Message sent from President Ramon Torrecilha to campus community on September 14, 2018.
Dr. Carlton Pickron, vice president of Student Affairs, has made Westfield State his professional home for more than 35 years and embodies all that is compassionate, exhilarating, and intellectually engaging about this campus. I write today to announce that after nearly four decades of outstanding service to the University, Dr. Pickron has announced that his time with us will come to a close in December.
Highly recognized and fondly referred to by many students and their families as “CP the VP,” Dr. Pickron has made his mark across the University, most importantly with our students.
As the University has grown and the needs of students have expanded, as vice president of Student Affairs, Dr. Pickron has provided essential stability and has overseen units that directly impact the livelihood and the satisfaction of our students: athletics, student clubs and organizations, public safety, residential life, career center, and counseling center. His leadership in those areas meant both growth in the number of staff to serve students and a commitment to providing professional development for those staff.
Dr. Pickron’s special blend of intellect and vision will leave both the University’s academic and social profiles changed. Forward thinking and principled, Dr. Pickron has published and presented extensively on the experiences of Black scholars and students, especially student-athletes. His longstanding commitment to advancing equity and justice across all realms of higher education is lived on the ground at Westfield State and in the community. Shortly upon his arrival on campus, Dr. Pickron was part of a small group of faculty and staff who reinstituted the celebration of Black History Month at Westfield State. His leadership contributed to the growth of the Urban Education Program as well as co-founding the staff/faculty support group SANKOFA.
Life-changing opportunities planned and executed by Dr. Pickron have connected students to historic events nationwide. Six busloads of students in 2009 and two in 2013 travelled to Washington DC to witness the Inaugurations of President Barack H. Obama, the 44th and first Black president of the United States. He led the coordination of two alternative spring break trips to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2017 and 2018 with 50 students attending each.
His contributions to the growth and shape of the University will remain. In addition to his time in the classroom as an adjunct faculty member, Dr. Pickron is responsible for the initial coordination of the popular Walt Disney College Program Internship, the inclusion of Westfield State into the National Student Exchange consortium, and the founding and development of the Academic Achievement Center. As a member and advisor of vital University committees and groups, the All College Committee and Curriculum Committee, the Accreditation Task Force, Judicial Appeals Board, and class advisor of 2009 and 2019, Dr. Pickron contributed widely, with expertise, and where needed during his tenure.
As a lifelong athlete – swimmer, runner, and as I recently learned, a competitive bowler – Dr. Pickron is a champion for student-athletes, regularly impressing upon all of us the importance of witnessing our students in their multiple roles, and allowing our students to see us outside of our formal roles – as fans of their multiple achievements. His efforts extend deep into the community and for 30 years he led students, staff, and faculty volunteers at the Boston Marathon.
As Westfield State has grown and transformed, so too has our need to be responsive to national and local contexts. Dr. Pickron’s leadership and presence has been a constant source of guidance, knowledge, comfort, and inspiration in times of celebration and in times of crisis. I wholeheartedly thank Dr. Pickron for his exemplary and unwavering presence and outreach to students during last year’s series of bias incidents.
Please join me in celebrating Vice President Pickron’s exemplary and impactful tenure at Westfield State University. His greatest joys have been advising and mentoring students and colleagues. We wish him well as he now turns his attention to his family, especially his wife, Lisa, and other joyful pursuits.
Sincerely,
President Ramon S. Torrecilha, Ph.D.