What it means to be near the top

It's an important day in UIS history. It's the first year we were eligible to be listed in the U.S. News and World Report rankings of best colleges, and we hit a home run. Best master's institution in Illinois -- ahead of SIU-E, for example. And fourth best in the Midwest. This is recognition to which we've been aspiring for several years. It is gratifying. Credit goes to our faculty and staff who first welcomed freshmen seven years ago and nurtured them well. And kudos to those students who embraced UIS and made it the great place it is. Onward!

Here we go

I just left Convocation. There was a lot of positive energy in the room as the deans introduced our 27 new faculty members, and various senior administrators introduced new administrative staff. We are in pursuit of our goal of becoming one of the top five small public liberal arts universities in the nation. That was evident by the chancellor's speech and the quality of new faculty this year. The freshmen moved in yesterday -- some of them into Founders Hall, the new residence hall that opened this week. We're off to a great start.

Going green

We have a great new symbol of where we're headed at UIS. Literally, a living symbol. It's the green roof on Founders Hall, our new residence hall that opens next week. We got a lot of attention locally this week for having the first non-residential building in Springfield with a green roof. I say it's symbolic of lots of things we're doing because UIS is becoming a regional leader in environmental sustainability. As we should be, as the region's public university.

Almost new

What a great time of year. New faculty start next week. Students move into Founders Hall, our newest residence hall, next Wednesday. If time heals wounds, which I believe it does -- along with some outreach and work -- then I'm hoping that some of the open wounds hanging around in May are soothed and healed by now. Summer can be refreshing. Mine was. So come to the UIS convocation next Thursday and 3 p.m. to meet the new faculty and administrators and see old faces. Oops. Not old. Faces you've missed and people you've missed.

If a committee designed a stop sign

I came across a great brief video this weekend. What if a committee designed a stop sign? I mention it here because I work with a lot of creative professionals at UIS -- designers, writers and artists. I am especially thinking of the university's Creative Director, Diana Nelson, a brilliant designer. Often when I give her ideas, she just smiles at me, and then she leaves and creates something a thousand times better than I could have dreamed up. Like the new interior building directory signs that will go up all over campus in the next month or so. I think you'll love the video: http://usedwigs.com/video-stop-sign-designed-by-committee/. I give credit to one of my favorite authors and bloggers, Seth Godin, who posted the link to the video on his blog.