Soon after Marcia Welsh arrived at East Stroudsburg University as president in 2012, she asked staff members when the university held its annual gathering with community and business leaders to assess the region\u2019s challenges and strengths.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody kind of gave me a blank stare,\u201d recalls President Welsh. \u201cSo I said, \u2018OK, we\u2019re going to do this next year.\u2019 In the fall of 2013, we had our first Economic Outlook Summit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years in, the annual summit attracts 300 people from numerous professions and sectors of the community to talk about issues such as housing, education and jobs in Monroe County and collaborate on solutions to problems.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good for our region to have those conversations and not just assume everything is OK,\u201d Dr. Welsh said.<\/p>\n
Shaking things up is a part of Welsh\u2019s DNA. She has used her time as President of ESU to encourage innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship at the university and make it everyone\u2019s mission to ensure students get a great education that is accessible and affordable.<\/p>\n
To that end, she started a strategic planning process that is now titled Students First: Innovate ESU<\/em>, which has helped change the ethos on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019re much more innovative and creative than we were, much more willing to collaborate,\u201d Welsh said. \u201cThe strategic plan broke down silos and focused on making ESU a student-centered campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Today that\u2019s evident in initiatives such as a group of Art + Design students starting their own company, New Mind Design, recent master\u2019s degree recipient Blaise Delfino earning the top prize in the State System and TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competitions for his invention of adjustable earplugs, and a \u201cJoin the Flock\u201d project of designer socks for charity influenced by ESU faculty including Art + Design Associate Professor David Mazure, Computer Science Professor Dr. Mary DeVito and Emerita Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education Dr. Patricia Pinciotti.<\/p>\n While Welsh was provost and vice president of academic affairs at Towson University in Maryland, she had designated money for 3D printing equipment and brought that same enthusiasm for additive manufacturing to ESU. Welsh realized early on that 3D printing would be a key skill for Art + Design students in today\u2019s global economy and channeled a large donation toward buying 3D printing equipment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were one of the first three institutions in the world to become a Stratasys Superlab. The other two were NYU and Columbia. It\u2019s important to know that students who come to ESU get an education that rivals some much larger institutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur faculty embraced the new technology and it has changed the way the Art + Design program approaches the student learning experience and the way they do business,\u201d she said. \u201c3D printing really has opened the door of opportunity for our students. Right now, we\u2019re identifying how to take the next step so that 3D printing can work across the colleges in other programs and disciplines. With all the challenges that face us in higher education, we have to think differently in our delivery; education is no longer one straight line from entering your first year of study to graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s that kind of innovation that has helped lead ESU to three consecutive years of enrollment growth at a time when many colleges, including others among the 14 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, have seen declines.<\/p>\n When Welsh arrived, the ESU Foundation was facing numerous challenges, but with the help of trustees and community members, it has turned around.<\/p>\n \u201cWe now have fabulous leadership and employees in the ESU Foundation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s reflected in the increase in the number and amount of scholarships the Foundation gives to students each year. Since 2013, the ESU Foundation has increased the total amount of scholarship money disbursed by 41 percent and the number of scholarships awarded by 15 percent.<\/p>\n Welsh so believes in the Students First<\/em> strategic plan that she\u2019s become known on campus for fixing problems she learns about through her direct contact with students using Twitter. In Spring 2013, she saw that students were upset over long lines at the Student Enrollment Center, waiting to take care of business.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I walked over to see things for myself. I said \u2018What\u2019s up?\u2019\u201d Welsh recalls. She learned the students were waiting for a physical copy of an intent to graduate form they needed. She asked at the Student Enrollment Center, \u2018Why can\u2019t they access form online?\u201d Shortly after, the form was placed online and the problem went away.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can really tell a lot about what\u2019s going on with your student body if you follow them on social media,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s that kind of zeal to cut red tape that cultivates an atmosphere where students feel like more than just a number.<\/p>\n \u201cWhenever I talk to faculty and staff members I always make clear that enrollment and retention is everyone\u2019s job,\u201d she said. \u201cHow this campus looks, how people perceive you on the phone, how you greet them if they come up to your desk, \u00a0everything we do will be a part of the decision that\u2019s made on whether to attend or to stay at ESU.\u201d<\/p>\n In keeping with that mission, Welsh has signed dozens of articulation agreements with other colleges to accept their credits when students transfer.\u00a0 In 2015, she and ESU Provost Joanne Z. Bruno, J.D., partnered with Northampton Community College to fast-track the completion of a bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration and provide a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing at NCC\u2019s Bethlehem Township campus.<\/p>\n \u201cSome students at Northampton are location-bound — they have child care issues, a job, or 101 other reasons why driving 30-40 minutes to East Stroudsburg might be more than they can do,\u201d Welsh said. \u201cThey can\u2019t continue their education. So we\u2019ve moved the programs to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of ESU\u2019s strategic plan has also been to engage more with the community, and that mission came starkly into focus during Hurricane Sandy when the university was asked to open its doors to house people fleeing the storm.<\/p>\n \u201cMy immediate response was \u2018Of course we would,\u2019 Welsh said. \u00a0\u201cWhy wouldn\u2019t you help your community?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Koehler Fieldhouse was transformed into a mega-shelter with cots set up on the basketball court and the Red Cross and university volunteers doing everything from bringing in food to reading to the children of displaced families.<\/p>\n Welsh sleeps about five or six hours a night and that\u2019s likely the only way she could be at all the campus and community events she attends.<\/p>\n \u201cI think one of the most gratifying things for me is to see the number of students that I know or I\u2019ve touched walk across the commencement stage and give me a hug,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Welsh is proud of the growing diversity on campus and the way the university community makes people of all races, nationalities and backgrounds feel welcome. To reach as many potential students as possible Welsh initiated a three-year branding and marketing campaign that produced new institutional and athletic logos, a new mascot \u2013 the Warrior \u2013 and a great new tagline: Where Warriors Belong.<\/p>\n That effort has resulted in a resurgence of Warrior pride, with students embracing the new logos on T-shirts and cheering the mascot at events.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably more than any other university I\u2019ve ever been affiliated with, today our students wear our gear, they wear red and black,\u201d Welsh said. \u201cThey\u2019re very proud of being ESU Warriors and I couldn\u2019t be more honored to work for them.\u201d<\/p>\n