January 2018
Dear colleagues,
Happy New Year! I am writing to share the first of what will be regular updates aimed at keeping everyone informed of progress on key initiatives in which faculty, staff and administrators are engaged across the university. While we move forward with developing and evaluating longer-term goals and plans through our strategic planning process, and continue our outstanding work across all of our schools, I want to make sure everyone is informed of specific actions being taken to make us stronger and to enhance our impact in the near-term.
- Plans are continuing to move forward to recruit and enroll our first cohort of undergraduate ESL pathway students for fall 2018 in partnership with ILSC. In an effort to ensure the success of these new students, we have assembled a team of faculty experts and a cross-university team (including the Global Center, Enrollment Management, Student Life and Academic Development and Advising colleagues). We are excited to build on our growing international student population and look forward to welcoming the first group of students this fall.
- Working groups are finishing up plans to offer a BS in biology, which was approved by the CLAS faculty in 2014. This will allow Lesley students to tap into new career interests and opportunities in the biological sciences and the biotech and healthcare sectors. CLAS will continue to offer a BA in biology for students interested in careers in field-based biology or science education. Good progress has also been made toward moving to a 4+1 MBA program, and additional innovative ideas to expand our business program are being considered.
- The Education Task Force, made up of CLAS and GSOE education faculty members, recently wrapped up some exciting work. The Task Force has explored new audiences where we might expand our focus over the next few years, the specific needs of those audiences, and what offerings we can uniquely develop for and offer to them. Rich and I look forward to examining the many draft options, selecting some lead ideas for further analysis and development, and sharing more information in the coming weeks about these future possibilities.
- We are nearing decisions on if Lesley will pursue bachelor’s and master’s programs in social work. I believe there is a great deal of potential here for us, and while we will need to continue to determine and plan carefully how these programs fit with related work we do, I believe we can have a top notch set of comprehensive programs, enhance our leadership in the mental health field, and become a leader in the allied health arena.
- The university, led by a team of LUCAD faculty leaders, is exploring strategic partnerships and programs with the entertainment industry in Los Angeles to provide internships to students in animation, illustration, filmmaking and design. Aspects of this collaboration might also include a pre-college program to recruit students to Lesley, as well as the potential for a West Coast base from which to engage our alums in the area.
- There is a great deal of ongoing work focused on community college transfers and adult learners, how we can best and more fully serve these students at Lesley, and how we can substantially grow our enrollment and impact over time with these student populations. This work must be, and will be, integrated with further defining and implementing our online strategy.
- We continue to experiment with new marketing and recruitment strategies and best practices, including pivoting to an outcomes-based approach that will help prospective students envision pathways from Lesley coursework to careers.
- Finally, we continue to implement and refine a number of new communication vehicles designed to highlight the great work and achievements of our students, faculty and staff. We do amazing things at Lesley, and our aim is to promote awareness of our accomplishments both across, and well beyond, Lesley in order to make our expertise, perspectives and work more accessible to the world around us.
In the months ahead, I will share more, as we continue to collaborate, develop and analyze innovative ideas and strategies, make timely decisions, and take action focused on moving Lesley ahead in service of our students, the communities we serve, and our mission.
I look forward to a terrific term ahead,
Jeff