President Richard J. Helldobler Click here to review presentation slides Good afternoon, William Paterson. Let’s keep it going for our wonderful student performers from the Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Hannah Carr and Hannah Comia! Now, some of you may have thought that opening number from the musical Suffs, about the suffragist movement, was very political, and you would not be wrong. But if you really think about it, it is emblematic of what it means to be part of a democracy. While the banner they refer to in this song is about women’s rights, it can really represent whatever just-cause that you believe in, as generations of activists who marched for civil rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and more have shown us throughout our nation’s history. And as the lyrics state, progress is possible, but it’s not guaranteed. So, I want to spend a little time today unpacking what that might mean for William Paterson, given the new administration in Washington, as well as providing updates on happenings in Trenton. I then want to update you on our progress to date on the current strategic plan before laying out some early thinking for the next strategic plan. I also want to provide a brief snapshot of where things stand with enrollment and retention. Before going further, though, I want to thank the IRT team, along with Bob Verbeek from Marketing and Public Relations, and the entire Shea Center crew for all their good work producing and hosting today’s event. Let’s give them a round of applause! Now, on to enrollment and retention. Thanks to the good work of everyone on campus, led by Vice President George Kacenga and his Enrollment Management team and Vice President Miki Cammarata and her Student Development team, these are increasingly positive topics of conversation for us. Let’s start with first-time, full-time, first-year students, where we saw an increase of more than 17 percent for the Class of 2028. These students represent 18 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, as well as 13 states and 17 countries. We also saw an increase of more than 3 percent in new main campus transfer students and an increase of more than 12 percent in new graduate students, overall. Taken together, it amounts to a healthy increase of nearly 5.5 percent in overall enrollment and—impressively—has resulted in our highest overall enrollment since 1980! That same year, for context, New Jersey’s public high schools graduated slightly more than 93,000 students. More than four decades later, that number has grown a little more than 4 percent, even though the overall population of the state grew by 29 percent in that same period. Our ability to grow in new markets in the face of low high school graduate growth and soon, projected declines in traditional undergraduates, is key to our future, as we’ll talk more about shortly. But growing this population in the face of these trends is truly impressive. In addition to good enrollment news, we have positive retention data to report. We met our main campus retention goal with 74.4 percent retention from fall 2023 to fall 2024 first-time, full-time students. Fall-to-spring first-time, full-time retention currently stands at 90.4 percent, which is 2.8 percent higher than the previous year. We have also seen important gains in key groups, with a nearly 4.1 percent increase in EOF students; an approximately 5.3 percent increase in male students; an increase of approximately 6 percent in Hispanic students; and an increase of nearly 1 percent in Black or African American students—a modest gain, but a gain, nonetheless. Looking at the current semester, we have 9,961 students enrolled, which represents an increase of nearly 7.3 percen t over last year. Checking in on our goals for growing on-campus international student enrollment, for this spring, we have 253 international students from 55 countries, an increase in both enrollment and diversity compared to fall 2024. William Paterson's growing reputation in international markets is clear, with over 2,000 applications for spring 2025—a remarkable 261 percent increase. New international student enrollment also surged by 72.5 percent, with 69 new students joining our community. Looking ahead to fall 2025, applications are approaching 1,500, a 186 percent increase from last year. We are more than halfway toward our goal of 5 percent main campus degree-seeking international enrollment by fall 2026. I want to acknowledge the excellent work of Josh Buland and Emily Plaskow, whose efforts are instrumental in strengthening William Paterson's global footprint. Of course, it’s still very early in the process for next semester. With that in mind and looking ahead to fall 2025, we can see that first-time student applications are up approximately 17 percent over this time last year, and first-time student acceptances are up 10 percent. Again, it’s early, but deposits are also trending ahead of this time last year. Overall—undergrad, grad, transfer, etc.