Cheyney University Community Develops a Pathway to Excellence

July 7, 2010 - PRLog -- The University community is preparing for the next phase in the development of the 173 year old institution.  With the beginning of the construction of the first residence hall in the last 30 years, the campus community discussed how to increase student engagement, how to respond to the needs of its mostly urban student clientele, and how to demonstrate it is improving its overall institutional effectiveness.  President Howard-Vital affirmed that the institution has ended the year “in the black,” and it will begin to repay the funding it has received the State System in order to meet past expenses.  

The Summer Retreat was also scheduled to prepare for the Fall 2010 monitoring report to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the University’s accrediting body in which the University will demonstrate how the newly revised strategic plan- Pathways to Excellence- directs the University’s financial planning, enrollment planning, institutional advancement, and daily activities.

President Howard-Vital expresses a great deal of gratitude to all of those in the University Community who have been working on strategic planning for the last year.  She affirms, “Provost Ivan Banks and Dr. Wesley Pugh have been stalwarts in steering the Strategic Planning Council, since the summer of 2009. I thank them both for their commitment and expertise in leading the Strategic Planning Council.”

In addition to revising the strategic plan, faculty and staff continued their discussions and plans to develop centers of excellence that respond to the workforce needs of the Commonwealth.

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About Cheyney University
Cheyney University is the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education. It is also the only Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). Now celebrating its 26th year, PASSHE comprises Pennsylvania’s 14 public universities, with a combined enrollment of more than 112,500, making it the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. At its inception, Cheyney University of Pennsylvania successfully provided free classical education for qualified young people, and today the university offers baccalaureate degrees in more than 30 disciplines and six master’s degree programs. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.cheyney.edu.