Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006

To: A&S Chairpersons

From: Joseph Travis

Subject: Note to All A&S Faculty Members

Colleagues,

In the course of preparing budget requests and year-end reports, I had the opportunity to take a longer view of the College and its programs. Several patterns emerge in that view. It's easy to notice the considerable increases in enrollments over the last few years and the corollary patterns in faculty size, budgets, and other assorted numbers. But I am struck by several trends that reflect the effort and achievements of the faculty. For example, over the last five years and before this year, the number of doctoral students has risen steadily, with a cumulative increase of 42%. In this same period, the number of undergraduate hours compiled by A&S has increased by 19% while the size of the tenure-track faculty has increased by only 3%. There has been real growth in scholarly and creative activity; in the past five years, the number of external proposals submitted per tenure track faculty member has increased by 14% and the annual expenditures from external awards per tenure-track faculty member has increased by 46%. While the distribution of this activity varies between the Humanities and the Sciences, both subsets of the faculty have increased their activity. And of course, it is easy to notice the number of times our faculty members have been recognized by awards and honors in their disciplines.

These numbers tell me that, as individuals, you are working harder and, more importantly, achieving more. I want to take a moment from the gathering momentum of a new academic year to thank you for those efforts and congratulate you for those achievements.

Joseph Travis

Dean, College of Arts and Sciences

Florida State University

110 Longmire Building Tallahassee, FL 32306-1280

Dean's Office Phone 850-644-4404

Email: travis@neuro.fsu.edu