Dear Southernites:

Last Saturday morning, I had the honor of having breakfast with the Board of Directors for the Jaguar Foundation of Atlanta at the Ritz Carlton on Peachtree Street. President-Chancellor Ray Belton accepted the chapter's invitation to have a candid discussion about the University. I left that breakfast inspired by the depth of questions by our Atlanta alums, and comforted by the responses that led me to believe the future of Southern University is very bright. We discussed the success of our student recruitment initiative and our anticipated increase in enrollment. Miranda Nixon, our Federation student recruiter for the Southern Region, was also in attendance. We celebrated the appeal and impact of the new out-of-state fee waiver policy the Federation championed last year.

The small crowd talked strategy for attracting more undergraduate and graduate students both nationally and internationally. They clung to every word he uttered and erupted in applause when Dr. Belton shared the University's vision for expanding its Laboratory School Program beyond the Baton Rouge campus to the Shreveport and New Orleans campuses positioning Southern to be one of the most comprehensive educational delivery systems in America. Our President spoke of expansion of Southern's presence beyond Scott's Bluff to downtown Baton Rouge, and perhaps to new locations such as Alexandria and Lake Charles using some of the University's new technological capabilities. Our new leader even shared his thoughts about revitalizing the Scotlandville area surrounding the Baton Rouge campus. I was impressed.
 

"The valuable lesson S.U. taught me was, you can achieve anything if you study hard and believe in yourself."

-Ruby Boykins, 1978

"My fondest memory from my time at SU is the atmosphere. No matter where you were on campus (Dunn, Mayberry, Ballroom, the Union, Boley, the gym, etc.) or who you came in contact with, there was ALWAYS a sense of that good ol' southern spirit."

-Jennifer Lucas, 2008

"The most valuable lesson Southern University taught me is, if your journey gets difficult, don't give up; continue to strive to reach your goal."

-Hattie Lacy, 1982

Thank you to everyone who responded to last week's survey, we truly enjoyed hearing from you! Be sure to weigh in on our next survey for you chance to be featured in News & Notes!