Greetings!
It’s always a delight to be on campus when students return for fall classes. This year’s entering class averages a 3.83 GPA and an SAT score of 1234. This is one of the largest, most diverse incoming student classes to Michigan Tech. Notably, for the second time in school history, women make up nearly 30 percent of the student body.
Speaking of extraordinary students, I’d like to congratulate our hockey team for winning the Great Lakes Invitational and the Mason Cup and going on to compete in the NCAA Tournament for a third straight year. That is a feat no other team in the conference and only five other teams nationally accomplished.
But, the winning does not stop there. Undergraduate student Marielle Raasio received the university President’s Award for Leadership this past spring, and MTU professor Charles Wallace won the 2024 Michigan Association of State Universities Distinguished Professor of the Year award.
On the academic side, our faculty have been working on a revision of our general education curriculum. The retention rate for returning students is on track to exceed 88 percent, which is a new record and highlights our intense focus on student success. We also welcomed 30 new faculty members and three new deans.
Andrew Barnard returned to Michigan Tech in July as our new vice president for research. We are excited to congratulate our Michigan Tech researchers for once again beating last year’s records. Preliminary numbers indicate over $110 million in research expenditures and a double-digit increase in research awards over 2023’s impressive number.
The annual ratings blitz season is upon us. I am proud to share the Princeton Review named MTU as the No. 2 on the list of Best Schools for Internships, No. 9 for Best Career Placement, and No. 18 for Best Schools for Financial Aid. In the Best Value Colleges category, solely based on return on investment, or ROI, Michigan Tech was ranked No. 33. These are remarkable statistics for a university of our size.
Finally, thank you to our donors. In fiscal year 2024, Michigan Tech friends and alumni contributed $48.5 million, beating our annual fundraising goal by 13 percent. And, we’ve increased our endowment by 50 percent in the past five years. This support from our alumni and donors is simply incredible and reflects a shared dedication to our students, faculty, and staff.
It’s a great time to be a Husky. I hope you can join us at one of the many alumni events planned this fall.
Sincerely,
Rick Koubek
President