‘THE GAME HAS CHANGED’: Faculty aims for collaborative, dialogue-heavy goals

Faculty and staff gathered last Monday to kick off the upcoming academic year. The underlying themes throughout the convocation were Minnesota State’s successes and across-the-board collaboration to make change happen on campus. 

After a performance from the Maverick Machine, Student Body President Roshit Niraula addressed problems the Student Senate plans on tackling this year including providing academic resources, providing transparency for projects and working alongside the Student Athletic Advisory Committee for the Green Bandana Project. 

Niraula encouraged student engagement across campus and to let their voices be heard. 

“We succeed when we’re all on the same page,” Niraula said. “No decision should be made in silos and students must be involved in all the decisions that impact them.”

Following Niraula, President Edward Inch took to the stage and recognized MSU’s recent achievement of being voted Best College/University and Best College Sports Team by the Star Tribune. 

“That recognition is a testament to what we do as a community, as a university, and the work that goes on this campus, day in and day out, in the dedication of everyone in this room and beyond,” Inch said. “I’m immensely proud of our students and deeply appreciative of the university community that educates them.”

Inch also talked about MSU’s core values such as integrity, inclusion and excellence and said he was “troubled” when it came to seeing news stories challenging higher education values. 

“Just last week, I saw pictures of dumpsters piled high with books that some thought contained ideas that college students should not be exposed to or shouldn’t be allowed to read. By contrast, our campus, our community have been, for some time, a campus committed to inquiry and debate about the big ideas that might positively affect our world,” Inch said. 

Inch went on to highlight the achievements of faculty from the previous academic year including the three 2024 Distinguished Faculty Scholars and their work, the Data Resources for Eager and Analytical Minds team and the National Science Foundation Grant given to the Earth Sciences Laboratory to study the breaching of the Rapidan Dam from the 2024 June floods.

The spotlight continued on with Inch mentioning the success of student athletes including the Mavericks who supported their home countries in the Olympics, the dance team’s back-to-back-championships and the DII Men’s and Women’s Basketball National Championships this past spring. 

“Our students make us incredibly proud for the achievements that they make, pushed by experts in their fields and work that goes on with our faculty and all of this staff that support their efforts,” Inch said. “This new year promises to build on these successes and extend our university’s reach in new and innovative ways.”

Despite all the successes, it doesn’t mean the new year doesn’t come without any challenges. 

Resources and budget were another popular topic at the convocation. The MinnState system approved funding for planning and design for the Armstrong Hall replacement project. MSU has also requested Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement funds for a new roof on  Taylor Center and a supplemental budget to offset inflation-compensated prices. 

Inch said this will be “a year of deciding of deciding where and how to focus” when it comes to MSU’s finances. A majority of the 2024-2025 school year’s imbalances come from one-time funds, but Inch said it’s important work.

“While we need to be responsible with our resources and we need to identify new revenues, finding new ways of working and streamlining what we do are equally important,” Inch said. “A lot of good is happening here that supports our students and elevates our university. We need to retain those elements that are the very best of what we bring.”

Inch also addressed the political climate of the country. He mentioned despite tense conversations and violence, faculty should engage in “honest and meaningful dialogue” to share ideas, perspectives and peaceful discourse and he plans to protect the First Amendment on campus.

Provost David Hood talked about the challenges the American Higher Education system built, such as affordability and racism, and how “students of today and future students” are not the ones the system was designed for.

“If you agree that the game has changed and we are called to inspired action, then we must remain vigilant and actively engaged in working collaboratively across the university to deconstruct the systemic barriers that prevent students from achieving their goals,” Hood said.

Hood listed off MSU’s efforts in the destruction of systemic barriers such as the computer science program, which has grown to 300 students “competing for the 50 coveted slots” and out-achieved national norms by graduating 41% people of color. He said he planned on working closely with Henry Morris, the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and expanding faculty and student mentorship support in cross-departmental collaborations. 

Additional barriers addressed included the difficulty of transferring schools and developing credit-for-priority options. Inch said faculty should encourage students to get involved in and out of the classroom

“We know that students who are more engaged and see value in what they’ve learned and the ways to apply what they learn in the classroom to outside in their environment, they’re more likely to complete their degrees,” Inch said.

Hood said the way barriers could be broken is through active engagement in solving problems and being open in teaching approaches to meet student’s needs.

“We must commit to actively participating. That means you have to come off the sidelines and you have to engage in the dialogue, in solving the big, hairy problems,” Hood said. 

Hood also asked faculty and members of the campus community to do three tasks this year.

“We must wrestle with our conscious and unconscious bias that manifests in the way we interact and respond to our colleagues and our students, we must assess our individual contributions to the university and we must confirm that those contributions are directly empowering the university to achieve the goals set forth in Destination 2030 and Equity 2030,” Hood said. 

However, Inch said the success from MSU comes from the collaborative efforts of all Mavericks, both students and faculty.

“I ask each of you to continue to be bold, to be inspired and passionate about the work you do as Mavericks,” Inch said. “If we work together and push forward despite challenges we may face, I have no doubt we will thrive.”

Photo caption: President Inch spoke to faculty and staff at convocation and motivated them to encourage students to do their best work on campus, along with achievements at MSU. (Emma Johnson/MSU Reporter)

Write to Emma Johnson at emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu