Dear students and alumni,
As President’s Day approaches, we are reminded to take time to honor our past, present and future leaders of this great nation. These individuals sacrificed a great deal to fulfill the role of President.
Leading Through Education
As our thirty-fifth president, John F. Kennedy, once said, “Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest
abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.”
These words inspire me to be better in order to lead CSU to change lives through education. To help each and every one of you realize your abilities to the fullest and fulfill your dreams is what everyone at Columbia Southern University focuses on each day. We hope it is making a difference in your life or the life of someone you know.
Nashville Social
We know many of you are scattered across the country and across the world; however, in an effort to connect with you and to help foster relationships with y
our classmates, we hold monthly social events in different cities. Earlier this month, we visited Nashville, where we had more than 40 students and alumni attend an awesome event! We were excited to see Jason Norris and Zachary Connerty, the cover story subjects of the fall 2016 edition of the CSU Alumni Magazine. We had copies of the magazine on hand, which Jason and Zach were more than happy to autograph for everyone in attendance. The veterans spoke about their experience at CSU and their non-profit organization, Bonded Under Combat Outreach Programs (BUCOPS). If you missed their story, you can check it out here. (2 pics)
At the event, we also heard from Larry Riddle, president of the Nashville CSU regional alumni chapter. He shared 
very motivational words with his fellow students and alumni on his vision for the alumni chapter. In addition to social networking events, he hopes to create a structure of support for current students from the alumni. He recognizes how there are times when it can be challenging with all of life’s activities, and how having support can make a difference. We are excited to see the growth of this chapter, along with many others across the country. Check out all of the chapters here. We hope you can join us in a chapter near you or at an upcoming networking social!
University Improvements
Another way we are trying to make a difference is through continuous improvements; most recently, we have been working on upgrading Blackboard. We strive to keep all of you up-to-date with information and technology in order for you to have the best experience possible. In order to do this, we will be upgrading Blackboard April 19 through 20. During this time, blackboard will be unavailable. You can read more details on the upgrade here.
Please always remember that we are here to assist you and that you matter a great deal to us. No matter if you are having technical difficulties, are hitting road blocks within a course, or road blocks between courses, let us help. We only succeed if you succeed.
God bless,
Robert
