Often we are asked to provide a description of our campus that tells about our setting, our programs and our people. They usually start something like this: “Located along the Mississippi River 70 miles northwest of Minneapolis/St. Paul, St. Cloud State University is home to 16,245 students participating in challenging academic experiences and vibrant campus life. Our university has more than 1,000 international students from 80-plus countries learning and growing alongside a diverse mix of students from small Midwestern towns and large metropolitan areas. ”
These facts are a good beginning, but for each of our alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, community friends and others with a strong connection to our campus, St. Cloud State is something different.
If you are asked to talk about your school, your workplace, your alma mater or your hometown university, what do you say? What are some of the singular qualities of the university that make you proud?
In an effort to share the strengths and accomplishments that contribute to our university’s brand and reputation, we have created a project we call University Distinctions.
The results of this effort “live” on a dynamic website that collects the awards, unique programs, honored individuals and distinctive accomplishments that we have spread the word about in news media, publications such as Outlook and on the home page of our university website.
The icon that signifies stories that become part of the Distinctions website is an oak leaf, a familiar symbol of life and learning at St. Cloud State University.
I invite you to visit Distinctions (www.stcloudstate.edu/distinctions) and discover some of the many examples of excellence and high achievement that we all can point to with pride, no matter what your perspective of our campus may be.
– Earl H. Potter III, President
