Communications from the Office of the President

2024

Date	Details
11/21	The President's Perspective — Vol. 76 The University of Memphis campus has changed dramatically in recent years. President Bill Hardgrave provides an update on what's new and what's coming and encourages alumni to come back and visit their alma mater.
11/14	The President's Perspective — Vol. 75 UofM President Bill Hardgrave tours Centennial Place with Brian Rock, Director of Housing and Residence Life, to share details of the amenities available to students in the residence halls and explain the many benefits of living on campus.
11/7	The President's Perspective — Vol. 74 UofM President Bill Hardgrave Hardgrave visits with UofM tour guide coordinator and Tiger Elite student Isabella Stavrides about the impact of campus tours on prospective students.
10/31	The President's Perspective — Vol. 73 UofM President Bill Hardgrave answers the question "What advice would I give my younger self?" in this edition of the President's Perspective.
10/24	The President's Perspective — Vol. 72 UofM President Bill Hardgrave Hardgrave explains the importance of student internships and sits down with Donovan McLemore, a junior marketing major at the UofM, to discuss his experience as an intern at Marriott International.
10/17	The President's Perspective — Vol. 71 UofM President Bill Hardgrave visits with College of Communication and Fine Arts Dean Dr. Debra Burns to discuss what brought her to the UofM, the broad range of offerings in CCFA and shaping the future within the college.
10/10	The President's Perspective — Vol. 70 UofM President Bill Hardgrave Hardgrave sits down with Office of First-Generation Student Success Director Jacki Rodriguez to discuss the many ways in which the office supports first-gen students at the University of Memphis.
10/3	The President's Perspective — Vol. 69 UofM President Bill Hardgrave gives a behind-the-scenes look at the UofM's latest safety enhancement — the University Crime Information Center, which allows Police Services the ability to respond quickly and proactively to on-campus events and stop crime in its tracks
9/26	The President's Perspective — Vol. 68 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with Dr. Melinda Jones, director of the Helen Hardin Honors College, to discuss the role of the honors college, its important place at the University and the requirements for students to join.
9/19	The President's Perspective — Vol. 67 UofM President Bill Hardgrave visits with Senior Vice President for University Advancement Tara Jones to discuss what brought her to Memphis and the importance of engaging our alumni, corporate partners and community members.
9/12	The President's Perspective — Vol. 66 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with Student Government Association President Sam Warren to discuss SGA goals and initiatives, University traditions and more.
9/5	The President's Perspective — Vol. 65 UofM President Bill Hardgrave provides an update on the progress of the Ascend Strategic Plan, including positive developments in research, student outcomes, housing and campus safety and security.
8/29	The President's Perspective — Vol. 64 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with new Senior Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Ed Scott to discuss what attracted him to Memphis, the ongoing changes in college athletics and more.
8/22	The President's Perspective — Vol. 63 UofM President Bill Hardgrave discusses the importance of traditions at the University, including the inaugural “The Walk: Bridge Your Future” across the Hunter Harrison Memorial Bridge.
8/15	The President's Perspective — Vol. 62 UofM President Bill Hardgrave provides an update on enrollment and outlines the University's strategy for ensuring each student is set up for success beginning at the admissions process.
8/1	The President's Perspective — Vol. 61 UofM President Bill Hardgrave gives a tour of the newest building on campus — the Edwards Research and Innovation Center, which will officially open this fall and house primarily engineering and STEM-based disciplines.
7/25	The President's Perspective — Vol. 60 UofM President Bill Hardgrave explains his philosophy on how to disagree with people elegantly in the workplace in order to cultivate a productive and respectful professional environment.
7/18	The President's Perspective — Vol. 59 UofM President Bill Hardgrave talks with new Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law Dean Jim Strickland about how his time as City of Memphis Mayor prepared him to serve as dean and how the UofM Law School is well positioned for the future.
7/11	The President's Perspective — Vol. 58 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with UMRF Ventures CEO Pierre Landaiche to discuss the unique opportunities UMRF Ventures provides to students as they gain real-world work experience while enrolled — establishing a talent pipeline from the UofM to partnering companies.
6/27	The President's Perspective — Vol. 57 UofM President Bill Hardgrave explains his decision-making process and the importance of involving a trusted team in that process.
6/20	The President's Perspective — Vol. 56 UofM President Bill Hardgrave discusses the innovative and life-changing FedEx LiFE program with Jannah Shabazz, who graduated from the program and is now a hub operations manager with FedEx.
