Centenary University President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., today announced the Campaign for College, a two-year, $8 million capital campaign to shift the national dialogue on college value and raise significant funding for scholarships, with an emphasis on first-generation students and those forced to leave college due to fiscal challenges.
President Dale G. Caldwell, Centenary University
October 21, 2023 – Inauguration Speech Transcript
Let me begin by officially welcoming you to Centenary University. It is wonderful to see so many family and friends here this afternoon. Today has already been amazing.
I had the honor of participating in some incredible community service initiatives this morning, including delivering books to the Warren County Correctional Center!
I wanted to be one of the leaders who goes to jail voluntarily before his Inauguration instead of involuntarily a few years after it.
I am so grateful to Amanda Ackerman for her wonderful rendition of the National Anthem.
She has become my favorite National Anthem singer of all time.
Thank you Bishop Schol for your fantastic Invocation.
I would also like to thank Norm Worth, Jenna Glinko, Mathias O’Neil and Rochelle Makala-Goodman for their wonderful words.
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love my daughter Ashley.
I am so happy that she is the Keynote Speaker today. She did an amazing job. As a Dad, it is so wonderful to see the kind of woman she has become.
Of course, I have no comment about the online dating profiles she spoke about.
I am so very grateful to the Inauguration Committee for their amazing work putting this event together. They have spent many hours over the last few months ensuring that every detail is as close to perfect as possible. I would like the members of the Inauguration Committee to stand so everyone can see you and publicly thank you.
It is hard for me to adequately describe how honored and humbled I am to be the President of this exceptional institution and be honored at this Inauguration.
My greatest regret in life is that my Mom developed Alzheimers and my Dad passed away before I became President and Pastor.
It was because of their love, support and guidance that I stand before you today.
I am so very grateful to the entire Board of Trustees for selecting me from a pool of over 100 amazing candidates.
I also want to publicly thank my cabinet, the faculty, staff, students, alumni and community leaders who have welcomed me with open arms to the Centenary and Hackettstown family. You are truly an amazing group of people.
Centenary University is not a religious school but for 156 years it has carried on the United Methodist culture of caring, love and support for all human beings.
I am confident that those of you who are here for the first time feel the genuine love and caring that is the Centenary Mystique.
As you can see from the spectacular mountains surrounding the university, our beautiful campus and the amazing downtown of Hackettstown, this is a very special place. I hope that all of you will be back to experience the magic of Centenary, Hackettstown and our extraordinary environment.
I would like to begin by talking about the importance of higher education and end by announcing the historic Centenary Campaign for College.
Those of you who know me are aware that I am an optimistic person but I do not shy away from telling the sometimes painful truth.
I want to begin by explaining why this an exceptionally challenging time in the world and why I am still very hopeful.
The Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia wars are just the most visible crises in a world filled with conflict and poverty.
They are not publicized but there are currently wars going on in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria among other places.
We are in many ways a world at war.
Society is being hurt by political parties in virtually every country who place their need for power above the interests of citizens.
Research suggests that more than 40% of the world can be considered poor because they do not have enough money to pay their basic monthly bills.
Research also suggests that global Climate Change will lead to a refugee crisis that the world is not prepared to handle over the next decade.
We are living in a time when there is a mental and emotional health crisis that is leading to widespread depression and suicide.
We are suffering because people are rejecting faith of any kind in favor of worshipping celebrities as if they were living Gods.
More than 50% of 4th graders in urban communities in the United States do not read at grade level.
Tragically, there is a direct correlation between illiteracy rates and crime.
Private prisons estimate their future prison population based on the 4th grade illiteracy rate in their local community.
Health Care costs are rising at double digit rates making basic medical services in the US too expensive for many middle class families.
The largest publicly traded corporations are focused on quarterly profits instead of long-term investments or the health care and job security of employees.
The economic backbone and largest employers in the world, small businesses, are struggling because of the competitive advantage given to big business by public policy.
There was a time in society when politicians would make addressing these problems their number 1 priority. Conservatives and Liberals would work together to develop policies that would minimize the pain to average citizens.
There was also a time when a nationally unbiased press would report the truth even if it was unpopular or hurt the stock of their corporate owners.
We are lucky to have amazing New Jersey publications like NJBIZ, ROI-NJ, WRNJ and TapInto among other local news outlets.
