From the Desk of the Chancellor - Sept. 26, 2011

Dear colleagues,

I hope the first few weeks of the academic year have been productive. I am delighted to share news about our final fall 2011 enrollment figures at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

This fall, we welcomed the second highest enrollment in the 51-year history of the University to campus with 8,955 students. The University has also seen a 2.5 percent increase in the number of undergraduate students on campus with 7,405, an all-time record.

The confidence expressed in UM-Dearborn by this record number of students reflects the support, academic excellence, and opportunities available on campus. UM-Dearborn is an appealing place--as a student tweeted earlier today, "LOVE U of M Dearborn campus!!!!"

The University hit a few additional milestones with the fall enrollment, including the largest freshmen class in 33 years with 966 students, as well as the largest transfer class in 27 years with 854 students. These students represent more than 50 birth countries, reflecting the diverse and inclusive community that we cultivate on campus.

The University also welcomed the largest freshman engineering class in nine years and its first class of bioengineering students.

The quality of our incoming students is quite impressive, both on paper and in person. This year’s incoming freshman class has an average GPA of 3.5 and an average ACT composite score of 24.

I would like to take a moment to publicly thank Vice Chancellor Stanley Henderson and his team led by Christopher Tremblay, executive director for enrollment management, and Deb Peffer, director of admissions, for their work and direction during the student recruitment and enrollment process. Their work was made possible by an engaged team of faculty and staff members involved in recruiting and retaining students across campus, and I thank you for all of your work as well.

I look forward to hearing more about the exciting things that this new group of UM-Dearborn students will accomplish throughout their campus careers. The importance of a college education has never been greater in our changing economy, and our University is giving our students the education they need to truly make a difference.

Sincerely,

Daniel Little

From the Desk of the Chancellor is a regular column by Daniel Little, chancellor of the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He serves as professor of philosophy at UM-Dearborn and as faculty associate at the Institute for Social Research and the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan.