President Bailey’s Video Update for November 2026

President Bailey weighs in from outside SOU’s performing arts center with his November video message, touching on this month’s two holidays – Veterans Day and Thanksgiving – and how they relate to members of the campus community. The president spent 24 years in the U.S. Air Force before shifting his career to higher education, and that experience has given him an especially deep appreciation for other veterans. He feels that all service members he has known “served because they believed in something bigger than themselves,” and that is a commendable quality. But he encourages others to take a broader view of Veterans Day by reflecting on how they serve others in their lives, and recognizing “everyone who is of service to others; they should be celebrated.” Thanksgiving is a time for each of us to count our blessings, President Bailey says, and one thing he is particularly thankful for this year is progress in SOU’s winter term registration. “I can tell you, the number of students registering for winter term is already ahead of where we were, at this time last year,” he says, adding that all who support SOU should encourage both returning students and new students to get a jump on the registration process. And given how hard those at SOU have worked to overcome challenges in the past year, the president has special thanks for his colleagues: “Especially this year, I want to thank two incredible groups of people – faculty and staff members,” he says. “Those two groups are truly people I am grateful for.”