The new semester is off and running and a preliminary report given at the chancellor’s forum for faculty and administrators indicates North Carolina A&T State University has grown its enrollment to 10,734 students, up from 10,561 last fall.

“We’ve made substantial progress in the last few years with our enrollment process,” said Akua Matherson, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management.

According to Matherson, the team in the Office of Admissions has made meaningful gains in several areas including the increase of the academic profile for incoming freshmen and exceeding the projected number of new transfer students enrolling in the university. The preliminary enrollment figure includes 6,296 continuing students, giving the university a retention rate of 79 percent.

“We retained more students than we did last year and that is due to the outstanding job you’ve been doing in the classrooms as teachers and outside the classrooms as mentors,” said Matherson.

During her presentation, Matherson also announced that a cross divisional team is reviewing scholarships and increasing competitiveness of awards as well as reviewing the comprehensive plan for undergraduate and graduate recruitment to ensure that the university continues attracting, recruiting and retaining the right-fit students to the university.

Also during the forum, Provost Joe B. Whitehead Jr. announced the beginning of the process for restructuring and realigning Academic Affairs, saying the university has to be both efficient and effective.

“We want the right mix of programs to attract the students of tomorrow,” he said. “We have to meet the challenges and be as savvy as they are.”

Whitehead says it’s imperative for the university to begin this process soon to reach the goals outlined by Preeminence 2020. An Academic Restructuring Task Force will be formed and an aggressive timeline will be adopted to determine which programs will remain, be consolidated or in some cases eliminated.

“I’m working on a data set to fuel this process,” said Whitehead. “We have to fund what’s best for A&T.”

Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. agrees.

“This is an important and complex process. We have to assess where we are and position the university to appeal to future students and faculty,” said Martin. “We’ve got to change the way we do our programs. I’m challenging you to be involved in the conversation.”

Vice Chancellor Barry L. Burks of the Division of Research and Economic Development (DORED) announced a series of 18 sessions of the faculty development series, “Get Funded.” Each session will last 90 minutes and is in collaboration with Bluford Library. The sessions are designed for faculty with little to no grant writing experience.

“You will come out with a high quality proposal, some knowledge of where to submit it and have it properly vetted,” said Burks.

A full list of all sessions and DORED training opportunities are on the website.

After more than half a century in operation, the Sebastian Health Center will close this fall as student health services move to a new state of the art home.

North Carolina A&T State University’s new Student Health Center, located at the corner of Benbow Road and Bluford Street, has a tentative opening date for mid-October.

“That’s if everything goes as planned. We’re getting all of the inspections done so that we can get the certificate of occupancy,” said Andrew Perkins, assistant vice chancellor of facilities.

According to Perkins, Sebastian has been inadequate for a number of years as it was designed to accommodate less than 3,000 students. With the university’s enrollment inching toward 11,000 students and the strategic plan (A&T Preeminence 2020) goal of enrolling more than 13,000, it became a pressing matter to have a bigger student health center.

“We’ve simply outgrown the building,” said Bettye Young-Stewart, interim executive director of the student health center. “The bigger building will not only allow us the space to offer our current services, it gives us a chance to add additional services and programs.”

The new space houses 11 exam rooms, a triage area and two fully equipped nurses’ stations. The current space in Sebastian has three exams rooms and one has been taken down in anticipation of the move.

“I think this will cut wait times down significantly,” said nursing supervisor Yvonne H. Parks.

The new space also will have two self-service check-in kiosks, allowing students to check in without having to tell staff why they’re there. They will use the kiosks to input their information and the reason for their visits.

“Once they check in they’ll receive a vibrating pager like you would at a restaurant so we don’t even have to call their names to come back and receive their care,” Parks said.

Students also won’t have to risk not hearing their name called if they need to step out of the waiting area.

In addition, the new health center will feature a diagnostic treatment room, seminar rooms, a modern pharmacy, a laboratory diagnostic area as well as an immunization area, a secure record retention area and counseling areas.

Other features will include an allergy clinic, an immunization clinic, a women’s health clinic and offer programming on health and wellness promotion, the prevention and maintenance chronic diseases while focusing on the expansion of services already offered like counseling.

“Our goal is to continue to plan, develop, implement and evaluate healthcare offerings and health education programs that encompass the physical, social, emotional and cultural needs of students,” said Young-Stewart.

Final inspections, landscaping, electrical and mechanical work as well as plumbing, final cleaning, installation of glass and mirrors and moving in of furniture have all begun. Health center administrators hope to start seeing patients on Monday, Oct. 13.

The health center will be open 8 a.m.–9 p.m. and closed on weekends and holidays.

