09/05/23 - Campus update and good news from August 2023

Dear NKU campus community,

I hope everyone had a chance to relax and rejuvenate while enjoying the company of family and friends over the Labor Day holiday weekend. I know the time off was well-deserved following a rigorous and exciting first two weeks of the Fall 2023 semester.

While we were just getting started with the academic year, August was quite eventful with our Fall Convocation on August 14 and several individual college convocations throughout that week before classes began. The message will remain the same throughout the year: we are looking ahead to a promising future and building on the recent successes in retention, persistence and graduation rates! Let’s keep building for the future in creative ways as we engage our learners and each other.

I also enjoyed spending time with so many of our new students last month during FreshFusion, one of the many exciting VictorFest events designed to welcome students for the fall semester. FreshFusion is a decades-old tradition here at NKU where new students learn about the many co-curricular activities available to them and hopefully begin to interact with new friends. Thank you to all the staff who made FreshFusion and VictorFest happen!

Recently, we had the opportunity to honor the 10^th anniversary of one of those creative and innovative student-support initiatives we are known for, the Veterans Resource Station. During the celebration last week, the VRS debuted the new At-Ease Lounge which provides veteran and active-duty students a place to relax with a snack from Fuel NKU. I know this will be a great resource for learners.

The work of the 2023-2024 academic year is just beginning and so are the many crucial and positive impacts we have on learners and the community around us. Here are just a couple additional recent highlights:

• Just this past Saturday, the Haile Planetarium began offering a new immersive art show called Memserica 360 that will be featured on weekends in September. This popular show has sold more than 500,000 tickets in 10 cities and presents an exciting combination of art, science and relaxation. The funds raised from this show will help pay students and buy more educational shows, so please consider attending sometime this month. Tickets for weekend shows are $12 and a free show will be held every Friday. You can learn more about this show on the Mesmerica website and see a list of special Planetarium events can be found on its website.
• The Nurse Advocacy Center for the Underserved has received a grant of more than $500,000 from the Kentucky Department of Health to cover vaccinations for our local underserved population over the next two years. The NACU has been a wonderful part of this university since 2006, offering NKU nursing students an opportunity to work in its clinics that provide basic healthcare to the underserved population.
• The NKU College of Education is helping seven Kentucky school districts combat the teacher shortage and increase staffing through the Option 9 program. This work creates a way for current teacher's aides to get a teaching degree. It is exciting because it allows these public servants who love their jobs to keep them as they work toward becoming teachers. It is something that has not been possible before and we are making it happen.

As always, you can read about all the fantastic news about our university, students, faculty and staff, and our alumni in the NKU Magazine, and the NKU Media Center.

Thank you for all you do for our university, our learners and the community.

Sincerely,

Bonita J. Brown, J.D.
Interim President