Marshall Magazine Autumn 2022

“It’s normally hard to get large groups to agree on almost anything, but it’s clear from the listening tour feedback that there’s widespread agreement among our stakeholders

“And what I love is that we’re already taking action. We’ve made pricing decisions to hold our tuition relatively flat even in an inflationary market, and we just expanded our

about where we should focus our resources.” The Big Five are: 1)

metro discounts to a total of 59 counties in Ohio and Kentucky. That’s a 100-mile ra dius that can get tu ition rates lower than the in-state rates in Ohio and Kentucky.” The administra tion has also hit the ground running in bolstering Marshall’s marketing strategy, with digital market ing campaigns and stor ytelling ef forts that align with the university’s mission and vision. “One thing that really bubbled to the top during the listen ing tour was that we need to be aligned as a university commu

“ Over the years , I ’ ve come to appreciate that you should first seek to understand before seeking to be understood . ”

increasing enrollment, using an “end-to-end” approach that begins when a student first learns about Marshall and ends with lifelong alumni engagement; 2) improv ing the student experience, with targeted efforts for commuters, on line learners and other nontraditional stu dents; 3) investing in staff and faculty with an emphasis on com pensation, resources and professional de velopment; 4) increas ing efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion; and 5) advancing the university’s marketing strategy to better tell the Marshall story. Efforts are already underway in each area. Smith said that seeing the level at which certain topics resonated among the different groups was eye-opening. For example, increasing enrollment by making Marshall more affordable, particularly for metro residents, was a leading issue brought up in multiple sessions. “That was top of mind for many people,” Smith said.

— President Brad D. Smith Marshall University

nity on what our vision is — who we are, who we aspire to be — and then build a concrete strategy as we move forward,” Smith said. “For a long time there were ques tions of, ‘Do we want to be a high-research university?’ ‘Do we want to be another WVU?’ What we want to be is a great Marshall University. The question now is, ‘What does that look like?’” The university has partnered withMcKinsey Consulting

APR 9, 2022 - Avinandan Mukherjee is named new Provost

APR 9, 2022 - Brad and Alys Smith are honored at the Alumni Awards Banquet with the Distinguished Alumnus and Distinguished Service to Marshall University awards, respectively

JUN 9, 2022 - Bruce Felder is named inaugural Chief Talent and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer

APR 19-20, 2022 - Inaugural Student Research Creativity Symposium is held

APR 12, 2022 - Intercultural Center opens

EB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

7

A U T U M N 2 0 2 2