Faculty and staff gathered in the Student Union Ballroom at 11 a.m. today for their annual convocation. 

Dr. William Wainwright welcomed everyone with his convocation address and stated, “Last week, I celebrated my two-month anniversary with the university and had a great time with our new faculty at faculty orientation.” 

Wainwright briefly mentioned before getting into his plans for Southeastern that the plans to bring back D Vickers are well underway thanks to the regional legislative delegation members and the governor. He also showed gratitude to SLU’s athletic coaches, plants and operations team members and the University Police Department. 

The president then shared his vision for the university, including increasing competitive edge, recruiting at community colleges, faculty and staff investments and educational, economic and cultural development. 

Regarding students and their part in this vision, Wainwright said, “While we’ve made great gains as a university in retention and graduation rates, being average is simply not good enough. We are going to ensure that we make the proper investments in our faculty and staff to support the student experience.”  

After Wainwright’s speech and before awards, Bruce Craft, faculty senate president, and Student Government Association President Lacey Johnson welcomed the president and shared a few words about looking forward to this semester. 

“To our students, we look forward to seeing you in class next week and partnering with you throughout this year. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the faculty senate, I welcome you to the fall of 2023, which I think promises to be the best semester yet,” Craft said. 

Johnson described some of her plans for students as SGA president, such as increasing student involvement and helping SLU’s students “get there.” 

Many awards and recognitions were presented afterward, such as the President’s Awards for Excellence, the emerita/emeritus awards, endowed professorships and scholarships and service awards for faculty and staff that have been here from 20 to 45 years. 

The event ended with Provost Tena Golding releasing everyone to enjoy lunch provided by Aramark.