—new student applications for fall 2025 are up nearly 18 percent and acceptances are up nearly 11.5 percent. But it's not over until census of fall 2025, so let’s maintain this wonderful momentum, and let’s keep at it! I also want to point out that we remain the largest nursing program on any single campus in New Jersey, and we recently moved up from third to second in the number of MBAs awarded, overtaking Montclair. Rutgers-Newark tops the list, with 337 degrees awarded in 2023, and we are close behind with 311, so look out Rutgers-Newark—we’re coming for you! There’s plenty of other great news all across campus, much of it highlighted in the video that played earlier. For now, I want to focus on a couple of projects that will really enhance the student experience at William Paterson. First, we recently completed our work on the new fieldhouse. And soon, we will break ground on the renovation and expansion of our Sports and Recreation Center, including 68,000 square feet of new space for a wellness center, new classroom and lab space for the nursing, kinesiology, and movement science programs, a new fitness center, a natatorium—which is a fancy word for swimming pool—and locker rooms. Existing space will be renovated to create a new training room and sports therapy and rehabilitation instruction lab. We will break ground this May, and we plan to cut the ribbon and celebrate its opening in the fall of 2027. You may recall that this project will be funded by a $40 million grant from the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education—just one example of how important developments in Trenton are to William Paterson. Now, if you have been following New Jersey politics, you surely know that our own former State Senator Nellie Pou was successful in her bid for the U.S. House seat formerly held by Bill Pascrell. This means that one of the power players in Legislative District 35, which includes William Paterson, has now left the state legislative landscape. You may also recall that Senator Pou was one of the main sponsors of the $7.5 million special allocation that has been so critical for us over the past couple of years. Senator Benjie Wimberly, the former Assembly member, was recently chosen to fill out the remainder of Senator Pou’s term, and we are still working closely with him, as well as with Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, to continue our advocacy efforts to again secure that $7.5 million. We have also met with the front office in Trenton requesting that the Governor keep the monies in his initial budget, which he will present on February 25. So, as always, please know we are working all avenues that we can think of to secure the money, and we continue to appreciate the efforts of the AFT, which have been so helpful in the past in securing this allocation. Special thanks to Dr. Sue Tardi, president of our AFT local here on campus, and to Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Government Relations Dr. Guillermo de Veyga for keeping William Paterson on the radar of all our elected officials. It's certainly no secret that we are living in a much-divided country. The outcome of the national election was heralded by some and reviled by others. But that’s how democracy works. So, whether you were elated or crushed by the results, pick up your banner and keep marching toward the destination that you are striving toward. Elections matter; talking with your neighbors and those who might disagree with you matters. And speaking of disagreement and being a university president, one of my favorite lines from “Keep Marching” is this one: “You’ll rarely agree with whoever’s in charge”. That said, we must also be mindful that the new administration has made statements and issued executive orders targeting higher education generally, and specifically the DEI work which is critical to the population of students that we serve. We have heard everything from dismantling the Department of Education and sending education oversight back to the states to withholding federal financial aid to those institutions engaged in DEI work. Sending things back to the states could, in some ways, actually be very good for William Paterson. Here in New Jersey, we are fortunate that the Murphy administration has been very proactive with bills like the Freedom to Read Act, which bars banning books in public schools and libraries, as well as pro-trans legislation, which is a population that is being unfairly targeted. Now, as states adopt laws that might counter moves at the federal level, it will be interesting—and of great consequence—to see how it all plays out in the courts. Additionally, while the House, Senate, and White House are all under single party control, some of those margins are pretty slim, so it will depend on whether their caucus holds together during the legislative process. There are still a lot of variables in play, but I do know that all of it is making many of us anxious—including yours truly. After the election, I worried about William Paterson’s DEI work and what the results might mean for the institution and—more critically—for our students. So, I called a few trusted advisors. And at the end of one conversation, my mentor said, “Remember who you are!" A few days later, a bracelet arrived in the mail that said, “Remember who the ‘blank’ you are!” which I thought was very kind and made me smile. No matter what happens, I can assure you that I will remember who I am, and we, the William Paterson community, will remember who we are! In the context of all this, I have been asked by some if we are “too DEI,” and should we tone down our messaging on this front. I do want you to recall two things: First, as Vice President Kacenga pointed out to the Faculty Senate last fall, the Black and brown demographics are the only growing populations in New Jersey. So, we are well-positioned to differentiate ourselves in an otherwise flooded higher education market with a declining number of high school graduates. With high school graduation rates peaking nationally this spring and then—as we all know—projected to fall in every region of the country