Dialogue with President Beth Paul

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...

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 ...

  I have a very timely “Prez Paul Podcast” episode to share with you today. Our Nazareth College community has grown a lot this year, facing the pain of racial struggles in our community and our country, and through our active movement to be an equity-minded community — one in which all are welcomed and belong, all are supported and empowered, and all are engaged in learning about and eliminating systemic racism to realize a better world for all.  March 21 is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and March 23 will be the one-year anniversary of Daniel Prude's arrest and restraint in Rochester. Mr. Prude died seven days later on March 30, 2020, after he was removed from life support. Beginning Sunday, March 21, we have a special guest visiting campus to help foster our Nazareth community’s continued learning and growth. Activist, musician, and storyteller Reggie Harris’ weeklong fellowship includes classes, programs, and workshops.   Regg...

Dear Nazareth community, I have in heart and mind today Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), in light of the recent tragedy in Atlanta, and amidst a history of acts of bias against this population near and far. We stand in solidarity with the AAPI population, and strongly condemn acts of bias and violence. And we are reminded of the ongoing,  daily commitment  our institution has made and we all must make, personally and professionally, to keep diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront of our learning and work together.  For students seeking support around these recent events, I encourage you to reach out to  Health and Counseling . And for staff and faculty, reach out to our  Employee Assistance Program .  In holding with the founding solidarity and social justice principles of our College, incidents of bias against anyone will not be tolerated. If you are a victim of, or witness to, a bias incident,  please report the incident  ...

Springtime signals renewal and emergence, and this year it is all the more poignant. Last week’s warm weather brought an opportunity for our community to gather safely outside. I loved seeing so many students at our Ready to Fly pop-up event on Wednesday, March 10, complete with T-shirts and snow cones. And I’m excited to do more pop-ups as we welcome spring.   The weight of the past year is slowly lifting and I am filled with a sense of hope and optimism. After this year of challenge, the bright spots and opportunities for connection that define our Naz community have become even more meaningful. One bright spot for our community to celebrate is that  Great Value Colleges has named Nazareth among the top 15 colleges in the nation for 2020 crisis response . Our values have stood strong as we kept student learning and well-being at the center of our planning and decisions, while continually prioritizing the advancement of social justice, inclusion, and equity. Thank you for all...