Dear NKU campus community,
Wow, what a month it was in April!
First, thank you all for all your support during my first academic year as president. It is so hard to believe that the spring semester has ended, and we are entering the summer season here on campus.
We ended the year with Commencement, the ultimate highlight of the semester and the fulfillment of our student-centered mission. We should all take some time to reflect on the work we’ve done and the accomplishments of our nearly 1,900 graduates from May 2024 as they embark on exciting lives ahead. You can read about several of our graduates online in the NKU Magazine.
Commencement was a fitting end to a busy few weeks for our community as we engaged in a number of end-of-year celebrations such as the launch our new Women for NKU initiative, a new effort that will harness the power of women — our passion, our vast networks and, above all, our generosity — to realize NKU’s future through the collective efforts of our community of women leaders. We shared good news for NKU out of the 2024 legislative session, honored outstanding undergraduate and graduate research, scholarship and creative activity at NKU at the 22nd Celebration of Student Research and Creativityand celebrated 24 years of the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project as 15 classes presented 18 awards to 17 non-profit organizations.
Of course, we also held an investiture ceremony. I am grateful that so many of you joined me for one of the most enjoyable days of my life and my professional career April 26 inside Truist Arena as the Board of Regents formally installed me as your seventh president and the first permanent woman president in our history. I appreciate the extraordinary chance to lead this great university into a new era of student-centeredness and regional engagement. As I said that day, I’ve never seen more opportunities than those that lie ahead and I look forward to the hard but gratifying work we will all do together.
I am proud to be your president and I look forward to great days ahead!
As always, I appreciate your support of our students and campus community. Whether you will be on campus during the summer months or away, I hope you all will take time to relax and spend time with loved ones and friends. Thank you for all you do for our university, our learners and the community.
All my best to each of you,
Cady Short-Thompson, Ph.D.
President, Northern Kentucky University
