I want you to know how important it is for Fort Lewis College to embrace its past as a high quality public liberal arts institution, while at the same time finding new and exciting ways to align ourselves with the needs of Colorado and the nation.  In future issues of Smoke Signals I intend to discuss where we might be heading. One major goal I have for the next months is to converse with different college constituencies in order to discover the varied perceptions of, and aspirations for Fort Lewis College.  I will need your assistance to answer such questions as:  What does FLC do best?  How are we different than the other public institutions in Colorado?  What new programs might be needed?  We will hold public forums to discuss these issues.  You can also contact me at bartel@fortlewis.edu  Our alumni are important sources of opinion with regard to these questions.

In addition, I want to host a series of receptions across the state and in key cities outside of Colorado for Fort Lewis alumni. These receptions would allow me to introduce myself to you, acquaint you with recent developments at the College, and get your feedback on our future.  We begin with a September 9 reception in Denver area at the Lakewood Cultural Center featuring the Durango Collection from our Center for Southwest Studies. Other regional receptions will be scheduled throughout the year.  Please look forward to your invitations to these events.

Aside from what Fort Lewis College can continue to do for you in terms of social events on or off campus, it is clear to me that the Fort Lewis alumni can assist the College in a number of critical ways.  I want to mention four of the most important:

Mentoring and Career Placement:
Our students need role models of career success.  This is especially true during their junior and senior years while they prepare to enter the workforce. Your volunteering to mentor or place a Fort Lewis student as an intern within your company could make a large difference in their future.

Recruitment of High School Students:  
We are beginning to change our strategy of how we recruit freshmen to Fort Lewis.  We want to use alumni trained by our admissions staff to extend our reach into as many Colorado high schools where you have local contacts.  In addition, we want to use our alumni in other states across the nation to attract more highly qualified out-of-state students to our beautiful campus.  We are beginning this project by working with Denver area alumni.  

State Political Support:
We live in tumultuous times for higher education.  Fort Lewis continues to face unstable state financial support.  Soon, the Colorado legislature will need to deal constructively with the financial consequences of TABOR and Amendment 23. Your support to legislators on behalf of FLC might make the difference.

Monetary Donations:  
With dwindling state support and our commitment to the delivery of quality learning experiences, Fort Lewis College will aggressively seek funds for such critical needs as scholarships, equipment, capital construction, and programmatic endowments from many varied non-state sources.  Our 16,000 person alumni base can make the difference in our pursuit of becoming the premier public liberal arts college in the western United States.

I look forward to meeting as many alumni as possible over the next years.  You are so important to the future of Fort Lewis College.

Brad Bartel

President, Fort Lewis College