Newswise — Michael A. MacDowell, the 12th president of Misericordia University, has informed the University community that he will retire June 30, 2013 after serving 15 years and helping Luzerne County’s oldest college and newest university become regionally acclaimed and nationally recognized for providing the challenging academics and opportunities students need to succeed.
President MacDowell has led the Religious Sisters of Mercy-sponsored University into the top tier of the Best Regional Universities North category of U.S. News and World’s Report’s annual edition of Best Colleges, and successfully managed its evolution from a college to a university on Aug. 24, 2007 featuring master’s and clinical doctorate degree programs. Misericordia also has been recognized regularly by the Princeton Review as one of the top universities in the northeastern United States; by Washington Monthly magazine for community service and social mobility; and has been named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction by the Corporation for National and Community Service. MU’s own students routinely give the institution high marks in the National Survey of Student Engagement.
“Mike MacDowell’s contributions to Misericordia have been nothing short of extraordinary,’’ said John Metz, chairman of the Misericordia University Board of Trustees. “He has provided unparalleled leadership to the University and challenged the Board of Trustees to do the same. It will be hard to imagine Misericordia without him.’’
Since his arrival in July 1998 from Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., President MacDowell has overseen a remarkable and continuous rise in traditional and non-traditional student enrollment, student quality and the transformation of Misericordia’s upper and lower campuses. Misericordia has established a true “town and gown’’ relationship with Back Mountain communities as the University has repurposed vacant buildings and transformed them into the Rasmussen House and the Pauly House for the Women with Children program, the Art Studios, multiple student residences, including the Machell Avenue Residence Hall, and John J. Passan Hall — home of the University’s high-tech College of Health Sciences, the Speech-Language and Hearing Center, the Erwine Nursing Lab and Classroom and the Physical Therapy Center. The University’s new Alden Trust Physician Assistant Assessment Lab will be located in an adjacent building to complement Passan Hall’s amenities.
The blueprint of the main campus also has changed dramatically. President MacDowell’s first undertaking was to complete the fundraising for the Mary Kintz Bevevino Library which was opened in 1999. The next project was the partial remodeling of the historic Administration Building, which was built in 1924. It was rededicated as Mercy Hall, in honor of the founders and sponsors of Misericordia, in 2002. The upper campus’ physical environment has been complemented with Sandy and Marlene Insalaco Hall, a new academic building which houses classrooms, faculty offices, the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery, and music ensemble and practice rooms. The University’s theater was remodeled and named Lemmond Theater in Walsh Hall in honor of Sen. Charles Lemmond and his family. Two new residence halls — one named for long-time Trustee Monsignor Andrew McGowan and a 118-bed facility that will open this fall — have also been added to campus.
Extensive renovation in athletic facilities, including a new fitness center, Mangelsdorf Field, a new field house and tennis courts, also were undertaken during President MacDowell’s tenure. All together, nine new or renovated buildings have been added to Misericordia’s campus during his time at MU.
“It is unfortunate in many ways that the president of an institution receives many of the accolades for its progress,’’ President MacDowell said. “Clearly this credit is hardly ours (President MacDowell and Mrs. Tina MacDowell) alone. The Trustees, the faculty, the staff, the alumni and friends of the University have made the difference here. Misericordia is a very special place because people care deeply about it and because they have internalized its mission. These are institutional attributes that will serve Misericordia’s new president exceedingly well.’’
The accomplishments of the University would not have been possible without the president’s tremendous fundraising skills. The endowment and annual fund — vital sources of revenue for capital improvements, scholarships and financial aid — have grown exponentially under President MacDowell’s leadership. Today, the endowment is more than $23 million, up from $4 million in 1998, and the annual fund exceeds $1 million. In total, almost $39 million has been raised from private sources and $21 million has been granted in government resources since MacDowell assumed the presidency at MU. The University is currently working to raise $6.5 million as part of its Pursuit of Acclamation campaign which began in 2011 and will be used to upgrade the University’s athletic facilities.
The University has maintained its momentum in student recruitment as well. When the MacDowells arrived in 1998, Misericordia enrolled 1,050 full-time students. By this fall, total full-time enrollment will exceed 1,800. Full-time enrollment this year reached 1,720, while 1,000 additional students were enrolled part time or in graduate studies. Overall, Misericordia’s enrollment is 2,762 for the 2011-12 academic year.
This year MU has attracted another record number of applicants for the 2012-13 freshman class. The record-setting application pool of 2,013 freshman set in 2011 was surpassed by more than 18 percent as 2,481 students have applied for enrollment as of April 10. The University also has enrolled increasingly more selective classes — as measured by GPA, SAT scores and other measures of quality. The average GPA and median SAT score for members of the 2011-12 freshman class was 3.33 and 1070, respectively.
The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees has begun to develop the process the University will use to select a new president, according to Mr. Metz. The University has chosen AGB Search of Washington, D.C., to conduct a national search. A search committee, chaired by Trustee Chris Borton of Borton-Lawson Engineering, will include Trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. The new president will begin serving the MU community on July 1, 2013.
“Tina (MacDowell) and I have decided to retire,’’ President MacDowell announced to the University community. “This is hardly an easy decision to make. Our time here has been the most enjoyable of our lives. The friends we have made, the work we have undertaken together and the success the University has enjoyed are accomplishments about which we all should be proud.’’
Remaining true to the charisms of Misericordia, President MacDowell has been very active by offering his time and talent to the greater NEPA community and to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is the past vice chair of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, where he remains on the board. He is the past chair of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Consortium of Colleges and Universities and is a past vice president of the Northeast Pennsylvania Boy Scout Council.
President MacDowell works in support of thoughtful planning and economic growth in the region. He was instrumental in establishing the Back Mountain Chamber of Commerce, the Back Mountain Community Partnership and Back Mountain Historical Association. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett recently appointed him to the Higher Education Advisory Panel to study and to reporter to the governor by November 2012 ways to make higher education accessible and affordable to the students and taxpayers of the commonwealth. The Northeastern Pennsylvania Council of the Boy Scouts of America honored President MacDowell in 2010 and 2012 by presenting him with the 2010 Eminent Eagle Award and the 2012 Distinguished Citizen Award. The Luzerne Foundation, Leadership Wilkes-Barre, the North Branch Land Trust and the Wyoming Valley Interfaith Council also have recognized his leadership.
Prior to assuming the presidency at Misericordia, President MacDowell served nine years as a vice president at Hartwick College (1989-1998). He also served as president of the National Council on Economic Education in New York City for 12 years.
He is married to the former Tina Johnson, a retired teacher who is also very active in the community, serving on the boards of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, the Westmoreland Club’s Women’s Interest Committee as well as undertaking a myriad of volunteer responsibilities at Misericordia. Mrs. MacDowell also was the first director of the Leadership Wilkes-Barre Master’s Program and she developed the Friends and New Neighbors (FANN) organization.
For more information about Misericordia University, please log in to www.misericordia.edu or call (570) 674-6400. Founded and Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County’s first four-year college and offers 37 degree programs in three colleges in full- and part-time formats.
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