Dialogue with President Beth Paul

Dear Nazareth faculty and staff;  As August approaches, marking the end of my first month here at Nazareth, I reflect on how grateful I am for your warm welcome and for the opportunity to work with each and every one of you to advance Nazareth and our world.  I am seeing us enter this new academic year with the sense of purpose and ingenuity that I'm learning defines our community. We are all focused on the many here-and-now details so we can ensure a healthy and safe learning environment for continuing Nazareth's vital mission. The focus on near-term needs is important and appropriate. On the heels of this focus on the here and now, it will be important to turn our attention to defining how we will emerge from this time in such a powerful era of possibility. And so this fall we will work together to envision and define our next strategies for living Nazareth’s mission —our thinking beyond . It is a collaboration I very much look forward to as we help each other b...

Dear Nazareth students; The important conversations continue here at Nazareth. Thank you all for your comments and input, and thank you for keeping the dialog going. Soon our conversations will turn to action as we come together as a community this fall and forge a path forward. As I contemplate our coming together, I reflect on the power and importance of your college years. They will define you for the rest of your life. It is here, in these years, that you will find your place in the world; you will find your life’s work; you will ignite your purpose and be an agent for change in the world.  To be a college student during this extraordinary time brings the opportunity for exponential personal change as you prepare to answer the world’s call for you to join a future of change for the betterment of all. These are not easy times. In this unchartered territory, there are no road maps, just a call for the bold and the brave to take part.  Issues of injustice, poverty...

After a series of meetings and consultations, the Empire 8 Conference (the conference in which Nazareth’s teams compete) made the difficult decision on Monday to suspend all fall season intercollegiate athletic competition for the fall 2020 semester. Empire 8 joins the ECAC, the Ivy League, and other collegiate leagues across the country who came to this decision understanding that it is the hard thing to do, but the right thing to do for the safety, health and well-being of our athletes and the entire Nazareth community. The uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 presents a set of risks for competition this fall that we are unwilling to take. Instead, the Conference is now developing plans to allow fall season sports teams to play and compete during the spring, concurrently with traditional spring sports. Our athletic teams bring an energy and excellence that invigorates our campus culture all year round. While we are disappointed that health and safety protocols concer...

Dear Nazareth students; Thank you for raising concerns about the recent racist acts on campus through the change.org petition Make Blackface Grounds for Expulsion at Nazareth College. We know the recent blackface incident caused our community a great deal of pain which will continue in our hearts when the new academic year begins. This is an opportune time to review and revise our policies and procedures to ensure that they accurately reflect our community’s commitment to diversity. The College's Statement of Diversity and Inclusion expresses a commitment that includes: engaging in a continual process of education, critical self-reflection and dialogue regarding privilege, power, and marginalization; promoting greater access and inclusion through systemic and structural change; and ensuring that all students, faculty, and staff reach their fullest potential individually and collectively. I join the Nazareth Community in taking this commitment very seriously. Your ...

Dear Nazareth students; As we approach just 30 days before the start of our fall semester, I’d like to share some important feedback from a recent town hall conversation we had with families and students about our plan to return to campus. First and foremost, we discussed the extensive pandemic protocols and procedures in place as part of Our Way Forward: Fall 2020 to protect the health and safety of our community and that it remains our top priority. We are drawing upon the most current professional and scientific guidance, and continually updating protocols and practices. We are on it! We also heard variations of this question: What is the value of an educational experience that is filled with change and unknowns? Should we be hitting pause? Our consensus is no: The pandemic is an opportunity to innovate and expand in the ways we teach and the ways our students learn, live, and thrive at Nazareth. Now is our opportunity to drive innovation and an opportunity for all s...

Nazareth College denounces this week’s action by the Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to modify exemptions for international students taking online classes in fall 2020. These changes have the potential to negatively impact our international students and thereby the integrity of our full community.  The College is working diligently to create appropriate pathways for our international students to continue with their education, in spite of the ICE ruling. This federal guidance will not compromise our commitment to work with each individual student to define your best path forward.  The Center for International Education is coordinating efforts with our deans, College leadership, program advisors, and faculty to make sure affected students are enrolled in appropriate coursework relative to their visa status and desire to remain on campus or study remotely from their home country. Our international students, faculty ...

As I officially join the Nazareth family today, I come with great optimism, excitement, joy, and hope — and to share with you why, I’m sending this video message. As we move forward together, this message also includes three commitments I make to you: to support advancing a just and healthy community to strengthen communication and connection to continue embracing change and choosing opportunity Please watch > And as emailed yesterday, I look forward to seeing you at our online town hall gathering at noon on Thursday to review our plan for the fall. Here are those details again: Review the draft: Our Way Forward: Fall 2020 Plan . If you have a question or comment, please share it with me using this form. Here is the Zoom link ; password Naz2020. If you experience computer issues, you may join by phone by calling 646-876-9923, webinar ID: 974 3456 2780 I very much look forward to getting to know you, Beth Paul, Ph.D. Nazareth College President ...