elmsnews

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to summer! It feels like we waited so long for the warmer weather, but it is unmistakably here! I hope everyone is enjoying the start of their summer and staying cool amid the heat wave.

The fiscal year closes with the end of the month of June and the Finance team begins the process of finalizing the accounting for 2024-2025. I would like to take this opportunity to thank and congratulate the entire Elms community for the completion of another successful year in the midst of increasing challenges for our sector. 

The photos included in this edition highlight the vibrancy of the Elms College community during Commencement Week and the many activities that took place in the month of June. Those multiple events were executed without a hitch due to the leadership, attention to details, and team spirit exhibited throughout this campus. They were all due to your commitment and dedication to the success of our students. They created favorable impressions and lasting memories for our students, our alumni, and our business partners. We can all be proud of this collective commitment to excellence and service. I thank each and every one of you who contributed to their successes. 

Incoming Board Chair Kate Kane and I kicked off the month of June attending a workshop for board chairs and presidents organized by the Association of Governing Boards. Subsequently, the College hosted two very successful events: the Alumni Reunion and the Executive Leadership Breakfast. 

• During the first weekend of June, the Institutional Advancement Team welcomed over 140 alumni and honored the Class of ’75 with the Golden Blazer Ceremony. You should know that the alumni who visited the College made a point to express their gratitude to me for the work that faculty and staff do to maintain the reputation of their alma mater for excellence and innovation. 

• On June 11, 190 decision makers from across western Mass attended the 8th Annual Executive Leadership Breakfast featuring guest speaker, Charles D’Amour, Executive Chairman of the Big Y Company. The event beat previous records and surpassed our attendance and sponsorship goals.

Congratulations to the entire Institutional Advancement team, led by VP Bernadette Nowakowski, for coordinating and executing these highly successful events.

We closed out the month of June with Blazer Day, when we welcomed nearly 100 incoming students and their families for orientation, information and advising sessions, and tours. Blazer Day is a collaboration between Enrollment Management and Marketing, Student Affairs, and many volunteers throughout campus. Many thanks to Vice President of Student Affairs Andrew Coston and Dean of Students Teresa Winters for their leadership in organizing the day. The Enrollment Management team continues to work relentlessly on new student recruitment. Our gratitude goes to the entire team for all their efforts. I look forward to the next Blazer Day taking place on July 15.   

Under the leadership of Vice President Joyce Hampton, Academic Affairs has been busy partnering with Enrollment Management to launch new programs this summer or upcoming fall that are contributing to overall enrollment. These include:

• an LPN-BSN that offers a pathway for LPNs to achieve their BS in Nursing through the Kirley School of Continuing Education- many thanks to Dean Julie Beck for spearheading this program;

• an MSW that allows social work students to pursue this graduate degree with a flexible schedule- many thanks to Program Director Autumn Mathias, Prof Maureen Holland, Prof. Scott Hartblay, and the entire Social Work faculty and staff;

• an MAT (Moderate Disabilities concentration) through a collaboration between Elms College and the Springfield Empowerment Zone (SEZP)- many thanks to Executive Director of the Center for Equity in Urban Education Tyra Good and Chair of the Education Division Andrea Hickson-Martin for collaborating on this innovative program;

• an MS in Applied Behavior Analysis through a partnership with The Evergreen Center/Beacon ABA Services Inc. to provide their staff with this high-quality graduate program- many thanks to VP Joyce Hampton and the Social Sciences Division for collaborating on this very innovative partnership;

• an MED (Educational Leadership concentration), a component of the CEUE's original plan to diversify the pipeline of excellent school leaders for Western Mass- many thanks to Executive Director of the Center for Equity in Urban Education Tyra Good, Dean Betty Huckowicz, and Chair of the Education Division Andrea Hickson-Martin for collaborating on this new program. 

As I mentioned in previous emails, the planning for fiscal year 2026 prompted the College to make some very difficult decisions, which are meant to ensure continued financial health for the College in an extremely challenging context. As we steer the College in these turbulent waters, I want to assure you that the College remains steadfast in our commitment to our mission, our charism, and our core values, including our commitment to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, in an effort to unite neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God without distinction. This will be demonstrated through our principles, our policies, and our actions. It starts with continuing to pursue vigorously the objectives that we identified in our PRISM strategic plan, especially under the People, Strength, or Mission pillars. 

If you have questions, I encourage you to ask your direct supervisor and the Cabinet member who oversees your unit. As always, our goal is to foster an open flow of communication to ensure a supportive and collaborative work environment, especially during such a challenging time for all higher education, particularly, small private institutions.

The month of July will include many planning activities, including a Cabinet and Dean retreat. While the work continues, I do hope that you carve out time to take a break this summer to relax, refresh, and enjoy the warm weather with family and friends. Thank you for your unyielding dedication to the College and to our students. You - and all your colleagues- play a vital role in advancing the mission, ever forward. 

I am grateful for all that you do for the College and for one another.

Harry E. Dumay, Ph.D., MBA

President