Stability is vital to our experiences here at CSB+SJU

Since coming to SJU in the fall of 2020, I have had the experience of a lifetime. From the first chicken kiev in Guild Hall to traveling to Dubai for the COP, it has been a fun ride. I am grateful for all the opportunities, but I must ask: Do any other SJU seniors feel like they are pawns of a transition period?

First, it was transitioning in and out of the COVID pandemic, which was a very stressful time for all members in the CSB+SJU community. Then, it was the transition from President McAllister to President Mullen, and eventually landing the massive transition to one president between CSB and SJU, Brian Bruess. During these transitions, we had many important CSB+SJU community members move on, including but not limited to: Trish Doran, Student Activities; Nathan Denhe, Enrollment; Barb May, Academic Affairs; Tanya Gertz, Fine Arts Programming; Adia Zeman Theis, XPD; Brother Dan Morgan, SJU Residential Life; Pat Martin, SJU Faith; Lacey Solheid, Student Activities; Andrew Kroska, Student Activities; Katie Alvino, Marketing; Mike Connolly, SJU Dean; Ben Corbett, SJU Residential Life; and Janet Despard, SJU Dining Services. We also had the Academic Prioritization Plan, which included multiple professors leaving. We also have new additions to our staff, like COO Kara Kolomitz and SDO Sandra Mitchell. Let us not forget about the Integrations Curriculum, too, which was brand new when the Class of 2024 arrived at CSB+SJU. Now, as the class of 2024 leaves, we are going through a strategic plan. On top of these major administrative changes, we, the students, deal with the turnover of graduating students. While we make new friends each year, losing friends to the working world is difficult.

The list of changes is endless, and it has been difficult to transition from year to year. From the many focus groups, surveys and various events asking for our input, being the guinea pig for the future of CSB+SJU becomes a nuisance. I understand the administration wants to better CSB+SJU for the future, but what about the students who are paying the $70,000 right now for what we were told about coming here? Stability is a key Benedictine practice, and our experience at SJU has been the opposite of stability. Developing relationships with faculty, creating better campus policy as student leaders and having an excellent experience at SJU requires consistent leadership. Having more than 20 staff changes in a span of four years has hurt my experience at SJU.

My hope in writing this article is to raise awareness and ensure that future classes do not have to experience anything like the SJU classes of the past few years. Faculty, including our professors, are the foundation of our student experience. CSB+SJU needs to focus more energy on their morale and find ways to keep them at CSB+SJU. Faculty should want to stay for the CSB+SJU community, not feel like they are here to just get a paycheck. I recognize that the school is in a small, competitive market and always needs to be improving (as that is the purpose of education), but this class funds the salaries of our administrators—current students and in the future as alum donors. Let this serve as a lesson to the administration that while change can lead to positive progress for the school, it can negatively impact the student experience and harm the future outlook of CSB+SJU.

As the class of 2024 leaves, be intentional in your conversations with us because we do have wisdom to share—especially since much of the administration is newer than us. The class of 2024 came in with administration trying to understand how to run a campus in a global pandemic, and now we leave SJU with Strong Integration still being defined.