A new challenge, full of promise

Today, the Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education voted to name me as the System’s next chancellor. I’m deeply honored, humbled, and, yes, a little nervous, but mostly I’m excited about the opportunity to serve. Here’s why.

I am moved by the mission. The 14 public universities that make up this great system play a vital role for the people and Commonwealth of my ancestral home, Pennsylvania. For more than 100,000 students—and I’m proud to now say ‘our students’—the universities provide a bridge to opportunity; an affordable and reliable pathway into the middle class and beyond. These same universities are also the lifeblood of countless in communities across Pennsylvania. Nearly 90 percent of our students are residents who stay here to live and work after they graduate, making our universities the engines that drive economic development and strengthen the very fabric of our society.

I am energized by the chance to be part of a conversation that will reshape public higher education so it survives and thrives to benefit our students and their families. Most of public higher education is facing serious challenges—escalating costs, declining enrollments, unsustainable business models, and erosion in the trust the public has had in the value of a university degree. But unlike much of public higher education, the State System is confronting these challenges head-on. The System Redesign that was launched two years ago, when the State System took a hard look at itself, has pushed it to the forefront of innovation nationally. It is comprehensive in its scope, ambitious, and critically focused on the needs of our students today and going forward.

Under the bold leadership of Chair Cindy Shapira, the Board of Governors is fully aligned and has embarked deliberately and purposefully upon a journey that will reshape the State System to be a beacon on the hill for public university systems nationally.

I am eager to work closely with the Board, as well as with the faculty, staff, and trustees at the universities of this great public system as we solidify our future and fulfill our public obligation to our students and our state. I have met only a small handful of you, but those of you who I have met have inspired me with your stories, your commitment, your optimism, your creativity. To a person, you appear to me to be undaunted by the challenges that the universities and our students face. Indeed, these challenges seem, if anything, to have re-energized your creativity, your zeal for innovation, and your hunger to move with the agility and speed that will be necessary to find real and lasting solutions in a timely manner.

And I am committed 150% to ensuring that our students—all of you—have access to a great, affordable education and that you are able to succeed by acquiring a degree that will be your ticket to a sustaining career; to realizing the dreams you have for yourselves and your families.

I can’t help myself. This is my passion, and it has been for years. And student success is more than just graduating with a degree; it means leaving one of our universities fully prepared with everything you need—the education, the skills, and the ability to work collaboratively—to productively engage in the new economy and to effectively contribute to your communities.

And let me be crystal clear. I do mean all of our students, regardless of zip code or background—all must and all will have an opportunity to succeed. 

We have high expectations of all of our students. We must now set high expectations for ourselves and let nothing stand in the way of our hitting the mark. What matters most to you, matters most to us.

I can’t wait to get started.

Onward.