Highlighting the new brand tagline βLead Togetherβ and recent solid enrollment growth, 91΄σΙρβs President Susan Schultz Huxman joined WHSV-3βs Bob Corso for his weekly β1on1β interview segment.
In the 5-minute interview, Huxman situated 91΄σΙρβs current strong recruitment and retention, as well as its new brand refresh, within the current contractionary environment affecting all public and private universities across the United States, but especially tuition-dependent private institutions.
91΄σΙρ students graduate with a sense of community connections, whether they are nurses, biologists, teachers or accountants. We wanted to put that front and center in those two words:
‘LEAD TOGETHER.’
βPresident Susan Schultz Huxman
The new brand refresh, the result of a year-long study and intensive research, found strong commonality between external and internal stakeholders about 91΄σΙρβs distinctives, she said: academic rigor, excellent outcomes, community engagement and for creating in students and the broader 91΄σΙρ community “a sense of belongingness,” all important values in our “fractured, divisive world.”
βOur new tagline βLead Togetherβ is a way of saying, βYes, we are all about achievement and weβre about learning and about placing leaders in the workplace but we want to do that in the context of bringing others along.β
Huxman also noted the 2019-20 academic year has kicked off with two strong positive statistics in recruitment and retention that bode well for the future.
A growing number of students are transferring from area community colleges, including Blue Ridge and Lord Fairfax, Huxman said. The 258 first-year, transfer and readmitted students welcomed this fall are specially recruited into the 91΄σΙρ community, bringing high GPAs and considerable diversity of religion, socioeconomic status and race (approximately 35 percent are of Asian, Hispanic, Asian and Native American descent).
91΄σΙρβs 85 percent retention rate from first year to sophomore shows a high level of student satisfaction, she added.