Vision and Resilience: A Story of Remarkable Growth and Transformation at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College

By: Joseph M. Beilein Jr.

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Synopsis: Vision and Resilience recounts the remarkable turnaround of a satellite campus that became one of the brightest spots in the Penn State University system: Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Covering the period from 1980 to 2010, this story serves as a blueprint for administrators who aspire to grow their institutions in challenging times.Joseph M. Beilein Jr. writes about how, at a time when tensions were high between faculty and the administration, students and the administration, students and the police, and even among the students themselves, The Behrend College saw an unprecedented increase in enrollment, endowments, land acquisition, building, and curricular opportunities. He describes how administrators John Lilley and Jack Burke worked with local leaders, faculty, and other officials to transform The Behrend College into a research institution—and how they worked with faculty, coaches, and even students to convince young people that Behrend was, in fact, a destination campus. All of these efforts resulted in a college that bucked trends in higher education, demography, and economics to become the leading college in northwestern Pennsylvania.Fascinating and instructive, Vision and Resilience tells an encouraging story of college success against the odds. It will be of interest to university administrators, faculty, and anyone with a personal connection to the Penn State campus farthest from University Park.