"2007 has been, by any measure, an extraordinary year for Hofstra University"

A Letter From President Stuart Rabinowitz

Return to Table of Contents

We have been fortunate, over the past seven years, to have experienced tremendous growth and change at Hofstra. We have been witness to innovation and creativity from our community of faculty and scholars, as well as to the dedication and energy of our active student body. And our graduates have responded by becoming involved in alumni activities, coming back to campus, and participating in our Capital Campaign, the most successful in our almost 75-year history.

Since my inauguration as president of this great institution, I have spoken frequently with great pride of the momentum Hofstra University has experienced, the success of our alumni, and the accomplishments of our students and our faculty.

The time is at hand when the rest of the world will understand what we at Hofstra have long known to be true – that this is a remarkable university, a place where people find and focus their true strengths, where thousands of alumni have begun their lifelong journeys of success and accomplishment, and where students and scholars connect in classrooms and through field work and mentoring relationships.

This past fall we made two announcements that represent great steps forward in the history of Hofstra University. First, in October, we joined with North Shore-LIJ Health System, our nation's third largest health system, to announce our plan to establish the nation's newest school of medicine, and we have also just announced the appointment of our founding dean, Dr. Larry Smith. A medical school will enable us to strengthen our science and research programs, attract students from around the world, and further enhance Hofstra's rapidly growing national reputation.

In November the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) announced that Hofstra University would be the site of the third and final debate of the 2008 presidential election campaign, on October 15, 2008. Hosting the final presidential debate, which will focus on foreign policy, means countless opportunities for our students and priceless exposure for Hofstra, throughout the United States and around the globe. It allows us to highlight our unique academic strengths, through centers such as the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency, the National Center for Suburban Studies, and the Center for Civic Engagement. Hofstra also has received acclaim for our renowned series of conferences on modern U.S. presidents, including our most recent in November 2005, William Jefferson Clinton: The "New Democrat" From Hope. These multi-day conferences, as well as other conferences hosted by the Hofstra Cultural Center, have included the participation of world leaders, best-selling authors, political pundits, journalists, scholars, policy experts, and elected officials.

When the CPD announced that Hofstra would serve as a debate site, we pledged to build on that history of internationally renowned conferences and to create a comprehensive, in-depth series of lectures, academic coursework, events and public programs about the issues of this election, history and politics. This series, Educate '08, will bring students, faculty, educators and the general public together with scholars, journalists, politicians, and public servants to foster a deeper understanding of presidential politics and history and encourage participation in the democratic process. Educate '08 events have been planned and organized with the assistance of students, faculty, and members of the surrounding community, and many of these events will be free and open to the public. Guest speakers who visited the Hofstra campus this spring included Mary Matalin and James Carville, Frank Luntz and Paul Begala, Maureen Dowd and William Kristol, General Barry McCaffrey, Adam Nagourney of The New York Times, and many other renowned scholars, journalists and political commentators. Visit hofstra.edu/educate08 for more information and a continuously updated schedule of events.

The announcement to plan a medical school and the selection of Hofstra as a debate site were the culmination of years of research, strategic planning, consensus building, and gathering data and feedback from many constituencies. These two announcements accelerated the sense of momentum on the Hofstra campus, and ensured that 2008 will be a very exciting year for all of us.

Even with our ambitious plans for these two important initiatives, we've continued to expand our horizons – in the greater world and here on campus. We announced just a few weeks ago that the first Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize will be awarded to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama has agreed to accept the award at a ceremony in India later this year and then at another ceremony at Hofstra University in 2009. This prize was made possible through the generosity of Hofstra Trustee Tejinder Bindra. We also expanded the National Center for Suburban Studies, launched the Wilbur F. Breslin Center for Real Estate Studies, and celebrated the installation of several new distinguished academic chairs and professors.

But at the core, Hofstra University's mission is to educate our students, and our remarkable progress in attracting increasingly well-qualified first-year students has continued. This year, for the sixth consecutive year, each of our major indicators of progress – the incoming class average SAT, average GPA, students in the top 10 percent of their class, and students who come from outside New York state – again rose significantly.

Our commitment to renovate classroom and other academic spaces has also continued unabated, in order to create comfortable, state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities that allow students to maximize their potential. We completed renovations of the Mack Student Center Cafe, are nearing completion on our new graduate residence hall, and now look ahead to the renovation and expansion of the Recreation Center. Now halfway through our Five-Year Plan, we are assessing its successes and evaluating our challenges in order to create our next Five-Year Plan. We are also beginning to prepare for Hofstra's 75th anniversary in 2010 as we plan for an exciting, celebratory year of events, programs and conferences.

Our ambitious plans for the future never cause us to lose sight of what is truly important: the teaching and development of our students as engaged citizens and leaders of tomorrow. In fact, the thoughts and opinions of our students – as well as our faculty and alumni – are an important part of the formation and development of all our innovative and ambitious plans.

It is a very exciting time at Hofstra University. Our potential is limitless and the future is very bright, thanks in no small part to the success and dedication of our alumni, students and faculty. I hope that you will visit us for an Educate '08 program, for an alumni event, or for one of our hundreds of cultural and athletic events.

Sincerely,
Stuart Rabinowitz, President