May…commencing, celebrating, and impacting others!

Dear Colleagues,

May 2, 2023

We are in the final week of the spring semester and preparing to celebrate the accomplishments of our graduating students. Next week we will confer more than 4,200 degrees during five commencement ceremonies. It is truly my favorite occasion and although I don’t know every story or journey each of our students have experienced to get to that stage, I do know they would not have been successful without the support and guidance of our dedicated faculty and staff. This is our mission…to transform lives and launch the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs!

I am also excited about our commencement speakers including the Irish Ambassador to the United States; the Honorable Mayor of Savannah; and distinguished alumni Dr. Kathryn Lanier, Brandon Butler, and Rebecca King. In addition, we will have the opportunity to honor Fred and Dinah Gretsch with honorary doctorates for their international impact on the music industry and support of Georgia Southern.

Speaking of celebrations, we held the annual University Awards of Excellence ceremony last week with 17 individual awards and one team award, and we honored nearly 400 employees for their years of service, which total more than 5,500 years of dedication to Georgia Southern.

We will be finalizing our FY 2024 budget this month as we await the Governor’s final signing of the state budget and the Board of Regents meeting in mid-May. I will keep you posted on the outcomes and impact. Throughout this process, we continue to be thankful for the support of our local delegation and their understanding of our importance in the economic growth and success of the region.

I want to end this message with an inspirational story of our women’s softball team and staff and their actions last weekend in Troy, Alabama. In the hotel lobby where they were staying, an elderly gentleman collapsed and lost consciousness. Members of the softball team and staff rushed in and immediately assisted him, calling 911, administering aid and continued to help until the paramedics arrived and transported him to the hospital. In the words of his granddaughter who shared the story with me: “…he is alive today…and on behalf of the sisters, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren attending the family reunion, we are deeply grateful to each one of them.”

This is a testament to our student-athletes and staff and exemplifies what we strive every day to achieve at Georgia Southern University… to have impact on our communities wherever we may be!

Sincerely,

Kyle

People. Purpose. Action: Growing Ourselves to Grow Others!

Last updated: 5/18/2023