During the 2020 pandemic, La Salle University canceled seven sports, including baseball, impacting 130 athletes.
Now, noting the strong support for sports by alumni, we have decided to bring back baseball and add several new women's sports, including rugby, triathlon, acrobatics and tumbling. This will bring the total number of collegiate sports to 23 when new athletic competition begins in the 2025-26 academic year.
The university also plans to start a student band, expand dance and cheer programs, and transition to a full-time directorship.
” read more: La Salle cuts seven sports to better align with comparable athletic programs
With this move and the growth of its current roster, La Salle expects to have 40 freshmen enrolling at the university in the fall and an additional 185 freshmen over the next few years. The school currently has 339 student-athletes and 30 dance and cheer members.
“There are sports here and there that we're not participating in because we don't have anyone working full-time on team building,” said La Salle President Daniel J. Allen. “We have a lot of instruments in our closets that aren't being used. We know we have students who are musically talented, so we don't just use our current students, we have them come to La Salle and play. We're looking for new students who want to play with us.'' We're a proper band. ”
The move is part of La Salle's efforts to address declining enrollment and improve student life on campus.
” read more: La Salle's new president has spent much of his career fundraising for the university.
Allen emphasized the importance of building a vibrant campus life experience that has been hit hard by the pandemic and is unlikely to recover.
“We have to get it back,” he said.
Allen said the university will pay for the new program with donations and borrowed money.
In 2020, in addition to baseball, La Salle cut four men's sports: swimming, diving, tennis and water polo, and three women's sports: softball, volleyball and tennis.
The university chose the new sport to add because it “fits with access to current athletic facilities, offers the best potential for athlete development, takes advantage of regional competition opportunities and reduces transportation costs.” This is because they have the ability to quickly increase their competitiveness. said in a statement.
” read more: La Salle University's enrollment has decreased by 28% since 2019. What are schools doing to address this?
Other program changes
The university also plans to change administrative leadership within its academic organization. Interim Chancellor Cameron Wesson is discussing these changes with faculty, Allen said.
“It is likely that the infrastructure supporting the operation of these schools is not as efficient as necessary to serve the current student population,” he said.
Details of the plan will be shared with faculty this week, but it will not include any faculty reductions, said Wesson, who came to La Salle in June from Franklin and Marshall College and became interim president after his abrupt resignation. . Shivanthi Anandan in November. The university is considering merging nine to 10 departments and a more interdisciplinary focus, he said.
Allen said the university has not made any decisions about which programs it wants to keep or eliminate. He said the school's historic strengths in accounting and nursing will undoubtedly continue.
“But I can tell you that we look very carefully at our portfolio of programs. What we submit is consistent with what every company should be doing on a regular basis,” he said. Ta.
Allen said universities should do more to offer programs that prepare students for future jobs and teach them to become critical thinkers with the ability to write well and engage in civil discussion about controversial issues. He said he would consider it carefully.
Allen said the school is looking to recruit more students internationally, including considering a dual program with Lasallian University, the other higher education institution The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools has established around the world. He says he is also focusing on doing that.
“There's an opportunity here if we make different decisions and focus on what we're really good at,” Allen said.