Unfortunately, we are living at a time when the unbiased truth and well thought-out solutions to global problems are hard to find. Tragically, neither the national press or many politicians are telling the truth about how the world is struggling and in crisis. Instead, we are distracted by entertainment and political celebrities who don’t care about average people.
I truly believe that higher education is the last best hope for addressing or bringing to light the major challenges facing the world.
Colleges and Universities are the home to many of the most brilliant people in the world. The collective brain-power of the people affiliated with these institutions is more than sufficient to develop solutions to virtually every problem facing humanity.
Higher Education Institutions also mold and influence the next generation of world and community leaders. These institutions have the potential to develop a generation of leaders that have exceptional analytical skills and a critical understanding of complex global problems.
More importantly, higher education institutions have a responsibility to develop graduates who have a deep empathy for all people in the world.
Unfortunately, higher education has historically focused their brilliance on internal problems instead of being the intellectual leaders of the world.
Too many universities focus almost exclusively on their course offerings, faculty, enrollment and fundraising.
Some of their professors may write brilliant papers addressing world problems but they are often ignored (unless of course the Professors win a Nobel Prize).
In my short time as President, I have noticed a new generation of University Presidents who recognize that their institution has a responsibility to be an intellectual world leader.
I attended the New Presidents Program at Harvard with 61 new college Presidents who are committed to leading universities differently. This new generation of presidents are trying to find ways in which universities can partner and collaborate like never before.
My vision for Centenary is aligned with this view of universities as world leaders.
In my first month as President, I wrote two articles on Affirmative Action. In one article, I discussed the need for Life Circumstances Admission (LCA) where I suggest that universities consider all aspects of an applicant’s life when making admission decisions. In my second article, I discussed our groundbreaking SkyClones program. In this program, Sussex County Community College student-athletes from around the world live at Centenary while going to school at Sussex. This has helped the students at Centenary and Sussex develop intercultural competence and emotional intelligence.
College has and will always transform student’s lives and prepare them for success in the world.
Unfortunately, there has been a very focused campaign against college in recent years.
Many so-called leaders are threatened by the analytical skills and independent thinking of people that are college educated. Higher education in the US is facing a perfect storm. First-time student enrollment has fallen by 8% in private four-year institutions since 2010. Student enrollment and revenues have fallen while inflation has accelerated pushing operating costs up. These enrollment and financial forces have put tremendous financial stress on the private independent universities that provide the most personal education in the world.
However, we are using innovative approaches to ensure that Centenary thrives educationally, financially and operationally.
An organization’s mission drives how it operates and serves its constituents.
There are three attributes common to every person that is successful and happy in life.
The first attribute is “Emotional Resilience”
As many of you know, we are the first university in the world to have a Masters in Happiness Program. Centenary Professor Tal Ben-Shahar, who founded this program and taught the most popular course at Harvard University, explains that seeking happiness does not work. Sustainable happiness comes from enhancing your ability to handle life’s challenges which we call Emotional Resilience.
The second attribute is “Intellectual Curiosity.”
The world is changing faster than ever and will change more rapidly with artificial intelligence. College students must graduate with a passion for learning. They must be lifelong learners to succeed in life.
The third attribute of successful and happy people is “Intercultural Competence.”
Whether we like it or not, the world is becoming more diverse than ever. To be successful, you have to work with people who are very different than you. You have to seek out people who are different and recognize that people who are different are much more interesting than people just like you. Centenary’s focus must be on preparing graduates to be community and world leaders committed to making a tangible difference in the world.
We are therefore one of the first universities in the world with the mission to:
“develop students emotionally, intellectually and interculturally.”
This mission is helping us enhance the emotional well-being of students, faculty and staff. It is helping us ensure that our classes inspire students to be lifelong learners. It is enabling us to make intercultural competence a skill that is a positive attribute of the entire Centenary family.
We are also creating academic programs that meet the current educational demand in society. Far too many students do not have money to attend college at all so they go to work full-time upon graduation from high school. We have therefore developed three state-of-the art “Working Education” programs.
Our Working BA in Psychology; Working BS in Business; and, Working BSN for Registered Nurses are enabling people to work full-time and get a Centenary College Degree.
We now have a Masters in Education; Masters in Happiness; and Doctor of Education programs that can be taken anywhere in the world because they are online courses. To date these programs have enrolled students from 15 different countries around the world.
We also recognize the need to provide educational programs for students who started their education but had to drop out. The Centenary Degree Recovery programs will help people who dropped out of their undergraduate and doctorate programs finish what they started.
