While the "face" of campus has changed, in many respects, it is the collective "face" of the students, faculty and staff that serve as the true indicator of success at Ferris. Aside from the building and other campus improvements currently underway, there is a genuine sense that things are on an upswing at the University. A modest increase in the number of students attending Ferris, a better academically prepared freshman class, and a slate of new highly qualified faculty and staff members all combine to add a sense of invigoration at Ferris.

This fall, new and returning students arrived at a Ferris State University campus quite different from the one they left just last spring. Several more construction projects are nearing completion in what has been an ambitious multi-year capital improvement campaign. The most obvious change to the face of campus has been the near-completion of a campus quad in the heart of our main campus. Although the quad is still being completed, it is already green with recently planted grass. I'm looking forward to the campus activity that will occur in an area that was, up until now, a parking lot.

Over the course of the summer, West Campus was adorned with a beautiful new Student Convocation Center. The Center, which has been under construction for more than a year, will provide a great forum for student activities and athletic events. A new basketball arena, enhanced ice arena, and a new "common lobby" connecting the two arenas will serve as a great indoor facility for students and community members. The September 15 Bulldog Bonanza, an event that introduced local businesses and organizations to Ferris students, was a perfect way to inaugurate the new Center.

The culmination of the University's capital improvement campaign is the building of FLITE - the Ferris Library for Information, Technology and Education. The construction of FLITE has begun a new phase with the erection of steel. As the building becomes "framed-in," it will become evident just how large and magnificent this state-of-the-art learning community will be. The library will be completed in the spring of 2001.

I am looking forward to a successful year ahead for Ferris State University. I'm glad you are a part of it.

William A. Sederburg, President