Lander University president Daniel Ball told a campus audience that the university has the strongest academic program ever. In his annual State of the University address in late September, Ball said the faculty has been involved in accountability and assessment efforts to improve classroom offerings, and the nursing program has earned distinction with a 100-percent pass rate of nursing graduates who took the national licensure examination.
Ball said students want to come to Lander and he cited as evidence that the fall enrollment of 3,059 is an increase of 7.7 percent over last year and the highest enrollment in the school's history. Lander received applications from over 2,600 prospective students for the fall semester and nearly half were accepted.
He noted that Lander's 2010-2011 tuition increase of 4.38 percent was one of the lowest of any college or university in the state.
Residence hall occupancy is also at an all-time high with 1,499 students living in units on campus and in off-campus facilities the university has purchased or is leasing.
"They recognize that Lander is a good, safe place to live with high-quality staff and services," Ball said. He added that a campus master plan is under review to add 600 or more beds on campus for residential students.
Ball gave special recognition to several faculty and staff members. He noted that associate professor of history Kevin Witherspoon had helped the Western Piedmont Consortium obtain a nearly $1 million federal grant for a special teaching program at Lander for history teachers from 10 school districts.
Leslie Glover, director of Student Support Services, received a $1.1 million federal grant for another five-year term for the program that helps students to successfully complete their college education requirements.
Assistant professor of chemistry Jim Colbert and vice president for Academic Affairs Danny McKenzie were recognized for their work with Lander's Experience Your Education program which was named the national Experiential Education Program of the Year. Colbert is the director of the program which McKenzie and others developed.
Colbert also received the first Mary Frances Poole Alston Award which was created by Rowland P. Alston, host of SCETV's "Making It Grow." The award, which honors his grandmother who graduated from Lander in 1914, and goes to individuals who have achieved an outstanding level of professionalism among their peers, and who provide visibility for Lander throughout South Carolina, the nation and the world.