Hey people, I hope you’re having a great summer!  As the summer starts winding down, before you know it you will be returning to campus for the start of a new academic year.  So for this edition of the Notes I’ll give y’all a few updates on what’s happening on-campus this summer.

First up, I’ve gotta tell the entering Freshman Class, how much I enjoyed getting to meet some of y’all during orientation.   The Class of 2012 is a sharp group of folks and is entering Western with one of the highest average SATs and high school GPAs in WCU history.  Congratulations to all of you and we look forward to having you on campus in a few weeks.  During orientation we told you to look for the new program we’re launching to provide you with good information about alcohol and other drugs.  It’s running a little late, but you should have that info before you arrive on campus in August.  Don’t forget to complete this important on-line training before coming to campus.

So what have we been doing on-campus during your summer vacation?  Some pretty exciting things are happening in the ‘Whee!

For starters, when you drive back to campus in a few weeks, look for “The Reveal” billboards for a peak at the new Catamount logo.  Yup – this fall WCU is launching a new Catamount logo.  We’re also going “Back to the Future” with the school colors.  About 75 years ago when Western first became the Catamounts, the school colors were very different – not the purple and yellow we’ve used the last few years.  When the new Catamount logos debut in August, you’ll see that the new Cat is a darker purple and a metallic gold.  All the fall teams will be wearing the new colors.   As for the new Cat, let’s just say it has an attitude and leave it at that.

There’s also construction news…  When y’all return to campus you’ll notice that the new Dining Hall and residence hall have made tremendous progress over the summer.  The exterior construction of the Dining Hall is getting close to the final stages and the steel infrastructure on Phase-I of the new residence hall should be close to complete by the start of school.   If things continue to go our way, we will hopefully say goodbye to Dodson sometime during the spring semester.

As for the new Campus Recreation Center…  Construction has been completed – this project is done!  We’re busy closing the old Fitness Center and moving into the new facility for the start of the fall semester.  Shipments of the new equipment are arriving and we’ll be ready to go for the students’ grand opening on Sunday afternoon, August 17^th.  I think you’re gonna love this new facility!

I’ve got one more update to share…  Back during the spring semester a committee worked on rewriting the Code of Student Conduct and a new WCU Community Creed.  The update to the Creed reflects the campus community’s core values and connects those values to the Code.  The new Creed is very straightforward:

Western Carolina University Community Creed

Creed:  a system of beliefs, principles, and aspirations

I will practice personal and academic integrity.

I will respect the dignity and rights of all persons.

I will demonstrate concern for others and live up to my community responsibilities.

I will engage myself in the arts, culture and intellectual life of my University.

I will celebrate and take pride in Western Carolina University.

I think these five statements speak to values that we can all support, even when we find ourselves in disagreements with others.  To that end, this fall you’ll be seeing the new Creed around campus.  Keeping with that change, we’ve given the Department of Student Judicial Affairs a new name – the Department of Student Community Ethics.  The old name sounds like a court for student crimes and punishment.  That’s not what this office is about.  Helping students learn from their mistakes and protecting our campus community remains the focus of the new Code of Conduct and the Department of Student community Ethics.  I think the words matter, and helps us remember our aspirations.

Well, I guess that’s it for my late-summer edition of the Notes!  As always, I’d love to hear from you so send me an email: vc-notes@wcu.edu  If you have questions or comments, email ‘em to me.  In future notes, I’ll cut and paste some of the questions I receive along with the answers I find out.  I’ll also address any rumors or concerns or just odd questions that you might have on your mind.  Finally, I’d love to hear what y’all did with your summer break!  Send an email and include a picture if you did something really cool and have pictures doing it.

Till next time, y’all take care of each other!  - Sam