6/13	The President's Perspective — Vol. 55 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with Michele Ehrhart, the UofM's recently hired Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, to discuss the challenges and solutions related to telling our story and reaching the University's many constituents.
6/6	The President's Perspective — Vol. 54 UofM President Bill Hardgrave discusses the impact of first-generation graduates and shares sights and sounds from Spring Commencement.
5/30	The President's Perspective — Vol. 53 UofM President Bill Hardgrave speaks with Executive Vice President, COO & CFO Rene Bustamante about his decision to join the UofM after 29 years at FedEx and navigating the financial challenges in higher education today.
5/23	The President's Perspective — Vol. 52 UofM UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with Dr. Tommie Dunavant to discuss the impact of philanthropy on the University and its community.
5/16	The President's Perspective — Vol. 51 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with Chief of Police Keith Humphrey to discuss his career in law enforcement, what makes the UofM unique and the upcoming enhancements to campus safety.
5/9	The President's Perspective — Vol. 50 UofM President Bill Hardgrave sits down with College of Health Sciences Dean Dr. Richard Bloomer to discuss the educational offerings within the college, an exciting new doctoral program and his own career as an accomplished researcher.
5/2	The President's Perspective — Vol. 49 UofM President Bill Hardgrave highlights the positive momentum within UofM Athletics and discusses what the University is looking for in the search for its next Athletics Director.
4/25	The President's Perspective — Vol. 48 Today, we are continuing our series of introducing you to some key leaders from across the campus and I have with me Balaji Krishnan, who is our vice-provost for International Affairs and a professor of Marketing.
4/18	The President's Perspective — Vol. 47 Today, we're going to start a two-part series discussing international affairs at the University of Memphis and I have with me Rebecca Laumann, executive director of the Center for International Education Services.
4/11	The President's Perspective — Vol. 46 A few weeks ago, I received an email from Dr. William Duffy, who suggested that AI would be a good topic for this video series. And Dr. Duffy, you're right. So, I'm sure some people think AI and English, how does that go together?
4/4	The President's Perspective — Vol. 45 It was about a year ago that we launched the ASCEND strategic plan, and I know you've heard a lot about it in the past year. When we look back at the things we were able to accomplish in that time, we can take great pride in several things.
3/28	The President's Perspective — Vol. 44 I have with me, again, Laird Veatch, our athletic director, who was on not that long ago, but since that time, some things have happened which have changed the complexion of our sports facilities.
3/21	The President's Perspective — Vol. 43 Do you remember the Winnie-the-Pooh series from when you were a kid? Remember Tigger and Eeyore? Well, let me ask you a question, are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?
3/14	The President's Perspective — Vol. 42 Today, we are continuing our series of introducing you to key researchers across campus and I'm privileged to have with me Dr. Brian Waldron, who is a faculty member in Civil Engineering and the director of CAESER.
2/29	The President's Perspective — Vol. 41 Have you ever wondered where good ideas come from? I want to give you couple of suggestions as you think about where good ideas come from. The first is, and this may sound a little odd, but you should look to steal ever good idea that you can.
2/22	The President's Perspective — Vol. 40 Today, we are continuing our series of introducing you to our top researchers from across the campus. I have with me Dr. Jennifer Mandel from Biological Sciences.
2/15	The President's Perspective — Vol. 39 If you have been following along with this video series, this (strategic plan) should look very familiar to you. I hope it does and I hope you've had a chance to read it, but I want to call attention to something that really gets it started.
2/8	The President's Perspective — Vol. 38 On a previous video I talked about, and bragged about our University Schools. In fact, for context for today's segment, I urge you to go back and take a look.
2/1	The President's Perspective — Vol. 37 Today, I want to talk to you about an interesting dinner I had a few years ago with one of the premier leadership, thought leaders in the country, John Maxwell ...
1/29	Welcome to the Spring Semester ... Again! A few weeks ago, we filmed and pushed out the welcome back to the spring semester video. Well, that proved to be a bit premature as the snow, ice and water pressure had other plans. But we're back now, so let's rewind that tape and show it now.
1/25	The President's Perspective — Vol. 36 Previously I talked about as a public institution that one of our five funding sources is government. And for us, a lot of it comes from state government ...
1/16	Welcome to Spring Semester! Hello Tiger Family, I hope each of you had an opportunity to recharge and prepare for the beginning of an exciting new year during the holiday break. As we spring into action for 2024 ...
2023
Date	Details
