Caffrey Highlights Scranton’s COVID-19 Efforts, Earns DBA
James L. Caffrey, DBA, associate vice president of facilities management at The University of Scranton, recently conducted a study and defended his dissertation to complete his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Liberty University. Dr. Caffrey’s capstone project centered around the University’s proactive and risk-mitigating response to the COVID-19 pandemic.A senior administrator at The University of Scranton recently examined and affirmed the University’s resilience and operational success during the COVID-19 pandemic, earning a doctoral degree in the process.
James L. Caffrey, associate vice president, facilities management, was recently conferred a Doctor of Business Administration degree in project management by Liberty University. Dr. Caffrey completed his studies with a dissertation titled “Managerial Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic as a Negative Influence on Revenue Challenges for a Single-Site Educational Institution in Northeastern Pennsylvania.”
Dr. Caffrey used interviews, surveys, organizational and institutional documents and questionnaires to examine the broad impact of COVID-19 on the University.
The University graded out well on the questionnaire’s five-point scale, which revealed a 4.67 score related to the University’s health and safety protections; a 4.60 on its effective use of technology to adopt a virtual learning environment; and a 4.47 on the senior leadership team’s prompt and appropriate actions to continue operations.
“Overall, the (University) responded to the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic with a focus on safeguarding the campus community and maintaining educational continuity,” Dr. Caffrey wrote. “While the financial impact was substantial, the institution employed a multi-faceted approach to mitigate losses, adapt operations and leverage external funding sources to navigate this difficult period.”
Dr. Caffrey noted the study was “sobering,” as he’d heard genuine accounts from participants who struggled with the crisis in various ways including staff shortages, additional responsibilities and the general unknown. However, he wrote, the people of the University cared for and helped each other in this time of need and the University’s leaders acted as good stewards of their resources.
“The investigator’s goal was that this study supported other educational institutions in serving God by supporting their teams through communication, health and safety, stewardship, caring and helping each other as they navigate the disturbances caused by an unparalleled global pandemic,” Dr. Caffrey wrote. “The themes that surfaced through the qualitative data collection from the participants were biblically reinforced and incorporated the Christian worldview.”
Dr. Caffrey arrived at the University in 2017, already having 30-plus years of experience in various facilities management roles. He is a graduate of Wilkes University, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
