Welcome New Leaders In November, Jennifer Barry joined Rosemont as Dean of the School of Graduate
and Professional Studies. In February, Meghan Haley assumed the new role of Vice President, Enrollment and Marketing. As we did in the last issue, let’s get to know these newest members of the leadership team and what brought them to Rosemont. from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire, and is expected to complete her Doctorate in Education in 2021.
Jennifer Barry Dean, School of Graduate and Professional Studies
Barry comes to Rosemont from American International College (AIC) in Springfield, Massachusetts. With expertise in adult education, online course delivery, educational operations, and micro-emerging markets, Barry will focus her efforts on growing enrollment and developing new programs for adult students. Prior to her roles at AIC, Barry served the community of Bay Path University as the Director of Admissions for the Longmeadow Campus and Online Programs, the Senior Director of Admissions for Online Recruitment Initiatives, and the Campus Director for the American Women’s College (Online), taking on additional responsibility and oversight with each new role. Barry has many years of teaching experience, including courses such as: Social Environments of Business, Elements of Organization, Learning Across the Lifespan, Women Empowered as Learners and Leaders, and Leadership in Practice. Barry earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and her Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership
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Why Rosemont? What excites you about the College? I am passionate about helping students achieve their goals. I have spent the past 15 years committed to creating access and equity for non-traditional students by improving policies to be inclusive of adult learners, promoting the use of andragogy in course development. It is my belief that implementing holistic approaches to student engagement, and taking the time to listen to student feedback and the challenges that they face while working toward their degree is critical to the success of every student. Rosemont’s mission states that we are “a community of lifelong learners dedicated to academic excellence and fostering joy in the pursuit of knowledge.” This resonates with me for two reasons. The first reason is that by recognizing that we are “lifelong learners;” it removes the expectation that a student’s college years are tied to a specific age-bracket. As a passionate advocate for non-traditional students, I really appreciate that Rosemont recognizes the value of learning at every age. The only limitation to our ability to learn is the limitation that we place on ourselves. If a student wants to pursue an education, I want to help them succeed in achieving it. The second piece of this statement that I connected with is “fostering joy.” Students have many institutions to choose from when pursuing their degree, but I want to work at an institution that believes that learning should bring you joy. Rosemont embodies its mission and values, and it is important for me to work at an institution where my personal beliefs align with my institution’s values. "What excites me about being at Rosemont is having the opportunity to ensure that we are living the mission in
our conversations with students, in the creation of our coursework, and in the way that we are creating new opportunities to engage our students as we develop new programs." The Program Directors in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies are passionate about their areas of expertise, and I am excited to be working with them and hearing about how they are working with our students. I am looking forward to attending events with students and providing each of them with opportunities to share their stories. A year from now, what do you want to say you have accomplished at Rosemont? What about three years from now? There are many small movements that I would like to see in the next year in a variety of areas of my work. However, if I were to wake up a year from now, I would like to see that I have fostered the development of new programs, new partnerships, and increased enrollment in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies by 50%. Rosemont College’s commitment to the POWER of small gives us the opportunity to provide students with the support and engagement they need to be successful that larger institutions simply cannot provide. I want to focus on how we can continue to refine and improve our courses and opportunities for student engagement in the School of Graduate and Professional Studies to help achieve this goal. Three years from now, I would expect that the School of Graduate and Professional Studies will not only be more than double in enrollment, but the major offerings will look different than they do today. I expect that there will be more professional studies majors, new graduate programs, and additional certificate options. I would like to see Professional Studies and Graduate Students taking advantage of community spaces on campus (because in three years, I hope that COVID-19 is far behind us) and that we have found new and exciting ways to engage our adult students outside of the classroom. What book are you currently reading? I am currently reading Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyond by Marc Lamont Hill, for the second time. If you haven’t read this book, I strongly encourage you to pick it up.
