Recent events over the past month have touched the lives of many of our family and friends through our extended network of faculty, staff and students who are all part of the National University System. From the devastation of Hurricanes Maria and Irma, to the recent earthquake in Mexico City and the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the support and empathy from all of you has made me proud to be associated with you and our National University System community. From the devastation of Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma, to the recent earthquake in Mexico City and the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the support and empathy from all of you has made me proud to be associated with you and our National University System community.
Many of you have asked about what you can do to help those directly impacted by these recent events. In upcoming communications, Chris Graham, our Vice Chancellor of External Relations, will be sharing additional information on ways we can help out. Our commitment to serving the public good is strong, and our collective actions demonstrate the capacity we all have to come together as one for our communities and country.
Collaboration is a pillar of what has made the National University System a true leader in redefining learning in the 21st Century. Through the System, our higher education affiliates of National University, John F. Kennedy University, and the City University of Seattle each bring unique talents and strengths that define their institutions and allow us to collectively offer a wide range of services, such as shared student support systems and career-enhancing academic pathways, that benefit our students and lifelong learners.
This past week, we marked a significant milestone in carrying out our System goals as we celebrated the launch of National University’s newest campus location, NU East Bay in Pleasant Hill. Through a one-of-its-kind co-location arrangement, National University and John F. Kennedy University are expanding academic offerings in the San Francisco East Bay region – creating new opportunities for students in programs ranging from bachelor’s and master’s degrees in specialties such as nursing and criminal justice administration to law degrees and a doctorate in Psychology. For the East Bay region, this means providing greater access to more than 75 academic programs offered through National University, as well as access to a robust range of shared student support services, such as our expanded career services team. As a System, we are able to scale and share our services in these effective ways that allow us to invest even more in the student experience.
Our ability to identify and develop academic and cross-institutional pathways means we can effectively support academic and workforce development in regions that we serve, such as the East Bay, as well as through online programs that allow us to address needs nationally. In addition to NU East Bay, another notable example of innovation from collaboration comes from the National University partnership with City University of Seattle to offer a Doctor of Education Leadership degree, a fully online program that allows us to support the development of future education leaders anywhere in the country by imparting them with strong leadership skills for the 21st Century.
The National University System has always been about serving the public good – working in collaboration with organizations, businesses, community colleges and K-12 to support our regional communities and the people who live in them, including those impacted by the recent devastating events. Our commitment, as individuals and as a collective System, to serving our communities is strong and unwavering.