Dialogue with President Beth Paul

  Here is an update from Lisa Durant-Jones, Vice President for Community and Belonging, and me on the  spring 2022 initiatives and goals of our collective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement.  The following is a list of initiatives for which leadership will be accountable; at the end of the semester, we will report on our progress. As our DEI movement includes our entire community, there are many more initiatives happening in areas across the campus (additional information can be found below and on the  Community and Belonging website ).  We are grateful for the activism of our students and the many other individuals and groups who are advancing our DEI movement. Spring 2022 initiatives and goals:  New leadership for the Nazareth Bias Response and Education Team (NBRET) has been appointed, and NBRET will work with the student governance structure to inform a process for student participation. Faculty and academic leadership will continue the wor...

  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....

  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 attentio...

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...

  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 ...

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 healin...

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 f...