President's message
Dear Members of the Saint Joseph’s College Community,
My inauguration on October 24 was one of the best days of my life and I’ve never been happier professionally. As I said in my inaugural speech, Saint Joseph’s is a great academic community, and I’m extremely privileged to be leading it.
We have every reason for optimism. Enrollment at the campus has never been better. Our faculty members continue to garner nationally competitive research grants, teach and do their research with a student-centered attitude, and create opportunities for service and learning both on and off campus. We have a strong and committed Board of Trustees, and a set of Mercy core values that are the foundation of what we do. In other words, our strengths are many.
That being said, the economic realities of rising costs for health care, food and energy will mean we need to keep a sharp eye on the expense side of our budget in order to keep our tuition within reach of our students and their families. We will also have to consider shifting demographics in potential student markets, as well as how the tremors from Wall Street will affect our endowment, our ability to borrow and our benefactors.
Nonetheless, the inaugural theme of “Our Quest for Excellence” is one that we can stand behind even in difficult economic times. We will live and enrich our Catholic identity while also honoring religious diversity. We expect to grow the college responsibly over the next five years to 1,200 on-campus students through both recruitment and retention efforts, as well as grow our online distance education program. We will increase our fundraising efforts, and try to connect with many more of our alumni.
We continue to focus on collaborative strategic planning to chart the course for the near future. We began this process at a senior staff retreat using an analysis based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The Trustees are now focused on the same effort. I’m considering use of an outside facilitator in our planning efforts, a step which I believe could be especially helpful in defining the external context in which we operate and in putting our operation under a “financial microscope” aimed at reducing costs while maintaining quality. That’s not easy!
As we continue planning with a careful and skillful approach, suggestions from alumni and friends are welcomed. My phone number is 207-893-7711. Enjoy this issue of your magazine. You’ll see the range, mastery and passion of our faculty throughout these pages, a heartwarming story about a student athlete, the college’s impact as an economic engine in the region, a profile of the college “by the numbers,” and much more.
Since the next college magazine arrives in the spring, I’d like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a blessed holiday season.
Sincerely,
Joseph Lee, Ph. D.
President