RE: Methodist University Inauguration

I have been an alumnus of Methodist University for about four and a half years. I still wrestle with whether or not I am a proud alumni of said school. But I want to be a proud alumni. I chose to air this out now while the Inauguration was still fresh.

I have had this on my heart for a while, and I can't stay silent. This is therapy for me.

The following is a open letter to President Hancock, the MU Powers-That-Be, alumni, and even current students......

To The Methodist University Community At Large (And there's something for alumni, too),

I was unable to attend the inauguration of President Hancock, but I wish I was there. I am happy and doing well in Durham, and I am involved in the faith based non-profit sector and the church community.

Methodist has been good to me in a lot of ways. You gave a college degree and allowed me to develop some sort of independence away from home. The friends I made during my era and the experiences that I had at MU were thrilling.

But not everything was perfect during my time. The academic advisement that I received was sub par. MU's system of things at the time forced you to become your old advisor. That didn't work for some of us. (especially yours truly). I will own up to ALL of my academic failures and shortcomings, but I believe the advisement system was rigged to keep the individuals that were striving to graduate enrolled as long as possible. Granted, some of us weren't as academically sharp as others, but it still occurred. I believe this malady has been addressed already, but the fact that it was this way has jaded several alumni.

The only other real concern that bothers me is the issue of retention. I believe that I've pinpointed the cause. I want to make it known that the football program has a habit-no, a mandate-to recruit over 120 FRESHMAN football players per year, no matter who returned previously. And if you can do a little bit of research, you can see that only 25 to 30 of these freshmen return for their sophomore year. It isn't just limited to football; men's basketball brings in about 15 a year, baseball 20, men's soccer around 18, and so on. The women do it, too.

We can't expect those that could not find any playing time on their particular team to stay if they've been jaded by an athletic failure. It is 2012. We cannot expect to convince a lot of these kids to just be students here if their primary mission for coming was just to play a little ball. It is a different generation.

I feel that taking it on the front end to make a profit while accepting that you will take it on the back end is a bit unethical. When you recruit more, it is harder to retain and develop a sense of community. We are deceiving these kids. I've heard stories of deception and false promises spoken by MU recruiters in order to get the athlete enrolled. The truth of these stories are debatable, but deception is a sin. And we are affiliated with the Methodist church. I don't know about you, but sin is unacceptable to me.

Let's reduce the sizes of athletic teams at Methodist, and make up for the lost revenue by recruiting more non-athletes, raising academic standards, and retaining more of the ones we have.

A lot of male students, past and present (me included) also HATED the male-female ratio. I understand that it is a challenge to recruit female students due to the private school cost and the poor reputation of the surrounding city and military community. The previous regime botched the ratio severely by implementing too many programs for the men and not enough programs for the women. And I don't think that the previous president really cared about this idiosyncrasy. I know the ratio has improved, but I feel we should shoot for an 50/50 ratio, and I believe that can be done via wider recruitment of non-athletes and an increase in international students. I hope this is being worked on. And could someone email me some actual numbers on the ratio??? :) My email address is eshipman@hotmail.com.

Otherwise, I believe that Methodist is awesome, and I believe that Dr. Hancock will walk the walk and take us to the next level. I believe that he is trying to correct these issues as we speak. This may sound like a tongue lashing, but I appreciate everything and I am for you.

For those that are still bitter about their MU experience, don't be. I'm praying for you. Make the BEST of your situation! I still struggle with bitterness about my experience, but the cross of Christ has helped me forgive those that scorned me.

In Him,
E. Remille Shipman