Faculty members applauded moderately for small announcements at the university meeting Wednesday, but one of the most audible reactions was support for holding the session later than usual.

“It’s nice to see everyone here on time,” Provost Ron Rochon said at the 9 a.m. meeting. In years past, the meeting has been held at 8 a.m.

Another change Rochon acknowledged was the agenda—he and President Linda Bennett were the main speakers, as opposed to previous meetings where a slew of department heads and representatives gave shorter updates.

A surprise for all of the faculty was a 10-minute focus on the Chamber Choir’s success in Ireland. The award-winning choir performed several pieces live at the meeting. Director Daniel Craig shared about all university choirs and led into a video presentation featuring pictures of the summer Ireland trip and another audio sample of the Chamber Choir.

Rochon announced a new website page: usi.edu/employeeupdates. The page contains new faculty pictures and biographies for anyone wanting to learn more about new employees. By using this page to introduce new faculty rather than individually recognizing them, Rochon expedited the meeting.

He introduced “Squawk the Vote,” a university effort to promote students to register to vote. During three days during September, students will be able to register through a ‘Voter Registration Blitz.’

Rochon said the goal is to register 1,000 students to vote.

Kindra Strupp, assistant vice president for Marketing and Communications, introduced a new “mission” for the university.

She said through “Elevating Spirit @ USI,” the university will boost pride around campus. Strupp brought out three models wearing shirts designed for the campaign.

She urged faculty to buy apparel from both the campus store and any retailers who sell university gear.

Faculty were encouraged to exchange their name tags for free shirts. After Strupp laid out guidelines for claiming the free apparel, the meeting concluded.