USI President Dr. Ronald S. Rochon Leaving For California State University, Fullerton
MAY 23, 2024
Dear USI Community,
Today marks a moment of transition for the University of Southern Indiana and for me. I wanted to be among the first to let you know of a press release issued this morning by the California State University System Board of Trustees, indicating my acceptance of the presidency at California State University, Fullerton beginning July 22, 2024.
In discussions with the Chair of the USI Board of Trustees, Christine Keck, she expressed her congratulations on my appointment, her appreciation for our collective work in serving the University and underscored the Board’s commitment to the continuity of leadership and stability of USI in the future. The Board will conduct a public meeting to appoint an interim president before my departure in July. I have every confidence this person will be an excellent choice for the institution as the Board seeks a permanent fifth president of this great University.
It has been among the greatest honors of my life to serve as your Provost and President over the past 14 years. USI is uniquely a special place with wonderful and special people that I will carry with me every day going forward. Thank you for allowing me to respectfully serve this great community together with you. I will forever be a Screaming Eagle and wish continued success for each of you.
Peace and blessings always,
Ronald S. Rochon, PhD
USI President
FOOTNOTE: The following message was sent to the USI community on Wednesday, May 22.
I for one am happy to see a change in administration at USI. In the past 15 years (post-Dr. Hoops), USI has lingered and languished in a vile batch of mediocrity and stagnation. While the years under President Hoops were marked with a vast outgrowth of that beautiful West side campus, the proceeding years under both Bennett and Rachon have endured an obscene lack of progress on the building out of the USI physical plant. Not one major classroom building has been dedicated in the Bennett/Rochon eras. In essence, any/all expansion of the USI Campus has been put on the back-burner in a laisse-faire attitude which has allowed other major universities in Indiana to hijack the majority of higher education funding which could have more justly gone to build new facilities at USI. I, along with other proud loyalists to USI, can only hope and pray that the new USI President will take on the task of restoring the momentum that was rightly gained on President Hoop’s watch and sadly forfeited at the hands of the most recent Bennett and Rochon administrations. Time is wasting away. USI should by be 14K students strong, and there should have been 3-4 more major classroom/support structures built on current empty lots on the USI Campus. Here’s to hoping USI will resume an aggressive construction plan to match the call of the most recent Master Plan (2018). It does the USI family no measure of pride to continually waste valuable years in the school’s destiny to sit on your thumbs while other universities throughout the state continue to hoard Evansville taxpayer’s dollars to enrich their own interests.
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