The Greatest Homecoming on Earth is less than one month away, and now’s the time to make plans to attend your favorite events and purchase tickets.

Student events begin on Sunday, Oct. 19, with the coronation of Mister and Miss A&T in the Alumni-Foundation Event Center and end on Sunday, Oct. 26, with the Festival of Praise gospel concert featuring Donnie McClurkin, Fred Hammond and the N.C. A&T Fellowship Gospel Choir in Corbett Gym.

Alumni events begin on Thursday, Oct. 23, with Fall Convocation in Harrison Auditorium and end Sunday, Oct. 26, with the Alumni Breakfast and Affirmation Service at the Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons.

State Senator Joel Ford (District 38, Mecklenburg County) will be the keynote speaker for the Fall Convocation. Ford was elected to the N.C. Senate in November of 2012, by capturing more than 80 percent of the vote. Upon taking office in January 2013, he was appointed to the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources, Appropriations - Base Budget, Appropriations–Transportation, Finance, Insurance and Transportation committees.

Ford currently is the business operations executive for TPM Consulting and chief innovative officer for Carolina Premier Bank in Charlotte. He is a Charlotte Housing Authority commissioner and has served on the Stratford-Richardson YMCA Board of Directors and is on the school leadership team at Myers Park Traditional Elementary School.

Born in Charlotte and raised in Belmont, N.C., Ford received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1992 from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. Ford is also a graduate of the Institute of Political Leadership and Leadership North Carolina, Class XI. He is married and has one daughter.

Aggie Fan Fest begins Friday, Oct. 24, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 25. Fan Fest will feature a festival atmosphere at no cost with multiple live music acts, vendors and fun for the whole family.

Please see a partial list of events below. A full list is available on the website.

SUNDAY, OCT. 19
5–8 p.m.
Homecoming Coronation for Mister & Miss A&T
Alumni-Foundation Event Center
Semi-formal dress
Free; tickets required

MONDAY, OCT. 20
9:30 p.m.–midnight
Homecoming Countdown
Moore Gym
Tickets: N.C. A&T students (valid ID required), $5

TUESDAY, OCT. 21
4–6 p.m.
Homecoming Tweet ’n Greet
Holland Bowl Patio
Free and open to the public

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 22
7:30 p.m.
Homecoming Comedy Show featuring Rickey Smiley
Corbett Sports Center
Tickets: N.C. A&T students (valid ID required), $15 / $17.50; public, $22.50

THURSDAY, OCT. 23
10 a.m.
Fall Convocation
Harrison Auditorium
Speaker: N.C. Sen. Joel Ford

6 p.m.
Pep Rally
Corbett Sports Center
Free and open to the public

FRIDAY, OCT. 24–26
Aggie Fan Fest
War Memorial Baseball Stadium
Free festival admission

FRIDAY, OCT. 24
8:30 a.m. shotgun start
36th Annual Richard E. Moore Memorial Golf Tournament
Grandover Resort

4:30–6:30 p.m.
Alumni Class Reunion Event, 4’s/9’s and 0’s/5’s
Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, Auditorium IV
Sponsor: N.C. A&T Alumni Association

7:45 p.m.
Alumni Homecoming Concert
Featuring: Gladys Knight with special guest Harold Melvin’s Blue Notes
Tables/Tickets: Darlene Norman, 336-433-5560
Sheraton Greensboro Hotel at Four Seasons, Guilford Ballroom
Sponsor: N.C. A&T University Foundation

SATURDAY, OCT.25
8 a.m.
Homecoming Parade
Murrow Boulevard and Lindsey Street

1 p.m.
Homecoming Football Game
Aggie Stadium
Tickets: 336-334-7749

Orders are now being accepted for the university’s new business cards and stationery (i.e., letterhead, note cards and envelopes).

Offices can begin using the new items when their orders are filled. The print vendor is Spartan Printing at the University of North Carolina Greensboro.

Surplus of old items may be used through the end of November. Upon request, Spartan Printing will make scratch pads from the surplus of letterhead.

As in the past, orders for new letterhead, note cards, envelopes and business card should be placed online via the Aggie Printing website, www.myorderdesk.com/AT. For printing services, click the 'Send Files & Orders' tab.

If you are new to Aggie Printing, create an account or click the 'New to Our Site' button in the lower right corner. To check on previous jobs, click the 'My Jobs' tab. Click the 'My Account' tab to review your customer profile. The rest is easy.

All stationery items and business cards must be ordered through the system with a purchase order (PO). Expect delivery of items within three business days after the PO has been issued to Spartan Printing.

P-cards will not be accepted as payment for stationery and business card orders through the Aggie Printing website.

University branded name badges soon will be available to employees. Details are forthcoming.