Sharon Blackman, Ed.D.
Welcome back and happy new year! I hope you had an enjoyable and restful holiday season. I was blessed to be with family and friends to celebrate my return to Texas and my new beginnings with the Brookhaven College community. As we prepare for a new year and another semester, please think about the goals that you want to accomplish this semester and how you will achieve them. Also, think about how you can assist others in reaching their goals. We all need a little extra help from time to time — what better way than receiving a little help from our friends and co-workers?
As I write this message, our enrollment and contact hours are down from the same time last year, but we hope to see an increase in the last few days of the registration period. It is a guessing game as to why not only Brookhaven, but many of our sister colleges, are experiencing a decline. This situation calls attention to the importance of retaining students from one semester to another. As I have shared with you before, we have almost a 50 percent turnover of students each semester. We must not only attract new students but retain current students. We offer an excellent educational experience for our students and this semester will be no different from past semesters. Faculty members, I ask that you encourage your students to participate in many of the lectures, presentations and events that are planned to expand the horizons of our students.
On Jan. 16, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr. federal holiday, Americans across the country will celebrate by honoring the life and work of Dr. King. Hundreds of thousands of Americans will remember and memorialize him by participating in service projects in their communities. Together, they will honor King’s legacy of tolerance, peace and equality by meeting community needs and making the holiday a day ON, not a day OFF.
In that spirit, let’s get ready for Brookhaven Bears Take a Bite Out of Hunger with an upcoming All-Campus Project. Students and employees will have an opportunity to participate in a food drive, Feb. 27 though March 3, followed by a day of service at the North Texas Food Bank on March 4. Keep reading the Chatter for details!
On Jan. 27, we will celebrate the excellence in teaching and service from our committed colleagues. Please come to the gymnasium this year and honor the achievements of these individuals as we celebrate with the Mardi Gras Emerald Awards. I am looking forward to this celebration and to another wonderful semester.
Helping each other, student retention, service to our community and honoring excellence are ways that keep us focused on our goal: Success: dream it; achieve it! May you have the best semester ever and stay tuned for more to come.
Keep dreaming, keep achieving.
