Hilltop Views S t .
E d w a r d ’ s
U n i v e r s i t y
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Volume 26 | Issue 1
Class of 2013 largest in school history Claire Cella This year, despite an ailing economy, St. Edward’s University welcomed the largest freshman class in its 132 year history. Pending the final headcount, the freshman class of 2013 totals 757, 16 more than last year’s total of 741. Tracy Manier, director of admissions, said that the university has seen steady growth in the incoming class every year for the past nine years. “A lot of private colleges are down in enrollment, even before the economic crisis,” she said. “We’ve been an unusual school in that we’ve seen such
consistent growth.” The preparation for this year’s incoming class left directors and counselors of admissions offices concerned and uncertain how the unstable economy would affect enrollment numbers, especially at the country’s more expensive private institutions. To compensate, many universities targeted a much larger and broader pool of potential applicants. Mike Rossman, director of admissions at Southwestern University, said he witnessed one of the biggest pushes for enrollment at the university since he started working there about 30 years ago. “Every school went into this
“I will say it was a very different year in college admissions” -Director of Admissions Tracy Manier year with the question, ‘What is it going to be? What will this incredibly unusual economic circumstance bring?’” Rossman said. Southwestern, a smaller private university in Georgetown, enrolled 375 incoming freshmen this year, compared to 349 last year. Other small private universities in Texas saw rises in their freshmen classes as well, according to Forbes. com. Trinity University in
San Antonio welcomed 656 freshmen compared to 631 last year, while the freshmen class at Baylor University in Waco jumped from 2,732 to 3,062. But not all institutions experienced increased enrollment. Fort Worth’s Texas Christian University’s enrollment dropped over 200 students from 1,644 in 2008 to 1,398 in 2009. The freshman class at St. Mary’s University in San An-
tonio also fell, as the university enrolled 29 fewer students this year with a total of 537 compared to 566 in 2008. “I will say it was a very different year in college admissions,” said Manier. “It was harder to predict the outcome.” Most of the work done by colleges admissions offices is based on historic trends, which allow counselors to analyze how students have responded to certain aid offers in past. A noticeable difference this year, Manier said, was a sharp increase in the number of applications received. St. Edward’s received 200 more applications for admis-
sion than usual. A majority of these additional applicants, however, were what are called softer applicants, or students who apply to a long list of schools just to see where they can get the most financial aid or scholarship money from. These students are less likely to actually enroll, Manier said. Similarly, Rossman said Southwestern experienced an increase in the number of students paying their deposit and then withdrawing over the summer. Still, both universities managed to increase their enrollment, despite the economic DESPITE, 3
University welcomes new faculty Brian Brown The members of the new freshman class are not the only people in their first year at St. Edward’s University, as several new additions to key administrative positions were filled this fall. Over the summer, David Waldron was named vice president of Information Technology, Walter Pearson was named dean of the New College, Judy Leavell was named interim dean of the School of Education, and Elias Diaz Martinez has taken over as director of the
Kozmetzsky Center for Excellence in Global Finance. Waldron moved to Austin from Ohio only four weeks ago to fill the IT position, for which he can contribute 20 years of experience. Before joining the university, Waldron was employed as the chief information technology officer at the College of Wooster in Ohio. At St. Edward’s, he will be responsible for ensuring the university is technologically up-to-date and aiding faculty in using technology in new ways in the classroom. Waldron said St. Edward’s
Entertainment: Enjoy the summer movie roundup. Page 6
appealed to him because of its uniqueness and its ability to draw a diverse group of faculty and students through a devoted openness to academic exploration. “[I am happy to join a university] that has enjoyed a great deal of success over the last few years, the last couple of decades,” Waldron said. In addition, Waldron said his transition to the university has been smooth because of the cooperative atmosphere and eagerness of other faculty members to be accommodating. Pearson assumed the posi-
tion of New College dean after leaving his previous job as an associate academic dean, assistant professor and director of Evening, Weekend and Graduate programs at Simpson College in Iowa, where he worked since 1995. At St. Edward’s, Pearson will be responsible for overseeing New College, the undergraduate degree completion program offered at St. Edward’s for students over the age of 25. Leavell, although not a new face to St. Edward’s, has assumed the role of interim
Sports: New men’s basketball coach named. Page 10
KEY, 4
Cory Hahn
Students gathered on the Main Building lawn for Hillfest.
Viewpoints: SGA President addresses the student body. Page 14