On March 7th,President Sara Jayne Steen held her State of the University address at the Silver Center. President Steen’s address celebrates “some of the year’s success, and to delineate challenges and issues on which we must focus,” said President Steen.
The main focus of the President’s speech was “building for the next generation.” When asked what does “building for the next generation,” mean to President Steen, she commented “our thing all the time is about what students are going to need.”
President Steen mentioned the challenges that universities and colleges face around the nation: “Higher education is in the midst of enormous upheaval, with some people questioning the value of higher education in relation to its cost.” Another challenge Steen described was “State Support for public higher education nationally is at a new low.” Although the university has increased their cost, PSU plans to “put every dollar back to NH Students,” stated President Steen.
Plymouth State University has responded to the high cost of attending college by taking advantage of online classes. “Four undergraduate degrees are offered fully online as well as on site: Business, Communications and Media Studies, Criminal Justice, and Nursing,” said President Steen. The President later commented on the success of PSU’s online program, and stated “This year, the national learning review GetEducated.com ranked PSU’s program in the top 20 on its list of ‘Best Online MBA programs’ in the country.”
The President described PSU’s commitment to New Hampshire and a changing world. “New Hampshire has an aging population and a need for health care professionals, as does the nation. PSU recently established a nursing program, geared toward the advanced ‘nurse of the future,'” commented President Steen.
President Steen discussed New Hampshire’s, as well as the nations, need for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) majors: “Business and industry partners confirm that the state needs STEM professionals.” She later commented, “We are working to increase student enrollment in STEM fields.”
The President’s overall main goal was to improve students’ learning conditions. She made mention to a picture from Plymouth Normal School class of 1913. President Steen described that during 1913 students at Plymouth Normal School and the nation were “dealing with storms and floods. There were wars overseas.” The President later related the class of 1913 to Plymouth State’s current freshman class. “Building for the next generation will require intelligence and flexibility and a willingness to take appropriate risks. It was not easy in 1913, but they accomplished much, and so will we.”