LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Students start classes on Monday at the University of Louisville, and they’ll be starting off the new school year with major campus renovations and a new president.
Dr. Neeli Bendapudi is heading into her first full year as the president of the University of Louisville. Ahead of Monday, she said she has “a little bit of the jitters” for the first day.
“There’s the anticipation,” Bendapudi said. “There’s the excitement of kicking off a new school year and hoping it goes well for every single one of them.”
Bendapudi has clearly stated she intends to focus on student success and build a new culture around that.
“Every morning when we get up, our biggest responsibility and our greatest honor is to make sure the students who come here are as successful as they possibly can be,” Bendapudi said, referring to every U of L faculty and staff member.
U of L is making investments to attract more students. Bendapudi said the school cannot become complacent if it desires to be competitive. Part of that plan included completing the brand new $80 million academic building.
“We were woefully lacking that type of facility,” Bendapudi said. “Now, we have world-class facilities. We have always had world-class instructors. We’ve always had world-class instruction. But now when people walk in, you notice a sense of pride.”
The school also completed $40 million in additions and renovations to the Student Activity Center in time for the fall semester.
“We needed to grow this space, because we’ve had such a growth of students who live on campus,” said U of L Dean of Students, Michael Mardis.
And the university intends to have the $63 million renovations to Cardinal Stadium finished by the home opener in September.
The future is looking bigger and brighter, but Bendapudi acknowledges there are still challenges ahead.
“Our retention rate is something that we’re all very aware of, and we’re working on,” she said.
Enrollment and retention rates along with donor contributions have been suffering through the past few years of scandal and uncertainty. And tuition was increased ahead of the fall semester. So Bendapudi said with a blank slate for a new year, she is focused on rebuilding trust.
“The mantra I’ve been using is we need to make a great place to learn for our students," she said. "And in order to do that, I need to work on making it a great place to work."
To do that, Bendapudi said the university needs to make it a great place for the community to invest through volunteering or monetarily. She added that donors are starting to come back.
“The message to them is simple for me,” she said. “It’s don’t punish the students. This is a great university. Thank you for the support, and keep it coming. Because the need is greater than ever, and we need you more than ever. And I’m really pleased with how people are responding.”
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