Fr. Malachi Van Tassell, President, Saint Francis University
In an interview with Invest:, Malachi Van Tassell, president of Saint Francis University, discussed the university’s innovative efforts in producing professionals with strong ethics. “We make sure that our educational offerings are relevant for the needs of society, as well, which keeps us competitive from a marketing point of view,” Van Tassell added.
How would you describe Saint Francis University’s missions and programs?
Saint Francis University is a Franciscan and Catholic institution of higher education. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest Franciscan institution in the United States. We’re known regionally, and throughout the country, for our school of health sciences and education. We educate a significant number of physician assistants, nurses, occupational therapists, and physical therapists, and they make up 60% to 70% of our student body. We’re also known for the Shields School of Business that has graduated a number of business leaders throughout the country. It has a strong focus on morals and ethics. The university has four-year offerings, a significant number of master’s degrees, and a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership and Innovation. We are well known throughout Western Pennsylvania and within the Pittsburgh community for our healthcare professionals , and for being a great Catholic school set in a rural area not too far from the city of Pittsburgh.
What recent changes have impacted the university?
Our core offerings remain very strong and robust, from the health sciences and business to STEAM. What grabbed the headlines was our decision to reclassify our athletics program, from Division I in the National Collegiate Athletic Association to Division III. That came about because of headwinds, and how Division I has changed around us. Things like the transfer portal forced us to take a good look at what is best for the university. The decision brings us closer to the Pittsburgh community. This also gives us an opportunity to double down on our core strengths. We can also ensure our students have a robust experience while getting a fine education, and landing a career position once they graduate.
How does the university balance tradition with innovative learning experiences?
Saint Francis started as an agricultural school for boys. Along the way, the institution has learned to pivot. In this day and age, we are being innovative in terms of our research at the institution, and the delivery of our educational content. We also want to be innovative in terms of how we participate in the community, such as trying to partner with businesses. We are always looking to evolve so we can provide a timely, relevant, and robust educational product for our students.
How does STEAM education support the region’s workforce demands?
We have ventured into the area of workforce development. The program to spotlight is our aviation maintenance technician program, which is housed at our Aviation Education Center at Johnstown Airport. Now, two cohorts of aviation maintenance technicians are being educated, and once they complete their certification, they will join the workforce. Here we have career-ready folks ready to fill a need in a particular industry. Likewise, we have a patient care technician program that we run out of our Curry Innovation Center in Altoona. These two programs build on a lot of the STEAM programs we offer. We have also had an amazing environmental engineering program in place for nearly 20 years. Chances are good that if we were to meet folks who work at the water authority, or at various engineering firms, we would meet Saint Francis graduates.
We’ve also made significant investments in the arts. The Center for Fine Arts on campus is now 2 years old, and was completely fundraised by our alumni. We want to emphasize that part of being a healthcare worker or a business person, for example, is having a well-rounded education that includes arts and humanities. We’re coming at it from different approaches, but at the core, we really are a lot of those STEAM programs.
How is the university addressing challenges in higher education?
The classic challenge in our greater region is declining demographics. There are fewer college-bound students. Higher education now doesn’t have the finest reputation it once did. People question why they even need a college education. Then, that’s compounded by the affordability factor. Higher education is not cheap. It takes a lot to run a university. We want to pay qualified faculty members good wages for their expertise, and balance that with keeping education affordable. There are also a lot of competing institutions. Students can be very selective when it comes to what institution they attend. We have been focusing on the affordability aspect because, from a Catholic and Franciscan mission point of view, we want our education to be accessed by anybody who wants to be educated by us. We work very hard to keep costs down, and to raise scholarships so students can afford to come here. We make sure that our educational offerings are relevant for the needs of society, as well, which keeps us competitive from a marketing point of view.
What are the biggest opportunities in higher education?
We believe in capitalizing on success. A number of years ago, we jettisoned majors that were either underenrolled, or no longer relevant, so that we could double down on our strengths, which are healthcare, business, and STEAM. First and foremost, that means keeping a strong focus on making sure we are cutting-edge and up-to-date. Secondly, we are expanding into areas like workforce development. The aviation maintenance technician program and the patient care technician program are precursors of things to come, which will also be based on market needs. After beginning the Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership and Innovation program, I foresee us creating additional doctoral programs in response to market needs. We are in a state of transition, where we are asking ourselves what is the next best program to invest in.
What are the university’s strategies to increase enrollment?
We believe strongly in our college in high school program. As an academic, I certainly want students to have the four-year traditional experience on campus, but college in high school gives us the opportunity to introduce high-school students to the Saint Francis experience from within their school. We will send a professor into the high school to teach an introduction to business class, for example, and then the students can graduate from high school with a three-credit course that counts toward their degrees, should they come to Saint Francis. Those are heavily discounted college credits. We charge a minimal fee for college in high school courses, yielding savings of over $3,000 per course. Parents can see that those courses are going to count toward the degree. It’s a nice way to get a little bit of a jump start, save some money, but also wet the students’ appetite for college courses.
What are your primary priorities in terms of sustaining growth at the university?
The next few years are going to be critical. The focus at the institution is the reclassification of the athletics program, but our focus is much broader than that. What we really are doing is doubling down on our Catholic and Franciscan mission. When students come here to get a nursing degree, they’re also going to be educated with Franciscan and Catholic values. That’s important not only to Catholics, but to Christians, as well. That sets us apart from state institutions, or other independent schools.
In the coming years, I would like to see more focus on the Catholic identity of the institution, including the traditional on-campus culture, and the religious values the institutions share with families who send their kids to us. That’s something folks will want to keep their eyes on in the coming few years, besides the fact that we’re going to be winning championships as a Division III institution. Our tradition of winning will certainly continue, but our tradition of educating moral and ethical professionals in healthcare, as well as in business, will carry us through.
