CMU President focused on strategic priorities in first report to Trustees

In its final meeting of 2024, Central Michigan University’s Board of Trustees heard from CMU’s president and received updates on academic and student support initiatives. The Board also re-elected its Chair for another year. 

Trustee Isaiah Oliver began the formal session Thursday with a remembrance of James Span, Jr., who served as executive director of Student Inclusion and Diversity. Span passed away in November after nearly 20 years in the CMU community.

“James embodied the very essence of higher education leadership,” Oliver said. “He chose this space because of his deep care and understanding that the higher education experiment doesn’t work without love.”

The Board of Trustees passed a resolution of remembrance honoring Span, joining the university community in mourning his passing and extending its support to his family and friends. 

President’s first report to Trustees

In his first public report to the Board of Trustees, CMU President Neil MacKinnon thanked everyone for embracing him and his family immediately as part of the CMU community.  

“I am here on purpose, for a purpose,” MacKinnon said. “The last 34 days confirmed my suspicion that this is a special place, poised for greater success.”  

President MacKinnon’s report focused on progress toward meeting the priorities of the university’s 2023-2025 strategic plan.

MacKinnon highlighted progress made toward inspiring student success, which is the first priority of CMU’s strategic plan. He applauded events like November’s Student Success Summit, which brought faculty and staff leaders together to share innovative programs that ensure student retention and success.  MacKinnon also pointed out that research and creative activity grants continue to increase, setting a new record of more than $35 million in the last fiscal year.

Priority two of CMU’s strategic plan focuses on engaging communities, and MacKinnon shared progress in this area. He said he has already met with leaders from the city of Mt. Pleasant, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and several state lawmakers to establish connections that will foster strong partnerships. MacKinnon also highlighted recent partnerships and agreements with Delta College and Lansing Community College to help more students obtain a degree from CMU.

On the strategic priority of enhancing CMU’s organizational culture and raising CMU’s national profile, MacKinnon offered more evidence of progress. He said he has shared the U.S. Surgeon General’s Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being with CMU Human Resources to find opportunities to invest in the well-being of faculty and staff.

Additionally, MacKinnon said CMU’s national profile has been lifted recently by several rankings by national publications:

• U.S. News and World Report ranked CMU for excellence in the top 10% of all four-year colleges and universities in the nation.
• Intelligent.com found CMU has the Best Self-Paced Online College and the Best Online Bachelor’s in Mental Health Counseling Degree Program in the country.
• Newsweek ranked CMU as the #2 public university in Michigan on its list of America’s Top Online Colleges.
• F1 Hire, a career management company, ranked CMU 5th in the nation for international student return on investment.
• Forbes named CMU to its annual list of the top 500 colleges – ranking in the top 200 public universities nationwide.

Ensuring institutional sustainability is the fourth and final priority of CMU’s strategic plan, and MacKinnon underscored efforts in fundraising. He said CMU set a new record for Giving Tuesday, surpassing the goal of $525,000 by raising more than $542,000 from 1,475 donors.

On enrollment, MacKinnon said total enrollment for the upcoming spring 2025 semester is up by about 2.5%. Looking ahead to the fall 2025 semester, he said admissions are up by 8.6% at this point.

“This is made more impressive in light of a recent analysis by the National Student Clearinghouse that found enrollment of 18-year-old freshmen declined five percent across the country this fall,” MacKinnon said.

President MacKinnon also announced the development of a strategic enrollment management plan in early 2025 to build upon CMU’s enrollment increases.

MacKinnon said he is in the process of visiting each college and division, spending a half-day with each to listen and learn their strengths, challenges and opportunities. The result will be a February 11^th reflection on his first 100 days in office.

“I am energized by the work already underway and by the work still ahead of us,” MacKinnon said. “I feel incredibly blessed and grateful to be here at CMU.”

Board leadership election

Trustees nominated and elected officers to lead the Board of Trustees in the 2025 calendar year. The nominating committee recommended the following slate of officers, and Trustees unanimously voted to approve: 

• Chair: Trustee Todd Regis 
• Vice Chair: Trustee Denise Williams Mallett
• Vice Chair: Trustee Regine Beauboeuf

Trustees also re-elected Vice President Mary Hill to serve as Treasurer to the Board, and Chief of Staff to the President Mary Jane Flanagan to serve as Secretary to the Board.

Emeritus status

In Thursday’s formal session, Trustees Isaiah Oliver and Dr. Michael Sandler were honored with Trustee Emeritus status for their service to CMU. Both Oliver’s and Sandler’s terms on the Board come to an end on December 31^st.

Trustee Oliver described serving as a CMU Trustee as an amazing experience and opportunity. “My time here has been all about helping to nurture and protect something that will continue to grow long after my role here is over,” he said.

Trustee Sandler expressed gratitude for having been able to serve the university. “It has been an honor and a pleasure to have been a member of the CMU Board for the last eight years. We have done a number of important things that improve the university and the student educational experience,” he said.

CMU’s 15^th president, Bob Davies, received President Emeritus status for his more than six years leading the university. His time as president included navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, budget challenges and an enrollment turnaround.

Chair Todd Regis said, “President Davies infused every commencement and recognition ceremony with personal touches to ensure that students, faculty and staff members felt seen, supported and celebrated.”

In addition, the Board of Trustees granted Emerita or Emeritus status to 12 faculty and staff retirees. Present at Thursday’s meeting for recognition were Wendy Papa, School of Communication, Journalism and Media; René Shingles, School of Rehabilitation and Medical Sciences; and Al Zainea, Executive Director of Academic & Professional Programs in Innovation and Online.

