"Change" always is going to happen, Lincoln University President Keven D. Rome told faculty and staff Thursday morning at the school's annual Fall Institute that helps get ready for the start of classes later this month.
"Change is inevitable," he said. "In case you haven't noticed, there's a new "normal' in place here at Lincoln University - and that "normal' is, nothing is "normal.'
"The way things have been, can't be the way that things will be, anymore."
Rome noted his administration has made numerous "changes in personnel, job functions, processes - even office locations - in an effort to better serve students."
And the changes have been based on data collected over the years about student enrollment, achievement, academic progress and retention.
"I think the data that we have is so revealing," he said. "We have to get our students to do better."
Over the summer, he said, LU has made some physical improvements on the campus, including a new disability access bridge to Martin Luther King Hall and the removal of the pedestrian bridge over Chestnut Street, between the Quadrangle and the Scruggs University Center.
And Lincoln will continue to grow, including construction of a new health and recreation center in the southeast corner of the campus.
Rome said LU will use the money earmarked for buying the Jefferson City High School complex, had school district voters last year approved a bond issue to build a new high school complex, to move ahead with the recreation center project - even though Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the state budget line item to help pay for it.
"Despite the Legislature and the funding fights that they're having," Rome said, "we're not going to let politics stop the progression of Lincoln University."
Rome pledged to continue getting to know LU's employees better, and he hopes more people will get to know him.
"There have been many things said about me in the past year," he acknowledged. "I want you to know me - not what you hear, not gossip or misconstrued opinions - but the me that spends a great deal of time and effort trying to make things better for all concerned."
Ultimately, Rome said, the work isn't about him.
"It's about Lincoln (and) about the success of our students, how we effectively do our jobs and how we define success," he said. "I know that everyone's not going to like me, agree with me or even want me here.
"But I don't spend my energy trying to be liked - I spend my energy trying to make Lincoln University better."
Before Rome spoke Thursday morning, LU Student Government Association President Shamika Kelly said she's excited about the coming changes.
"We are sure this year will be coined as Lincoln University's Renaissance year," Kelly told the faculty and staff. "This year will drastically change the perception of Lincoln University to our alumni, the community and, more importantly, the future students of Lincoln University."