New Cal U. president ‘will dare to dream big’
Geraldine M. Jones is inaugurated Friday as the seventh president of California University of Pennsylvania.
California University of Pennsylvania President Geraldine M. Jones takes a selfie with Pete J. Ware, campus minister, before she was inaugurated.
CALIFORNIA – Geraldine M. Jones promised to “dare to dream big” before she was inaugurated as the first black and female president at California University of Pennsylvania.
Jones will lead the university in California Borough at a time when it faces challenges with declining enrollment and the threat of a state-wide strike next week by union professors at the 14 state-run universities.
“We must adapt our teaching methods to meet the needs of an evolving student population,” Jones said before a capacity crowd in Steele Hall auditorium on campus.
Jones was named president in April by the state System of Higher Education, which overlooked the recommendations to hire other candidates for the job by a campus presidential search committee. She served as interim president for four years prior to being named to the post.
She charted a path Friday for the university to embrace its strengths, especially in the training of educators at a time when there is a growing demand for teachers. The university’s health and wellness program is another area in demand, she said.
“Building on the strength of existing programs, we can attract new students and position them for careers as allied healthcare professionals,” Jones said.
Cal U. is seeing its fifth consecutive year of enrollment declines in a consistent trend across the State System. There are 7,553 students attending classes there this semester, down from a record high of 9,483 in 2001, State System records indicate. The dip has been attributed, in part, to a declining number of high school graduates in Western Pennsylvania.
Jones said Cal U. will expand its global online programs to “reach into new market spaces and meet students where they already live and work.”
“We will ally ourselves with visionaries so that together we can impact the future of our university and the world beyond our campus,” she said.
Washington County Commissioner Larry Maggi, who is chairman of Cal U.’s council of trustees, said the “changing nature of academic disciplines” requires the university’s serious attention.
“These are auspicious times,” Maggi said.
His comments were echoed by Cal U. Professor Barbara L. Hess, chapter president of the Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties. The union and State System went back to the bargaining table Friday in hopes of reaching a contract by Sunday and avoid a strike Wednesday.
“More than ever we need to overcome hurdles,” Hess said, referring to the enrollment problem and lack of a union contract.
“We wait for your strong leadership,” Hess said to Jones.
Cal U. has been the center of Jones’ life for more than four decades. The Brownsville native is a 1972 Cal U. graduate. She taught second grade in Albert Gallatin School District in Fayette County before returning to the university in 1974 as program director for Upward Bound, a position she held for 20 years. She became a provost in 2008.
Jones announced a new campaign Friday, Rising to the Future, whose goal is to raise $1 million for student scholarships.
She and her husband, Jeffrey, have two adult daughters and one granddaughter.