With the demands of being president, the opportunity for quality time with our
students is rare. However, when those moments arise, I am convinced that these
young people are Villanova’s greatest strength. We have an incredibly talented, distinguished and diverse group of students, and recently I had the privilege of sitting down
with six of them for an in-depth conversation. It would be an understatement to say
that this was the highlight of my week. In the pages of this report you will meet Abby,
Ameer, Dave, Kelly, Tanya and Will. I invite you to share in my experience of learning
what Villanova means to them.
Over the past year, the Villanova experience has included our year-long celebration
to commemorate the Jubilee Year of the Apostle Paul, when we welcomed to campus
some of the world’s most distinguished Pauline scholars. Our students shared in the
exhilaration of the last-second basket scored by Scottie Reynolds, which sent our
men’s basketball team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament. Students had
the opportunity to attend on-campus events such as Villanova’s International
SustainAbility Conference, featuring keynote speaker Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which
drew attendees from around the world.
As a University, we are charged with creating future leaders. We send our students forth
armed with knowledge gained in the classroom, relationships formed on campus and
beyond, and values reinforced through service experiences. These characteristics help
to define the unique, Augustinian education that Villanova offers and help to prepare
our students to meet the challenges they will face beyond campus.
Leading this effort are the deans of our five colleges and schools. Each of them will
describe educational offerings that are not only intellectually rigorous, but are rooted in
the realities of today’s world.
Our commitment to enrolling exceptional students and to helping them afford the costs
of a Villanova education has not wavered even in a year of tremendous economic challenges. That commitment included a nine percent increase in the amount of available
University-funded financial assistance for 2009–2010. Due to our long-standing
financial discipline, we were able to move forward in a carefully considered, thoughtful
manner with initiatives that most directly impacted the daily lives of our students.
The latter included the opening of Driscoll Hall—the new home of the College of
Nursing, where students hone their skills in state-of-the-art, hospital-like lab settings
featuring patient simulators—and the transformation of Fedigan Hall into Villanova’s
first “green dorm.”
Villanova has faced periods of economic uncertainty more than a few times since opening
in 1842. Each time, the University has emerged stronger and more committed to
its Augustinian ideals. Over the past year, our faculty and staff have shown a renewed
commitment to work efficiently and collaboratively while sharing talents, ideas and
resources—underscoring the fact that our sense of community, along with our
outstanding students, are Villanova’s greatest assets.