We are planning to work with the NBA Retired Players Association to help former pro basketball players complete their college education.
We have created the Centenary Learning Institute to develop innovative certificate programs that meet the needs of the professional marketplace. We developed the Centenary Institute of Entrepreneurship to expand our Enactus social entrepreneurship programs and develop innovative products like our patented fatigue watch.
In addition, we have created what we believe is the first Consulting Co-op program in the country. In this program, student project teams are providing free consulting to local businesses and departments within the university. This gives them the tremendous opportunity to develop their analytical skills and apply what they learn in the classroom to “real” world problems.
We have extraordinary counseling, theater arts, education, biology, English, sports management, exercise science, accounting and fashion majors among many other excellent programs. Our Equestrian Program is one of the best in the world and will be competing in the NCAA in the next year.
In addition to all that we are doing within the university, we are working on partnerships and collaborations with organizations around the world. We are developing a global expertise in emotional well-being and post traumatic growth that we will be implementing throughout the country.
I believe that universities have the responsibility to bring competing public policy groups together because there are very few other groups in society that can do that. I am therefore working with some of the most conservative and liberal groups in the country to try to find common ground.
The issue we are focusing on now is using entrepreneurship and trauma-informed job placement to reduce global poverty. The beauty of these “Entrepreneur Zones” is that the program is supported by both conservative and liberal groups.
In summary, my goal is for Centenary to become one of the most innovative universities in the world educating students from all walks of life.
One of the challenges that Centenary and other universities are facing is a very public campaign against college. There are people, even celebrities, who are trying to convince students that college tuition is not worth it.
However, the statistics make it clear that a college education is significantly more valuable than a high school education.
Incredibly, in spite of these statistics, some people still do not support going to college.
People often ask me what has been my biggest surprise in my role as President. My biggest surprise is that $3,000 is often the difference between a college drop-out and a college honors graduate. There are hundreds of students who are just 3 or 4 or $5,000 short in the tuition payments needed to graduate.
Unfortunately, their families are struggling and cannot make those payments which are seemingly small to many people.
Can you imagine being that close to graduating and not being able to because of money?
Let me tell you the story about this building.
Carol Burgess of the Class of 1954 needed $500 that her family did not have to graduate. Someone anonymously paid her bill and she graduated on time. 50 years later she and her husband David Lackland donated $18 million to build the beautiful Lackland Center we are in right now.
Talk about an amazing return on a $500 investment.
Centenary, more than any other university I know, has transformed lives in a way that many think is not possible. We have amazing stories of students from poor families, students with special needs and students with emotional challenges who come to us broken.
It breaks my heart to know what so many young people have to go through early in their life.
However, the unique academic and emotional support we provide transforms these students from their broken lives to productive citizens.
We are in the process of expanding our enrollment to students from around the United States and the world. Centenary will therefore have many more students who need just a few thousand dollars to graduate.
I am therefore pleased to announce today that we are initiating a historic $8 million two-year “Centenary Campaign for College.”
This will be the first of its kind initiative focused on three critical things.
The first is making the case for college to counter the growing anti-college movement.
The second is to ensure that every student, regardless of their family income or financial circumstances, has sufficient money to earn a Centenary University degree.
The third is to let the world know about our incredible programs and position us as one of the most innovative and student-centered universities in the world.
However, to do this we need your help.
We will be reaching out to our alumni, friends of the university, my friends and the general public for their support. In fact, if you take out your phone and send a text to 243725 and type the word “Cyclones,” you will have an opportunity to support Centenary.
The good news is that during the silent phase of the campaign we received a major estate gift and an anonymous donation. These contributions provide more than $2.1 million toward the $8 million goal of the Centenary Campaign for College.
I am pleased to report that I believe in this campaign so much that I contributed $17,000 to kick it off.
This campaign is not just about me or Centenary University.
It is about helping us support both brilliant students, first generation students and other young people who thought that college was not an option.
In conclusion, I would like to thank each and every one of you for being here or watching this program online.
I cannot express adequately in words how excited I am to serve as the President of Centenary University during this challenging time in both higher education and the world.
I will be relying on each of you to provide the insight, guidance and support I need to lead this amazing University.
Thanks again.
God bless you All!
Two-year Campaign for College will raise $8 million to emphasize the value of a college education while providing much-needed scholarships for financially challenged students.
Help ensure that every student, regardless of their family income or financial circumstances, has sufficient money to earn a Centenary University degree.
