Identity, Focus, and the Road Ahead

If there’s one lesson these past three years have reinforced, it’s that bold, focused leadership makes all the difference. At Avila, we’ve learned to set audacious yet achievable goals — and then pursue them with relentless discipline.

But bold doesn’t mean chasing every opportunity. The most effective goals are simple, strategic, and focused on where the greatest impact lies.

Our leadership team recently read 10x Is Better Than 1x, a reminder that in a world of limited time and resources, success comes from focusing on the initiatives that offer transformational, exponential growth — and resisting the temptation to pour energy into projects that deliver only incremental, marginal gains.

That philosophy has shaped our approach. We’ve invested heavily in Arizona, international partnerships, and our Global Student Success initiatives because they carry the potential to redefine Avila’s future — not just nudge it forward.

Balancing Opportunity with Risk

We’ve also learned that even promising initiatives can carry risk — especially when we shoulder the entire burden alone.

Take Ridgway Hall — soon to be Buchanan Hall — as an example. It’s a vital project that will benefit our campus for years to come, but because Avila carried the full financial responsibility, the project’s million-dollar cost overruns strained our finances this year and served as a sobering reminder of how risk can quickly undermine good intentions.

That experience reinforced why we seek partnerships wherever possible. When we collaborate with others — in Arizona, Tunisia, or through other shared ventures — we magnify the upside while keeping the risk manageable. It’s a strategic balance: pursue the 10x opportunities, but do so in a way that protects the institution.

Surrounding Ourselves with Great People

None of this happens in isolation. Another lesson that’s become crystal clear: surround yourself with great people.

I remember my first year at Avila, barely comfortable leaving campus for a day, knowing how much of the daily load still fell on my shoulders. Today, that’s changed.

Leaders like Dr. Andy Jett, Dr. Tom Jandris, Dr. Bryan DePoy, Jody Mitchell, Abdul Amini, and Curtis Burton have built teams that allow me to step away, confident that the mission not only continues but thrives.

Our Board, under the steady guidance of outgoing Chair Tom Burns and incoming Chair Dr. Ibraheem Badejo, has been unwaveringly supportive while holding us to the highest standards.

And I would be remiss not to acknowledge the five Sisters of St. Joseph on our Board, whose presence, wisdom, and lived example of servant leadership ground this institution in its founding values.

Our faculty and staff — from Dr. Leslie Smith and Dr. Erin Holt, to our TRIO and advising teams, to Miss Ollie greeting students with her familiar smile — demonstrate daily that mission-driven leadership leaves no room for drama.

When you’re clear about who you are and why you’re here, distractions fall away.

Identity as Operational Strategy

That clarity — that unwavering sense of identity — has never mattered more.

Over a decade ago I participated in the Thrivent Fellows program and found mentors like Dr. Loren Anderson and Dr. Tom Cedel, both former university presidents. I was reminded by them that identity isn’t a tagline. It’s the lens through which every decision passes.

For Avila, that identity flows directly from the charism of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

It means serving the dear neighbor without distinction.
It means confronting economic and social inequality by expanding access to education.
It means modeling diversity and pluralism not as slogans, but as daily practices — in hiring, in leadership, in how we treat one another.

Matthew 18 calls us to right relationships — to resolve conflict with humility, to lead with compassion and accountability. At Avila, that’s not just scripture — it’s operational strategy.

Where We’re Headed

Where is Avila headed? The truth is, Kansas City is too small for the CSJ charism. And the need for what that charism represents has never been greater.

Rising inequality? We are there to provide access.
Rising tribalism? We offer a home where everyone belongs.

Our vision is bold but grounded: 10,000 students by decade’s end — through Arizona, international partnerships, and initiatives still unfolding. But enrollment is just a metric. The real measure is impact — lifting communities, expanding access, and living our mission on a global scale.

We do so, always, inspired by those who paved the way — courageous women like Mother St. John Fontbonne, imprisoned during the French Revolution yet unwavering in her faith.

The six Sisters who left everything behind to bring education and hope to the Americas.
The Sisters who marched with Dr. King in Selma, standing for justice.

And today, their modern-day counterparts — the Sisters of St. Joseph, our faculty, staff, alumni, and students — lifting up communities, modeling lives of service, and striving every day to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world that desperately needs it.

This is Avila’s moment — bold, focused, grounded in identity, and propelled by the courage and wisdom of those who showed us the way.

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Part 3 of 4: Year Three — Growth Meets Reality, and the Horizon Expands

In my first year as President of şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą, the question was whether we would survive. In the second year, the question became how far we could grow. In Year Three, growth became a reality — but so did the challenges that come with it.

