Thursday, November 13, 2025

Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you will consider joining me for two upcoming professional development opportunities aimed at strengthening our university and supporting our faculty and staff.

The first is being arranged in haste to address concerns that have been raised among faculty and staff, as well as students. The focus will be on discussing how best to manage conflict and to de-escalate situations that have become particularly heated. After years of belt-tightening and sacrifices made to realign our budget, every member of our community has experienced stress in the workplace. At this time of year, there are plenty of additional reasons why tempers flare as deadlines loom and there isn’t enough time in the day to accomplish everything that needs to be done. On Monday, November 17, from 1-2:30 in room 407 of the library, I will lead a session on Conflict Management and De-Escalation during which faculty and staff can come together to share their experiences and offer insights regarding how we might best support our students and each other as we navigate through this time of year. My colleagues in the Division of Student Affairs will be on hand to offer resources and reminders regarding referrals, and they currently are working on more formal follow-up training for interested faculty and staff on December 10.

Second, it is incredibly important to me that members of our community deeply understand higher education finance as well as the budget for the University of New Orleans. It is especially critical as we navigate through this period of transition that we prepare to support emerging faculty and staff leaders to assume new roles in the future. On Friday, December 5, from 9-12 in the Innsbruck Room, we will hold a Higher Education Finance Workshop facilitated by Elizabeth Bentley-Smith, Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration at the Louisiana Board of Regents, as well as Arlean Wehle, our Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration. If you are interested in attending, please complete this brief RSVP form by Wednesday December 3: Leadership Development at UNO Higher Education Finance – Fill out form

Finally, thank you to everyone that worked tirelessly to host a wonderful (and incredibly busy) Homecoming week. Everywhere I went last week, I was reminded of the impact that the University of New Orleans has had on countless lives – there is so much to be proud of.

With UNO Pride,

Kathy E. Johnson, Ph.D. 
President, University of New Orleans