Geoff Gamble Greetings from Montana State University, One of the major efforts of our campus community has been to develop the Five-Year Outlook for MSU. This document is an ambitious and thorough look at what MSU will be like in five years, if our current success trends continue. The document includes specific goals in a number of categories. Currently, groups of faculty, staff and students are identifying actions we can take to accomplish these goals. One critical element of our planning is the increased participation of alumni in campus affairs. We welcome your involvement in our planning process. If you haven't had a chance to review this document, please visit our Web site, www.montana.edu. Although the document is quite aggressive, I am confident that with your support and the targeted efforts of our outstanding faculty, staff and students, we will transform this vision into a reality. It is easy to feel confident, of course, when national awards and recognition continue to identify MSU students as among the best. Once again, College of Engineering seniors outperformed all peer groups nationally on the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. MSU seniors across all engineering disciplines achieved a pass rate of 95.5 percent. This is outstanding , especially when compared with the national average of 79.6 percent, considering that MSU is one of the few schools that requires all graduating seniors to take the exam. When new students arrive this fall, they will be immersed in the new Core 2.0 curriculum, the first major revision of our general education foundation in 20 years. This innovative focus on inquiry-based courses and research/creative experiences will help us attract prospective students and enhance the quality of undergraduate education for every student at MSU. Our faculty continue to have great success in attracting outside sources of funding to support their research. This past fiscal year we exceeded $80 million in grants and contracts expenditures -- $7.5 million of that total was paid to students working on those research projects. With our focus on integrating teaching and research, we make concerted efforts to ensure that the growth in our research program continues to benefit students by enriching their overall university experience. MSU's future success continues to depend on three main themes: recruitment, retention and raising outside funds. We focus on attracting an ever-improving pool of high-achieving freshman, transfer and graduate students. We dedicate ourselves to the academic success and graduation of those students, and we continue efforts to raise sufficient funds for scholarships so that no qualified student has to forego the excellent education that MSU offers. Alumni support plays a critical role in our fund-raising efforts. We appreciate the generosity of those who have helped us meet our goals. Finally, summer in Bozeman includes bike rides, fishing and visiting friends on campus and off. The Museum of the Rockies has two new features to offer as well. Coinciding with the bicentennial celebrations of the Corps of Discovery's travels, the museum is debuting both the Lewis and Clark Challenge Course and the natural history exhibit. If you'll be in the area this summer, we hope you will make time for a visit. In so many ways, our alumni support our efforts and our success. We greatly value that support and hope to see you on campus this year. Sincerely, Geoff Gamble President, Montana State University