Being a university president is one of the mostdifficult, challenging, demanding, complex, time-consuming, emotionally draining, and at times, oneof the most frustrating jobs one can imagine. Thejob calls for an unbelievable and unrealistic set ofskills for an individual to possess if he or she

expects to have any success… not to mentioneven making it through a presidential searchcommittee. But for me, being president of

RMU has been the most exciting,enriching, energizing, personallyfulfilling, rewarding, meaningful,

and fun job I have ever held.

On one level, it is a true honor to hold the positionof university president. Universities are one of themost unique and noble institutions left in our globalsociety. American higher education is still widelyrespected and emulated throughout the world. Andwhile there are numerous challenges to our currentmodel of higher education, the fundamentalprinciples underlying it still apply. There’s a reasonwhy the modern university has been around formore than 900 years. A community of peopleobserving, questioning, thinking, learning, sharing,debating, and challenging new ideas and the worldaround them serves as a powerful and effectiveway for humans to continue to evolve intellectually,socially, and economically.

As president, I’ve had the opportunity to meetinteresting people, work with talented anddedicated colleagues, promote big ideas, and affectthe lives of countless students. I’ve watched asstudents and families live dreams that are limitedonly by their imaginations. College remains thatone special place where dreams still matter.

I’ve always tried to see myself as holding title to a tradition as well as a job. This means that I’ve

always tried to focus my actions on the vision, corevalues, and strategies of RMU and not just mypersonal interests and passions. This has allowedme to view the benefits of leading this wonderfuluniversity as always being much greater than thecosts of doing so… though some days less so thanothers! Over the course of the past 10 years, I havegained valuable experiences and insights throughthe ups and downs of the job, grown bothpersonally and professionally, and witnessed thegrowth and success of the university with theguidance, help, and support of many people andpartners. I leave with the satisfaction of knowingthere is a strong foundation upon which RMU will continue to be successful in the years ahead.

I also leave knowing that during these past 10 yearswe proudly enrolled approximately 15,000 newstudents at RMU, and that I have signed more than12,000 diplomas for our graduates. And I’mextremely proud of every single student who hasearned a degree at this fine institution. On behalf of my wife, Polly, and our family, we want to thankthe entire university community for giving us thisopportunity to be part of the RMU family. We’llcherish forever the friends we’ve made, the liveswe’ve changed — including ours — and thepleasure of being part of a very special university.

We wish you all the very best and we’ll always beproud to say: GO BOBBY MO!

Sincerely,

Gregory G. Dell’Omo, Ph.D.

SPRING 2015

President’s

INSIDERFROM THE DESK OF GREGORY G. DELL’OMO, PH.D., PRESIDENT OF ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY

President’s

INSIDER

Graduates of Robert Morris University are morelikely to be working full time, engaged in their jobs,and thriving in measures of personal well-beingthan the average U.S. college graduate, according to the recent Gallup survey of 1,500 RMUalumni from 1970 to the present.

Survey results validate RMU’sfocus on engaged learning,professional experiences, andsupportive personal relationshipswith faculty mentors. Combinedwith RMU’s emphasis on making college affordable, they demonstrate that RMUprovides strong returns on an investment in higher education.

WORKPLACE ENGAGEMENT

Gallup has found that college graduates are morelikely to be engaged in their jobs than those withouta college degree. And graduates of Robert MorrisUniversity are more likely to be engaged at work than the average college graduate.

“Engaged” at work

All workers: 30%U.S. college graduates: 38%RMU graduates: 44%

Gallup considers people engagedat work if they answer yes to

questions about whether they feel supported in their jobs, have opportunities for growth andadvancement, consider their work important, and get to do what they are best at.

FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT

One of the most positive findings from the RMUGallup Survey is that Robert Morris graduates aresignificantly more likely to be working full time foran employer than the average college graduate.

Working full time for an employer

RMU graduates: 77%U.S. college graduates: 63%

There is no employment gendergap for Robert Morris alumni. Men and women with RMU

degrees are equally likely to be working full time,unlike the U.S. average.

Working full time for an employer

RMU graduates Women: 77% Men: 77%

U.S. college graduatesWomen: 56% Men: 71%

WELL-BEING

More than 9 in 10 RMU alumni say they aresatisfied with their personal lives. And Robert Morris graduates are morelikely than typical collegegraduates to be rated byGallup as “thriving” in fouraspects of their personallife – socially, financially,in their communities,and in regard to their health.

“I’m satisfied with

my personal life.”

