Dear Colleagues:

As we navigate this busy time of the academic year, I hope that you are having a productive end to the winter semester.

I would like to share some noteworthy updates updates from the VPAA office:

• Our Why I Belong @ UM-Flint initiative, which is aimed at enhancing student retention, has progressed into the focus group stage, following the valuable insights gained from 314 completed surveys. Having completed our preliminary analysis of the survey data, we are now seeking a more nuanced understanding of UM-Flint students’ experiences with the sense of belonging as we meet with them in person and online throughout the month of April. We eagerly anticipate presenting our findings with the university community during the Fall 2024 semester.

• Representatives from our interdisciplinary iGEPA team, including myself, Rajib Ganguly, Maggie Golembiewski, and Jennifer Alvey, are attending the AAC&U General Education, Pedagogy, and Assessment conference and Forum on Transformational Leadership this month. Our goal is to integrate the insights gleaned into a General Education action plan for our campus. We intend to propose this plan to the University Curriculum Committee in May and will subsequently engage campus stakeholders as part of this process.

• In May, the VPAA office will be collaborating with other units on campus to host our first K-12/Higher Education roundtable dialogue. The focus will be to build upon existing relationships with local educators and administrators to best address the academic needs of incoming freshmen affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during their formative high school years. More information to follow in the very near future! Further information will be disseminated soon with the intention of relaying our collective insights to the campus community in the fall.

• It brings me great joy to share that what started off as a partnership between Education departments at universities in two countries might be expanding to become a university level collaboration. The VPAA office, in partnership with the Office of Research and Economic Development and the Center for Global Engagement, will inaugurate the first of multiple research mixers in October 2024. We will launch this series with a focus on “Health, wellbeing, and prevention” and bring together a small group of UM-Flint faculty to explore collective research opportunities with their German peers at the University of Greifswald. We are starting small but hope to involve faculty in other academic areas in subsequent mixers.

In July, I will have completed one year in this professional role. This past year has been filled with rich learning experiences and daily opportunities for personal and professional development! I am so grateful that I have had the opportunity to meet and work with so many individuals across our campus. Thank you for your support.

I will be working on multiple projects for the upcoming academic year over the summer. As always, I value your input and welcome any thoughts or suggestions you have for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Sincerely, Sapna