More than 50 faculty and staff members were given special recognition for their university achievements at the 2003 University Convocation ceremony Monday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

“This is a time to celebrate the excellence of faculty and staff,” said ISU President Gregory Geoffroy.

The Sun Room was filled to capacity as more than 300 people came to support the honorees, whose academic excellency awards were as diverse as their fields of expertise.

Recognition was given to faculty and staff specializing in areas from music to physics and astronomy. The awards ranged from Distinguished Professors to Regents Award for Staff Excellence, with more than 20 categories included.

Geoffroy began the ceremony by discussing the university’s plans and priorities for the upcoming year. He named his primary goal to “be the best university in the nation and to fulfill the land grant responsibilities to the people of Iowa.”

He gave a brief summary of Iowa State’s main priorities in a four-point outline, which named the most important job of the university as providing top quality education to the students.

He also stressed the need to increase the academic fields at Iowa State that are considered the most competitive, to remain strongly connected to the Iowa public and to be a welcoming and inviting community that promotes the success of every individual who belongs to it.

“[We need] a high focus on recruiting and retaining the very best faculty in the field,” Geoffroy said. “We’ve got to keep a strong focus on faculty excellence.”

He emphasized that the following year will be for planning, and that Iowa State’s next strategic plan will be assembled and the university will face renewal of its land grant accreditation by the state.

“Its a good way for us to assess ourselves,” he said.

Geoffroy addressed the problem of rising tuition costs, emphasizing the importance of finding alternate ways for the university to raise money.

“The tuition limit has been pushed about as high as possible,” he said, noting that rising tuition costs is affecting enrollment.