10/31/23 - Campus update and good news from October 2023

Dear NKU campus community,

Thank you all for a great first month! It has been a whirlwind several weeks as I settle into my role as your president, and I am as thrilled as ever to be back home at NKU. It has been a delight to visit so many areas of campus and attend various events to reintroduce myself to this wonderful community.

It is hard to believe that we have come to the end of October and the holiday season will soon be here. And that means we are fast approaching the end to the fall semester and something I am eagerly looking forward to — Commencement. I know the final several weeks can be stressful for our students as well as our faculty and staff as we wrap up one semester and look toward the next. I wish you all the best as we move toward the end of 2023.

Also, just a brief reminder that spring-semester registration will kick-off this in November. Please encourage your students and peers to stay ahead and get registered as soon as they can. We have so much help to offer if they are unsure or struggling with whether or how to proceed. It is on each of us to direct them to the proper resources so that they can continue their path to success.

As I announced earlier this month, we also have multiple spring transfer incentives available. I continue to urge all of you to help be an ambassador of NKU and the many great opportunities we have to offer. Please share our new and improved Adult and Transfer Center home page, which walks prospective transfer students through the application process, along with any additional communications you see regarding transfer opportunities.

Of course, there is so much going on here that I could never cover it all. But here are just a few recent highlights:

• Associate Professor David Childs and graduate students Derrick Thomas, Jamie Thompson and Jennifer Williams recently presented their research on Black studies at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. 
  
  Afterlife of Slavery was an international conference hosted by the Smithsonian, Howard University, the University of Liberia and Princeton. The work presented by Dr. Childs and his students examines the roles northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and the Ohio River all played in the Underground Railroad. Congratulations!
• NKU is partnering with St. Elizabeth Healthcare to expand an already successful St. Elizabeth telehealth program into rural counties, increasing health-care access for more and more Kentuckians. This is yet another example of the important work we do with St. Elizabeth to make a positive impact on public and population health.
• A couple weeks ago, we hosted the first face-to-face gubernatorial debate to be televised across the state between Governor Andy Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Public discourse is essential for democracy and NKU was happy to play a non-partisan role in promoting access to the debate as we work together to drive Kentucky forward.

• Finally, several of our radiologic science students celebrated Friday the 13^th by using the technology available in our Health Innovation Center to examine a “Fiji Mermaid” that dates back to late 19th-century Japan. How fun!

That is just a small representation of the great things happening at our university and I cannot wait to share more with you in the months ahead. But until next time, 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.

Again, thank you all for the support you have shown me during my first month as your president. Each day is a new adventure as I learn about the great things our university does. And thank you for all you do to advance our mission.

Sincerely,

Cady Short-Thompson, Ph.D.

President