During 2008-09, almost 80 faculty, staff, and students participated as members of working groups that drafted initial sections of the report. Over the summer, the Steering Committee has overseen the editing the groups' foundational work into a single draft report.

However, the present report is only a draft. The Steering Committee has more work to do in indentifying supporting documents and making sure that all of Middle States' standards are clearly addressed. We are releasing the report to the campus because your involvement is essential to insuring that the report is accurate and complete – and that it represents the university’s best thinking about what we do well and how we need to improve.

We hope that you will read the report and share your comments with the Steering Committee. You will be able to do so at one of several public meetings that will be announced in the next few days. Members of the Steering Committee would be glad to meet with your department or committee to discuss the report's findings and solicit your feedback. You can also share your thoughts by talking with one of the members of the Steering Committee or by sending me an email.

We will need your comments by October 30. In November, the Steering Committee will review all of the comments received and revise the report. The university must submit the final report to Middle States in December.

Then, a team of 7-8 faculty and administrators from other Middle States schools will visit the campus February 21-24, 2010. The will be seeking to evaluate how accurately the university has represented itself in the self-study and will be particularly interested in how aware the campus community is of the self-study report.

Please download the draft report, review it, and share your comments with the Steering Committee.

Thank you for your help.

      Middle States 2010 Steering Committee

• Robert Franz, Assistant Professor, Academic Development and Counseling
• Catherine A. Gatewood, Assistant Professor, History, Political Science, and Economics, and Director of Teacher Education
• Kenneth L. Hall, Director of Human and Cultural Diversity
• Erin L. Pawlak, Director of Annual Giving, University Advancement
• James A. Meek,* Assistant to the President for Planning and Assessment
• Joseph R. Newhouse, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
• Lynette M. Reitz,* Professor of Social Work
• SueAnn V. Schatz, Associate Professor of English
• Frederick W. Schulze,* Associate Professor, Health Science

      * indicates co-chair