A Breakthrough Year in Enrollment — and the Growing Pains That Followed

In Spring 2024, just two years into this remarkable journey, Avila crossed the 2,000-student mark for the first time. By every measure, we were positioned for a historic Fall 2024.

Our domestic partnerships were firing on all cylinders. Our enrollment team, our academic leaders, our global partners — the entire university was moving in unison toward an ambitious goal. After eighteen months of tireless international recruitment and partnership cultivation, Avila issued over 4,000 I-20s to incoming international students, expecting several hundred to join us in the fall.

The Villa Ventura housing project was coming online. Buchanan Hall (formerly Ridgway) was stripped to its bones, under full renovation. Dr. Andy Jett and his team were rapidly scaling the College for Innovative Professional and Graduate Studies to meet growing demand.

It all pointed to a breakout year.

But behind the scenes, storm clouds were gathering.

The Visa Challenge — and the Reality Check of Rapid Growth

Throughout the summer, troubling reports emerged: U.S. embassies abroad were overwhelmed. Students couldn’t get visa appointments — or worse, they secured appointments only to face inexplicable denials.

We weren’t alone; universities across the country were experiencing the same setbacks. But for Avila, with our rapidly expanding international pipeline, the impact was significant.

On campus, construction costs for Buchanan Hall began to climb far beyond expectations, leading to a temporary work stoppage. Thankfully, longtime Avila friend Dave Lovetere, along with Dave Walters and the team at MC Realty, stepped in to take control of the project. There were cost overruns, yes — but now, at least, the project was in capable hands.

Building Systems and Leadership for the Long Haul

Meanwhile, we were laying the organizational foundation to support our new scale:

• The Business Office, under Abdul Amini, implemented solid budgeting, PO systems, and financial controls — tools critical for managing growth.
• Rising leaders like Curtis Burton took on responsibility for Student Affairs, Facilities, Security, and Athletics, bringing energy and vision.
• In Academic Affairs, Dr. Bryan DePoy stepped in as Provost and Senior VP, bringing decades of experience, accreditation expertise, and a steady hand to lead our academic mission.
• Dr. Leslie Smith, as Dean of Arts & Sciences, and Dr. Paige Illum, leading student support, reinforced our commitment to academic quality and student success.

That fall, despite obstacles, Avila’s traditional undergraduate population had grown 25% in just three years — remarkable in a market battered by demographic shifts and federal financial aid failures.

Our total enrollment? 2,768 students.

By January 2025, we crossed 3,000 students, and at the 49th annual Steer Dinner, we celebrated reaching 3,100 students, making Avila the fastest-growing university in the region — and its most diverse.

A National and Global University Takes Shape

But Avila’s mission wasn’t confined to Kansas City.

Our new campus in Goodyear, Arizona, received full state and accreditor approval. Construction began, and our first Arizona students were expected to start in October.

We laid the groundwork for an international initiative in the United Arab Emirates, and our leadership team fanned out across the globe, building new partnerships to further Avila’s mission.

Nowhere was our identity clearer than in Kathmandu, Nepal, where Dr. Andrew Vogel launched a new student orientation model that combined enrollment with mission: prospective Avila students cleaned a polluted riverbed before even setting foot on campus. Before they arrive, they understand what it means to serve the “dear neighbor.”

Challenges on the Horizon — but Hope, Too

Yet, the landscape remains complex. Political changes in Washington, DC brought renewed uncertainty to higher education: heightened scrutiny of international students, tightening regulations, and a temporary freeze on student visa appointments.

But early summer brought signs of reopening — and with it, hope.

Meanwhile, our Board of Trustees approved Avila’s first surplus budget in recent memory, allocating millions to debt repayment and endowment replenishment. The university, for the first time in decades, was positioned to sustain its growth.

This July, we will celebrate the 375th anniversary of the Sisters of St. Joseph, a community whose mission to love the “dear neighbor” without distinction has endured centuries of expansion, risk, and reinvention.

Like them, Avila stands today in that tension — of risk and reward, of bold dreams and careful stewardship.

But our community now speaks openly of what was once unthinkable: a roadmap to 10,000 students — a vision no longer distant fantasy, but a strategic, achievable goal rooted in mission, values, and hard work.

In the final installment of this reflection series, I’ll share where we go from here — and why the best chapters of Avila’s story are still unwritten.

