Good morning and welcome to all students, staff, faculty, administration and trustees who are present to the opening convocation of the 2007-2008 academic year at Grove City College – our 132nd year. Welcome also to our twenty-three students overseas at the University of Nantes in France who are listening to these remarks via simulcast.

As we begin I ask you to join me in prayer:

Almighty and everlasting God, we begin today a new semester and a new year. But we do so ever mindful of your grace and what it means for all of us – sinners all. We are engaged at every moment, hour, day, month of each semester in learning – learning about ourselves and most importantly from each other. As our professors pass on their accumulated knowledge – the knowledge of the ages – they do so mindful of Your hand and Your providence. We also know that, as we strive for knowledge, there should always be a constant – and that is the discerning of what is right and what is wrong, and that the integrity of the learning process is always paramount. We share many titles – colleagues, teachers, mentors, students. But most importantly, we try to share a fulfilling life together in a community of scholarship, guided by your way of truth and light as revealed in your Word. Continue to shed your grace on this great College, for your blessings are profound. Finally dear Lord, help us all, professors and students to engage forthrightly and respectfully in all the questions that engage us in understanding who we are, what we are to each other and, most importantly, how our lives are transformed and enriched by your love. In Christ’s name, Amen.

This morning marks the beginning of my fifth year serving as the 8th President of Grove City College. I couldn’t be more committed or more passionate about this great opportunity of service, nor could I be more positive about the short- and long-term future of our College. As you return this year, a lot of projects have been completed over the summer. Two are quite noticeable. First, the internal reconstruction and retrofit of Helen Harker Residence Hall and second the dramatic retrofit and expansion of Hicks Dining Hall, which includes air conditioning. These projects, as well as the many completed over the last few years, reflect a college dedicated to the important restoration, renovation and expansion of its physical assets in order to better serve all who teach, study and work here.

This year also will find the ten-year reaccredidation review of our College by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Much work has already been done in preparation. You will hear more about this as the year progresses.

The title of my address this morning is “A Report and a Challenge.” The report portion will be in part a retrospective of the last four years as well as a look ahead. The challenge portion will address in detail the pressing question and concern of academic integrity. An important part of a convocation address is to outline the path ahead. It’s a look around the corner as well as a view beyond the horizon. I am always thankful, however, that every view into the future remains grounded in our historic animating principles of faith and freedom, and is further backed by our core operating objectives of providing an outstanding education, in a Christian environment, at an affordable price. There are well over 3000 colleges and universities in our nation today. The vast majority has given up or vastly eroded their founding principles and stand for nothing more than an experience. Many of those experiences, by the way, also cost two to three times what we charge.

As I continue the report portion of my address, let me quickly review some important things that occurred just this past year. First of all, I need to say something about fundraising. For a school that takes no direct or indirect federal or direct state monies, the very life blood of our great institution is our ability to raise funds. And the use and application of those raised monies has an immediate benefit to all those listening to me this morning and to future generations of students, and faculty as yet unidentified. Accordingly in December of this last year we completed our first ever modern Capital Campaign called Change & Commitment. Its goal was $60 million. It raised $69 million! Over 65% of the dollars raised came from alumni, who gave back to their alma mater in the campaign. The fruits of the campaign are both seen and unseen. Seen is the Hall of Arts and Letters, the dramatic addition to the J. Howard Pew Fine Arts Center, and the Edward & Lynn Breen Student Union. Unseen is the final capital building improvement, the $6.5 million internal retrofit of and addition to the Carnegie Alumni Center, which will begin in late February of 2008. Also unseen, but especially important, is the fact that an additional $26 million was raised for endowed merit or need-based scholarships. So to all who worked so hard and gave their time, talent and treasure – a job well done that will impact this great College throughout this still new 21st century. This increased giving is really a manifestation of our Alumni and friends’ love and support for what we have stood for all these years, what they personally experienced and for what we are doing today and intend for the future.

I am also pleased to report on our annual fundraising campaign which we call “Full Circle.” This campaign is primarily directed to our alumni. In this area, each of the past four years has been a record year when it comes to unrestricted giving. Unrestricted giving means alumni give money and permit the College to allocate it to pressing needs. I want to share a significant statistic with you about the annual giving campaign. In the last 4 years the total dollars given (unrestricted) has risen 156% and the total number of givers in the same period has risen 52%. The fiscal year of giving that just concluded in June was not only another record but a breakout year with a 49% increase alone in total donated unrestricted dollars over the previous year. We also saw the highest percentage ever of eligible alumni participating. Among other student areas already benefiting: contributions being used to support the Red Box Missions program; increased funds for the Touring Choir and Marching Band in their special program areas; increased student scholarships; increased Restoration & Renewal capital fund projects with direct student benefit; a major contribution to new and upgraded existing equipment in the exercise/weightlifting rooms; more money to the Swezey Fund for high-end scientific instrumentation; and additional money for supporting our club sport/intramural program, etc. Also, more money for special lecturers (e.g. Humanities speakers and former Pennsylvania Governor and Homeland Security Secretary, the Honorable Tom Ridge will deliver the Pew Memorial Lecture on Monday evening, October 8th). Part of the annual giving campaign also includes the senior gift. For the last three years, each class has raised a record amount, with each class besting the previous one. So to Senior Class President Caroline El Sanadi and her classmates, the bar has been set high and the challenge is there – best wishes in meeting that challenge set by last year’s class of 2007!

