As you may know, I have recently been appointed interim president upon the retirement of former president Evan Dobelle.
In my past roles as vice president of Academic Affairs and as a professor in the Communication Department, I have been inspired by the spirit of our students, faculty and staff. Their generosity and dedication to the tasks at hand have encouraged me during my first months as president. I send a sincere thank you to everyone who has helped make this a smooth transition.
As I think of the changes that have happened in the last months, I am heartened by something historian Henry Steele Commager said long ago: “Change does not necessarily assure progress, but progress implacably requires change.”
Despite challenging times, Westfield State has moved forward, learning from its past, changing and moving onward with the determination to do the next right thing that ensures a positive future.
This is why it makes sense, as we continue our celebration of the University’s 175th anniversary, to throw the spotlight on our Urban Education Program, which is in its 40th year. This prestigious program has provided access and opportunity for more than 2,000 individuals from the commonwealth and beyond.
The Urban Education program accepts first year students from varied backgrounds on a conditional basis. Students must successfully complete a five-week bridge residential program in order to gain full matriculation. The bridge experience includes intensive academic support and leadership development with the significant involvement of peer and alumni mentors.
The program currently includes 256 undergraduates, 86 percent of whom are students of color (making up 30 percent of the students of color in our day division).
Recent increases in Urban Education enrollment contribute to our ongoing efforts to diversify our student population. Westfield State’s enrollment of ethnic minorities has nearly doubled since 2008, increasing from 9 percent to 17 percent for incoming first year students.
Targeting college awareness and participation for under-represented students, our early awareness programs welcome 500 middle and high school students to the campus annually. In 2013, 30 percent of the students who attended Discover Westfield Day enrolled at the University.
Half of these participated in the Urban Education Bridge Program and subsequently matriculated. Students who would not have received offers of acceptance due to admission standards, but who were admitted through the Urban Education Program, have been retained at a rate of 76 percent since 2010, compared with our 80 percent overall retention.
Indeed, Westfield State is proud to acknowledge little or no difference in retention and graduation rates for low-income students. In 2011 and 2012, the six-year graduate rate of federal Pell Grant versus non-Pell-eligible students was nearly identical. The first-year retention rate for students who were Pell-eligible differed only four percent from non-Pell-eligible students.
Based in community outreach and providing access and support for many, Urban Education represents just one of the University’s many programs and initiatives, the success of which has lifted our spirits and inspired our ongoing commitment to excellence. Such initiatives reflect our historic mission to foster an informed, compassionate and active student body.
As we celebrate our rich history and implement present goals and objectives, academic achievement and civic engagement remain the touchstones through which we measure our success and the filter through which we respond to current and future needs.
Every new bit of knowledge and every new skill that we learn through the Westfield State experience can be used to enhance the quality of life, both on Western Avenue and beyond our campus borders.
As we face the days ahead, I hope that all in our learning community, including our valued alumni, will help us to reaffirm and reinvest in Westfield State’s legacy of scholarship and service. Support is needed now, more than ever.
I encourage all of us to take full advantage of every opportunity – even difficult times and transitions that come along – to learn, grow, work together, give back to our community and move forward in response to our ever-changing world.