RMU graduates: 91%U.S. college graduates: 86%

OUTPERFORMING THE NATIONAL AVERAGE: RESULTS FROM THE RMU GALLUP SURVEY

44ROBERT MORRIS

% 38U.S. COLLEGE

GRADS

%

30ALL

WORKERS

%

77ROBERT MORRIS

%63

NATIONALLY

%

86U.S. COLLEGE GRADUATES

%

91ROBERT MORRIS

GRADUATES

%

SPRING 2015

THE BIG 6 COLLEGE EXPERIENCES

Gallup’s national research shows that people whohave experienced the “Big Six” in college are morelikely to be engaged at work – intellectually andemotionally connected and productive.

• My professors cared about me as a person.• A professor made me excited about learning.• I had a mentor who encouraged me to pursue my goals and dreams.

“Yes” to all three = 2.9x higher odds of work engagement

• I worked on a project that took a semester or more to complete.

• I had an internship or job to apply what I learned in class.

• I was extremely active in extracurricularactivities.

“Yes” to all three =

2.3x higher odds of work engagement

With RMU’s strong focus on engaged learning, personal attention, and mentoring, graduates are more likely than ever toexperience each ofGallup’s Big Six.

A professor made me

excited about learning.

Classes of 2009-2014: 72%Classes of 1970-2001: 56%

I was extremely active

in extracurricular activities.

Classes of 2009-2014: 35%Classes of 1970-2001: 21%

COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY

The worry caused by a heavy load of student debtcan make it very difficult for graduates to enjoytheir lives to the fullest extent.

Gallup found that alumni with no student debt are10 times more likely to be thriving in all five areas of well-being (social, purpose, community, financial,physical) than students with more than $50,000 in debt.

Thriving in all five

No debt: 19%Under $25,000: 13%$25,000-$50,000: 9%Over $50,000: 2%

Helping to ensure that more graduates can thriveafter graduation is why Robert Morris Universityhas created the College Affordability Academy. On the next page, Wendy Beckemeyer, vicepresident for enrollment management, explains the genesis of this new initiative.

72CLASSES OF 2009-2014

%56CLASSES OF 1970-2001

%A

PROFESSOR MADE ME EXCITED ABOUT

LEARNING.

35CLASSES OF 2009-2014

%21CLASSES OF 1970-2001

%I WAS

EXTREMELY ACTIVE IN

EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES.

President’s

INSIDER

OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 6001 UNIVERSITY BOULEVARD, MOON TOWNSHIP, PA 15108-1189 RMU.EDU/CHANGE A LIFE

SPRING 2015

In the spring of 2014, when the administration was finalizing its next strategic plan, a centralcomponent included RMU’s value proposition. As the chief promoters of RMU to prospectivefamilies, the enrollment team is on the beneficiaryend of the value proposition. Great jobs and greatlives, as noted by Gallup, is the outcome RMUstudents proudly accomplish each and every year.The enrollment team tells and retells the journey of how students achieve such terrific outcomes toprospective families.

We were inspired by President Dell’Omo to stretchas we developed our divisional plans. This chargeencouraged the enrollment team to develop theCollege Affordability Academy, a trainingopportunity for staff and faculty across theuniversity on topics such as how families arechallenged to finance higher education, how RMU’sinvestment in students is noted in the public, andhow the benefits of an early connection with thecareer center can lead to lifetime employability.

After sharing this idea with industry leaders andreceiving their feedback, we created eight trainingmodules. Fifty colleagues from admissions, financialaid, student financial services, women’s leadership,online student services, the career center, academicservices and many other departments met for 90 minutes every two weeks to discuss financialliteracy and career planning in a higher educationcontext. We discussed current articles, had livelydiscussions, and shared concerns about how

families are not armed with sufficient information to make informed decisions about net price, debt, and expected income after graduation.

Our goal of the program is to inform members ofthe university community who interact regularlywith current and potential students and families, so we can all be a force for good decision-making.Participants grouped into six cross-functional teams, and each developed a “deliverable” capstoneproject. We invited a panel of experts to hear thecapstone presentations, including an RMU trustee, colleagues from Henderson Brothers, PNC, Noel-Levitz, and the College Board, as well as ourassociate dean of the School of Business, who hadbeen instrumental in leading us to information used in the academy regarding 529 plans, IRAwithdrawals, and 401(k) borrowing. The feedbackfrom the panel was insightful and very helpful.

The capstones produced by the teams wereimpressive and we plan to act on all six. We alreadyhave a video from one of the capstones available forviewing. RMU’s College Affordability Academy was highlighted in the Chronicle of Higher Education.We are partnering with the Pennsylvania HigherEducation Assistance Agency regarding collegeaffordability and have been asked to speak at aPHEAA state meeting and to submit a proposal for the College Board Forum. We are also workingto broaden our connections with PNC Bank andPittsburgh Promise. We see a great future with this new initiative!

INSIDE THE NEW COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY ACADEMY Wendy Beckemeyer, Vice President for Enrollment Management