President William A. Shields Delivers 18th

Annual Convocation Keynote Speech

TITUSVILLE, Sept. 7 – The University of Pittsburgh at Titusville held its 18^th Annual Convocation on September 1 with a special keynote delivery by new President William A. Shields. 

President Shields began by extending a warm welcome to new and returning faculty, staff and students, members of the UPT Advisory Board and area dignitaries.  He recognized Dr. Margaret Peaslee, Vice President of Academic Affairs, for her 13 years of dedicated service to UPT as she plans to retire in December.

Dr. Shields talked about the meaning and the symbolic importance behind the word “convocation” as a “time when we are called together as a campus community to mark the formal beginning of another academic year.”  He said, “It is a time of renewal, of beginning again, of possibility and anticipation.”

The President then spoke of his vision for the UPT campus.  The following is an excerpt from his remarks:

“I begin by offering four basic assumptions … four givens … that will guide our common endeavor as we, together, pursue the future of this good place.

1.  We will build upon the successes of the past and the strong foundation that is now in place. The University of Pittsburgh at Titusville is a great place, doing great things.  It has an extremely able faculty and staff, composed of people who are committed to its mission and to the students they serve.

Having survived the threat of closure, having met the challenge of declining enrollments, and having demonstrated its importance to this community and region, the institution is now on an even keel. Its graduates are successful; it has proven that it can successfully pursue needed curricular initiatives; and its image and reputation are as high as they have been in its history.

This is an excellent platform upon which we can build and from which we can take strategic direction.

2.  We will emphasize our unique institutional and human assets. The University of Pittsburgh at Titusville is a small institution within a large, nationally renowned university. As such, it offers students the best of both worlds.

Its smallness means that students are treated as individuals, not numbers. Professors and staff know them personally and are genuinely committed to their education and welfare.

Yet, as part of a major university, tremendous technological, bibliographical and financial resources underpin the educational programs that are available to students.  And a prestigious Pitt degree is a Pitt degree, whether it’s earned at Titusville or Oakland.

UPT is a primarily two year school, but it is much more than a community college. All of its curricular programs are offered within a highly academic and scholarly environment with broad-based requirements that inform and positively influence the way in which students are taught and how they learn.

UPT has the most diversified student body in the Pitt system, indeed, it is one of the most diverse in the Commonwealth. This not only lends a “real world” character to the campus, it also provides an excellent environment for cultural and ethnic understanding and appreciation.

These and other institutional features not only make UPT unique, they give the institution a character that distinguishes it from many undergraduate institutions and makes it a “good fit” for a variety of students.

3.  We will embark upon significant institutional and curricular initiatives based upon how those initiatives comply with our educational mission, the demonstrated need for the program and anticipated resources.  We cannot be all things to all people. We cannot chase every academic program or curricular fad that comes along simply out of expediency. Educational quality must guide our decisions and catalog fiction and empty recruitment promises must be avoided at all cost. What we plan and what we do should always be based upon a thorough assessment of feasibility, anticipated outcomes and effect on institutional mission.

4.  We will work together in the spirit of cooperation and shared responsibility.   I firmly believe that running a university, pursuing its mission, developing and nurturing its programs is a common endeavor … a joint effort to which all contribute to one degree or another.  Faculty, staff, administration, advisory board members … and … yes, in some cases, students … all have appropriate parts to play. 

Whatever the challenge, whatever the task, it is best approached in a cooperative, collegial and transparent manner … in an atmosphere based upon open communication, trust and mutual respect.

Within this context then, let me suggest an agenda for UPT in the years ahead.  This agenda has eight items.

ITEM ONE:   A primary objective, in the short term, is to achieve an FTE enrollment of 500 students.

This is a number that the University has said is attainable given our current resources and facilities.  The presumption being once that threshold is reached, additional resources and facilities will be forthcoming for us to move to the next. 

Therefore, it makes sense for us to achieve this number as quickly as possible, because doing so will facilitate our achievement of other significant initiatives.

ITEM TWO:       Over the past several years our enrollments have been very good and we have been quite successful in attracting students from other parts of the state.  In addition to this, I believe that we should put additional emphasis on recruiting students from this region … students who may have an interest in the degree programs specific to this campus.

This will require us to develop a student recruitment strategy that would include a greater emphasis on regular visits to and contacts with high schools in Northwest Pennsylvania.