Much of what we are doing, of course, is currently being guided by our campus wide strategic plan. We are beginning our third year under the plan. Recall that the plan was formulated by our trustees as led by our chairman, Mr. David R. Rathburn ‘79, and guided by a process that included a forty-person advisory committee comprised of students, nineteen faculty members, administration and alumni. In drafting the plan, we reaffirmed our long-followed 132-year mission and values, but also drafted a vision statement:

To be one of America's premier liberal arts, science and engineering colleges, where scholarship combines with Christian principles.

That vision remains clear as we execute in all areas of our strategic plan. This past year, pursuant to the plan, allow me to share a few highlights:
1. We finished a complete architectural update of the long-range building plan for the campus which will ensure that we meet our campus facility needs while continuing the architectural integrity of our campus.
2. We implemented an exercise science minor and began a program in the Japanese language. We also have added the Chinese language for this fall.
3. We refined our consideration of an overseas Pacific Rim study abroad experience.
4. We studied adding selected master’s programs – again in the near future we will discuss this further, although later in my remarks you will hear about our initial master’s offering.
5. We continued studies to add a chemical engineering major – further review is ongoing and will be completed shortly.

Much, therefore, has been accomplished in just our first two years of the plan.

While we continue to emphasize and enhance the strength of our outstanding faculty as teachers, a number have been active in other scholarly efforts, as well. Several have published books – for instance, as representative: Dr. Kemeny had a reader on Church, State, and Public Justice published by Inter-Varsity Press; the University of Michigan Press published Dr. Graham’s book, News and Frontier Consciousness in the Late Roman Empire; Dr. Seybold’s book, Explorations in Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion, was published by Ashgate Press; and Oxford University Press published Faith and the Presidency by Dr. Gary Smith. In addition, through the Center for Vision & Values, faculty wrote nineteen scholarly papers and 92 opinion editorials, including three white papers on major topics: Dr. Mech on an antipoverty fund; Dr. Horton on abstinence education; and Dr. Hendrickson on globalization. Drs. DiStasi, Bill Birmingham, Welton, and Ayers continued their work on the Microsoft teaching/learning project with tablet PCs, which included making a presentation at the American Society for Engineering Education conference; and several faculty published articles on a variety of scientific and engineering topics: Dr. Brenner on surface mining; Dr. Christman on take-off angles and airways; Dr. Bardy on thermal connectivity; and Dr. Erik Anderson on fish locomotion. Dr. Ray and Dr. David Jones continued their research on mitochondrial DNA and breast cancer, assisted in the effort by new equipment procured via the Swezey Fund.

In so far as what is on our strategic plan plate for this year, some highlights:

1. We will continue efforts to meet many of our students’ financial needs – for example, we have lowered the GPA requirement from 3.0 to 2.75 to be eligible to continue with need-based scholarship aid. We plan to lower this number incrementally over the next few years to 2.0, and to be able to provide much more of our students’ need-based scholarship need.
2. We will be increasing opportunities for faculty /student research in both schools. For example: this year we have added two faculty to the Hopeman School to enhance student-faculty research. In addition, the College now offers financial stipends to students designated as Swezey research fellows for student-faculty research. Similar opportunities are being investigated through the Center for Vision & Values.
3. Last year we conducted much leadership training through Student Life and Learning, primarily with our RAs and RDs and a few selected groups. This effort will be expanded to other campus organizations. We have hired a new professional to lead this effort.
4. We will complete a proposal for adding a Master of Arts degree in Economics for submission to our accrediting body, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.
5. We will continue a second year of a satellite campus in France, and have expanded the program to include not only engineers as last year, but other academic areas as well.
6. We will complete a feasibility study for beginning a new Capital Campaign. The campaign will likely include additional scholarship needs plus other building additions/enhancements that support our academic goals and objectives. If approved by our trustees in their May 2008 meeting, we will be positioned to announce needs, duration and goals. Doing another Capital Campaign, however, will, I believe, remarkably position our College for the challenges and opportunities of the next 25-35 years of this century.
7. We will complete the academic integrity /honor code study with recommendations. This important process will include student participation as well.