except the South, the really telling story for us is the shifts in those graduating classes. Nationally, every racial and ethnic group is expected to decline with just two exceptions. Those identifying as Hispanic or multiracial are the only groups projected to grow. What’s true nationally is especially true in New Jersey, given our state-level demographics. In discussing this data, the higher ed writer Jeff Selingo notes that, “Historically, these groups haven’t driven enrollment trends in higher ed, so colleges will need to rethink recruitment strategies.” But, folks, thanks to our collective vision and commitment, we’ve been ahead of the curve on this and we will remain there by continuing to do what’s working to serve and support these students. The enrollment numbers for spring and—while early—for fall of 2025 are proving this to be true. Second, back when we used more neutral messaging, we did not distinguish ourselves in the marketplace. But here’s the thing: let’s remember who we are, William Paterson. We have never educated those who were considered the “in crowd.” From our earliest years of educating women to be teachers, sending them out to educate the children of immigrants, through to today, educating predominately marginalized populations, we have always been in this space. Remember who we are. We must remain principled in our values but—if need be—we should be willing to be unprincipled in our approach, by which I mean that we may have to adapt our methods if it means advancing the larger goal of supporting the students we serve. Of course, we will always remain true to our values and compliant with the law, even if it means that our current support and structures need to be rethought due to legislation. As I said in a recent interview for the American Council on Education, legislation does not change hearts and minds. We will never stop caring about our students or colleagues. The way we go about that care might need to change. But care we will, and care we must. We have a professional—and I would argue moral—obligation to affirm our place in higher education for our students at this critical moment in our nation’s history. And for that reason, I want to take our Strategic Plan pillars a bit out of order, so that we can continue with this important theme of how we continue supporting our students and address our progress on Pillar 4, “Decolonizing the University,” before moving on to the others. As a reminder, they are: Developing Robust Policies, Programs, and Delivery Modalities for Adult Learners; Exploring Alternate Credentials and Certificates; Reducing Attrition; Decolonizing the University; and Revising the Mission Statement Believe it or not, we are already in the final year of our Strategic Plan 2022-2025. You’ll recall that we were very clear in our reasoning for adopting a three-year plan—an unusually short lifespan—but one that would lend a sense of real urgency to the work on its five pillars, each of which is critical to our efforts to build a stronger William Paterson. The plan is the product of a lot of thoughtful work on the part of the entire University community, and I want to thank the co-chairs of the Strategic Planning and Branding and Identity Steering Group: Dr. Guillermo de Veyga; Dr. Eileen Lubeck, dean of students; and Dr. David Fuentes, associate dean of the College of Education. I also want to recognize the Faculty Senate, under the leadership of Chair Dr. Wendy Christensen, and thank all the members for the good work that they’ve done to advance this plan. Thanks as well to all the members of the five working groups associated with each pillar. So, let’s take a look at what we’ve accomplished so far, and what work remains. First, while we often describe this kind of work as either being from the 30,000-foot level or “down in the weeds,” my aim this afternoon is to be somewhere in between. I want to give you a fair and frank view of where we are. Given the nature of strategic plans, goals, and KPIs, however, there is more detail than I can cover in a meaningful way in the time we have together today. So, while I’ll get through as much as I can, please remember that you can find everything on the Strategic Plan webpage, and the text of today’s address, along with the data-rich slides, will—as always—be posted on my website. Given the great work of so many people, I’m going to do something a little different today and feature some audience participation. We’re going to hear directly from some of the many people who have helped drive this plan forward. I’d like to ask our Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Jeanne Arnold to share a few words with us about what she and her colleagues are most of proud of regarding their work on decolonization. Jeanne: Dr. Arnold: “Thank you. We are most proud that Pillar IV has led to the appointment of our DEI Faculty Fellow. This infrastructure enhancement will help ensure success in decolonizing the curriculum.” Thank you, Dr. Arnold and thanks to your working group co-chair Dr. Vidya Kalaramadam, along with everyone who worked with you! As I wrote in my introduction to the Strategic Plan, our ongoing work to decolonize the University is aimed at ensuring that every William Paterson student has a just and equitable educational experience in which they feel seen, engaged, and valued as a full member of our community. I should mention that I also wrote at the time that “Periods of great change can present great opportunity,” and intervening events have only sharpened that point. I would be remiss if I did not point out