ITEM THREE:  Building on the success of our cooperative baccalaureate program with Pitt-Bradford, I envision the establishment of similar programs with other campuses in the Pitt system and with other four-year institutions in the region.

Among other benefits, the availability of these programs on our campus would provide a viable, alternative opportunity for our students to complete a baccalaureate degree here rather than having to transfer to a campus elsewhere, if that may be their desire. 

Such an alternative would have positive effect on our enrollment as well.

ITEM FOUR:     The robust enrollments and on-going interest in our PTA Associate Degree program and new associate degree program in nursing, demonstrate our ability to respond to needs in these fields. Therefore, I believe that we should explore the possibility of establishing similar programs in other areas in the field of allied health.

ITEM FIVE:         As a state-related institution, we have an obligation to serve the needs of our region, not only through academic, degree offerings, but with a variety of continuing education and certification opportunities of citizens of the area.  We, of course, offer such services now, but I believe that we should explore ways and means by which we could increase and enhance such programs as needed.

Indeed, we have a vehicle in place to facilitate the delivery of these programs … the Barco Center.

ITEM SIX:     I applaud the initiative, begun last year, to establish a UPT Alumni Association and I strongly endorse further efforts to nurture and expand it. 

UPT is just 42 years old, but in that brief period, some 1400 students have received associate degrees or certificates or have relocated to the Oakland campus.  So, it is time … time to integrate our alumni, in a formal way, into the life of the institution. 

Our alumni are the products of our educational effort and they can be our best ambassadors. They also can be valuable members of the team and we should make every effort to welcome them on board.

ITEM SEVEN:  There is a significant relationship, a symbiotic relationship, between a college or university and the community and region in which it is located.  Maintaining and nurturing this “town and gown” connection is important and mutually beneficial.

As an institution and through the extensive participation of individual faculty, staff and students, UPT has had an outstanding record of community involvement.

This involvement, this relationship, must not only continue, it should continually expand and grow, and we should make the most of every opportunity to establish cooperative liaisons with a wide variety of community groups and organizations.

Being a good corporate citizen and encouraging community involvement, on the part of faculty, staff and students, should be an on-going emphasis as we move ahead.

ITEM EIGHT:   Demonstrate to Oakland that UPT is and will continue to be a significant player in the overall mission of the University of Pittsburgh.

From a certain perspective this in an over-arching goal in all of this, indeed it is, at least in part, a basic motivation for this entire agenda.

Over and over again, we have shown that this is place where good things are being done and will continue to be done … with integrity, relevance and quality. We are the “Little Engine that could.”  We are and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

CONCLUSION:

This is an ambitious agenda and, while other objectives could be added, but I trust that it gives a sense of the course I see UPT taking in the years to come.

Realistically, none of this agenda will be achieved overnight; its achievement will require sustained, common effort over time.

Just as importantly, the initiatives I am suggesting will require additional financial investment in personnel and facilities. And, while added tuition and appropriations revenue will help, the reality is that we will have to redouble our grant writing efforts as well as emphasizing consistent and sustained fund-raising and advancement activities.

UPT has been blessed with some very generous donors over the years. We are eternally grateful and trust that their generosity will continue, but in fairness to them and in light of future needs, we should strive to cultivate additional donors, giving new benefactors the opportunity to invest in our education enterprise. I intend to spend a good deal of my time doing just that.

So, it will take time and additional resources. There are sure to be other challenges and obstacles, and our course may have to be modified along the way.  But I am convinced that these things can be done, and I hope you’re convinced as well.

I am eager to begin … eager, together with you … to begin to write a new chapter in the “UPT Story.” 

For my part, I intend to be an active, visible and articulate spokesman for the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville … in the Pitt system, and in this community, the region and the Commonwealth.

There is work to be done … challenges to be met … new avenues to explore … not to mention fun to be had. 

I ask you to join me … let’s do it together.

Thank you.”

            Following President Shields’ remarks, new members were inducted into Phi Theta Kappa Honorary Society:  Emily S. Alsdorf, Jennifer Lynn Foltz, Julia Ann Poling, Heather Michelle Boward, Debora Jeanne Morobitto, and Andrew Paul Schneider.

            Immediately after the recessional, a reception was held in the lobby of Henne Auditorium, providing an opportunity for students and other guests of the Convocation to meet and talk with the new President.

# # #

News Releases