Navigating Our Journey Ahead

Continue Reading Issue 43

Dear Alumni and Friends,

There is an unmistakable energy at Eastern Connecticut State University right now.

This fall, we welcomed the largest incoming class in Eastern’s history, with more than 1,100 first-year students and nearly 300 new transfer students joining our community. More than 90 percent of our first-year students are living on campus, filling our residence halls and bringing renewed energy to our classrooms, dining halls, athletic fields, performance spaces, and gathering places.

Seeing these students arrive was a powerful reminder of the confidence that students and families are placing in Eastern and the enduring appeal of the distinctive education we provide.

Our growth is exciting, but the numbers tell only part of the story. What matters most is what students experience once they arrive.

Eastern remains proudly rooted in its mission as Connecticut’s public liberal arts university. Our students learn in small classes with dedicated faculty who know them personally and challenge them to think deeply about the world around them. They engage in research, internships, community-based learning, athletics, the arts, leadership opportunities, and experiences that connect their education to their lives beyond college.

They also become part of a primarily residential community where relationships matter. That sense of belonging has always been one of Eastern’s great strengths, and it is something I hear repeatedly from our students and alumni.

More than half of this year’s first-year class are the first generation in their families to attend college. I know personally how transformative that opportunity can be. Each of these students arrives with their own story, ambitions, and hopes for the future. Our responsibility is to help them discover what is possible and give them the knowledge, confidence, and experiences to pursue lives of meaning and impact.

That responsibility extends well beyond our campus. Eastern has served Connecticut for more than 135 years, and I believe deeply that public universities must contribute to the public good. We prepare graduates who strengthen our schools, businesses, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, public agencies, and communities. Our students serve throughout the region, our faculty create and share knowledge, and our alumni make an impact across Connecticut and far beyond.

As we welcome this period of growth, we are also looking confidently toward our future.

Over the past two years, conversations with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community partners have helped us define what our community values most and where we see our greatest opportunities. Those conversations have shaped Eastern’s Strategic Compass, which will guide our work in the years ahead.

The six goals of the Strategic Compass are included in this issue, and I encourage you to visit our Strategic Compass website to explore in greater detail where we are headed and the priorities that will help move Eastern forward. Together, these goals reflect our commitment to our academic identity, student success, our people, innovation, enrollment, and our relationship with the communities we serve.

What gives me the greatest confidence is the strength from which we are building.

Everywhere I look, I see faculty mentoring students, staff creating opportunities for them to succeed, alumni remaining deeply connected to their University, and students discovering talents and aspirations they may not have imagined before arriving here.

I am excited about what lies ahead for Eastern.

Thank you for your continued belief in this University, our mission, and most importantly, our students.

Warm regards,

Karim Ismaili, Ph.D.
President

Continue Reading Issue 43