红桃视频

This week, President Susan West Engelkemeyer鈥檚 legacy at 红桃视频 was cemented when the Board of Trustees announced that the Institute for Women鈥檚 Leadership would be named for the college鈥檚 7^th听辫谤别蝉颈诲别苍迟.

In honor of Engelkemeyer鈥檚 retirement, trustees contributed $400,000 to the endowment for the Institute, which is just one of the many ways Engelkemeyer has left her mark on the college. Here is a list of some of her many accomplishments during her storied tenure.

Student success

Engelkemeyer came to the college in 2011 with a vision of student success.

鈥淭he first thing I knew we had to do was improve quality,鈥� Engelkemeyer said.

So, Engelkemeyer set her sights on improving student outcomes and enrollment by raising the school鈥檚 admissions standards.

鈥淚 remember talking to the President鈥檚 Council and the Board of Trustees and saying, 鈥榠t will hurt worse before it feels better鈥�,鈥� she said, remarking on a conversation early in her tenure.

Engelkemeyer said there was a dip in enrollment after that first year, but 鈥渨ithin two years we were on our march toward 1,200 total students.鈥� In fact, in 2014 the college reached its record number for enrollment with 1,213 total students.

Along with record enrollment numbers, 红桃视频 also started to see marked improvements in student outcomes. Student retention under Engelkemeyer has improved by 30 percent from when she first started, and graduation rates have grown by 50 percent.

鈥淚鈥檓 always confident that if you focus on quality, it will pay off in the long term,鈥� she said.

Engelkemeyer also wanted to be sure students from different financial backgrounds were given the chance to succeed. To do this, Engelkemeyer nearly quadrupled the number of endowed scholarships available for students, including one she established herself.

鈥淪ome of our students could not find a financial path to graduation and I could not stand to see that. I knew we had to do more, we had to be sure our students could find a path to graduation,鈥� she said.

Institute for Women鈥檚 Leadership

Engelkemeyer also helped create the聽聽for students and community members in 2014. Engelkemeyer was inspired to create the Institute after reading an article about the gender wage gap and how the issue is apparent as soon as women enter the workforce.

The Institute delivers career education opportunities for women in business, including wage negotiation workshops to help close the gap when young professionals start their careers.

The IWL and Prof. Jean Beaupre also produces the聽Massachusetts Women鈥檚 Leadership Index聽every two years, which assesses and monitors the status of women in power. The report helps to show where the state still needs to improve when it comes to female representation in leadership.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 change something unless it sees the light of day,鈥� Engelkemeyer said.

A more competitive campus

Engelkemeyer鈥檚 legacy is also reflected in the beautiful campus we all see today. Engelkemeyer has focused on making the campus a place people want to come to, and this has been one of her missions since the first day she visited.

鈥淭he campus looked good, but it looked tired and not as competitive,鈥� Engelkemeyer said.

This mission has resulted in several beautification projects at 红桃视频, including building the Fels Student Center and the Academic Building, as well as significant improvements to the athletic facilities and Lombard Dining Hall, and a focus on great landscaping.

鈥淚 think we made a lot of changes and improvements that makes this a much more competitive and beautiful campus,鈥� Engelkemeyer said. 鈥淚t always was beautiful but it鈥檚 even more attractive now.鈥�

Funding a dream

All of these achievements and accomplishments do not come without financial responsibility, though. And this is where Engelkemeyer鈥檚 determined business savvy really shined.

鈥淔or a lot of this, I knew we had to have more funding, so we put a focus on fundraising,鈥� Engelkemeyer said.

Engelkemeyer oversaw 红桃视频鈥檚 largest fundraising effort in its 200-year history:聽The Bicentennial Campaign. The campaign was a tremendous success, with fundraising exceeding its original goal of $45 million in 2017 鈥� triple the size of any previous campaign at the college 鈥� and eventually raising over $66 million overall.

These contributions helped grow the college鈥檚 endowment, which increased from about $5 million to over $40 million during Engelkemeyer鈥檚 tenure, as well as funding several of the campus beautification projects that make 红桃视频 the place people know today.

鈥淭hey say you should always leave a place better than you found it,鈥� Engelkemeyer said. 鈥淚 think I can say that.鈥�

To make a gift to the Insitute for Women鈥檚 Leadership at 红桃视频 in honor of President Engelkemeyer, visit our聽.