11/10	Mid-Year Compensation Adjustments The University implemented a 3% across-the-board compensation adjustment effective July 1, 2022. When the compensation plan was developed for this financial year, we made a commitment to ...
12/14	The President's Perspective — Vol. 35 Today, I have with me Melinda Carlson, who is the Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services and Operations, which means she's over housing, dining, the bookstore and lots of other things on campus. ...
12/7	The President's Perspective — Vol. 34 Today, we are continuing our series of introducing you to key leaders from across the campus and I have with me Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal, who is the Executive Vice President for Research & Innovation. ...
11/30	The President's Perspective — Vol. 33 Today, we are continuing our series of introducing you to those in leadership positions from across the campus and I have with me Laird Veatch, who is our Athletics Director and may be the most externally visible leader we have on campus. ...
11/16	The President's Perspective — Vol. 32 Continuing our series of introducing you to some key leaders from across campus, today I have with me Dr. Radesh Palakurthi from the Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality & Resort Management. ...
11/9	The President's Perspective — Vol. 31 We are continuing our series of introducing you to some key leaders from across campus and today we have with us Executive Dean Dick Irwin. He oversees our College of Professional & Liberal Studies, among other things. ...
11/2	The President's Perspective — Vol. 30 Previously, when I introduced our new Provost, he and I talked about changes we would have to make to align the organization with the new strategic plan. Strategy drives structure. ...
10/26	The President's Perspective — Vol. 29 We are continuing our series of introducing you to some of our leaders from across campus and today I have with me Dean Linda Jarmulowicz from the School of Communication Sciences and Disorders. ...
10/19	The President's Perspective — Vol. 28 At the risk of stating the obvious, change is hard. The natural tendency for most people is to continue doing the same things they've been doing. ...
10/12	The President's Perspective — Vol. 27 We are continuing our series of introducing you to some of our leaders across campus and today I have with me Dean Linda Haddad from the Loewenberg College of Nursing. ...
10/5	The President's Perspective — Vol. 26 A few weeks ago, I shared with you a leadership or development tip. This can be viewed as a personal growth, development or leadership tip. ...
9/28	The President's Perspective — Vol. 25 Today, I want to talk with you about something that I call Omni Education. This comes from retail. For years, I've had the opportunity to work with major retailers throughout the world. ...
9/21	The President's Perspective — Vol. 24 As we continue our series of introducing you to our deans on campus, this week, I have dean Ashish Joshi from the School of Public Health. ...
9/14	The President's Perspective — Vol. 23 We are continuing our series of introducing you to some of our new deans on campus. Today, I have with us our newest dean — Dr. Bobby Garrett from the Fogelman College of Business & Economics. ...
9/7	The President's Perspective — Vol. 22 When you look across the University, each college and school is headed by an academic dean. That dean really serves as the senior leader for each of those areas. ...
8/31	The President's Perspective — Vol. 21 Welcome and thanks for joining us today. I have a very special guest with me today, Ansley Ecker, who is our Student Government Association president. ...
8/24	The President's Perspective — Vol. 20 One of our goals is around the development of our people. One of the crucial things we must do is assure that your developing that next generation of leaders. ...
8/17	The President's Perspective — Vol. 19 I do get asked occasionally why we have a strategic plan and why it's necessary. The plan that we put together, Ascend, really gives us a road map to where we need to go and how to get there. ...
8/10	The President's Perspective — Vol. 18 Today, we have a special guest with us, our new Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Dr. David Russomanno, joined us July 1. David, welcome to the University of Memphis. ...
8/3	The President's Perspective — Vol. 17 I've talked a lot in recent months about the safety and security of our campus, and that remains our No. 1 priority. We want our faculty, staff and students to be safe and to feel safe. ...
7/27	The President's Perspective — Vol. 16 A key part of student success is what we call student engagement. We have got to get the students where they feel like they are part of the University. ...
7/20	The President's Perspective — Vol. 15 In previous videos, I've talked about the importance of facilities. It's in our strategic plan and it's really the first thing you see when you come our campus, especially if you are a visitor. ...
7/13	The President's Perspective — Vol. 14 Each year, this University recognizes one faculty member for the Willard R. Sparks Eminent Faculty Award and this year's winner is Dr. Duane McKenna. He is the William Hill Professor of Biology. ...
