Dialogue with President Beth Paul

  As the last of the semester’s final exams are finished today, I share with you this video message of reflection and well wishes. Our community has persevered yet again this fall, and I’m grateful for you — our students, faculty, and staff — who are so committed to our powerful learning community. I wish you a restful break and look forward to seeing you in the new year. Watch the video

  I want to share the next episode of the Prez Paul Podcast: our changemaker series. This year, we are focusing our conversations around the idea of what it means to be a Nazareth changemaker. In our latest episode of season two, I have a conversation with Nazareth professors Dr. Michael Chen and Dr. Lauren Brooks, along with their graduate assistant and recent Naz alumna Tatianna Trojnor-Hill. They had the prestigious honor of working with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to analyze racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 testing in a national sample of more than 2 million patients across the U.S. In addition to identifying significant disparities, they also found that geography and state-level political affiliations can predict individuals' risk of testing positive for COVID-19. Guests:  Michael Chen  is an assistant professor in the Nursing and Public Health Department. He received a bachelor’s degree in economics and public health from Brown University and a Ph.D. in health

  I write to share an update on the strategic framework implementation process and to express my gratitude to all of you who have participated in the effort to date. Through thoughtful input, listening, and engaging in the process, YOU are bringing the strategic framework to life. I am also deeply grateful to Yousuf George and Karen Kuppinger for their tireless leadership and stewardship of our collective progress, to the Steering Committee for their visionary guidance, and the Working Groups for their time and dedication.   Through this collaborative process, we have set the course and started the work of establishing priorities, honing our focus, and shaping our initiatives. Each initiative represents an investment to move Nazareth forward — to compel students’ choice of Nazareth and make progress for future generations of students who seek Nazareth’s transformative education.  There are three significant initiatives taking shape that I’d like to call your attention to.   Our inaugur

It’s our second season, and we are starting a new series on the podcast  — It’s the Prez Paul Podcast Changemaker series!  Nazareth Choirs director Brian Stevens and students Jonathan Benn and Elena Parkins, talking about the choirs’ changemaking mantra “we sing to change lives.” The choirs actively collaborate with living and under-represented composers to bring their music to the world.   Guests:  Brian Stevens  is director of choirs in the School of Music at Nazareth College, where he focuses on changing lives through the choral arts by building diverse and inclusive choral communities, providing transformative experiences for his students, and fostering choral excellence through innovative programming.  Jonathan Benn  is a sophomore music education major heading down a vocal track and is the current president of the Nazareth College Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. He studies voice with Dr. Kimberly Upcraft and is a member of the Nazareth College Chamber Singer

  Today, Veterans Day, is a day to pay tribute to all those who have courageously served our nation. Our veterans bravely sacrificed to uphold the ideals of our democracy and our collective good.  Nazareth College has veterans, children of veterans, and family members of veterans in every area of our community. We honor those who have made sacrifices and taken part in military service. And we thank all those who have and continue to serve our country.  

  As we are all finding our way through the challenges of our time, we are working to build and strengthen our culture of well-being at Nazareth College. We care that every person finds meaning and fulfillment in their lives, and that the Nazareth community is a positive source of each person’s sense of well-being.   To this aim, thank you for the thoughtful engagement of many in considering the question I posed at the Town Hall on September 23:  “How do we find ourselves some short-term breathing room in this complex and uncharted territory we are all living through?” I asked the Faculty Welfare Committee, Staff Work-Life Committee, Senate Executive Committee, Administrative Council, and expanded Cabinet (including the deans and other stakeholder leaders) to think about short-term breathing room actions we could take this semester that wouldn’t interfere with student learning, support, and success and that are within our resources. Yousuf George also met with members of the community

For many in our community, 9/11/01 is a day we will never forget. Although now 20 years later, we remember exactly where we were when the news started breaking, shockingly, incredulously. And for many in our community, 9/11/01 is before their birth, only understood through others’ stories.  9/11/01 was a surreal — and very real — day of tragedy, violence, horror, loss, questioning, and change. On that day, in our inability to make sense of the senseless, we gathered together in community, with whomever was nearby, watching in stunned silence.  Today, we honor the lives lost, and the courage of first responders and the service men and women who went to war following the events of that day. And as our world continues to grapple with vital questions about terrorism, security, global human rights, tragedy, loss, fear, let us again reach for each other. Let us reflect on our shared values of courage, community and social justice and be proactive about what we can do to bring healing, humani

It is with great excitement that I announce that Frank S. Williams will be joining Nazareth as our new vice president for strategic enrollment management. Frank brings more than 20 years of higher education experience in both enrollment management and student support, with many significant and innovative accomplishments. He has been a transformational collaborator with academic leaders in an array of successful academic initiatives; he has formed local, regional, and national partnerships that opened new pathways of access to higher education; and he is expert (and successful) in data-informed enrollment strategy. As I spoke with Frank’s references and colleagues both at the University of Buffalo and Daemen College, as well as national leaders in strategic enrollment management, I was impressed by how his past work and strengths align so well with Nazareth’s mission and strategic directions. He is described as “entrepreneurial and wanting to do good in the world,” “always looking down

  Students, hello from our beautiful Naz campus! I have loved my conversations with you these last several months, as the spring semester wrapped up successfully and we started to look toward fall. You have told me that what you are most looking forward to this fall is learning in person, being together as an inclusive community, engaging in hands-on learning, and enjoying meaningful and fun gatherings. You want to see the impact of your contributions, not through a Zoom filter, but live and in person in the classroom, in our community, and beyond.   As I spend time with you, you also have shared stories of life during the pandemic and the societal dynamics of the last year. It has been a complex emotional time, including feelings of loss, fear, frustration, sadness, and more. As psychologist Karen Munn shares in this recent podcast on the Summer of Healing , college students have been through a lot and it is often AFTER the crisis that we feel the most anxious. As we emerge from the p

