MEDIA, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine held a joint leadership meeting with two local higher education institutions – Widener University and Delaware County Community College – on Oct. 31, reaffirming their shared commitment to collaboration, student success and strengthening higher education partnerships across Delaware County.
The meeting focused on the higher education landscape in the region and ways the institutions can collaborate in the future.
“As we all know, the public perception of higher education is not at a high point, so one thing we have to think about is how we can help restore the value and respect of higher education,” said Regional Chancellor Marilyn J. Wells in her opening remarks. “What we can do — our three institutions — is work together to help citizens in our region. We’re working together for the citizens, employers and communities in our region.”
Marta Yera Cronin, president of Delaware County Community College, further emphasized the importance of the three institutions collaborating to see how each college can fit each other’s needs.
“We need to show that although we’re technically in competition with one another, we can come together and see how we can meet each other’s needs. We would like to find ways to collaborate and share resources,” she said.
Widener University President Stacey Robertson added to Cronin’s remarks, stating the value of university partnerships.
“I think, too often, there is this sentiment of competition on us. When I first started this job, I was told that I didn’t have to meet with other presidents, but I knew that didn’t sound right,” she said. “Bringing people together who do similar work to you can be enriching, fun and positive. There is so much negativity around higher education right now, and I think bringing positive people together to find positive solutions is a great way to fix that.”
Institutional leaders in attendance included directors and vice presidents from various departments across all three institutions, including academic affairs, student affairs, strategic communications, development and more.
The leaders plan to meet regularly to explore new ways to strengthen their partnership and advance shared goals related to academic innovation and student success.