that this pillar was challenged by the departure of two employees who were overseeing it, former CDO David Jones and former Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion Yolany Gonell. We had a protracted search for the new chief diversity officer, resulting in the successful hiring of Dr. Jeanne Arnold. Most importantly, in the end, we found the right person. But because it took longer than anticipated, our progress here has been somewhat delayed. Additionally, I wanted Dr. Arnold to have time to assess where she felt the campus was in terms of our abilities to deliver on some items, and she will be making many of those recommendation going forward. We will be working with our shared governance bodies as we continue with or amend our original plans, but there should be no doubt that we remain committed to this work, including items that will be unfinished by the end of the plan. So, let’s see how we’re doing. The first KPI gets directly to the heart of decolonizing the curriculum and pedagogy. I am pleased to report that we are working toward the goal of decolonizing a significant share of syllabi, course content, and teaching practices, especially in lower division courses, and work continues on the remainder. I want to recognize CDO Arnold and DEI Faculty Fellow Dr. Darlene Russell, professor of educational leadership and professional studies, who has been assisting faculty in this work. A special thanks to the academic departments, all of which now have goals and action steps in place and have received feedback on them from the deans, under the broader guidance of Provost Josh Powers and Dr. Russell. The work is underway and involves—for example—reviewing and revising course syllabi by scrutinizing overall content and inventorying representation, using the Faculty Senate’s Blue Ribbon Inclusive Teaching Task Force Report as a guide. Faculty are also considering more deeply the historical and cultural contexts for teaching their content area, including techniques and theories of origin of their fields’ terminology. And they are reviewing relevant literature on promising practices for decolonizing and culturally sustaining pedagogies. We are so fortunate to have talented and dedicated faculty who are engaging in this important work, collaborating with each other and sharing best practices, all for the benefit of our students. Not only is the work getting done, but it is also becoming firmly ingrained in our culture, as largely reflected in the results of the most recent Climate Survey, which were shared with the community. Let me give just two examples of positive DEI outcomes revealed in the survey results. First, Hispanic/Latino community members are more satisfied with the campus climate than any other racial/ethnic group on campus, which is significant for us as a federally designated Hispanic Serving Institution. Second, the survey found that there is no statistically significant difference between how LGBTQIA + and straight/heterosexual community members experience campus climate. Also, the level of satisfaction with our campus climate is higher for both groups than at other master’s colleges and universities, nationally. As we always say, this work is never really finished, so building a culture that is equipped to carry it on over the long term is critical, and the climate survey indicates that this work is making a difference. Another KPI here addresses decolonization in the context of hiring practices for faculty and staff. We are making progress toward the goals under this KPI, keeping in mind the necessarily extended timeline. These include: 1) Developing a model for the effective functioning of affinity groups to help ensure that all voices are heard, and 2) Implementing the Inclusion Partner Program training for faculty searches, both of which will be completed by the end of fall 2025. CDO Arnold is leading our adoption of the Inclusion Partner Program, which is an inclusive hiring process for faculty searches. Trained Inclusion Partners from across campus participate in searches to ensure that they are broad and inclusive and offer full and fair consideration to all potential candidates. Given the necessary reset under our new diversity leadership and structure, the Cabinet has agreed that the goal of “Conducting a comprehensive review of all policies related to employee experience, satisfaction, and engagement” will be carried forward as yearly goals of the CDO and appropriate vice presidents and, of course, working with our shared governance bodies. Turning to Adult Learners, I’d like to ask our director of the Center for Degree Completion and Adult Learning, Johanna Prado, to share a few words with us about what she and her colleagues are most of proud of regarding their work on this pillar. Johanna: Johanna Prado: “Thank you. This exciting work transforms lives, empowering returning students who may have experienced prior trauma. With your support, WP now leads New Jersey in adult learner recruitment and success.” Thank you, Johanna. And thanks to working group co-chairs Dr. Anita Kumar, Patrick Noonan, and Dr. Kara Rabbitt, and everyone else who is doing great work in this area. It’s an area where—thanks to our strategic vision—we can proudly point to a lot of meaningful progress in a short period of time. As a result, we have taken a true leadership position in this market in New Jersey. The greatest proof is the dramatic increase in adults enrolled in WP Online and the growing number of adults graduating from these programs. The top-level KPI for this pillar is simple and