Building on Eye on the future
Great Expectations
“Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There’s no better rule.” — Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
A
s Alvernia charts a course for its future, it is building on the considerable “evidence” of recent progress and increasing prominence. As President Flynn noted in last fall’s State of the University Address, the entire Alvernia community now has good reason to have “even greater expectations for the university’s future.” In the spring of 2007, Alvernia’s Board of Trustees approved a bold new strategic plan that plotted the direction of the university for the next decade. Guided by revised mission and vision statements, and accompanied by a campus master plan, it included the first comprehensive fundraising effort in the institution’s history — the $27 million Values & Vision capital campaign. The plan was designed to be implemented in two parts: Phase I, which stretched to 2013, and Phase II spanning 2013-2018. Alvernia’s progress since that time five years ago has been remarkable by any measure. Improvements in enrollment, educational quality, financial strength, external engagement and institutional reputation have contributed to the university’s prosperity. Most prominent among many highlights was the achievement of university status in the fall of 2008, an action that confirmed the school’s significant momentum. That progress also validated Alvernia’s evolution into a comprehensive institution with a significant commitment to post-graduate education, particularly at the doctoral and master’s levels, and a greatly enhanced undergraduate residential community. Today, signs of continued advancement abound. Major upgrades have been made to teaching and learning
18 Alvernia University Magazine