It looks like winter has set in. For those of you from the deep south, welcome to wonderful Vermont! For me, as a skier, this is a great sign that we may have a really wonderful winter.

I want to commend the entire student body for all they have been doing since school started. I believe the new rook training program lead by Cadet Colonel Jake Sotiriadis is working well; at each parade the Corps is presenting itself and marching on review even more professionally. It looks like everyone is enforcing study hours and spending the necessary time preparing for their responsibility in the classrooms and the laboratories.

The community service work under the leadership of Nicole DiDomenico has taken on a new life, and our athletic teams have enjoyed a successful fall season. The Regimental Ball and the Navy/Marine Corps Ball were among the best I have ever attended. To all of you who have put in the extra hours in the Corps of Cadets, as RAs, and as campus leaders, members of the Student Senate, and all the clubs, I thank you for all that you are doing to make our University a better place.

I have asked Chan Stowell to arrange some time for me to visit those of you who participate in our clubs. While Mrs. Schneider and I have opportunities to attend some of our sporting events, I do want to spend some time with students who are involved in other activities on campus to give me a better understanding of how things are going for you.

From an institutional point of view, Norwich has never been better positioned for the future. The recent announcement by Senator Leahy that Norwich has become a National Center for the Study of Counter-Terrorism and Cyber-Crime is exciting news for you as students and for our faculty and staff. Not only does this bring the appropriate national recognition that Norwich deserves, it will also prepare you to become future leaders of America. I see great opportunities for interaction by almost every academic department at our University with our new Center. While it has been extensively covered in the press and on television, questions have been raised , both in open forums that I have had with the faculty and staff as well as with the community regarding the funding of the National Center. Norwich is not subsidizing this Center; in fact, all the money is coming from the federal government and from industry partners such as EWA and Mantech. These are international firms which have decided to align with Norwich as strategic partners in the war against terrorism and cyber-crime, two great threats that face our nation.

We are establishing the Center as a separate 501C (3), which is a charter organization under the state laws of Vermont. The Board of that nonprofit Center will be led by Fred Kreitzberg, Chairman of the Norwich University Board. I will serve as Vice Chairman of the Board. Also on the Board will be Phil Susmann, Norwich University's Vice President for Technology and Strategic Partnerships; Norwich Trustee Bob Lappin; and the President of the Northfield Savings Bank, Tom Pelletier. Colonel Tom Aldrich has been named as the President of the National Center and will be its Chief Executive Officer. Again, all the costs for running the Center will be borne by the federal government and our industry partners.

There will be opportunities for faculty research contracts and paid student internships in the National Center. In addition, the State of Vermont is very interested in establishing a cyber-crime laboratory at Norwich. They do not presently have the equipment we will have to solve the criminal cases that confront the citizens of Vermont and our region. The involvement of our Justice Administration program and our CIS majors will be critical in this area.

The issue of counter-terrorism crosses many lines. For our architecture students there are appropriate ways to consider both physical hazards or acts of terrorism as well as chemical and biological threats in the design of structures. I anticipate many start up companies being spawned from the research that will be conducted in the Center. This will present great opportunities for our faculty and business students to assist in writing business plans and actually staffing these new companies as they come to the marketplace. The psychology of terrorism, its economic impact, and its social ramifications cut across all the humanities and the social sciences. A better understanding of chemical and biological warfare strengthens and motivates all of our students within the sciences to better understand these threats that face our republic.

Norwich is perfectly situated with our academic programs to help the nation think deeply and creatively about counter-terrorism and cyber-crime. For the past 183 years Norwich has been preparing men and women to lead our nation, to protect us from threats and keep this republic strong and free. While the threats to America have changed, our mission has not, and our academic programs and the creation of this new National Center will help us better prepare you for the challenges you will face as our new leaders.

Congratulations to Colonel Tom Aldrich and Vice President Phil Susmann for working so diligently on this project for the past two and half years, and a special thanks to Trustee Carl Guerreri, General Sullivan, and General Al Gray for their insight, inspiration, energy, and leadership in thinking boldly about our future. And a special thanks to Senator Patrick Leahy, (D-VT), for leading his colleagues in Congress to realize the very important role Norwich can play in designing, building, maintaining, and protecting our Republic.

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