straightforward: Have we increased these adult populations and by how much? The first important number is “Main campus adult undergraduate students.” We achieved 101 percent of our first-year goal and met our goal in year two. By the end of year three, in fall 2025, the goal is to have 245 more adult students on our main campus than we had here when the plan launched two years earlier, and we anticipate reaching that goal. Here’s another strong indicator of our success with adult degree completers: With 76 degrees earned, William Paterson has the most reported graduates of any four-year institution in New Jersey that is participating in the state’s “Some College, No Degree” initiative. Another example of William Paterson leading the way! The next KPI is, “Adult undergraduate students enrolled through WP Online,” where the data tell a very powerful story, which attests to the appeal of WP Online’s flexibility and convenience. We reached 172 percent of our first-year goal, 169 percent of the second-year goal, and are on track to beat our third-year goal of 1,134 students. We’ve seen impressive gains in other populations, and again, you can see breakdowns of all the data on the Strategic Plan website. Turning to Alternative Credentials and Certificates, I’d like to ask Associate Provost Dr. Jonathan Lincoln to share a few words with us about what he and his colleagues are most of proud of regarding their work on this pillar. Jonathan: Dr. Lincoln: “Thank you. Growing student interest in our diverse array of certificates is most exciting. We have nearly 1,000 enrollments this semester, more than double since fall 2023. And, within the next month, every undergraduate earning a certificate will receive a digital badge to post on their LinkedIn page.” Thank you, Dr. Lincoln, and thanks to your co-chair Dr. Steve Betts, along with everyone doing such great work here! We are growing adult enrollment and enriching offerings for main campus undergraduates and all graduate populations in part by developing an expanded slate of alternative credentials and certificates, which attract working professionals who want to take advantage of flexible, convenient programs to advance in their current careers or equip themselves in transitioning to new ones. They are also providing achievement milestones along the traditional pathway to an undergraduate degree. There’s plenty of opportunity here as we are attuned and adaptive to market needs, especially in rapidly evolving fields in healthcare, business, and more. One of our KPIs here is, “Design/approve new alternate credentials aligned with industry needs.” Our success to date on this one is the result of a lot of good work across campus in fostering relationships with employers and other external organizations. They are giving us direct insights into changes in their respective industries and what they mean in terms of the kinds of graduates—with what kinds of skills—they are looking to hire. For example, local employers who sit on our college advisory councils identified the need for graduates with skills that support specific areas such as human resource management; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and data analytics. And these first-hand insights are backed up by research that EAB has done for us. When we are proactive and responsive to these trends, the market—in turn—is responsive to our offerings. For example, our new undergraduate Human Resource Management Certificate already has 45 students enrolled. Elsewhere, based on input from local school districts, we have added non-degree options for most certification areas and have seen enrollment here outstrip that of traditional degree programs. It is an emerging dynamic in which students are able to earn their certification faster, obtain employment, and then return later to complete a full degree program, leveraging the credits earned for their certificate. For year one, we set a goal of six new alternate credentials that were specifically aligned with evolving industry needs and created a total of 10. For year two, we created 17 industry-aligned alternate credentials, which exceeded our goal of 10. The goal was set lower for year three, as we anticipated a shift from developing certificates to offering and awarding them. However, we do still have several additional certificates in the pipeline and expect to meet or exceed the year-three goal. You all know that we are the largest single-campus producer of nursing graduates in northern New Jersey and that we now award the second-most MBAs in the state. Together with milestones like these, our work in the alternate credential space is significantly boosting our reputation with employers across New Jersey. They see William Paterson as a place that is innovating and ahead of the curve, which makes our graduates more attractive hires for their organizations. For the next KPI, “Increased credit and non-credit certificate enrollment and completion,” we have exceeded years one and two goals of 5 percent and 10 percent increases by factors of four and roughly 3.5, respectively. These gains are a testament to the good work we are doing and to the market demand for certificates that allow people—especially working adults—to relatively quickly and conveniently obtain mastery of a particular area that will help them advance professionally. Now, as with all strategic plans, some goals have to be adjusted or reconsidered as we did with KPI five, which calls for awarding the associate’s degree credential at the 60 credit mark by year two of the plan. We knew, going in, that