December 2020

The University of Scranton has launched a website to share details of its 2020-2025 Strategic Plan, which “faces the future while embracing our deepest and most central traditions,” according to Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., president of The University of Scranton.

“Grounded in our Catholic and Jesuit mission, the plan will guide our transformative work and help us navigate changes, challenges and opportunities for the coming five years, though we believe its impact will be felt well beyond,” wrote Father Pilarz to members of the University community announcing the strategic plan, which was approved by the University’s Board of Trustees in September. “No doubt, the strategic plan we crafted together is lofty in its aspirations, and we launch it at a significant crossroads for higher education. But we know that it is also together that we will achieve concrete, positive outcomes on behalf of our students, campus community and broader Scranton family.”

The five goals of the University’s Strategic Plan 2020 are as follows:

The Humanities as a Foundation for Transformation: to ensure that the Scranton student experience is transformational, integrated and grounded in the humanities as a pathway to understanding the human experience in its many dimensions.

Faith, Passion and Purpose – The Student’s Journey: to engage students as individuals through personal attention that helps them explore their faith, discern their purpose and pursue their passion, as they work to create a more just and sustainable world.

Advancing the University Through Innovation: to advance the University into the future by challenging ourselves to educate and support an ever-changing, diverse landscape of students in ways that are affordable, relevant and innovative.

Diversity and Inclusion – A Welcoming and Supportive Community: to reflect and understand the diversity of the world by demanding that diversity be a priority as we build an inclusive community and campus culture, develop and deliver our education, and shape our student experience.

Growing Partnerships in Our Mission: to invite and inspire our alumni, parents, friends and community to be partners in the mission of the University.

The plan builds “on areas of excellence and initiatives underway, including the high-impact learning processes, the exciting work of cross-disciplinary humanities (the Slattery Center for Humanities), and a multi-year collaborative strategic enrollment plan, a process that has already resulted in new academic student support and majors,” said Father Pilarz.

The strategic plan was developed through a comprehensive, collaborative effort led by members of the University Planning Committee that incorporated input from students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, parents and the board of trustees.

“I am grateful to the campus community for their input and collaboration, which went into the development of this plan. Together, we concentrated on making a strategic plan unique to our mission and one that will accelerate the excellent education at the University,” said Jeff Gingerich, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

“Our plan, as it should be, is rooted in assessment and analysis, including our 2019 Middle States self-evaluation study and the (Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities) 2018 Mission Priority Examen, which examined our Catholic and Jesuit tradition and the deep and active life of mission on our campus,” said Father Pilarz in a video about the plan. “We are also proud of the ways the plan supports the Universal Apostolic Preferences, a set of core priorities embraced by the Society of Jesus just last year.”

According to Kate Yerkes, assistant provost for planning and institutional effectiveness, the planning process itself is beneficial to the University.

“The value of planning is not just this product, but the coming together of the members of our community to examine our strengths, and be open to ways to grow, innovate and improve,” said Yerkes.

“Our plan captures the commitment to community the mutual respect and care for each other that has always been and will always be the hallmark of The University of Scranton,” said Father Pilarz.

Details of the plan can be found at the University’s Strategic Plan 2020 website.

Evelyn Barra, Kingston; Jasmine Benvenutti, Scranton; Jennifer Coleman, Carbondale; Tanya Crawford, Matamoras; Lori DeVoe, Hawley; Nohemi Garcia Tafoya, Scranton; Laura Gilbody, Clarks Summit; Michele Havrilchak, Olyphant; Allison Leonard, Montrose; April Owen, Tobyhanna; Crystal Perez, Old Forge; Lonni Schmeckenbecher, Tunkhannock; and Yajaira Suarez-Babcock, Hawley; completed The University of Scranton Women’s Entrepreneurship Center and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) StartUP fall program.

Facilitated by experienced SBDC consultants, StartUP is a six-week certificate series designed for women in transition or those trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. The StartUP Program offers women education, support and guidance in determining if entrepreneurship is an option for them. Participants in this interactive program learn start-up basics, legal and insurance considerations, marketing and social media essentials, business plan development, accounting and budget skills, financing options and requirements, and goal setting. Local women business owners presented during the sessions to share their experiences. 

The University of Scranton Women’s Entrepreneurship Center is a partnership between the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the University’s Kania School of Management (KSOM) that utilizes experienced SBDC consultants along with carefully selected KSOM student interns. The interns are highly skilled, and enhance the work done by consultants by assisting with training, conducting research, and completing projects.

The University’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Center student interns participating were: Emilee Barrett, a senior marketing major from Clarks Summit; Mollie Boyd, a junior marketing major from Old Forge; Chloe Burns, a senior entrepreneurship major from Philadelphia; Nicole Freeman, a sophomore biology major from New Tripoli; Abigail Guziewicz, a senior psychology major from Peckville; Jordyn Lieber, a sophomore business administration major from Edison, New Jersey; and Hollyann Serp, a senior entrepreneurship major from Commack, New York.

The Fall 2020 series was offered free of charge thanks to funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The free series will be held again in the Spring. Those interested in the spring session can register at scrantonsbdc.com under the education and training tab. For more details, contact Katelyn McManamon, SBDC Special Projects Coordinator, at 570-941-4168 or e-mail katelyn.mcmanamon@scranton.edu.

