Celebrating the Present, Looking to the Future | A Message from President Evans
Dear faculty and staff,
On Saturday, we celebrated the culmination of years of study, growth and formation during our Spring 2025 Commencement. More than 1,000 Cardinals were honored at two ceremonies and were prayed over the evening before at two Baccalaureate Masses. Seeing our students realize their dreams and those of their families is always a moving reminder of the deep significance of our work and an inspiring way to close every academic year.
Now, we look forward to a fast-approaching 2025-26 academic year. As we prepare for the year ahead and welcome the arrival of a new Provost, new Chief Information Officer and a new Chief Financial Officer, we are in an excellent position to make even greater progress toward our strategic planning. I have asked John Bury, Vice President for Strategy and Enrollment, and Michael Larkin, Chief of Staff, to lead a Strategic Planning Task Force. This task force will build off the findings of the listening sessions conducted during 2024 in response to the Presidential Position Paper.
Included in this task force is a broad representation of our faculty and leadership:
Dr. Michael Moon, Professor, Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions, incoming Faculty Senate President (2025-2027)
Dr. Adeola Coker, Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Feik School of Pharmacy
Dr. Chunling Niu, Assistant Professor, Dreeben School of Education
Dr. Chris Edelman, Professor, Philosophy, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Dr. Lori Kels, Chair, Clinical Science Faculty, Association Professor, Psychiatry, UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine
Dr. Jeannie Scott, Dean, H-E-B School of Business and Administration
Sr. Walter Maher, CCVI, Vice President, Mission and Ministry
Marcos Fragoso, Vice President, International Affairs
Dr. Eva Fernández, Provost
Lenora Chapman, CFO and Vice President for Finance and Administration
The task force will identify initiatives and opportunities that will make UIW even more distinctive and ensure we remain a destination for students seeking transformative, Catholic education.
This work is especially important now, as anyone reading the higher education press, or any national media for that matter, knows of the disruptions and uncertainties impacting colleges and universities across the country. We continue to actively monitor the national landscape and examine any immediate and potential impacts to our institution. To help us ensure that we remain at the cusp of any changing tide and inform our response, I have invited Barbara Mistick, President of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), to address our Board of Trustees at its June 13th meeting. Barbara leads one of the most important national education organizations and is well versed and connected to the latest policy initiatives impacting the future of higher education.
As we remain vigilant, we must ensure that we sustain UIW in the strongest possible position—strategically and financially. Close budget management will be critical to this work. We have assured our board that we will do everything in our power to deliver a balanced budget in the upcoming academic and fiscal year. The current budget model, which incorporates a one-time special endowment distribution of $3 million to reach balance, requires that we achieve significant savings in the salary budget in fiscal year 2025-26. Because it is our desire to accomplish this without any reductions in force, we have concluded that the most effective course of action is to keep open positions unfilled for as long as possible to maximize the savings that accrue while a position is open.
To that end, I am instructing the Personnel Review Committee (PRC), which reviews and approves any vacant or new positions, to be guided by that target. Be advised that unless a vacated position is likely to result in a direct loss of significant revenue, greater than the cost of replacement, there will likely be an extended delay before positions are filled. So, I ask that hiring managers exercise extreme prudence and institutional perspective before submitting positions for replacement.
A balanced budget for this incoming year will also impact our ability to invest in our future and build a budget for the 2026-27 year that includes funding for new initiatives that leverage our strengths.
Over the past several years, I have asked you to be judicious about our resources and thoughtful about our future. Your efforts have allowed us to continue delivering the kind of education that draws students from all over the world and leaves them profoundly transformed. Your work has also sustained us during some challenging seasons. I am grateful to every member of our employee community for your unique and valued contributions.
Given the changing landscape, there will be difficult and uncertain moments ahead. Yet, I feel we can also expect moments of great hope. Last week, we welcomed Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from the United States. I find myself inspired by his emphasis on unity, synodality and the words of his episcopal motto: “although we Christians are many, in the one Christ we are one.” It is in that same spirit that we will serve our students: guided by our Mission and united in purpose as One Word.
Praised be the Incarnate Word!
Sincerely,
Thomas M. Evans, PhD
President