Daniele Struppa discusses upcoming State of the University

The State of the University will take place at the Sebastian P. and Marybelle Musco Center for the Arts Feb. 21.

Daniele Struppa, president of Chapman University, will be delivering the State of the University address Feb. 21 to summarize the university’s accomplishments and plans for the upcoming academic year.

At the address, Struppa will reflect on Chapman’s progress with financial stability, improving its national ranking and increasing its focus on academic research during the 2019-2020 academic year.

Once struggling with financial problems, Chapman is now economically solid, according to Struppa. “(Finances matter) because we can invest in campus improvements, make faculty jobs secure and we don’t have to make any cuts that would negatively impact the students,” Struppa said.

When Struppa became president of the university in 2016, Chapman’s endowment was $300 million. Now, it has grown to $438 million. The ultimate goal is for the endowment to reach $1 billion, allowing the university to put more money towards student scholarships, according to Struppa.

“I am concerned about the fact that in the next seven years, students will not be able to afford (Chapman),” Struppa said. “We need to be responsible and think ahead so that eventually when it becomes too difficult for students to afford, we have the money to support that.”

For the first time in Chapman’s history, the university has a national ranking, according to U.S News & World Report. The school’s new national rank of 125 out of 399 schools has attracted better faculty and students, Struppa said. This has allowed for Chapman to become an R2 institution, a national ranking for high research activity. This contributes to the university’s “intellectual community,” the most important aspect of growth for Chapman, according to Struppa.

During the last year of his undergraduate degree at the University of Milan, Struppa and a colleague were given the opportunity to conduct research. The professor in charge found an office space located in the building’s basement, but it was nothing to boast about: no windows, floors that would flood with a foot of water. Putting on plastic rain boots, Struppa continued his research and claimed it was one of the best years of his life.

“We were young, wide-eyed mathematicians. The building sucked, but none of that stopped us from really good math,” Struppa said. “I think sometimes in the United States we pay too much attention to the exteriors. We can do spectacular stuff everywhere as long as we have the same intellectual vigor.”

When Struppa was provost in 2006, Chapman faculty was cited for research every five or six days. Now, there are hundreds everyday who contribute to creating an environment that is excited to research, according to Struppa.

Currently, the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program is accepting applications for selected students to conduct research and creative activity with the guidance of a full-time faculty mentor during the summer. SURF is a paid, on-campus fellowship, including monetary support and on-campus housing, and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply by Feb. 24 at 4 p.m.

Every student who attends the address will be given a free commemorative poster designed by Chapman’s graphic design students and chosen by Struppa.

Struppa encourages students to attend the event to “give the community a sense of where (Chapman is).”