The NativityMiguel School in Scranton will honor Rev. Herbert B. Keller, S.J. H’06, vice president for mission and ministry at The University of Scranton, at a virtual dinner on Friday, Dec. 4. Proceeds from the event, which begins at 5 p.m., will support the budget of the tuition-free, independent Catholic middle school that serve economically challenged students in Lackawanna and Luzerne County.

Father Keller has served on the board of the NativityMiguel School since 2015. During the academic year, University students volunteer with the children at the school through programming offered through the Center for Service and Social Justice.

At the University, Father Keller also served as interim president from June 1, 2017, to June 30, 2018, and as the special assistant to the president.

Father Keller has served as the rector of the Scranton Jesuit Community since September 2015. Prior to that, he served for 18 years as president of Scranton Preparatory School and is the longest-serving president in the Jesuit school’s history.

Father Keller entered the Jesuit novitiate in Wernersville in 1969. In 1975, he received a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Fordham University. He earned a master’s degree with distinction from Weston School of Theology in Boston and a professional diploma in secondary school administration from Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education. He was ordained a priest in 1981 and has served in Jesuit secondary education for more than 35 years.

Father Keller was named principal of Scranton Prep in 1983 and served in that capacity for eight years. From 1991 to 1997, he served as principal at his alma mater, Saint Joseph’s Prep in Philadelphia. During his tenure there, Father Keller was appointed as rector of the Jesuit community at Saint Joseph’s Prep. In 1997, he was named president of Scranton Preparatory School.

In 2016, Father Keller served as a delegate from the Maryland Province for the Society of Jesus' General Congregation 36. In 2006, he received an honorary doctoral degree from The University of Scranton.

Tickets for the virtual event honoring Father Keller are available for $150 at nativitymiguelscranton.org. For additional information, call the NativityMiguel School at 570-955-5176.

One highlight of the education at The University of Scranton is the opportunity for our students to engage in Community-Based Learning (CBL) courses that foster university-community partnerships and address real-world issues. These partnerships foster a sense of community between The University of Scranton and its students with the City of Scranton and its residents. In the COVID-19 era, many of these partnerships have adapted to the remote environment, focusing on project-based activities and connecting with community partners via Zoom.

This fall, two CBL courses partnered with the City of Scranton to offer students firsthand insights into important issues facing the City, and in turn to provide student input and research to address City needs. Margarete L. Zalon, Ph.D., RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, professor of nursing, and John J. Strain III, faculty specialist in the Communication Department, both linked their CBL courses to special projects of interest to the City of Scranton. These connections empowered their students to apply the ideas and concepts learned in their coursework to real-life applications to offer insights and ideas to the Mayor’s Office in the City of Scranton.

In both cases, the City of Scranton, including representatives from the City’s Office of Economic and Community Development and Mayor of Scranton Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, attended final class presentations. 

Students in Dr. Margarete Zalon’s doctoral course in nursing, Advanced Health Care Policy, worked with the City of Scranton to help them explore different public health priorities. Students researched several key areas, including, primary care/preventive services, mental health/substance abuse, injury and violence prevention, communicable diseases, emergency preparedness, and maternal and child health services. During final presentations, they shared their findings and recommendations with the City, including Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, which will help inform the City’s work around public health issues moving forward. 

“The student projects were impressive and we will absolutely take their research and ideas into consideration as we look to increase our public health resources at the City,” said Mayor Cognetti.

Dr. Zalon shared that the students, who are both from our region and from across the country as far away as Alaska, were excited and honored to be part of this initiative. “It was a great opportunity for these students to be able to gain a better understanding of local health issues amidst a global pandemic and to be able to assist Scranton's planning efforts to improve the health of its residents,” said Dr. Zalon.   

In Strain’s Art of the Pitch course, two student teams were tasked with making the perfect “pitch” for the city’s new “Work From Here” initiative to the City of Scranton, with Mayor Cognetti and City staff helping to judge the final presentations. The goal of the “Work From Here” initiative is to draw attention to all that the city of Scranton and the surrounding area has to offer and to encourage those now working remotely to consider working from Scranton. Students in Strain’s course applied their knowledge of marketing along with their research skills on audience demographics to target key groups of interest to market this new initiative to and then carefully curate outreach strategies to captivate these audiences.

"The opportunity to work on a CBL project with the City of Scranton was a great experience for my students to participate in a real-world strategic communication challenge. Plus it enabled all of us to be a part of helping the City to promote the ‘Work from Here’ initiative which will greatly benefit the community that for our students will always be their home away from home.  A true win, win for everyone," said Strain.

This work of this project is in fact quite real; since the pandemic, residents of larger cities are seeking exactly what Scranton has to offer – buzzing city life with arts, culture, dining, and shopping in our downtown with easy access to the beautiful natural landscapes and recreation surrounding NEPA.  Students in Strain’s course drew upon their own experiences getting to know Scranton in considering how to best reach their target audiences.

“I was unsure of what to expect taking Art of the Pitch, but the final project, although rigorous, was one of the best projects I’ve been assigned at the University,” said Erika Witt ’21, the project leader of the winning team. In consideration of performing almost the entire project remotely, Witt remarked that “this experience, while hopefully not permanent, gave my team and me a sense of how business is being conducted all over the world, and it gave us some experience for our future. Pitching to the City of Scranton’s office put all of our practice throughout the semester into action with a campaign we made for them.”

For more information on The University of Scranton’s Community Based Learning projects, please visit the Office of Community-Based Learning’s website.