President's Page

Southern Polytechnic is a place where students are educated for life and for leadership in an increasingly technological world. We prepare our students for their very first job after graduation, with the skills that make them highly marketable and successful. We feel it is just as important that a Southern Polytechnic education also prepares students for the last job in their careers. Thus, our courses and programs are structured to enable men and women to adapt, grow, and continue to learn over the years, developing the leadership skills needed to implement the vision of a technological future.

Our vision statement describes us well:

"Southern Polytechnic State University is a comprehensive university with a unique purpose. Through a fusion of technology with the liberal arts and sciences, we create a learning community that encourages thoughtful inquiry, diverse perspectives, and strong preparation of our graduates to be leaders in an increasingly technological world.

"The university - faculty, staff, students, and graduates - aspires to be the best in the world at finding creative, practical, and sustainable solutions to real-world problems and improving the quality of life for people around the globe."

Students at SPSU learn skills beyond the essential technological and scientific knowledge that qualifies our graduates to contribute to some of the fastest growing fields in the nation. They also learn traditional liberal arts skills that enable them to learn to think critically, communicate clearly and persuasively, solve problems collaboratively, and develop an international perspective in an increasingly global marketplace.

At Southern Polytechnic, we are proud of our faculty and staff. We are motivated and challenged by our students. We are excited for our graduates. We appreciate the positive, participatory relationships we enjoy with our community and with prominent leaders in business and industry who help shape the nature of our educational vision. We also appreciate your interest in our university.

Again, welcome to Southern Polytechnic. We invite you to make your next visit a personal one to our campus.

Dr. Lisa A. Rossbacher
President

Dr. Lisa A. Rossbacher talks with TAG Radio about SPSU and its role in helping the state of Georgia in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (25 August 2009).

Text of Speeches

• "Empathy: Walking in another's shoes" --Keynote speech to the Istanbul Center (November 11, 2010)
• "A is for Accreditation" -- State of the University, Fall Kickoff 2009 (August 20, 2009)
• "Presentation about Customer Service and SIx Sigma at SPSU" to Board of Regents on April 18, 2007
• "State of the University" - Fall Convocation 2006 (September 12, 2006)
• SPSU faculty/staff campaign remarks: The John Lennon challenge - Remarks delivered on 8 December 2005; a prize was given to the person who could most closely identify the number of song titles by John Lennon incorporated into the comments
• SPSU faculty/staff campaign remarks, with titles of John Lennon songs identified
• "SPSU and the 1920s" - Remarks at the SPSU Foundation Gala, (October  22, 2005)
• "Presentation to the Board of Regents" - BoR Meeting hosted at SPSU (October 11, 2005)
  • "SPSU to BoR" - Powerpoint Presentation, 48.1 MB
  • "SPSU to BoR" - PDF version, 9.2 MB
• "Surprise" - Georgia Southern University Commencement (December 10, 2004)
• "State of the University" - Opening of 2004-2005 Academic Year (August 18, 2004)
• "The Retrospective" - Opening of 2004-2005 Academic Year (August 17, 2004)
• "Regional Metamorphism and SPSU" - Opening of 2003-2004 Academic Year (September 19, 2003)
• "Hedgehogs and Rocks" - Opening of 2002-2003 Academic Year (August 15, 2002)
• "Solve it... at SPSU" - Opening of 2000-2001 Academic Year (August 14, 2000)