By Baylee Pullium–
On Sept. 13, University of Louisville President James Ramsey delivered his State of the University address, highlighting achievements from the preceding academic year and goals for the future.
Kurtis Frizzell opened the address, noting some achievements, like the “increase in funded research, to a remarkable change in our incoming students.”
Ramsey announced the renaming of the College of Business in the name of Harry Frazier, which he said took effect Sept. 13. The building is now known as Harry Frazier Hall, after a ceremony that included members of Frazier’s family.
Ramsey said the university has achieved all 27 of the goals set by the Board of Trustees, including increasing the total grant and contract grants and expenditures.
Medical and social science achievements from the past year include an initiative from the Kent School of Social Work to reduce teen pregnancy, a high percentage of U of L nursing students passing their licensure exams and Dr. Roberto Bolli’s $9.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to create the first multi-center cardiovascular research network.
Ramsey noted several “university achievements” in the past year, including several institutional achievements, like the opening of the KFC Yum! Center, meeting and then raising the fundraising goal set by the Charting Our Course Campaign and steps taken toward the hospital merger. Ramsey said the merger is “good for the University of Louisville, but more importantly will improve healthcare for all the people of Kentucky.”
Ramsey said the university broke ground on a new facility on the Shelbyhurst campus, “following through on our commitment to take underperforming assets and make them fully preforming.”
Ramsey noted the quality of incoming freshman class. Ramsey said the improvements in each successive incoming freshman class is helping to “stem the brain drain” from the state of Kentucky.
For the coming year, Ramsey said the “formula for moving forward will be the same as the formula we have used in the past.”
This includes keeping past successes and failures in mind, renewing the university’s commitment to the state of Kentucky, thinking beyond the boundaries of the U of L campus and taking action to achieve goals.
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Photo: Flikr/UniversityofLouisville
