April 2026 – Springing into Spring!

April 8, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

April is here and we are entering the busiest and, in many ways, the most rewarding time of our academic year. I know my calendar is filled with concerts, events, celebrations, awards ceremonies, remembrances, athletic events, and preparations for commencement. This month also marks my work anniversary, and I can honestly say that these past seven years as President of Georgia Southern have been the greatest honor of my life. I’m truly excited about our future together.

Last week we shared the results of our fifth Employee Engagement Survey. In case you missed the Virtual Town Hall on April 2, the presentation is posted and recorded here. I want to thank our faculty and staff for their engagement as we reached a 66% participation rate. In addition, we saw improvement in almost all areas of the survey with the highest overall mean of 4.01 out of 1/5 scale (up from 3.87 two years ago). In mid-April, divisional and unit reports will be shared as we begin rolling out updates and developing action plans. Additionally, survey comments will be available in the MyGS Portal. These results, along with the action plans we develop, will guide our efforts over the next two years, providing valuable data and insight to help us grow ourselves to grow others.

Also last week, the Georgia General Assembly closed out the 2026 legislative session. As a reminder, we received incredible support earlier in the session with the FY 2026 amended budget including $29.8M in funding to design and build Georgia’s first School of Optometry at Georgia Southern; investment in our people with a one-time $2,000 salary supplement for full-time employees to be allocated this month; and a historic investment of $325M to create the DREAMS Scholarship Endowment for needs-based scholarships for students attending USG and TCSG institutions.

More good news followed in the FY 2027 budget with $4.2M in funding secured for the East Georgia Campus HVAC renovations and $1M in Georgia Research Alliance funding to support an Eminent Scholar at Georgia Southern. An additional $5.5 million was allocated to support an applied reading center at Georgia Southern established through the historic literacy bill (HB 1193) championed by Speaker Burns and Mrs. Dayle Burns. The center will design professional development programs for teachers and literacy coaches, including competency assessments prior to training and model teacher preparation programs. 

The Georgia Senate originally proposed a $123.4 million reduction to the University System of Georgia (USG) formula funding. However, the cut was reduced in conference committee, resulting in a final reduction of $34.3 million for FY 2027. In the coming weeks, the Board of Regents will share detailed budget information for each institution, and we will continue to provide transparent updates to the campus community. We remain grateful for the support of Governor Kemp, Speaker Burns, the State Legislature, especially our local delegation, and the Board of Regents.

Soaring Beyond, Because of You!

On April 10, we will host the University’s Awards of Excellence and Years of Service Recognition at the Fine Arts Auditorium on the Armstrong Campus. This celebratory event honors individuals and teams whose outstanding contributions advance the success of Georgia Southern University. By recognizing those whose performance reflects our institutional values, the program also fosters a culture of engagement and appreciation across our University community. This year, we will honor 15 individual faculty and staff members, one team award, and more than 270 employees celebrating 5 to 40 years of service – totaling over 4,000 years of commitment! 

The East Georgia Campus will host their annual awards program on April 24 in the Luck Gambrell Center Auditorium. The program, which is designed to identify and reward individuals who made outstanding contributions to the success of the East Georgia Campus, will become part of the University’s Awards of Excellence next year. The campus will recognize two individuals who demonstrate exceptional service, teamwork, attitude and reliability (STAR) to the success of the East Georgia Campus, as well as one individual who embodies the heart, mission and values of East Georgia.

Because of you, Georgia Southern is in motion, on the rise, and serving a growing region.  I remain grateful, steadfast, and bullish in our future…Soaring Beyond!  

Sincerely,

Kyle