#AvilaUniversity #HigherEdLeadership #GlobalEducation #CatholicHigherEd #GrowthWithMission

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Part 2 of 4: Year Two — Growth, Growing Pains, and a New Spirit of Possibility

As I shared in Part One of this reflection series, my first year as şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ąâ€™s 15th President was a period of urgent triage — a university at the brink, and a team working tirelessly to pull it back. But Year Two? Year Two was something altogether different.

It was the year growth came to Avila.

Not quietly. Not without its challenges. But undeniably.

The Year Enrollment Returned — And Then Some

Fall 2023 marked a milestone in Avila’s history: we welcomed the largest incoming class in the university’s history — 501 new students, shattering our previous record of 325.

This wasn’t magic — it was the result of intentional, exhausting work by a lot of people, especially Josh Parisse, Avila alumnus, tireless recruiter, and the sharpest bow-tie on campus. Josh and his team rebuilt our enrollment operation from the ground up, combining old-fashioned relationship-building with new partnerships and strategies.

Our domestic partnerships also took root:

• KC Scholars, led by Natalie Lewis, provided nearly $20 million to fund up to 800 students from low-income communities over eight years.
• Our agreement with Metropolitan Community College (MCC), led by its transformative Chancellor, Dr. Kimberly Beatty, made transferring to Avila seamless, strengthening the bridge between Kansas City’s largest community college system and our Catholic university.
• We expanded outreach into regional high schools where Avila’s name had seldom been heard in recent years.

The results were clear. Fall 2023 enrollment climbed to 1,733 students, a number driven primarily by traditional undergraduates — but growth was happening across the board.

A Global University in the Making

Meanwhile, our international partnerships began to bear fruit:

• Global University Systems (GUS), especially through the leadership of David Fisher (InUni) and Pawan Srivastava (Get2Uni), helped bring our first few dozen international students to campus in Fall 2023. More arrived each term.
• We launched an innovative low-residency model in cities like Boston, Jersey City, Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles, bringing Avila’s programs directly to the largest pockets of international students in the U.S. The response? Overwhelming.
• We planted our first overseas partnership at American University North Africa in Tunis, giving students there a pathway to earn an Avila degree. Similar partnerships followed in India and beyond.

This wasn’t just enrollment growth. It was mission-driven. Our strategic plan made it clear: serving the “dear neighbor” in higher education means creating access — to a Catholic education, to opportunity, to a future — especially for those who otherwise might not have it.

Renovating, Reimagining, Rebuilding

With growth came growing pains. Our campus was not built for rapid scale. Two of our four residence halls — Carondelet Hall and Ridgway Hall — hadn’t seen major updates in 50 to 60 years. Students noticed.

We made a bold decision: renovate or risk losing momentum.

Thanks to the generosity of the Mabee Foundation, Sunderland Foundation, and the leadership of Avila’s Board of Trustees, we launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to restore Ridgway Hall. A capstone gift from Bill and Jean Buchanan — reflecting their deep love for Avila and the Sisters of St. Joseph — helped get us across the finish line. By summer 2024, Ridgway Hall was stripped to its bones, a powerful symbol of where Avila stood: under construction, but full of promise.

We also secured an unexpected housing solution when Senior Star closed Villa Ventura, a senior living facility just a block from campus. A timely LinkedIn message led to a lease — and a new, immediate housing option for our growing student body.

National Aspirations Take Root

The year’s boldest idea? A partnership with GUS to explore building an Avila campus in Goodyear, Arizona. The City of Goodyear wanted a university to anchor its new city center — and we were invited to the table. It was a longshot, but as I traveled to London to meet with GUS founder Aaron Etingen, and as Dr. Tom Jandris led the project back home, that longshot started to look real.

Building Culture, Embedding Mission

Through it all, we stayed true to our culture and mission. Every freshman and transfer student continued to be welcomed to our home for dinner. Every student visiting campus was greeted by me or my wife, Hanen.

The message was clear: Avila isn’t just growing — it’s staying personal, accessible, and true to its mission.

That mission found powerful new expression through the expansion of the Buchanan Institute for Peace and Nonviolence, ensuring that the Avila experience isn’t defined by enrollment numbers alone — but by service, by values, and by the philosophies of peace that have guided the Sisters of St. Joseph for generations.

From Survival to Ambition

By Spring 2024, less than two years after we wondered if Avila could survive, we celebrated surpassing 2,000 students, exceeding our all-time enrollment high.

The conversation began to shift — from survival to ambition.

Could Avila serve not just Kansas City — but the nation? The world? Could a university with humble roots set its sights on 10,000 students and beyond?

