President Cervelli opens academic year with annual address to faculty and staff

August 18, 2017 (Notre Dame, Ind.) — In her second forum address to Saint Mary's faculty and staff on Wednesday, August 16, President Jan Cervelli offered an overview of the state of the College, including recent successes, current challenges, and her vision for continue progress.

"I hope you all share the enthusiasm I'm feeling," President Cervelli said, "Not only for the year ahead, but for the forseeable future of Saint Mary's.

Excerpts from President Cervelli’s address:

STATEMENT ON CHARLOTTESVILLE

The events in Charlottesville, Virginia last weekend were shocking, dismaying and, at the same time, all-too-familiar in these times of such deep division and discord. As Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia recently said, racism is a “poison of the soul” and our country’s “original sin.” Let us be leaders in healing, unsparing in our repudiation of this stain on the spirit, and generous in our support for those who fall victim to it. We have been fortunate here to maintain a peaceful and welcoming environment, but I ask you to bear witness on campus, to report on any incidents of harassment or threats that arise to ensure everyone’s safety and adherence to our highest ideals. The Saint Mary’s community reaffirms our unequivocal commitment to inclusivity and multicultural diversity among faculty, staff, and students.

NEW LEADERSHIP

It is my pleasure to formally introduce Dr. Nancy Nekvasil as interim provost and senior vice president of academic affairs, who began July 1. Nancy has served as a member of Saint Mary’s biology department for more than 30 years, during which she demonstrated outstanding leadership to her students, department, and the College. As many of you can attest, Nancy has assumed the role with her usual boundless energy and enthusiasm. The search for a permanent provost will begin in early September, with the hope of having the new chief academic officer announced early next year and in place by July 1, 2018. On September 1, we will welcome a new attorney, Cristal Brisco, whose deep appreciation of Saint Mary’s mission make her superbly qualified. Cristal has been recognized as a rising star in Indiana Super Lawyers (the Rising Stars list commends no more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in each state). Cristal was also named to Lawyers of Color’s “Hot List” in 2013. She joins us from Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s office where she serves as the city of South Bend’s Chief Legal Officer.

THE “THREE ES” AND TEAM RECRUIT

You’ll hear me talk a lot about what I call the three Es — Excellence, Enrollment, Endowment. These intertwined areas represent the core of where we will direct our focus over the coming year. A top priority is the development of a comprehensive recruitment and retention strategy called “Team Recruit.” College students are changing, and the new population carefully evaluates how institutions relate to them. Team Recruit is about our ability to innovate, to respond to changing demographic needs, while remaining true to Saint Mary’s and to the traditions that we’ve inherited. We need the collective skills, abilities, and expertise of our faculty, staff, and administrators to boost our enrollment and Saint Mary’s value proposition.

STRATEGIC PLANNING

Since our strategic planning process kicked off last spring, we have received 50-plus “innovative ideas” to be vetted in strategic plan subcommittees this fall. Already, Innovation Teams have been working on shaping new initiatives and programs including “Women in Health and Sciences” and “Environmental Studies.” There is discussion on growing opportunities for every student to engage with faculty in research, scholarship, or creative works. We’re also working on creating a Center for Research — an extension of the College’s Symposium for Research and Creative Scholarship spearheaded by Associate Professor Laura Williamson Ambrose last April. Work will also begin in earnest this fall around a Center for Women’s Leadership tentatively called, “Women of Action,” which will include collaborative projects with the Sisters of the Holy Cross.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

This year, Saint Mary’s welcomes students from across the country and all over the world, with diverse backgrounds and far-ranging talents and interests (20 percent of the class of 2021 comes from historically underrepresented groups). We will continue to strengthen our efforts to attract and retain faculty, staff, and students of color. This has been a challenge in the past. Diversity and Inclusion consultant Dr. Rodmon King returns to campus for Faculty Development Day to discuss the implementation of recommendations he made to Saint Mary’s last April on diversity awareness issues, and how best to move forward in the near term and beyond. With Dr. King’s guidance, Saint Mary’s will increase our commitment to diversity and inclusion efforts. These are core institutional values that align with the College’s mission and must be engaged as such.

ANGELA ATHLETIC & WELLNESS COMPLEX

Saint Mary’s new field house opened this week for use by fall athletes, and I'm pleased to report $25 million-plus in renovations to the Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex will be completed in January 2018, three months ahead of schedule. The complex will house an elevated track, strength and conditioning space for athletic teams, space to accommodate events such as convocations and community functions, health and counseling services (relocated from Holy Cross Hall), a café and social area, and cardiovascular and weight training equipment for the campus community.

About Saint Mary's College: Celebrating over 175 years of empowering women to make a difference in the world, Saint Mary’s College is recognized as a pioneer and continued force in the education of women. A Catholic, liberal arts institution in Notre Dame, Indiana, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate academic programs and also offers co-educational master’s degrees.

Contact for News Media: Haleigh Ehmsen, Media Relations Associate, Saint Mary’s College, hehmsen@saintmarys.edu (574) 284-5343

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