September 2, 2021
Dear William Paterson Faculty & Staff:
Thank you to everyone who joined us in the Shea Center and on the livestream yesterday for my State of the University address. I am glad that we were able to host an audience in the theatre, while also making the event accessible to those faculty and staff who couldn’t join us in person, as well as to students for the first time. If you couldn’t make it or want to look more closely at the address, accompanying slides, and the results of the audience poll, you can find them here.
As those of you who joined us know, I used much of my time to talk about the work we must do to develop a distinctive brand identity for William Paterson that will help us attract and retain more students. As part of this discussion, I presented two prototype identities, one built around what we offer and the other around how we offer it.
The real-time poll was a great way for the audience to be involved, and the results I mentioned above helped capture initial reaction to these concepts, which will help inform the work ahead. As I stressed repeatedly from the stage, we are far from settling on any one approach. Those decisions will ultimately be made by the Board of Trustees, which will look to us for a sense of where the community stands on these issues. To that end, we all have a role to play, and I look forward to engaging with you in conversations that will be critical to the future of William Paterson. Please keep an eye on my Monday emails and other communications for further updates on this process.
I said in my address, and it bears repeating, that I am inspired every day by the collective talent and commitment of the Pioneer community. I know that, together, we will rise to any challenge and build a better, stronger William Paterson.
