President Gary Ransdell on Friday sent this letter to WKU’s faculty and staff via email. The following is Ransdell’s letter in full:

Fellow Faculty and Staff:

A new academic year is upon us.  I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Opening Faculty and Staff Convocation on Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. in Van Meter Auditorium.  Please join me in welcoming several new faculty and staff to our University Family this fall.  Many have been involved in orientation activities this week.

I want to thank all the faculty and staff who were around this summer for your patience and tolerance as we have replaced a number of in-ground steam lines, repaired sidewalks and streets, and generally used the summer months to improve several of our buildings and campus walkways.  Most of this work is wrapping up this week.

I encourage you to reach out to the M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan Freshmen who will fill our residence halls this weekend.  The Class of 2015 will get to know us well over the next few days before upperclassmen arrive next weekend.  Our International students arrived this week, and Honors College freshmen arrived yesterday.  Our campus housing is full, but we are able to accommodate all incoming freshmen who need a room.

It is a fun time of year, and I want to thank each member of our faculty and staff for all of our individual and collective efforts to prepare for the arrival of students in the days ahead.  Let’s have a great opening.

Thank you.  See you Monday!

Gary A. Ransdell