Some educational institutions have the image of stale organizations that resist change, but Western New England University has sought to be more progressive, President Dr. Anthony S. Caprio says. “We may be in New England, but we’re not conservative,” he asserts. Located in Springfield, Mass., the University offers its students undergraduate, graduate and law degrees. The institution’s history goes back to 1919, when Northeastern College founded the school as its Springfield division and offered part-time educational opportunities for law, business and accounting students.
Taking advantage of its unique position across the river from Detroit, Mich., the University of Windsor offers a comprehensive variety of major fields of study, many of which capitalize on the university’s international location. “We have about 1,700 international students from 100 countries around the world, some from the United States,” President and Vice Chancellor Dr. Alan Wildeman declares. “That’s an area we would look at to expand even more.” Currently, the university has enrolled more than 16,000 students.
Officially known as the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Stockton College was founded in 1969. Today, it is consistently ranked among the leading educational institutions in the nation. A public college, Stockton is known for combining the academic, technological and cultural advantages of larger institutions with the culture of a small college. “The college is focused on learning,” says Dr. Herman Saatkamp, president. “We do whatever we can to foster a sense of community and service among our students, and we’ve had a great deal of success with our students moving on to grad school or finding employment after they graduate.”
Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University is one of Georgia’s top academic institutions, and it has the history and the record to prove it. The university may not possess some of the notoriety of famous institutions like Princeton or Harvard, but it is a member of the Annapolis Group, an organization of America’s most selective liberal arts institutions. In addition, it regularly finds itself among the top institutions listed in the Princeton Review and Forbes, and OU has been named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll every year since 2006.
Since its inception in 1946, Odessa College (OC) estimates it has directly impacted more than 500,000 people through its college prep, career and technical, continuing education, adult basic education, workforce training and community recreation programs. Serving people throughout Odessa, Texas, and the Permian Basin region, the college explains it “insists on excellence in teaching, research and public service” to ensure it “provides more opportunities for success,” according to its mission.
All successful administrators believe firmly in the missions of their institutions, but the connection runs deeper for Dr. Craig Pearson, executive vice president of Maharishi University of Management (MUM). After graduating from Duke University in 1971 and feeling disillusioned from the tumultuous impact of the Vietnam War, Pearson discovered the practice of Transcendental Meditation (TM).
There are not many educational institutions that can say that they have Academy Award winners as their alumni, but Los Angeles City College (LACC) can. President Dr. Jamillah Moore says the school’s former students include Oscar-winning actors Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman, and award-winning film composer John Williams.
Some things never change. Take Georgian Court University’s guiding principles – respect, integrity, justice, compassion and service – core values that have shaped the lives of thousands throughout the university’s 104-year history. From the time you drive onto the sprawling campus that is just a few miles from the Jersey Shore to the moment you enter any classroom, the signs are everywhere.