And finally, not related to our formal strategic plan, but nevertheless essential for the safety and well being of our school, extensive work and efforts have gone into revising the College's Emergency Response Plan during the past year. The Emergency Response Plan (ERP) provides guidelines describing the incident preparedness and emergency response programs for various situations that may potentially occur on our campus. The purpose of the Emergency Response Plan is to provide clear and effective coordination and communication for the various departments and individuals responsible for responding to emergencies that affect the campus community. Features of the plan will include the installation of a campus siren and utilization of a cell phone text message system to alert the campus of situations that merit the attention of campus constituents. Details of the new plan will be communicated to the campus community during the 2007 Fall Semester.

This concludes my report on a number of areas in which we have been engaged and some areas in which we will continue engagement and/or begin new engagement.

That brings me to the second half of my address which I call “A Challenge.” That challenge concerns the subject of academic integrity. The challenge in a community of scholars and learners is to always and without fail proceed in an honest manner with and toward one another. We can have the brightest students, the best school and the finest professors, but if we fail the everyday, every moment test of academic integrity, we lose the trust of all that should bind us most closely together.

Some brief background is in order. One of the many initiatives under the strategic plan was a careful consideration of the viability of establishing a campus-wide academic honor code. Accordingly, we initiated a process to fully explore this area and expanded it to address the broader issue of academic integrity. Before going further, let me say that this process will be ongoing and concluding this academic year. No decision has been made as to what will be done with respect to an honor code. To begin our review, however, we conducted a scientific confidential survey in which 1070 of our students took part. That group fairly represented each class (freshman – senior) as well as the Calderwood and Hopeman Schools.

The results were somewhat expected as well as unexpected. It was not unexpected that our students indicated they experienced a rigorous and highly competitive academic college environment and that most had a very successful secondary educational experience. 97% of our students felt the competition for grades was somewhat or very high. The vast majority of our students knew and fairly well understood the existing academic integrity policy. The survey then asked what students knew or suspected might be happening in this area at Grove City College, and then the harder more personal question – what they themselves were doing, or not doing, in the area of academic integrity. As to what they thought others were doing – 56% suspected cheating inside the classroom at least once since they had been here and 35% were sure some people had cheated. As to work outside the classroom, 78% suspected cheating at least once and 58% were sure of it. Those areas outside the classroom related to actions such as, but not limited to, plagiarism, improper sharing of course work, and telling others who just took a test an hour or so before what was on the test. But as to what they saw or knew, 79% thought it somewhat or very unlikely that they would report it.

When asked whether they had cheated, roughly 25% – one out of every four –admitted to having knowingly violated the rules of academic honesty at least once, and many of them admitted to having done so on multiple occasions. This number is on a par with national averages and not different from secular schools. That outcome was, on first impression, surprising. Remember all of these statistics were telling a story that you, our students, were telling us, not what we were surmising from guesses or random anecdotes.

Here are some of the facts and attitudes we found from our survey:

Personal Behavior-Students

Students were asked about a number of specific behaviors:
1. 27% admit to having received “unpermitted” help on an assignment turned in for credit
2. 25% admit to having received inside information about an upcoming test or quiz
3. 17% admit to copying or revising answers after looking at someone else’s quiz or test
4. 22% admit to having used someone else’s paper as a guide for their own work
5. 25% admit to having received questions or answers from outside sources without permission (test files, instructor’s editions, etc.)
6. 24% admit to having falsified lab or research data

Personal Behavior/Attitudes

Responses about the seriousness of various forms of cheating are revealing…
1. 86% said that getting “unpermitted help” on coursework was “Not Cheating” or was only “Trivial Cheating” (67%)
2. 25% said that getting inside information was “Not Cheating” or was only “Trivial Cheating”
3. 26% said that allowing someone else to copy their work was “Not Cheating” or was only “Trivial Cheating”

The very concept of “trivial cheating” is troubling, perhaps more so than the admission of specific behaviors. It points to a kind of moral relativism that, if unchecked, disintegrates otherwise sound institutions. When it comes to your integrity, and to the integrity of this institution, there are no trivial issues. We will not – and cannot – treat these matters as if they were unimportant.

Many colleges and some college presidents, when presented with factual information on the academic integrity climate at their school, might not be inclined to say much in hopes it would go away or not be noticed. Hopefully, however, all or most would want to do something about it. My view is that it is an important teaching and learning moment for all of us. It is important to clearly identify the problem, candidly discuss it, and then address it both as brothers and sisters in Christ and as scholars and students in residence.

Let me be frank. I am less concerned about how we address this issue as to its form – i.e. do we need an honor statement/honor code – for we will all work on that aspect this year: faculty, administration and students. I am more concerned at the substantive level – i.e. how do we all, as individuals, act and react to the question of academic integrity on our campus? After all, integrity isn’t a system of dos and don’ts we can restrict to the classroom; it is about how we conduct ourselves everywhere and in everything we do – not just on this campus, but for the rest of our lives.

