and other activities that
contribute to our faculty becoming leaders in their academic disciplines;
and
- Support for competitive salaries that contribute to our capacity
to attract and retain the very best faculty.
Nobel Prize winner Gunnar Myrdal once remarked that “education
has in America’s whole history been the major hope for improving
the individual and society.” This is what we strive for at
Willamette, and we strive for it as a community that values excellence
in all areas.
This issue of The Scene will explore academic excellence as it
manifests itself at Willamette, both in the experiences of students,
and through the work of eight featured members of the faculty whose
teaching, research and scholarship embodies academic excellence.
Warm regards,
M. Lee Pelton
President
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