03/02/23 - Good News to Share

To: Faculty and Staff
From: Bonita J. Brown, J.D.
Interim President, Northern Kentucky University
Date: 03/02/23
Subject: Good News to Share

Dear Campus Community,

As I complete my first full month as your Interim President, I can tell you that my heart is beaming with joy at the work and support for students that I see from all corners of the campus. This is the NKU spirit that attracted me to this campus when I interviewed here almost four years ago.

NKU is a pivotal piece of the Northern Kentucky region. This region loves this university and understands the key role that we play in educating the next generation of leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and the overall workforce. We will continue to play this vital role for our community, now and into the future.

NKU has a bright future. Despite current challenges, we are perfectly poised to support this region and provide educational opportunities to anyone who wants to earn a post-secondary degree, whether it be on campus or online, no matter if a full time, part time or transfer student.

We provide cultural and fun events for our community – ranging from athletics to theater performances to orchestra. We also provide opportunities for K-12 schools and students as well as community partners to be involved with our campus – from tours to summer camps to co-locating small businesses on our campus.

There are so many exciting things happening every day at NKU that bring me great pride in serving our university. Each month, I look forward to celebrating key highlights of significant achievements with you – from academics to athletics or from Highland Heights, Kentucky to Bonn, Germany!

Key highlights from February include:

• On Sunday, February 26, NKU baseball made national headlines when junior designated hitter, Liam McFadden-Ackman, hit two grand slams in the same inning and went on to hit for the cycle in NKU’s victory over Western Michigan. Only one player in MLB history has hit two grand slams in the same inning and that was in 1999. Overall, Liam went 5 for 6 with a single, double, triple, two home runs and 10 RBIs in the 27-4 triumph on Sunday. Click here to watch Liam’s interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter. #NorseUp

• This past Monday evening, we welcomed Karyn Parsons, best known for playing Hilary Banks in the hit television comedy The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, to our campus where she provided a lecture as part of our Black History Month programming. Parsons gave a candid talk about her storied career as an actress, director, author and business owner. This event was hosted by NKU’s Black and Brown Educators of Excellence (BBEoE) in partnership with the NKU Black Studies program. Thank you to everyone who participated in this impactful and insightful event.

• Recently, U.S. News and World Report ranked NKU’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) program among the best in the United States. This is the fourth consecutive year that the online MBA program at the Haile College of Business appeared in this ranking. The Haile College of Business achieved its goal of a Top-100 ranking in the United States by 2023, reaching No. 99. In addition, NKU’s online MBA program was also ranked as one of the best for veterans, ranking No. 65 in the country, up from No. 88 in the 2022 rankings.

• Last week, Northern Kentucky University Chase College of Law’s W. Bruce Lunsford Academy for Law, Business + Technology was named the top law-school program in the United States for innovation and business, according to a new report by Bloomberg Law. The survey evaluated law-school programs nationwide on a variety of pillars but noted the Lunsford Academy’s creative and impactful programming for students. Runners-up in the same category included Harvard Law School, University of California College of Law, San Francisco and Fordham University College of Law.

• Moving accolades to an international level, research conducted by Dr. Dirk Grupe, NKU associate professor and chair of the Department of Physics, Geology and Engineering Technology, and colleagues at the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy in Germany, was accepted in the Monthly Notices of The Royal Astronomical Society and the Astrophysical Journal. The international research group, led by Stefanie Komossa from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, and including Dr. Grupe, was able to test crucial binary model predictions using multiple observing tools including the Effelsberg radio telescope and the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. There were also collaborators from institutions in China, Chile, Canada and Spain. Read more here.

While these are only a handful of examples, there are countless more to share. As you can see, there is much to be proud of and I look forward to working with everyone in the coming months as we continue our focus on student success. We are Northern Kentucky’s premier regional public institution. We are NKU. Go Norse!

Sincerely,

Bonita J. Brown, J.D.
Interim President