none of this work would be easy, but adding an associate’s degree credential proved even more complex than anticipated, and so the work has not been completed in accordance with the plan’s timeline. The working group’s research revealed additional complications and highlighted ones we were already aware of. Specifically, implementing this kind of program requires approval through the New Jersey President’s Council, may involve a waiver of mission at the state level, and requires a major change with Middle States, our accrediting body. And such a move would unavoidably place us in competition with our community college partners, which could end up costing us more than what we might gain. We explored the idea of reverse transfer; in other words, could we transfer all 60 WP credits to one of our local community college partners and have them award the degree? But that presented its own issue of a residency requirement for accreditation. We also explored dual listing courses between a community college partner and WP, but that brought up collective bargaining challenges on our respective campuses. So, sadly, while we did give this the old college try, the reality is that we are not going to be successful in this KPI unless the state changes some of its regulations. Now, there is currently a bill in Trenton that would allow community colleges to award some specific four-year degrees. If that passes, then it would stand to reason that we should again pursue this idea. But for now, I think our energy is better invested elsewhere. Turning to Attrition, I’d now like to ask Vice President for Student Development Dr. Miki Cammarata to share a few words with us about what she and her colleagues are most of proud of regarding their work on this pillar. Miki: Dr. Cammarata: “Thank you. We are proud that our work spurred conversation, planning, and action focused on improving the student experience; leading to a student-centered system and additional resources, resulting in significant increases in student retention and persistence.” Thank you, Dr. Cammarata, and thanks to the working group co-chairs: Associate Vice President for Student Development Francisco Diaz, Dr. Michael Gordon, and Executive Director for Academic Success Linda Refsland for your leadership of this pillar, as well as everyone doing such great work in this area! We know that one of our greatest enrollment opportunities is keeping the students we already have, so we have been hammering away at the problem of attrition for a while now, and I am pleased that we are making steady progress, as I indicated earlier with the current retention numbers. We’ll see further evidence of that here. But know that it has all added up to remarkable gains over the past three years. This work is so important because each student retained makes us financially stronger and means that student is closer to realizing a degree than they would be if they transfer or—as more often is the case—stop out altogether. So, each student retained means we are doing a better job educating and supporting the whole person. Here’s how we are doing on some select KPIs. The first is, “Reduce attrition across all undergraduate degree-seeking students by 10 percent at the end of three years.” This KPI is the one from which all others within this pillar stem. I am happy to report that we are on track to exceed this goal. As of fall 2024, attrition has been reduced by more than 20 percent, from 1,698 students in 2022 to 1,348 students in 2024. That’s an additional 350 students who stayed enrolled and kept working toward a life-changing degree. And there’s plenty more opportunity here to make further gains. Another KPI called for increasing the number of students receiving WP need-based grant aid, including books, emergency, and tuition funding, by 20 percent over the three-year plan. We have seen increases in both available funding and the number of student recipients. Over the past two years funding for institutional scholarships has increased nearly 33 percent and the number of recipients has increased more than 14 percent. Thanks to Vice President Pam Ferguson and her Institutional Advancement team for all their great fundraising work on behalf of our students. Yet another KPI called for increasing student use of health and wellness, academic, and other retention-related support resources. We have seen student utilization of services increase significantly over the past three years. Student use of academic support has increased nearly 41 percent since 2022. Student use of health and counseling services has also increased. Use of counseling services has increased more than 10 percent over the past year, enhanced by expanded drop-in services for both counseling and health and utilization of the Uwill online counseling services. And more than 1,240 students have made more than 3,000 visits to the Relaxation Lounge since its March 2024 opening. Retention and engagement KPIs and goals, with annual incremental increases, where applicable, now exist throughout the University. This includes Academic Advisement; EOF; the Academic Success Center; Career Development; Counseling, Health, and Wellness; Athletics and Recreation; Campus Activities, Service, and Leadership; the Accessibility Resource Center; Residence Life; and Veteran and Military Services; as well as the individual colleges. Everybody has a retention goal. The Power BI dashboards have greatly aided our ability to review, discuss, and act on live data. Thanks to Joe Alaya in IT and Brandon Gessner in Enrollment Management Services for their