We didn’t have all the answers. But after Year Two, for the first time in a long time, we could believe the future was ours to shape.

In Part Three of this series, I’ll share how Year Three brought new challenges, deeper partnerships, and unexpected tests of everything we had built.

#AvilaUniversity #GrowthMindset #HigherEdTransformation #CatholicHigherEd

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Part 1 of 4: Year One — A University at the Brink

Today marks three years since I began my tenure as the 15th President of şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą. To mark the occasion, I want to share a series of reflections — not just on our accomplishments, but on the challenges, risks, and decisions that have defined this journey. This is the first in a four-part series, recounting the story of Avila’s transformation.

Year One: A University at the Brink

When I accepted the opportunity to lead şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą in early 2022, I intended to officially begin on July 1. But as I began to peel back the layers, it became clear we didn’t have the luxury of time.

The institution’s challenges were far deeper than advertised. Instead of a modest deficit, Avila faced a $9 to $10 million shortfall. Enrollment had declined by nearly half over the previous decade — from 2,000 students to around 1,100. Deferred maintenance projects amounted to tens of millions of dollars. Morale was understandably fragile. The faculty and staff had endured a single 1% raise in ten years — and, in one year, a temporary 9.5% pay cut.

Frankly, there were real questions about whether Avila would survive.

Rather than waiting for July, I began immediately — March 2022 — knowing that if we were to have any chance of impacting the Fall 2022 and 2023 enrollment cycles, urgent action was required.

Moving Fast, Taking Risks

We didn’t waste time. I came to Avila with a philosophy, developed in prior institutions, rooted in high-reward/low-risk initiatives, and growth through partnerships. Private colleges and universities can do both, while largely converting expense to a variable basis, by working with partners — organizations often better-funded and with high degrees of specialization — which share revenue after students are enrolled by providing support services.

Within weeks, we brought in new partners that would form the backbone of Avila’s revitalization:

• Synergis Education to help rebuild and grow our Nursing programs.
• Academic Partnerships (now Risepoint) to drive growth in online education.
• Global University Systems, an international higher education organization headquartered in London, to help reintroduce Avila to the global stage.
• KTA, the K-12 Teacher’s Alliance, to help Avila build its graduate online programs in teacher education.

In Fall 2022, Avila had zero new international students. By Fall 2023, that changed significantly — a testament to the groundwork laid during those early, exhausting months.

Leadership Moves

We also made critical leadership moves. I was fortunate to bring in and elevate trusted, proven colleagues:

• Dr. Tom Jandris, a respected leader from the Concordia University System, to help strengthen our academic enterprise.
• Dr. Andy Jett, already part of the Avila family, was empowered to build what would become the College for Innovative Professional and Graduate Studies.
• Dr. Stacy Keith, longtime professor in Education, whose experience, strong work ethic, empathy, and personal integrity brought needed stability to the office of Provost.

We made necessary organizational and personnel changes — but we were careful to minimize the human toll. The Avila community had already sacrificed enough.

A New Vision and Plan

Perhaps most importantly, we launched an inclusive, transparent strategic planning process. Led by distinguished alumna Ellen Barnes, this effort engaged faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the Board of Trustees.

By summer 2023, the Board adopted a plan built on five pillars:

1. Grow Enrollment
2. Strengthen Finances and Profitability
3. Innovate in şŁ˝ÇÖ±˛Ą
4. Care for Our People
5. Lean Into Our Catholic and CSJ Identity

We made our values visible. Every freshman and transfer student was invited to our home for dinner. We ensured every student who visited campus was greeted personally by me or my wife, Hanen.

And we began a new tradition of radical transparency: the week following each Board meeting we held a town hall where we shared everything we could from the prior week’s Board meeting — and stayed to answer every question.

Difficult Decisions, Bold Moves

But even with early momentum, the realities of our financial situation forced difficult choices. To cover immediate cash gaps and invest in the programs and partnerships Avila desperately needed, the Board approved a bold, unprecedented step: working with the State of Missouri to access portions of our small, restricted endowment.

The State approved our proposal — a lifeline that bought us breathing room, though not without its share of controversy.

A Year of Risk and Resolve

The first year was as exhausting as it was exhilarating. Every decision carried risk. But by the end of that first year, hope had returned to Avila.

We weren’t out of the woods — but we had turned toward the future.

In Part Two of this series, I’ll share how we turned that fragile momentum into real, measurable progress in Year Two.

#AvilaUniversity #LeadershipReflections #HigherEdTransformation

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