Enrollment update and goals

Jennifer DeHaemers, vice president of student recruitment and retention, provided an overall positive update on application and admissions numbers in Wednesday’s Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting. DeHaemers said overall enrollment for Spring 2025 is up 2.5%, or 300 students year over year. Total student credit hour enrollment for Spring 2025 also has increased 2.32%, or 3,389 more credit hours, she said.

Looking ahead to Fall 2025, DeHaemers said the number of applications to CMU are roughly even with last year at this time, while admissions are up by more than 8%.  She said first-time college student admissions are up more than 9%, new transfer student admissions are up more than 18% and graduate student admissions of all types are up slightly.

DeHaemers said CMU’s admissions team set a Fall 2025 target of enrolling 2,300 freshmen, a 3% increase over Fall 2024. The target for enrolling new transfer students is also a 3% increase.

“Given the trends not only of fewer students in general, and fewer going to college, along with the free community college and increased competition, we believe this is a goal that is attainable,” DeHaemers said.

College of Health Professions update

In the formal session Thursday, Trustees received an update from Interim Dean of The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, Greg Zimmerman. His report followed the Trustees’ on-site visit to the college on Wednesday.

Zimmerman highlighted the programs, research and initiatives of the college and its many successes.

“It all begins with assembling relevant, rigorous, high-quality programming that is attractive to prospective students and meets the demands of our communities – specifically the rural health needs of our state,” he said.

The college has nearly 2,000 students at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels who have access to 22 skills and research laboratories and 36 academic options.

Zimmerman said more of those students want to participate in the popular Health Professions Residential College. The HPRC is a living-learning community in Emmons Hall that Zimmerman says continues to expand. He said research shows that residential colleges are a high-impact practice that is key to attracting and retaining students.

Community engagement was another focus of the interim dean’s presentation. He noted points of pride, including the undergraduate, graduate and faculty and staff awards for excellence in community partnership, the outstanding community partner award and the college’s summer specialty clinics.

Highlights from committee meetings 

In the Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs Stan Shingles highlighted fall semester accomplishments, including the 100-year anniversary of CMU Homecoming, the first-ever First Gen summit and the Student Connections leadership conference.

Shingles congratulated CM Life, CMU’s student media organization, on receiving multiple awards and recognitions for their news coverage. He also congratulated CMU’s Rocket League team for placing third in the Esports Collegiate Conference Championship Tournament, marking a significant achievement for the team that competed against the best teams in the conference.

“This success reflects the rapid growth of our esports program,” Shingles said. “They’ve established themselves as a top three contender thanks in part to strategic investments in scholarships and coaching.”

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee also received a CMU Cares program update from Director Andrea Roggenbuck. CMU Cares is a support service for students, faculty and staff focused on mental well-being and personal and academic success.

“Our goal is to expand the safety net around students and create a repository of information so we know where our students are at and how we can best help,” Roggenbuck said.

Roggenbuck said the number of CMU Cares reports continues to climb, with the top concerns centering on academic concerns, mental health concerns, grief and loss, and suicidal ideation.

“We’re working really hard across campus to help students understand CMU Cares, who we are, what we do and how we can help them be successful,” Roggenbuck said. “We believe we are doing a good job impacting student retention.”

Also during the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, Senior Vice Provost for Academic and Curricular Affairs Dave Patton presented an update on CMU’s reaccreditation process through the Higher Learning Commission.

Patton said all documents for reaccreditation are on track to be submitted to HLC in March 2026, followed by a campus visit in April of that year. He said the criteria HLC is examining include having a clear mission, integrity in governance, teaching for student success, and institutional resources and planning.

During the Finance and Facilities committee meeting on Wednesday, Jonathan Webb, associate vice president of Facilities Management, gave an update on maintenance and facilities projects, including:

• Demolition of Northwest Apartments is 75% complete and on schedule to be complete by August 2025.
• Merrill Dining renovation construction contract is secured, with work scheduled to begin this month.
• Access controls to buildings are 53% complete with 16 buildings remaining.
• Proposed training facility for CMU women’s and men’s golf programs is in the design phase.

 Committee members also received an update on investments from NEPC, including an update on endowment assets and an investment outlook. NEPC provides investment consulting advice on the endowment to CMU staff and the university’s investment committee. 

Trustee Plawecki said CMU pursues a conservative investment strategy for its endowment and its investment gains in the past year are aligned with that strategy.

The meeting of the Trustees-Faculty Liaison Committee included a presentation by faculty and students from the Marketing, Hospitality and Logistics program. Their focus was on experiential learning in logistics. Faculty member Evelyn Smith said that the program is growing, partly due to a new appreciation for logistics and the supply chain after shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 “95% of our graduates obtain a job in their career path within three months of graduation,” Smith said. “Logistics and supply chains is one of the top growth areas.”

In the final meeting Wednesday, Trustees heard presentations from several student leaders in the Trustees-Student Liaison Committee. Student Government Association President Caroline Hernandez Ruiz and Vice President Aashka Barot offered a report on SGA activities. Program Board President Kathlyn Allmacher and Vice President Lauren Rupe and Residence Hall Association Director Bella Andreski also provided updates from their organizations.

Other Board action

Trustees approved several items on the consent agenda during formal session, including: 

•  Fall 2024 prospective graduates. 
• The Office of Research and Graduate Studies Quarterly Report. 
• The 2025-2026 state capital outlay report and project request. 
• A DTE natural gas distribution easement.
• A lease renewal for CMU Athletics space.

An electronic copy of the president’s report will soon be available on the Board of Trustees webpage, and meeting minutes will be added to the Board of Trustees webpage following their approval at the next meeting.