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To: Faculty, Staff and Students
From: Cady Short-Thompson, Ph.D.
President, ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ
Date: 09/02/25
Subject: Campus update and ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ In View for September 2025

Dear ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ campus community,

I hope you all had a relaxing long Labor Day weekend and a great start to the fall semester! I cannot believe we are already starting Week 3. It has been so good to have the heartbeat of this university — our students — back with our faculty and staff on campus.

We enjoyed a whirlwind couple of late-August weeks as we welcomed so many students to campus at , and then got to work full force on the . And our annual  for student engagement.

I encourage you to take an exciting look back at our :

I am also excited by the inspiring and engaging stories in the September 2025 issue of , which was just published today. Among the stories, is the five-year anniversary of the Young Scholars Academy and  and chose to continue their academic journey at ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ.

More highlights from ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ In View:

• Coach Jim Palilonis is tasked with leading ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ’s new men’s volleyball program. To cultivate what Jim wants to build with this team, he says the players need to have two things: gratitude and grit.
• Students like Hannah Wayne are finding their passion right here on campus. When Hannah enrolled as an online general business major, she didn’t expect to find herself kick-starting a personal passion project. After switching her major to innovation and entrepreneurship, Hannah launched a small business: Carroll and Co., a tallow-based skincare company.
• Dr. Kristy Hopfensperger never imagined she would end up as a college professor with a Ph.D., impacting students every day through research and leadership. Originally from Wisconsin, Kristy discovered her love for environmental science and nonprofit work during a high school environmental science class.

There are more great things happening at ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ like our  in the classroom and in our curriculum and an important new  to address mental health gaps in the region. And Dr. !

Here on campus, we have embarked on our multiphase digital transformation journey to implement Workday. Please check out the ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ Workday website for more information on where we are in the project timeline and how Workday will enhance ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ operations.  And of course, our work continues on our new strategic plan, Forward Together.

That is only a small sample of the great things happening at ³ÉÈ˶¶ÒôÆƽâ°æ, and we certainly have a lot to be excited about here as we continue with our important work for our students and our region.

I am proud to team with each of you, and I continue to wish you the best for a wonderful semester. Thank you for all you do.

All my best to each of you,

Cady Short-Thompson, Ph.D.

President