good work in developing and fine-tuning these dashboards. If you have not had a chance to go in and look, please do so; the data in many places is so encouraging. This is all incredible work on behalf of the Student Enrollment Services, Student Development, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Advisement teams, so thank you and congratulations on your success! I’m going to get to Pillar V, “Revising the Mission Statement,” which you all know was accomplished in the first year of the plan as reflected in the new statement that has already been on our website for more than a year now. But before I close with some thoughts on mission, I want to talk a little bit about what I’m thinking as we look to close out the current plan and prepare for a new one. Last time, we opted for a short-term plan that helped us focus on our stated values and branding. I am in discussion with the Board and Cabinet about the next strategic plan. I am suggesting a more traditional length of five years. I would like us to move back to an academic cycle, September to August, rather than the January-to-December cycle that we’re now on. This will require a three-month gap during the summer to get back on cycle. What I will be recommending to the Board is that the focus of this next strategic plan be enhancing our competitive edge. From this slide from our partners at EAB you can see that our current plan puts us in the top quadrant, or “pillars,” and feels very bottom up. The next plan puts us in the bottom quadrant, which can feel very top down. But we will be working with the Board, our advisory councils, and EAB to develop questions, which we’ll put before focus groups—both informal and through our shared governance bodies—for the community’s feedback to make sure we get input as we develop the next plan. We will use the services of EAB to run our focus groups, SWOT analysis, and to help us hone the final plan and strike the right balance, while providing opportunities for campus input along the way. But I do want to be clear—while our current plan focuses on “how” we deliver education, this next plan will focus more on “what” we deliver. While we will continue with our annual program vitality process, there currently are no additional layoffs in our future, but we will be focused on where there is labor demand and what existing programs we can enhance or develop to increase enrollment. We will begin this process this spring semester, develop drafts over the summer, look to get community input in the 2025-26 academic year, and then present the plan to the Board for adoption in spring 2026 for fall 2026 implementation—that’s the three-month summer gap I talked about. It seems especially appropriate to finish our Strategic Plan update with the “Revising the Mission Statement” pillar because it’s the fifth and final one on the list, but more importantly because it was the first pillar to be successfully completed and fully implemented. In November of 2023, the William Paterson Board of Trustees approved the following new Mission Statement, which has been live on our website ever since: “William Paterson University as a proud diverse community, designated as a public Hispanic and Minority Serving Institution, creates transformative academic and extracurricular experiences leading to meaningful careers, and promotes economic and social mobility. We empower our students through intentional and holistic support systems within flexible, innovative, and inclusive environments. Our graduates will power the New Jersey economy and beyond, thriving professionally and personally through a commitment to community engagement and social justice.” Simple—three sentences, effective, and most importantly, a timely statement of who William Paterson is today that speaks to the other pillars, and the principles and values that inform our work serving the students who are changing the social fabric of New Jersey and our nation. I want to thank Provost Powers, Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice Dr. Mark Ellis, and the members of the Mission Statement Working Group for their work, along with all of you who participated in the process by sharing your perspectives and providing feedback to the early drafts. You’ll notice, of course, that our Mission Statement very clearly promotes our commitment to social justice, which—along with closely related terms like “diverse,” “inclusive,” and “economic and social mobility”—speaks to who we are, speaks to who we serve, and speaks to how we serve them. We will not shrink from these commitments. Even if we have to adjust some of our methods in response to the legislative and regulatory climate, we will not fundamentally change who we are. So it shouldn’t surprise any of you that when I think of the banner I am carrying, it’s this one! We should all be proud of how we have more clearly and more strongly defined what this “William Paterson” means to our students and the great state of New Jersey. We have planted our flag in the higher education space, claiming a rightful place for the students who we serve and the impact they have in their communities and across our state and the nation. It serves as the symbolic North Star that we follow. It guides us as a community. It affirms what we believe in. In short, it helps to remind us who we are! And we will always remember who we are. We are William Paterson! We will proudly carry the banner for this most worthy cause, and remember: progress is possible, but it's not guaranteed, and so we will keep marching! Thank you, and have a great semester!
