In the 11 years since Benjamin Ladner became president of AU, the campus and the community have gone through a number of changes, resulting in increased costs, competition, accountability and international respect, Ladner said at his annual address to the community Thursday.
In some ways, the speech was related to Ladner's first major address to students in 1994, when he took over an "institution with rising fiscal tensions and a five-year leadership crisis," The Eagle reported that year.
In Thursday's speech, Ladner cited rising grade point averages of incoming students, more athletic titles, more applicants and better national rankings, which, Ladner said, all improve the school's selectivity.
This year, more than 13,400 high school students applied to AU, compared with 4,600 students who applied in 1994, the year Ladner arrived, he said. Average SAT scores have also improved from 1153 to 1250, he said.
While Ladner said these improvements are well received, he noted the school's ascension has been "a little scary."
"[AU is] playing in a different sort of league in the terms of competition for students, competition for faculty, the types of program recognition, the levels of support it takes to sustain this sort of quality," he said.
When Ladner became president in 1994, he promised to improve the school by strengthening it over a long-term period.
"I'm investing my life in this institution," Ladner told The Eagle after he was hired. "I hope that I fit here, and that some of the skills, some of the experience from my past will help build a solid foundation for this university."
In 2004 AU placed 86th in the U.S. News and World Report's annual ranking of the nation's best universities. In 2003 AU ranked No. 99, but when Ladner arrived on campus, universities below the first tier (top 50) were not given a number ranking.
By becoming a more competitive private institution, Ladner said, there would be new stress on traditional AU values.
"As we become more selective, there is a subtle undercurrent that says, 'Yes, but if you can't afford to come here, then what?'" he said. "What about that long tradition at AU that says, 'We reach out to those that didn't have a chance?'"
Ladner said that he knows a number of families for whom AU was their one opportunity to make it to the college level of education.
"The pressure that comes with becoming a more selective, higher quality, more distinguished institution has got to negotiate with our own values of access," Ladner said.
The fear of losing the best students because they cannot afford the education is a challenge, Ladner said. AU will deal with this as the cost of maintaining a high-quality education increases in the future. Currently, the full tuition is $25,920 and housing is $6,590.
The rise of external and internal pressures, such as health insurance, financial aid and increasing technological advances, none of which can be kept down, will only become more severe in the future, Ladner said.
In 11 years, the tuition rate at AU has been lower than the national average, and AU has continued to be in the middle of the University's competitive range of 30 to 40 other institutions in terms of cost, according to Ladner.
As cost increases, Ladner said he must travel the nation and overseas in order to raise funds for AU to renovate old buildings and construct new ones.
Over the past three years, Ladner campaigned to raise around $200 million through the Capital Campaign for University improvements, such as the Katzen Arts Center, the new William I. Reeves Field and construction of a second quadrangle.
The Campaign funds will also go toward improving education, reducing adjunct faculty and becoming an "international university," Ladner said. He spearheaded the 15-point plan in 2003, "Ideas into Action, Action into Service" in 2001, and "Building a Global University" in 1997.
To insure the funds are being appropriately used, the IRS has spent the past two years making sure the University is following all the correct steps. AU is one of 40 institutions that have gone through such an experience, said Ladner.
"We're the first institution out of 40 that didn't have to make any adjustments, didn't have any sanctions, and no penalties," Ladner said.
With the increase of public accountability locally and nationally, AU will also see an increase in international pressures, Ladner said. Twice as many students are studying abroad compared to 10 years ago, Ladner said. This means an increasing need for better international relations in order to insure the safety of students overseas, the cost of studying abroad and travel.
Ladner said the very nature of universities is being challenged in current times. AU is no exception, but it has made risks.
"AU has, I think, risked more than many, if not most, institutions in what is a very expensive bet on self-engagement, self-involvement, self-imposed moral values and moral responsibility, sensitivity to those who are not as fortunate as we are, living out a global vision, and a commitment," Ladner said.
Ladner's 2002-2003 total compensation, including his salary and benefits, was $614,360. This made him the No. 13 highest rank university president in AU's category (private doctoral institutions). Ladner earns the second highest university president salary in D.C., after George Washington University President Stephen Trachtenberg.
-Eagle Staff Writer David Hodges contributed to this story.
