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Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year! And Happy Beginning of the Spring Semester!

It has been wonderful to see students return to campus after our extended Christmas break. I hope that everyone was able to spend some time with family and loved ones.

Given the unmistakably wintery weather that we are experiencing, it feels like a misnomer right now to call this the Spring semester. Nonetheless, our second semester is well under way and the month of January was filled with activities. I highlight just a few of them below, but please read the rest of this Newsletter for all the wonderful things that are happening on campus. 

New full-time, transfer, and continuing education students were welcomed to the College with the traditional Spring semester Blazer Day on January 15. As we approach Census Day, the collaborative, cross-campus efforts to attract new students and retain current ones seem to be paying off. The last report provided by the Office of Institutional Research points to a year-over-year increase in both headcount and full-time-equivalent enrollment. Strategic partnerships that attract new students to graduate programs, in particular, have fueled much of the growth. As I have stated previously, recruitment and retention efforts involve every faculty and staff across the College. Therefore, my gratitude goes to everyone for these results, especially Academic Affairs, the Office of Enrollment Management and Marketing, and Student Affairs which have worked collaboratively to spearhead these efforts. 

The D’Amour Center for Faculty Teaching Excellence held a well-attended Adjunct Faculty Appreciation Night on January 15. Professors Amanda Garcia and Carly Cavanaugh made a very informational presentation on Utilizing AI and Chatbots in the classroom. Thank you to Professor Tom Cerasulo and Annette Ziomek for coordinating this event which brought the campus together to recognize the very valuable contributions of our adjunct faculty members. 

In addition to the usual beginning-of-the-semester activities, the School of Nursing held a White Coat Ceremony for Doctor or Nursing Practice students who reached this important milestone in their study program. Moreover, under the guidance of VP of Academic Affairs, Dr. Joyce Hampton, Nursing also launched the sixth cohort for the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Haiti Nursing Continuing Education Program. Elms College faculty and staff participated remotely, while our partners from the School of Nursing at the Episcopalian University of Haiti were in person with program participants. Kudos to Dean Julie Beck and Interim Associate Dean Anne-Marie Albano for both of these uplifting activities!

I invited the Staff Council and the Faculty Governance Committee to join the January 21st President’s Cabinet meeting, as we continued to debrief on the results of the Climate Survey which focused on ascertaining students’, faculty’s, and staff’s perception of our Sense of Community at Elms College. As a next step, the Institutional Diversity Committee will also discuss the results of the Climate Survey. The purpose of all those discussions is to generate concrete ideas for continuously improving our already strong commitment to mission and sense of community at the College. 

One of the early ideas that came from brainstorming sessions on improving climate and community at Elms College is the importance of reinstating the Elms Leadership Academy.  Thanks to the efforts of Vice President of Finance and Administration, Brett Carroll, and Director of Human Resources, Cheryl Smith, the Elms Leadership Academy was reconvened for their first session of the calendar year 2026 on January 23. It was my pleasure to serve as their guest speaker and to engage with leaders and managers across the College in conversation about the frame, style, and source of their own leadership. 

For the past few weeks, Cabinet members have been preparing for meetings of the Board Committees in preparation for the meeting of the Board of Trustees which will be held on Friday February 13. 

The month of February will also be filled with campus activities. I invite you to mark your calendar for the Black Experience Summit which will be held on Friday, February 20. Elms College is proud to offer to Western Massachusetts this annual gathering of academic experts and community thought leaders on the experience of African Americans and the African Diaspora in the United States. We look forward to seeing participation of students, faculty, and staff at this signature Elms College event, which is spearheaded by Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Equity, Dr. Tyra Good. 

As a final note, the Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams and the Men’s Volleyball team are currently in session. Our student-athletes have shared with many of us how excited they are when they see faculty and staff at their games. I know that the timing of the games does not work for many people’s schedules. However, if you ever get a chance to check them out, do so even for a few minutes. The last games that I attended were quite exciting. 

Thank you for everyone’s contributions to a good kick off of the spring semester at Elms College. As I participate in the national higher education gatherings that typically take place at this time of the year, I am reminded that the environment for higher education will continue to present many challenges for all of us, especially for small institutions. Our most vulnerable students will feel most acutely the social and economic impacts of the national environment. We have been able to make progress in these uncertain times, due to our sense of innovation and our united focus on advancing the mission entrusted to us by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The coming months will continue to require our common sense of purpose, determination to serve our students, and attention to one another. Thank you to all that you continue to do for our students and for each other. 

Harry E. Dumay, Ph.D., MBA

President