Greetings, friends of CAST! It has been another busy year in the College of Applied Science and Technology (CAST), and we are excited to tell you some of those stories in this edition of ForeCAST.
Illinois State University and CAST continue to be very attractive to potential students and enjoy strong enrollments again this year. CAST set yet another college record for enrollment with 4,896 students this fall! Many of our departments, schools, and programs continue to grow at high rates. Robust enrollments are important for us, but they pose challenges with delivering more classes, serving more students, and maximizing our limited spaces.
CAST was approved for six tenure-track faculty searches this year to help meet that student demand, and we are also searching for four new department chairs and school directors as some of our experienced leaders reach the end of their terms. One of our new initiatives in the college this year is to invest in leadership development, building future leaders in CAST through a year-long program called CAST LEAD (Leadership Exploration And Development). Six tenured faculty are participating in our first cohort of CAST LEAD, and we are having some great discussions on leadership!
We also have several facility projects underway or recently completed. The former Town of Normal fire station at the corner of Gregory and Adelaide Streets has been renovated for laboratories and classrooms for the Departments of Criminal Justice Sciences and Technology, with more renovations planned to upgrade the infrastructure and modernize the space. We received a $500,000 commitment from CORE Construction to name the Department of Technology laboratory at the fire station for construction management students. We’re also continuing work on the beef barn at the University Farm in Lexington and developing a Vertical Farm Lab on campus to hydroponically grow vegetables vertically in a repurposed shipping container near the Office of Sustainability on School Street. In addition, several classrooms, offices, and laboratory spaces throughout CAST have been enhanced over the past year.
A key initiative in the college this past year has been the development of a new strategic plan for CAST, which aligns well with the University’s new strategic plan, Excellence By Design. You can learn more about CAST’s new plan on Page 9 of this issue of ForeCAST, and we are excited to begin implementing the plan in 2025. Some of our initial priorities this year include taking a data-informed approach to student recruitment and retention in our student success efforts; enhancing the well-being of our students, staff, and faculty; expanding diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion initiatives throughout the college (including new college diversity awards to honor exceptional work in this area); and launching a new CAST Research Fellows initiative to provide additional support for some of our top scholars in the college.
CAST had a tremendous year in 2023-24 in the area of development, exceeding our annual fundraising goal of $2.1 million considerably by raising more than $3.3 million! I’m greatly appreciative of the work our director of development Toni Burningham does to raise funds to support our students and initiatives throughout the college. This is important work in a higher education environment where resources are often constrained. Thanks to all of you who give generously to CAST!
We hope this issue of ForeCAST shows you some of the amazing work our faculty, staff, and students do throughout the college. Please stay in touch with us through our social media channels, and I look forward to seeing you soon at a college or university event.
Go You Redbirds!
