President Shannon points to mission, vision in State of the University address

In his first state of the university address as Trine University president, John Shannon, Ph.D., pointed to the university’s mission and vision as the guide for continued growth and success.

“The mission of Trine University is to promote our students’ intellectual and personal development and professionally focused learning opportunities, preparing them to succeed, lead and serve in their communities,” he said. “This mission motivates everything we do. It differentiates us, makes us who we are as a university, and situates us for success going forward.”

Continued focus

Addressing Trine University faculty and staff during the university’s annual kickoff event on Aug. 15, Dr. Shannon noted it was the first time in 23 years someone besides Earl D. Brooks II, Ph.D., who retired in May, was delivering the address.

While the new beginning offers many opportunities, Dr. Shannon said it’s essential that the university maintain its focus on preparing students for future careers. That emphasis is reflected in the university’s job placement rate of more than 99% for graduates over the past decade, he said.

The university’s mission inspires its vision to “be a premier private university that's engaged, dynamic, growing and always adding value to our students’ experiences,” Dr. Shannon said.

Focusing on the engagement aspect, Dr. Shannon said the university has increasingly engaged with government, business and particularly the community. In addition to hosting camps, youth programs and concerts, helping sponsor Angola Balloons Aloft, and partnering with the City of Angola on Trine Fest, the university participated in Angola’s Fourth of July parade.

He also cited cooperative efforts with Cameron Memorial Community Hospital on the university’s new Associate of Science in Nursing program and a grant proposal for Lilly Endowment that the university is submitting in collaboration with Steuben County and the city of Angola.

“This grant proposal is focused on improving the quality of life here,” he said. “Whether or not we receive grant funding, this project has been extremely valuable to us precisely because we are working together with our community to make that happen.”

Most importantly, he said, the university is engaged with its students.

“We have to get to know them, and that is what we do so well at Trine,” he said. “We get to know our students. Our faculty know them, our support staff know them, our admissions team knows them and our coaches know them. And in the process of all these people interacting with our students, we help them develop as learners and grow as people.”

He said the university also continues to be dynamic, the second quality cited in its vision.

“We're not satisfied with the status quo,” he said. “The status quo leads to stagnation, and stagnation results in failure, and we cannot allow that to happen at Trine. Our vision of being dynamic inspires us to develop meaningful programs for our students and to put continuous improvement at the forefront of our efforts.”

In terms of the vision’s growth component, Dr. Shannon noted that the university has opened a new location in Reston, Virginia, and opened the Steel Dynamics Inc. Center for Engineering and Computing on the Angola campus last fall. It will open a new expansion to Best Hall this fall and plans to open the Earl D. and Melanie Brooks College of Health Professions facility in Fort Wayne in fall 2024.

Total enrollment at all locations and on all platforms is projected to be well over 10,000 students for the fall semester, he said. The university is also now accredited by 11 content-specific accrediting bodies, reflecting quality and continuous improvement in curriculum.

“Being engaged, dynamic and growing all add value to our students’ experiences, and an important part of that is to always put students first in our decision-making process,” he said. “In fact, whenever we need to make an important decision we should first ask ourselves: Will this decision, this initiative, this endeavor have a positive impact on students? If the answer is yes, we're probably in a good space and should be prepared to move forward.”

Year in review

Reviewing the many accomplishments of the past year, Dr. Shannon praised the Trine University softball team for its NCAA Division III national championship and noted second-place national championship finishes for the women’s triathlon and acrobatics and tumbling teams, a 10^th-place finish for synchronized skating and another trip to the NCAA Division III Sweet 16 for women’s basketball.

Trine led the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association with 273 student-athletes named to the conference’s academic honor roll.

“Our student-athletes are exactly that: students who participate in athletics while excelling in both,” he said.

The university added $4.2 million of operating cash to its endowment this summer, bringing that balance to more than $54 million. Education One, Trine University’s charter school authorizer, now has 15 schools across Indiana, with four more preparing to open in fall 2024.

The university raised a record amount of funds, more than $30 million last year, and is currently trending ahead of last year's pace.

Dr. Shannon thanked university employees for all they do, concluding, “Let’s work together to make 2023-24 a successful and memorable year.”

Service awards

Following Dr. Shannon’s address, the university presented awards for years of service and the annual Presidential Awards for Excellence in Performance.

The university recognized Mike Ferrell, ice arena manager, for 35 years of service, and Cindy Neyer, Ph.D., associate professor, physics, for 25 years.

These employees were recognized for 20 years of service: Steven Carr, Ph.D., associate professor; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Donald Danklefsen, head softball coach; Allen Hersel, Ph.D., professor; McKetta Department of Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering; Timothy Hopp, Ph.D., professor, Department of Humanities and Communication; Nicholas Wentworth, assistant director of campus operations.

These employees were recognized for 15 years of service: William Barry, Ph.D., dean, Allen School of Engineering and Computing; Andrea Mitofsky, Ph.D., professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Timothy Murphy, assistant professor, Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Steven Nichols, athletics maintenance; Roderick Olson, assistant vice president for Campus Operations; Sameer Sharma, Ph.D., chair and professor; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

These employees were recognized for 10 years of service: Judi Abney, Campus Safety; Max Baumgartner, Ph.D., chair and director, Doctor of Physical Therapy Program; Jason Cable, chief information officer; John Cilla, help desk manager; David Colbert, assistant vice president of international services and global partnerships; Beverly Coolman, assistant director of financial aid literacy and student retention; Steven Dulaney, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry; Keirsten Eberts, vice president, online and international studies; Maria Gerschutz, Ph.D., chair and professor, Bock Department of Biomedical Engineering; Gary Greene, Ph.D., chair and professor, Reiners Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Kevin Hamman, assistant professor, computer science and information technology; Anthony Kline, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs; Zachary Raber, head men’s and women’s cross country coach.

These employees were recognized for five years of service: Jeffery Bloch, groundskeeping; Jonathan Busscher, director of golf operations and head golf professional; Gurudutt Chandrashekar, Ph.D., assistant professor, Wade Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering; Charles Copeland, assistant professor and interim director of Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program; Joshua Fletcher, head coach, men’s and women’s track; Rachel Franchock, head synchronized and figure skating coach; Thomas Hall, head coach, wrestling; Robert Hoffman, associate women’s basketball coach; Michael Jachcinski, bowling center manager and assistant bowling coach; Kierstyn Lhamon, housekeeping; Jennifer Lloyd, director, surgical technology program; Dennis Schleppi, Campus Safety; Michael Staude, Ph.D., associate professor, chemistry; Emilio Vazquez, M.D., medical director, Master of Physician Assistant Studies.

Jason Blume, assistant vice president of Innovation One, Brett Lancaster, painter, and Julie Pfafman, senior executive assistant to the vice president for academic affairs, were honored with Presidential Awards for Excellence in Performance.