The Ceremony - University of La Verne

Excerpts from Devorah Lieberman’s Inaugural Address:
ment of Teaching, led the transformation of
the way students are taught in college.
While each of the four symposia focused
on one of La Verne’s four Mission Statement
tenets, much of the day addressed the university’s
commitment to diversity and inclusivity.
By virtue of its heritage and mission, La Verne
is uniquely poised to meet the needs of emerging
demographics that are beginning to define
America’s cities and metropolitan areas.
Few urban or metropolitan universities are
the equal of La Verne in serving the underrepresented.
Half of its students are the first in
their families to attend college, and more than
90 percent of them continue as sophomores,
weathering the uncertainties of their first year
of study at a university. Fully 70 percent earn
their baccalaureate degrees within six years, a
figure significantly above the national average
for a population as diverse as La Verne’s.
Why is the university so successful? During
inaugural presentations, three reasons
8 VOICE Summer/Fall 2011
COVER STORY
“Dr. Stephen Morgan, committed leader of this institution for 26 years, I salute you for the vision you brought
to the University of La Verne when named president in 1985. I thank you; we all thank you for your unwavering
and continuing support through this transition, enabling us to continue La Verne’s successful trajectory.”
Continued from Page 7
“We live in an age I label, ‘a crisis of confidence,’ which
cuts across government, health care, business, industry,
financial, and, yes, even higher education.”
emerged. The faculty and staff are inordinately
dedicated to mentoring students and
helping them succeed. The mission of the
university fosters lifelong learning, diversity,
civic engagement and values of spirituality,
themes that resonate with traditional and nontraditional
students who want better lives for
themselves, their families, and their children.
Anyone walking around the campus center
through Homecoming Saturday’s fair
of campus organizations would have found
it easy to feel the earnestness of students to
make a difference on campus and in their
communities. There was also an air of fun.
For them, opportunities are boundless. This
is the culture that La Verne has nurtured
since its founding in 1891 and which it is
committed to expand in the future through
two new programs Lieberman will initiate:
The 2020 Vision and The La Verne Experience.
Concluding her address, Lieberman asserted:
“Today is our moment…tomorrow is our future.”
Pure rhetoric from a new president? Not if
you listened to the post-inaugural comments of
faculty and staff, of delegates who represented
Devorah Lieberman repeats an oath given by the
Honorable Manuel Ramirez, left, and also gets a hug from
her predecessor, Steve Morgan.
Tom Zasadzinski images
45 institutions during the ceremony, of alumni
and parents, and students who participated.
Clearly, they believe that synergy among
trustees, faculty, and staff – encouraged by the
new president – is elevating the university to
a position of national significance that will allow
La Verne to attract the human and financial
resources needed to achieve its vision and
expand its educational opportunities to populations
in Southern California and beyond.
A commencement is a beginning. So too
is an inauguration. But there is a difference.
Commencement exercises embark students
into a future of myriad opportunities and
uncertainties. An inauguration is the celebration
of expanded vision and prospects for an
institution and new energy to achieve its potentials,
under a new and inspired leader.
And so, the inauguration of La Verne’s new
president, and the accompanying Homecoming
Weekend testified to the fact that La
Verne is now launched on a steeply upward
trajectory. As President Lieberman wrapped
up her her inaugural address, she issued one
of her first directives: “Fasten your seatbelts!”
“Over the past 60 years, our country’s belief in
the abilities of our social institutions to provide
long-term solutions to the problems of our complex
society has undergone significant erosion.”
“Solutions to the crises of our time are sitting before me
in this room. Tempting though it may be to rely on social
institutions, it is important to keep in mind that those
institutions are composed of individuals like you and me.”
If anyone was waiting for Devorah Lieberman
to make a statement about academics,
they can now get on with their lives.
With the assembly of an educational
Who’s Who for the academic symposia that
preceded her inauguration, and a focus on
the four tenets of the university’s Mission
Statement, Lieberman demonstrated that
she’s not only serious about education, but
that she enters her presidency with a healthy
respect for tradition.
The observations and outcomes from those
learned discussions encompassing lifelong
learning, spirituality, community and civic engagement,
plus inclusivity and diversity publicly
framed the context for the university’s
120-year history. They will also assist in structuring
the institution’s strategic “2020 Vision”
and provide the foundation for “The La Verne
Experience,” the emerging integration of curriculum
and co-curriculum for all students.
“The university commits itself to promoting
education that facilitates lifelong learning,”
said Mark Goor, Dean of the College
of Education & Organizational Leadership,
in opening the panel on that relevant topic.
“Teaching students how to learn, how to
think critically, to do constructive research,
and to access and integrate information in
order to prepare them for continued personal
and career growth is our priority.”
Employers demand that employees be
nimble in adapting to evolving knowledge,
technology, and social, economic, and environmental
conditions. A liberal education,
said symposia speaker Carol Geary Schneider,
president of the Association of American
Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), has been
INAUGURATION
proven to provide the most effective foundation
to succeed in this economy.
Schneider presented data from a 2010 survey
showing that employers want colleges to
place more emphasis on, among other learning
outcomes, teamwork in diverse groups
and global and intercultural knowledge
along with oral and written communication.
“Diversity is an integral part of what the
University of La Verne is and what the university
would like to be,” said Abe Helou,
Dean of the College of Business & Public
Management, who introduced the inclusivity/diversity
panel.
Combined, the elements of community
engagement, when coupled with the notion
of civic involvement – the duties of citizens
“Challenge lights the fire of change and opportunity. We
will challenge ourselves and our colleagues, seizing this
opportunity, embracing our institutional niche, and creating
a profound collective vision.”
Mission-Driven Symposia Make Bold Academic Statements
By John Ross
“Our strengths will help to define our identity: a diverse
demographic student body; strong community-based foundational
values; our geographic location; and relevant
curriculum, as well as outstanding faculty and staff.”
Dr. Carol Geary Schneider talks about lifelong learning in the Ann & Steve Morgan
Auditorium during one of four academic symposia held on campus on Oct. 21 — part
of Presidential Inauguration activities.
Jeanine Hill image
to participate in the governance of their
communities — create a powerful force for
public good and personal growth. Both elements
are essential components of the university’s
mission.
That these symposia featured renowned
leaders in higher education underscores that
the university is on a path to achieve national
recognition for its ability to infuse the tenets
of its Mission Statement throughout every
student’s experience. In so doing, La Verne
has the opportunity to become a new model
of an urban university.
To read more about the academic
symposia and view a complete list
of guest speakers, please visit: www.
laverne.edu/voice/symposia
“In 2011, we are much more complex, but with the same
integrity and commitment to academic excellence and
institutional values. On this solid foundation, we will
be intentional, forward-thinking, bold and successful.”
Summer/Fall 2011 VOICE 9