SRU President Karen Riley led the conversation at Thursday’s Fall Assembly touting the university’s positive enrollment, finances and advances on strategic planning.
Enrollment and finances are net positive while strategic planning moves forward with new collaborative initiatives and a reworking of diversity initiatives. In PASSHE, only East Stroudsburg and SRU were in positives regarding enrollment, operating margins, reserve ratios and minimum reserves.
Enrollment
Riley opened the presentation by touting the highest retention rate since SRU began tracking the metric 20 years ago at 84.1%. For comparison, the national average is 74%. The retention goal in Riley’s strategic plan was to improve rates by 5%. This year’s growth covers 3% of the total goal.
Preliminary enrollment metrics were up 0.6% for undergraduate students and down 0.4% for graduate students compared to Fall 2023.
“We are up in a down market, but just barely up in a down market,” the president said.
Among the increase was a 13% rise of underrepresented minorities in the Fall 2023 freshman cohort.
“This is about inclusion, this is walking the walk,” Riley said. “This is making sure every single person that comes in here leaves here with their credential whether it’s a certificate or a degree.”
Riley trumpeted SRU’s recruitment and the “unmatched” student support, especially following the national FAFSA delay.
“That’s why we have those kind of numbers,” she said, referring to the help of Admissions.
“We have to be cautious,” Riley said. “Those are not huge increases and we have huge headwinds.”
The president was referring to what she called the “enrollment cliff” and future decline of high school graduates, predicted to plummet almost 10,000 by the late 2030’s.
“We can’t operate out of fear, but we can’t pretend that this isn’t coming,” she said. “New programs, new approaches, new partnerships, this is the future of what we are doing. We know that there’s urgency on our part and we will be doing every single thing that we can to keep these numbers positive.”
Strategic plan updates
Riley’s main advancements included defining workflow structures, assigning leads to strategies and naming co-chairs for pillar.
Expanding on the “work groups” Riley implemented over the course of last year, she announced the SRU Affiliate Alliance focused on continuous, campus-wide collaboration for workflow structures.
The alliance aims to bring together SGA, the Council of Trustees, the SRU Foundation, the SRU Alumni Association and SRU administration.
Co-chairs for pillars one through four are as follows:
- Pillar One (Robust, Supportive and Inclusive Culture): Dallas Jackson, associate professor of Physical and Health Education and Amanda Nichols, payroll and employment manager
- Pillar Two (Academic Discovery and Human Growth): Keith Dils, dean of the College of Education and Steve Verba, associate professor of Exercise Science and Athletic Training
- Pillar Three (Community Impact and Collaboration): Christopher Cole, assistant vice president of Auxiliary Operations and Student Support and Melissa Swauger, professor of Non-Profit Management, Empowerment and Diverse Studies
- Pillar Four (Financial Sustainability and Resource Stewardship): Nicole Dafoe, dean of the College of Engineering and Science and David Jordan, professor of Healthcare Administration and Management
Jessica Learner, strategic planning consultant, and Tina Moser, chief of staff in strategic plan coordination and on-campus support, will lead efforts for training and support of co-chair and pillar implementation.
DEIB updates
Following the exit of Chief Diversity Officer Anthony Jones at the end of the Spring 2024 semester, Keshia Booker filled the role as interim Chief Diversity Officer.
“I want to make this really, really clear…shifts that we do are not a reflection on Dr. Jones or people that are currently in the office. This is how we continually get better; this is a growth mindset,” Riley said.
Riley displayed dates of several meetings over the summer with various committees looking to work on the title of the vacant position, provide an updated and accurate job description led by Chief Human Resource Officer Holly McCoy, and decide on a search or search firm method.
Riley also mentioned dialogue around changing the name of “Chief Diversity Officer” to “Vice President of Climate and Culture.”
“We need to understand we can’t have a good climate or a good culture if it’s not founded on a good basis of inclusion,” she said in reference to the name change. “We have to create a space, we have to maintain a space, we have to advance a space of belonging. People don’t belong here if they don’t feel included.”
Finances
SRU finances are “in the green” according to Vice President for Finance and Administration Carrie Birckbichler.
The university finished at surplus with $806,971 compared to last year’s $222,508. Total revenue increased 5.3%, outpacing expense increases at 4.9%.
The largest increase in expenses was deferred maintenance rising 42%, or $4 million, something both Riley and Birckbichler labeled as an investment for the campus.
Birckbichler said SRU has had the “best financial performance in the system” in recent history, alongside East Stroudsburg.
Riley mentioned early in the presentation the improvement of philanthropic contributions to SRU, raising millions of dollars versus last year. The total reached over $10 million but still placed SRU last in PASSHE.
The university received bequests in the form of $2 million for education related items, $1.8 for Storm Harbor Equestrian Center and $3.8 million for engineering.
Athletics, APSCUF and faculty
Overall, SRU was the number one athletic performer in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) taking home the Dixon Trophy. All but three teams participated in postseason play.
Riley also noted the 98% increase in faculty, scholarly and creative arts production.
“We think about the teaching loads of our faculty and everything they do. This increase is extraordinary and we want recognize them,” she said.
APSCUF President Jason Hilton also spoke, endorsing Riley’s effort on collaborative efforts between administration and APSCUF.
“I’ve witnessed as president Riley leads the charge to redouble administrative efforts towards shared governance, and I have witnessed the early successes of this approach in a vast array of areas within the institution,” Hilton said.
Hilton’s speech of solidarity emphasized the need for collaboration as “higher education is in a time of great upheaval.”
