Soaring Beyond Expectations This Summer

July 7, 2026

Dear Colleagues,

I hope everyone had a restful and fun July 4th with family and friends celebrating our nation’s 250th anniversary.  It was great to see so many of you at our Summer Celebrations last week at the Armstrong and Statesboro Campuses enjoying fresh fruit and ice cream!  Leopold’s “True Blue” is absolutely my favorite!!

Summer is moving quickly with six weeks until the start of the fall semester.  Enrollment continues to look positive with growth and projected record enrollment approaching 32,000 students. This is despite the head winds of the return to test scores, closing of the East Georgia Campus site in Augusta, and impact of the reduction of high school graduates in the marketplace known as the demographic cliff.  The anticipated record fall enrollment is due in large part to the outstanding retention of our current students. This success is a testament to the dedication of our faculty and staff, whose unwavering commitment to student support, personalized engagement, and a welcoming campus environment plays a vital role in helping students succeed and persist.

July also marks a personal milestone as I begin my 14th year serving as a president within the University System of Georgia. I am deeply grateful to be part of the Georgia Southern family, especially during such an exciting period of growth, innovation, and impact. Summer provides an important opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come, evaluate where we are today, and chart a course that will ensure our continued success and relevance for years to come.

This academic year promises to be one of continued momentum and meaningful progress. We will further integrate technology and AI literacy throughout the student experience, ensuring our graduates are not only career-ready but also equipped with the leadership, communication, and critical thinking skills needed to succeed in an ever-changing world. We will strengthen our partnership with the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) through the development of a collaborative facility in Savannah that will serve as a hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, industry engagement, and regional economic development. We will begin the work to establish Georgia’s first College of Optometry, addressing a critical healthcare workforce need while expanding educational opportunities for students across our state. On our Statesboro campus, we will advance plans to develop the north campus property and the Blue Mile with a hotel and conference center. This project will create a unique opportunity to evaluate a long-term gateway development project that could strengthen connections between campus and community while supporting long-term economic growth and student engagement. Finally, we will launch the Georgia Southern Literacy Center to help lead the state’s efforts to improve literacy outcomes through the creation of a new center focused on evidence-based reading instruction and educator support.

More information and details about these transformational initiatives will be shared throughout the fall, including during the State of the University Address in early September, as well as through meetings with the Faculty Senate, Staff Council, Student Government Association, and a series of campus workshops and forums. We look forward to engaging faculty, staff, students, and our community partners as we chart the course for another successful year and continue building a future that empowers us to SOAR BEYOND.

Soaring Beyond, Because of You!

One of the exciting ways we are expanding our impact is through the launch of our new Center for Forensic Sciences in the College of Science and Mathematics. This Center brings together the expertise of faculty from across the University to support law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeast while giving our students invaluable hands-on experience working alongside professionals on real-world cases.

The Center reflects who we are as a university – bringing people together to solve meaningful challenges, advance innovative research, and prepare the next generation of leaders. As we continue investing in opportunities that strengthen our communities and transform student learning, I’m proud of what we are building together. It’s another example of how, because of you, Georgia Southern continues soaring beyond.

The remaining weeks of summer will pass quickly, and I couldn’t be more excited about who we are, where we are today, and the extraordinary future ahead. Together, we will continue soaring beyond expectations.

Sincerely,

Kyle