President Sue Hammersmith

On behalf of the administration, faculty, and staff, Welcome! We look forward to welcoming you in person during the March 25-27 Quality Check-up Visit.

Since becoming president on July 1, 2008, I have been impressed by Metropolitan State University's commitment to building the future, a future that is filled with incredible opportunity as well as challenges. Perhaps a few words from my remarks at the Fall 2008 Convocation will give you insight into my sense of the University at this challenging stage of its history.

We honor the past.

We were defined by a commitment to serve the men and women who were not being served by the educational establishment.

Our heritage also includes a profound commitment to quality, and recognition that quality is defined not by buildings, athletics, fraternity houses, or conventional measures, but by what happens within the mind and heart of the individual student.

We have a profound respect for the individual student, for each learner’s unique educational experience, and a profound recognition of the power of personal transformation throughout one’s lifetime.

We celebrate the present.

Our students come from the entire Twin Cities. Our faculty come from the entire Twin Cities. And our learning laboratory is the entire Twin Cities. We reach out to the underserved. We connect with them. We go to them. We let them access learning opportunities anyplace, anytime. Without “walls,” we go beyond the Twin Cities. We connect students and faculty across local, regional, and even continental boundaries.

We create the future.

The Twin Cities metroplex is expected to grow by another million people over the next several years. That growth is occurring among the communities we serve: communities of color, new residents, and working men and women who need to attend part-time, evenings, or in the online or blended programs that we do so well.

There is a growing and recognized educational need—reflected in the research of the Aslanian Group, and included in MnSCU’s “Metro Area Plan”—for more baccalaureate and graduate education.

In the months since I delivered these remarks, I've grown even more impressed by the commitment and ability of Metropolitan State faculty, staff, and administrators to meet the challenges of building a strong future for the institution, our students, and the greater metropolitan region.

This site contains the Quality Program Summary and Federal Compliance Materials Packet we have prepared for your review. Additional materials will be available in your campus Resource Room.

As you work through the site, you will find active links (underlined and highlighted). Clicking on these links will take you to the document cited. Use the browser's "Back" arrow to return to your previous page.

I have asked Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies Barbara Keinath and AQIP Coordinator Joyce Paxton to coordinate our preparation for the Quality Checkup Visit. Should you have any questions or requests in advance of the visit, please contact them. (See Contact Us in the left navigation for their contact information.)

Support from the Office of the Chancellor is provided by Dr. Manuel M. Lopez, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Program Quality. He will serve as a resource regarding any system-wide matters.

We look forward to your campus visit in late March!