Setting the pace for new opportunities

We recently built on our commitment to increase opportunities for students to pursue a Bloomsburg University degree through a partnership with Lehigh Carbon Community College that will serve as a model for other PASSHE universities.

Donald Snyder, Lehigh Carbon’s president, and I formalized a program-to-program articulation agreement for students who earn an associate’s degree in early childhood and elementary education to seamlessly transition into our bachelor’s of education program, either at our Bloomsburg campus or at Lehigh Carbon’s Morgan Center in Tamaqua. This allows students to pursue their higher education goals closer to home while receiving a high-quality BU education.

More opportunities are to come as BU will sign similar agreements later this month with Luzerne County Community College and Northampton Community College. At LCCC, similar to the Lehigh Carbon agreement, students will be able to complete the four-year degree at the campus in Nanticoke without traveling to our campus.

These program-to-program articulations are the first of their kind and another example of BU’s leadership in teacher preparation and curriculum innovation. Our outstanding faculty in the College of Education worked creatively and collaboratively with their community college colleagues in developing the curriculum that led to the articulation agreements.

This model should lead to program-to-program articulations in other majors at BU, providing additional seamless pathways for community college students to complete bachelor’s degrees in high-demand fields. In addition, the pathways will increase the number of well-prepared transfer students as we enter a decade in which the number of high school graduates is expected to decline.

BU in focus at the Super Bowl

As we settle in Sunday evening with family and friends to watch the Super Bowl matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, the Bloomsburg University community can be immensely proud to know one of our own is on the playing field representing the best our university has to offer.

Jahri Evans was a star player for our Huskies football team before being drafted in the NFL in 2006, and as the Saints starting offensive lineman, he will take center stage this Sunday in Miami in front of 80,000 fans and an expected 98 million television viewers. Not only has Jahri excelled athletically, he achieved success in the classroom and remains connected to BU through an annual scholarship he established last summer.

Jahri completed his studies while playing for the Saints, graduating in May 2007 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. As a way to acknowledge the importance of his own college education, he has pledged to annually cover tuition and fees for an out-of-state minority student enrolled in BU's Master of Science in clinical athletic training program. The Jahri Evans Scholarship is one of many ways our alumni give back to the university and help ensure more students have opportunities to pursue higher education at Bloomsburg.

During the on-campus announcement of his scholarship in July, Jahri said, "It's always good to help someone in need further their education. Bloomsburg was instrumental in getting me to where I am today. I was brought up to always give back and be grateful for what you have. This is a great program and great place to go to school."

Sunday will cap a great year for Jahri, who had his best season ever as a player for a team having its best season in its 42-year existence. He was named to the NFL Pro Bowl as a starter and recognized as one of the NFL’s overall top players when he was named to its All-Pro Team. Through it all, Jahri never lost touch with BU. His story has been a popular topic in the weeks leading up the Super Bowl covered by more than 200 media outlets, including The New York Times, ESPN, The Sporting News and USA Today, as well as the cover story of our new-look Bloomsburg: The University Magazine. In every article, Jahri made a point to highlight how attending BU impacted his life.

Jahri makes an effort to visit BU every year to meet the team, attend a game or scrimmage and touch base with BU football coach Danny Hale and the coaching staff, his mentors and former professors and friends who are still in the area. We look forward to welcoming him “home” again soon, hopefully as a Super Bowl champion.