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Message from President Tracy D. Hall

Happy New Year!

Dr. Tracy D. Hall

I love the expression “Happy New Year”.  So much so, I say it twice a year—during this time and again in the fall at the start of the new school year.  New beginnings are a time of reflection, hope and planning.

We accomplished much in 2018.  As you know, our enrollment increased both semesters.  We conferred over 1,500 credentials. We debuted our Focus 2020 strategic plan. We released our economic study that revealed our $176 million impact on the regional economy in 2016.  We launched SWIFT, Southwest’s accelerated program that empowers students to complete a class in just three weekends. We announced the arrival of our new Funeral Service Education program, the first at a publicly-funded college in Tennessee.  And there were many other wins in between.

As I look forward to this calendar year, I am excited by the possibilities. We continue to take a deep, meaningful look at our academic offerings with the goal of ensuring we offer what students want and what employers need.  These needs and wants converge right here at Southwest.  We are the connector, the driver, the stimulator, the motivator and the accelerator for progress in the Mid-South.  We are where change happens and goals and dreams are realized and fulfilled. 

Southwest is where ideas are born, partnerships are forged and success is a reality for those who put in the work. This is our charge: to continue to put in the work as we lay the foundation for student success, Southwest success.  You put in the work in 2018. The fruits of your labor are manifested most magnificently in the graduates who left our classrooms and campuses to emerge as valued employees, empowered entrepreneurs and inspired community servants.

In 2019, let’s look for innovation while we embrace what’s working. Let’s share ideas while we set personal goals to be our best selves to ourselves, to others and to Southwest. Let’s move with optimism while we keep an eye on the bottom line. Let’s strive with enthusiasm while we look soberly at the challenges before us.  And let’s believe in who we are and what we mean to our students and the Mid-South. We are Southwest.

Let’s make 2019 another great year.

Dr. Tracy D. Hall