  Nazareth College joins in the celebration of Pride Month, celebrated each June as an opportunity to educate, increase awareness, and promote inclusion for the LGBTQ+ community. Our Nazareth community is dedicated to recognizing and  valuing diversity in all its various forms  and to recommitting ourselves to being equity-minded learners and leaders.   Today, June 28, is Pride Day, commemorating the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City and the start of the modern LGBTQ+ liberation movement. Today is a day of celebration and reflection; an opportunity for our entire community to affirm and support each other’s freedom to live authentically, to love who we love, and to be seen and valued for who we are and the unique gifts we share with the world.  Progress has been made and  our work continues . Celebrating Pride means raising awareness, challenging structural injustices, and emboldening action towards inclusiveness.  Pride celebrations also serve as a reminder to  renew our community

By Beth Paul, President, and Lisa Durant-Jones, Vice President for Community & Belonging Nazareth College is committed to promoting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community as a critical component of the campus experience for our faculty, staff, and students. Our Strategic Framework extends and strengthens this commitment to preparing “the Nazareth community to be equity-minded, socially-just leaders.” This past year has challenged all of us to hold true to our ideals and ensure that we continue to work to create an anti-racist campus, reckoning honestly with our past and proactively building a more just and equitable  future. The trauma, marginalization, and harm that results from systemic racism has had an impact on our Nazareth community, and we must be steadfast with respecting and valuing human difference in all of its forms. On June 19, our country will celebrate Juneteenth. This annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States has been celebrated by

Since our spring semester ended just three weeks ago, we’ve continued to reflect on what we’ve learned and what we’ve heard our students say they value in a connected campus learning community. We have heard our students say they need and want engaging, interactive, in-person educational and social experiences — a learning experience at which Nazareth excels. To achieve this and to prioritize the health of our campus and the wider community, for the 2021-2022 academic year, Nazareth College will require all students, faculty, staff and contracted employees to complete COVID-19 vaccination and provide documentation by July 31, 2021. Limited exemptions, such as religious and medical, will be granted, and reasonable accommodations provided under applicable law. Nazareth’s decision is aligned with the recommendations of the American College Health Association, which made a statement recognizing that comprehensive COVID-19 vaccination is the most effective way for institutions o

I am writing to express my deep gratitude for your participation in our commencement ceremonies over the weekend. We came together safely to celebrate over the course of two days and five ceremonies. Everywhere I looked across campus – around the fountain, on the steps of Golisano, outside GTC I saw happy families, happy graduates, and happy friends celebrating this milestone occasion. The Nazareth campus was resplendent in sunshine and joy! The 2021 graduation was nothing short of a milestone achievement. I am so proud of our graduates — their strength, accomplishments, and vision for the future. And I am so grateful to our staff and faculty for the months of planning and the commitment to an in-person commencement. Indeed it took the participation and cooperation of the entire community. I want to thank everyone, especially our graduates’ families and friends for taking the extra steps and abiding by our health and safety protocols and doing your part to keep the community safe. I wa

 A message of gratitude from President Beth Paul.

Dear students, I believe in you! As we finish this year of learning and persistence, I hope you feel accomplishment and strength as never before because you’ve been the best example to the world — Nazareth is recognized this year as one of the most resilient and caring college communities in the nation. We have put commitment to community first in protecting family, neighbor, friend, and stranger alike. During a time of struggle and loss, our community also has put our values of equity and inclusion into action — living them and spreading them . Thanks to Community and Belonging and all who've contributed messages. Our Nazareth community has been society’s best example of living and learning together during a time when many found it difficult to heed humanity’s call. This was a combined effort that will forever be marked in our history. What a fitting legacy to cap our first hundred years. Your individual contributions combined to create a force for change and growth against incal

  Music is alive on the Nazareth College campus.  Hear about the School of Music’s innovations that enabled our students and faculty to continue performing music through the pandemic and beyond, in our latest podcast. See details and listen:  Prez Paul Podcast

An update on our staffing plan and the status of our longer-range planning for the future of work at Nazareth: We will continue our current staffing plan, following the current state guidelines. We plan to update the campus again on May 21. Any changes will be phased in to allow for planning, schedule shifting, and a necessary transition period. We will shift to summer hours beginning the week of May 24. Human Resources will follow up with more details. The  2021-2022 academic calendar  has been set and we will announce the yearly College holiday schedule by April 30. Academic Affairs is developing course delivery guidelines. As we move to longer-range planning and again consider our emergence and making the transition to a post-pandemic campus, I invite you to participate in thinking about what the future of work means for moving our community forward. Our future of work will continue to center around student learning and the student experience. We strive for a community that supports

Today (April 6) is National Student-Athlete Day, and the Golden Flyers are soaring again in competition! The new "Prez Paul Podcast" showcases several student-athletes and coaches as they discuss the return of athletics and what it's like to combine three seasons into one! Listen on iTunes Listen on PodBean  

As we kick off Graduate Student Appreciation Week, I am reflecting on how vital our graduate students are to our community, bringing a wide range of backgrounds and contributing new perspectives, life experiences, and passions for their life’s work. Graduate programs have been part of Nazareth College since the 1950s. Today, our 650 graduate students are an important part of our Nazareth community, making up about one-quarter of our student body. Our master’s and doctoral students bring such care and expertise to important work in society. We are proud to offer a rich array of  graduate programs and specializations . Many of our students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees are invested in addressing community needs and supporting people’s growth — an essential part of our Nazareth identity — in education, art therapy, music therapy, physical therapy, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, social work, music performance and pedagogy, and higher education student affairs admi