ESU Foundation to Host Retirement Celebration for Dr. Marcia G. Welsh

Marcia Welsh

Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on April 14, 2022, No Comments

The East Stroudsburg University Foundation will host a retirement celebration for Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, 13th president of East Stroudsburg University, on Thursday, May 19, 2022, from 5-10 p.m. The event will be held at Terraview at Stroudsmoor Country Inn in Stroudsburg, Pa. Proceeds from the event will benefit student scholarships.

Dr. Welsh assumed the role as the first female president of East Stroudsburg University in April 2012. For eight years, she served through dynamic leadership and achieved many milestones until her retirement in July 2020. Delayed two years due to the pandemic, this event will allow Dr. Welsh to once again gather with friends and colleagues. “We are honored to host this event to celebrate Dr. Welsh and her many achievements during her tenure at East Stroudsburg University,” said Rich Santoro, ESU Foundation executive director. “Above all, Dr. Welsh put our students first and it was evident in all she accomplished.”

ESU’s many accomplishments under Dr. Welsh’s leadership included: the addition of 3-D printing and additive manufacturing to the curriculum; the institution of two new sports to ESU athletics, women’s wrestling and acrobatics and tumbling; building a good neighbor program within the East Stroudsburg community which enabled administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni, police and borough leadership to more closely connect to local residents and neighbors; supporting the incorporation of esports in the University’s academic curriculum; the approval for ESU’s two doctoral degrees (in Educational Leadership and Administration and Health Sciences); the opening of the institution’s Lehigh Valley Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; establishing collaborative degree programs with The Commonwealth Medical College and Marywood University, both in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the College of Sport and Health Science at Ritsumeikan University in Shiga, Japan; announcing the launch of LYME-AID, the first commercial licensing agreement of faculty/student research at ESU and within Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education; opening a Student Veterans Center at ESU; initiating ESU’s annual Economic Outlook Summit to raise awareness of the economic development initiatives underway in Monroe County and throughout the Pocono region; launching a new website, Made in the Poconos, in cooperation with the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau, Pennsylvania CareerLink and the Pocono Mountains Economic Development Corporation to promote and encourage residents and visitors to shop locally; assisting Pocono Medical Center in the facilitation of focus groups and the creation of an online platform to match residents with health professionals, social service agencies, workshops and other events geared toward health concerns; partnering with Stroudsburg Little League for two FieldTurf surfaces and other facilities upgrades for ESU baseball, softball and local athletes at the Creekview complex; the establishment of the Dr. Jane Huffman Wildlife Genetics Institute in the ESU Innovation Center; and the creation of a state-of-the-art marine aquaculture facility in the Warren E. ’55 and Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center.

To RSVP for the event, please visit www.esufoundation.org/Welsh-Celebration2022 or call (570) 422-3156. The cost is $150 per person. Those who cannot attend but would like to make an additional donation to support student scholarships can do so online, by phone, or via mail.

About the ESU Foundation: Since 1986, the ESU Foundation has secured and stewarded private gifts and grants that benefit ESU and its students. Every year, thousands of generous donors support the Foundation and the university in its mission of educating students, research, and public service. For more information on the ESU Foundation, call (570) 422-3333 or visit www.esufoundation.org.