Perseverance
“Persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.”
When I think about Lake Superior State University, one of the first things that comes to mind is the unique challenges that we regularly deal with due to our age, location, and infrastructure. Although our university is relatively young, we are located on an old army base (Fort Brady) that was built in the late 1800s. The base was closed in the mid-1940s and converted to a college, and then eventually to Lake Superior State University about 25 years later. The historic nature of this campus is one of the things that makes us special, especially when paired with being located in Sault Ste. Marie, MI, the oldest city in Michigan. However, this also creates challenges with our buildings, many of which are still standing from the original army base, and infrastructure, as we try to retrofit modern-day needs and technologies onto a historic foundation. Moreover, the City of Sault Ste. Marie struggles with some of the same challenges that can occasionally impact the university. When combined with the extreme winter weather that is experienced in this part of the country, the challenges of making sure our students and staff are safe and located in spaces sufficient for them to achieve their purpose for being here can be daunting at times.
During this fall semester, we have experienced new ways to appreciate what it’s like to run a modern-day university on a historic campus. In September, a power outage that minimally impacted the City of Sault Ste. Marie caused widespread serious impacts on campus. This was in part due to the way our power grid is designed, as well as challenges in installing protective devices to minimize such impacts. As a result, the campus experienced a widespread power outage that lasted more than 24 hours and resulted in us having to relocate our students to locations throughout the city and beyond for two nights as we ensured that the campus was safe for them to return. I cannot thank our hotel partners in town enough for their quick response and willingness to provide accommodations with very little notice. Campus-Community partnerships are so crucial at a time like this. I also could not be prouder of our employees in Student Affairs and Public Safety for their quick response in ensuring our students were safe and properly cared for. However, the most kudos go to our students who demonstrated amazing patience, trust, and grace as we assessed the situation and made decisions as quickly as possible.
More recently, the university experienced a cyber-attack. Although we were reassured that all of the proper protections were in place, somehow the outside offenders managed to get in and wreak havoc with our systems. This resulted in multiple days of disruption with limited access to networks, online learning platforms, and concerns about data breaches. Fortunately, our IT team had backed up our systems very well and were willing to work around the clock for nearly a week to eventually get most things restored. We may never know whether LSSU’s aforementioned infrastructure challenges had anything to do with this attack, but likely, it didn’t help! We are taking additional precautions going forward to do our best to ensure that this never happens again.
So, what is the silver lining in all of this? Our students come here because they want to study at a small university, with amazing faculty and support staff who strive to get to know them and find the best path for them to learn and be successful. Our students are also used to hard work, many coming from first-generation families in small, rural towns across Michigan and the Midwest U.S. They come here because they want to experience what they are learning (i.e., experiential learning) so that they can “get their boots dirty” as they learn by doing and not just by listening. These attributes are a perfect fit for a small university where learning can be more personalized than what the larger universities can offer. At LSSU, we are a family, and just like any family, we experience challenges that make us stronger, make us tougher, and eventually bring us closer together. Our students are asked to put up with a lot and persevere often along the path to graduation. I believe this makes them stronger, able to cope with more, and ultimately better prepared for the real world. Our faculty also tolerate a lot and complain very little. They are great role models for our students in helping them realize that whatever job they get out of college, there will be challenges, and it won’t always be smooth sailing.
Of course, as president, my job is to minimize these negative impacts on our students and staff. To that end, this year we are significantly investing in infrastructure improvements to make LSSU a place where we can not only be proud to work and educate, but also one that is safe and functional while recognizing that there will always be challenges with a modern-day university located on a 125-year-old foundation. Those of you who are regular visitors should notice improvements as we improve the “curb appeal” while also updating our structures and systems in less obvious ways. This balancing act will be tricky, but I’m confident that we will continue to persevere through these challenges year after year.
As we prepare for another long winter here in the Soo, I find odd comfort in thinking about the “simple challenges” of dealing with blizzards or extreme cold! We have been down this road many times before, and our campus has always weathered the storm and made it to spring. Although these more recent challenges are a little different, I have little doubt that we will persevere again and come out stronger in the end.
Go Lakers!
Dr. David Travis
President