President Lieberman’s State of the University Shares Retrospective of Her 12 Year Legacy
The University of La Verne community came in droves to President Devorah Lieberman’s last State of the University address, where she took the university on a celebration journey through the years, highlighting key moments from her tenure as president.
The retrospective was organized on how we started, where we are today, and where we are going, and included points of pride. Some of which included the new and renamed academic colleges, including the newest College of Health and Community Well-Being, the creation of 15 new academic degree
programs, eight new curricular and co-curricular programs and offices, numerous physical transformations, enrollment, and budget changes, more than 80 named scholarships, fundraising-named positions, government grants, and more. She then reflected on the university’s national visibility, including recognition as the 6th ranked university in the nation to lead the U.S. News & World Report in the Social Mobility category. Video was shared of the physical transformations from then to now, including a digital walkthrough of the architectural concepts for the new college.
“It’s not about any one of us, it’s about all of us,” President Lieberman said to the audience. “The whole is greater than any one person.”
In her discussion of where we are today, she shared encouraging news about the “upswing” in enrollment and budget numbers for the upcoming academic year as well as the progress areas within the 2025 strategic vision. Finally, she shared the trajectory of the university by sharing the progress made with a Future Forward Thriving Leos initiative, regional and online programs, and the university’s new education and innovation corridor in Ontario.
She ended the presentation with a final message to everyone.
“How can we be distinctive, relevant, and competitive – where everyone says that they belong here?,” President Lieberman said, reminding the audience of its unity and purpose. “We are multiple campuses, but one university with one mission and one vision. We are Leos for Life!”
She received a standing ovation at the end of the address and shared that she looked forward to helping the incoming president transition.
