Back in the trenches at ASU

Freshmen at Augusta State University may be surprised to find out who their English 1101 teacher is this semester. ASU President Bill Bloodworth said in his State of the University address this morning that he'd be teaching the class. "All the deans are teaching," a faculty member told me after the conclusion of the 15th Annual Fall Convocation. "Everybody's getting back in the trenches." State budget cuts are prompting the campus' already lean operations to get even leaner, Dr. Bloodworth said.

The new state-of-the-art facilities ASU has added over the past decade make it a very different campus from the one I graduated from in 1987. But it still feels the same. Lots of hard-working people. Back then most of my classmates at the "commuter campus" had jobs - most more than one - and often full-time. Faculty memebers such Jim Garvey, Peggy Yonce, and Marya DuBose seemed to always be working tirelessly, too. From the president down, it's clear that's still the culture today.