There is nothing more important, nor more fundamental, than academic integrity at a college. Let me repeat that. There is nothing more important, nor more fundamental, than academic integrity at a college. Of course the same applies to every facet of life, doesn’t it? Integrity is a group concern, but it is a personal issue because it establishes a habit of virtue that continues throughout life.

What does the Bible teach us? Through our reading we know that as people of God, the norms for our behavior flow from the nature of God. In Psalm 25, verses 4 and 5, David writes, “Show me your ways, O Lord, Teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” In verse 21, he further asks God, “May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in You.” We, as the people of God in Christ, are called to approach Him in the same way – to strive to be like Him by being men and women of truth, honor, and integrity, and to look to Him as our model.

The teaching function of a college is to facilitate and document learning. Tests, essays, projects, assignments etc. are designed to first give the student, and then others (i.e. professors), a sense of the student’s level of understanding. Violations of academic integrity skew the evaluation and undermine the accuracy of the assessment, with the result that neither the student nor others can have confidence in the student’s level of understanding. In addition, engaging in cheating gives the offending student an apparent advantage over his/her classmates. I say “apparent” because, in reality, the student doing the cheating is actually the loser.

In previous convocation addresses and elsewhere, I often quote our greatest benefactor and longest serving trustee chair, Mr. J. Howard Pew ’00. His most quoted words are precisely relevant to this discussion. In a speech at Grove City College in 1934 he said, “without good morals and high character, knowledge is without value.” Those words can be found inscribed in stone on the side of the Breen Student Union. They should also be inscribed in our hearts and in our minds.

The chair of our ad hoc academic integrity assessment committee inquiry and process is Dr. Paul Kemeny. I want to quote from a paper he recently wrote on this subject related to some implications of the academic integrity survey results.

“These survey results generated by Grove City College students should give us reason to pause and reflect upon our most fundamental values as a Christian educational community. How we behave, when it supposedly does not really count or when no one is looking, is a good barometer of what we treasure most. The student who is willing to succumb to the temptation to cheat in order to get a good grade, [regardless] of how ‘trivial’ or ‘victimless’ he or she perceives the deception to be, is more likely to engage in similar behavior when he or she gets a job in the ‘real world.’ The lack of integrity can make front-page news as evidenced by scandals at Enron, World Com, Adelphia, and Tyco. While cheating on a humanities quiz is a long way from pilfering millions of dollars from the stockholders of a multinational corporation, the moral habits we cultivate now, in the routine activities of every day life, will directly impact how we will behave in the future. This principle, I believe, is as true for all. In moments of crisis, we will inevitably resort to our moral ‘default settings.’ And if our moral compass has been shaped by engaging in allegedly minor acts of deception, it is far more likely we will again resort to them when, for instance, we have a mortgage, car payments, a spouse, and two children, and a boss who tells us to ‘cook the books.’ Good character may be manifested in large moments, as Professor Roger Mackey puts it, but it is truly manufactured in the small moments.”

What do we make of all this? What is expected of us? And what must we expect of ourselves? The answer is, we must do better – much better. We must be dependent upon the transforming power of God’s spirit, and, though fallen and imperfect, nevertheless we must strive to be faithful in this area – faithful to God, and faithful to our better selves. We must be informed about the problem and on guard constantly against the temptations that persist to take the easy and less truthful path, realizing that, while we must always strive to do our best, to be men and women of honor and integrity – indeed, to be like Christ – it is the Lord God Himself who must effect the change within in our soul. There is an old and, I believe, true saying – as the twig is bent so doth the tree incline. Don’t let grade pressures or friends or cultural relativism bend you in the wrong direction. Stand firm with the two most personal attributes you bring to your life – your good name and your integrity – and, as David did, place your hope and trust in the Lord God that He may teach you His ways and protect you in integrity and uprightness. At the fork in the road, you always want to take the path of personal character. Doing so will lead you always in the path of righteousness and success. A life honestly led is a life well worth living.

In conclusion, best wishes this year to all. I continue to look forward to seeing students at my GeDunk hours each Wednesday at 4 p.m. beginning September 5th (and they will continue each Wednesday unless I am traveling on College business). From these GeDunk hours I have learned a lot and, in some cases, your input has prompted either a change in policy or a better and fuller reason for why things are done a particular way. I have heard problems big and small, but no matter the size, each is important to the student who raised it, and so each question is important to me. I also look forward to ongoing work and dialogue with SGA. Your President Andrew Miller and I meet bi-weekly and we will continue to refer matters of substance to SGA for discussion and action.

And so we begin again. God bless each of you, this College and our great nation.