Born+during+a+time+of+radical+change%2C+Nazareth+University+celebrates+100+years (2024)

Beth Paul sees many parallels between the world today and the world when Nazareth University was founded 100 years ago.

“When you think about it, we were coming out of last century’s pandemic after a horrific number of deaths; it was a time of war, a time of major human rights questions and challenges,” said Paul, Nazareth’s president. “It was an economic roller coaster, and it was a time of great progress, ultimately, but I think at the time of our founding, I’m not sure we knew that yet.”

In its infancy, Nazareth became an antidote for some of the challenges and ills in the world and it now has the chance once again to have that impact, she said.

“I believe that we are in the midst of revolutionary change again as a society,” Paul said. “So how do we engage students now to be part of progress and, in this very rapidly changing world, what skills do they need to be able to do that.”

Preparing students for change has been a hallmark of the university.

Nazareth was founded in 1924 by five Sisters of St. Joseph who knew that young women needed more educational choices than what was traditionally offered in the 1920s.

The school became co-ed and legally independent of the religious congregation in the early 1970s but continues to honor its legacy and the passion of its founders.

Today, Nazareth has roughly 2,000 undergraduates and 550 graduate students, offering over 60 undergraduate majors, 70 minors and over 25 graduate programs.

Nazareth has a long-standing commitment to experience-based learning, community engagement and social justice.

Paul – who became Nazareth’s 10th president in 2020 – said among her proudest accomplishments has been helping the community, both internally and externally, to understand the mission and values of Nazareth.

The school is getting noticed.

Earlier this week, Nazareth announced it had received its 5,000th first year application, which represents a 44 percent increase over such applications in 2023. It is also the largest number of prospective applications received in the school’s history.

In addition to its academic and social justice advances, Nazareth’s Pittsford campus has undergone changes since the school’s founding.

In the early 2000s, Nazareth purchased adjacent land from the Sisters of St. Joseph – including the former motherhouse and infirmary – which doubled the size of the campus to its current 150 acres.

Due to support from college benefactors (including Paychex founder Tom Golisano), the motherhouse became the Golisano Academic Center. The infirmary became George Hall, a residence hall that also houses a coffeehouse and late-night study area.

The decade of the 2000s also saw the construction of additional student housing, including Portka Hall, Clock Tower Commons and the Lyons and Breen apartment buildings.

Further physical changes to the campus from 2010 to 2020 included aligning occupational and physical therapy with art, music and speech therapies at the York Wellness and Rehabilitation Center and the creation of a new music hall, the Glazer Music Performance Center.

Last year, the Frank DiMino Foundation made a $1.5 million gift to the university’s Italian cultural center, which has been a gathering place for Nazareth students and the Italian community since 1978.

The gift is also being used to fund annual student scholarships for Nazareth and Italian students in the Pescara, Italy, exchange program and to support the directorship of the Casa.

The university has additional plans to grow, Paul said, adding that the school is continually looking at ways to best serve students and be pro-active.

That includes becoming a global center for ethics and artificial intelligence through its Institute for Responsible Technology, which looks at how humanity and technology will interface.

Another focus of late is developing dialogue skills in students, Paul said. That means working with students as soon as they enter the university on how to have critical dialogue with others.

The approach supports the school’s focus on changemaker education, she said. The idea, which started with its founders, places an emphasis on progress and making society better, Paul explained.

Despite ongoing changes — including problems with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which have resulted in fewer students applying for college financial aid across the country — Paul continues to stay positive and believe in the importance of higher education.

“We’re called upon amidst the challenge to join with our students to see the opportunities,” she said. “We stay focused on our mission and the importance of our mission.”

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