6/29	The President's Perspective — Vol. 13 There has been a lot of talk recently about the role of credentialing in higher education. For a long time, this role of credentialing was not something we talked about in higher education. We have to embrace this ...
6/22	The President's Perspective — Vol. 12 This week, I want to talk about something that we call the educational ecosystem. If you look at our strategic plan, you'll see it embedded in there almost in a subtle way, but it's an incredibly important concept. ...
6/15	The President's Perspective — Vol. 11 Today, I want to talk about our Campus Schools. Many don't realize or have forgotten, perhaps, that this University was founded in 1912 as a Normal School, another way of saying we are a teacher preparation school. ...
6/8	The President's Perspective — Vol. 10 This week, I want to talk about the role of athletics in being a nationally recognized university, which is part of our strategic plan, of course. ...
6/1	The President's Perspective — Vol. 9 Several weeks ago, we started Goal 1 of the seven goals. This week, I want to talk about Goal 7, the last of the goals. All the things that we have talked about up to this point really are not possible without proper resources. ...
5/25	The President's Perspective — Vol. 8 This week, I want to talk to you about Goal 6, which is exemplifying operational excellence. We'll start with our physical infrastructure. If you haven't been to our campus in a while, please come visit our campus. ...
5/18	The President's Perspective — Vol. 7 This week, I want to talk about Goal 5, which deals with our people. Specifically, recruit, retain, reward and recognize our people. Our faculty and staff really are the backbone and the lifeblood of who we are as a University. ...
5/11	The President's Perspective — Vol. 6 This week, I want to talk to you about Goal 4, which is around research. As you hopefully know by now, in December 2021, we were classified as a Carnegie R1 institution, which puts us among the top 150 schools in the country in research . ...
5/4	The President's Perspective — Vol. 5 This week, I want to talk about Goal 3, which is Outcomes-Based Academics. It's this idea that we start with outcomes in mind and work our way backward. ...
4/27	The President's Perspective — Vol. 4 Goal 2 of our strategic plan, around the opportunities to succeed, is about the environment that we have here. It is the sports that creates part of the environment. It is the facilities that we have. It is the safety and security of our campus, which is paramount. ...
4/20	The President's Perspective — Vol. 3 Last week, I talked a little bit about Goal 1 and I want to continue that conversation around aggressively providing access and extending our footprint nationally. ...
4/13	The President's Perspective — Vol. 2 Today, I want to spend a couple of minutes talking about Goal 1. It's labeled aggressively provide access. That word aggressively was chosen specifically because one of the things we have to do to become a national university is extend our reach ...
4/6	The President's Perspective — Vol. 1 Hopefully, by now, you've heard about our new strategic plan — Ascend. This was the culmination of a lot of effort, a lot of time and a lot of energy. Over 1,100 people contributed to this plan. ...
3/31	Your Safety and Security: Our No. 1 Priority The University of Memphis is continuously working to ensure our campus community is protected and secure. Let’s join together to keep each other and our campus safe. ...
3/20	David Russomanno Named Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost I am very excited to welcome David Russomanno back to the University of Memphis as our Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. ...
3/3	National Employee Appreciation Day University of Memphis employees, it is an honor to celebrate each of you. Not just today, on National Employee Appreciation Day, but every day. ...
3/1	Introducing Ascend — the UofM's 2023-28 Strategic Plan Tiger Family, the time has come for a new strategic plan, which will guide us over the next five years as we continue to ascend to greater heights as a nationally respected public research institution. ...
1/17	Welcome to the Spring Semester Hello Tiger Family, I hope everyone had a great holiday break and an opportunity to recharge and prepare for a beginning of an exciting new year. ...
1/10	113th General Assembly Welcome Esteemed members of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly, I'm Bill Hardgrave, President of the University of Memphis. I wish you the best during this year's legislative session. ...
2022
11/10	Mid-Year Compensation Adjustments The University implemented a 3% across-the-board compensation adjustment effective July 1, 2022. When the compensation plan was developed for this financial year, we made a commitment to ...
8/22	Welcome to the Fall Semester This time of year is one of my favorites, as we welcome students, faculty and staff back to campus for the beginning of a new academic year. ...
4/1	A Message to Our Tiger Family I am honored and excited to officially begin serving this great University today. I’m ready to get to work! I hope you will join me as we together take our University to new heights. ...

2021

Date	Details
11/18	A Message from Bill Hardgrave I am honored to write to you today to share my gratitude and excitement for being named the 13th President of the University of Memphis. ...

Communications from the Office of the President

2024

2023

2022

2021