Growing and Giving Back

 

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” These words from Helen Keller epitomize the events taking place across our campuses as we launch into the spring season and the final weeks of the semester.

Spring is a time for growth, and it’s been in full bloom these last few weeks as we’ve all enjoyed the warmth and sunshine the season has brought. Earlier this month, students at Bloomsburg and Lock Haven participated in The Big Event—a campus-wide day of service focused on sending student volunteers out into the community to complete service projects. I’m incredibly proud of the selflessness exhibited by our students and their willingness to give back to the communities our campuses call home. Over 1,000 students took part in The Big Event, making a big impact on the towns of Bloomsburg and Lock Haven. At Mansfield, students rallied together through the annual Paddy Murphy fundraiser to raise $10,000 for a local teacher battling cancer. The campus also hosted Relay for Life this month.

Bloomsburg students at the start of the Big Event 

Lock Haven students filled Jared Boxes during the Big Event 

Mansfield students gather during Paddy Murphy Week

Volunteerism centers around selflessness, and at this busy time of the semester when many priorities compete for our students’ time and attention, it’s inspiring to witness them take a step back to give back. I’m always incredibly proud of our students and their dedication to excelling academically. Our campuses are filled with future leaders who will go on to achieve great things and contribute to their communities in meaningful ways. I have always believed that effective leadership is rooted in servant leadership, which is why it’s so heartening to see our students embracing these principles. Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Our students are living this truth by doing work that matters, both in and out of the classroom.

We know that our students carry these values with them long after their days on campus. The generosity of our alumni prove it year after year. April has been a month of giving for our proud alumni and supporters as well. They are supporting our students in big ways through the All In Days of Giving, which took place earlier this month and raised over $375,000. These gifts make a tremendous difference in the lives of our students and support valuable initiatives that lead directly to enhanced learning experiences and outcomes for our students.

Growth. Giving Back. In so many ways, this is what the college experience is all about. I often speak about our number one priority at Commonwealth University—student success. As president, it’s incredibly rewarding to see our students grow as individuals in their four years here. It’s even more rewarding to know that the students who came before them are instilling the value of giving back—demonstrating the truest measure of success.

Thank you, sincerely, to every student and supporter for the generosity of spirit and selflessness you have demonstrated this month. Your actions have made a difference in the lives of others!

    Bashar W. Hanna, President

National Volunteer Week

Artist Pablo Picasso said, “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” Over the past several months, our campuses have offered meaningful examples of Picasso’s words at work. Students from each campus have been out in the community lending a hand and giving their time and talents to help local organizations.

April 17 kicks off national volunteer week, providing an opportunity to recognize the work of the students, volunteers, donors, supporters, and friends of our universities whose contributions to our campuses and communities make an immeasurable difference in the lives of so many.

At Lock Haven, students recently partnered with Downtown Lock Haven to put together spring time activities for kids and assist in community clean-up efforts. Multiple athletic teams have also given their time to support local charities, schools, and churches.

Bloomsburg students recently participated in The Big Event, a CGA community service event that gives them the opportunity to help and assist businesses and residents of the Town of Bloomsburg with projects such as raking yards and cleaning up streets.

Mansfield student organizations, Greek life, and athletics programs have been giving back to their community in big ways this spring through volunteering in and around the Mansfield area.

Last week, all three campuses participated in an All-In Day of Giving. The 24-hour giving challenge is in its eighth year at Lock Haven, with Bloomsburg and Mansfield hosting inaugural events this year. I am humbled by the generosity of our donors who together gave more than $500,330 to support our students. Each gift will make a difference in the life of a student.

Giving comes in many forms. This month we’ve witnessed shining examples of what it means to give of oneself in support of others. Whether it’s time, talent, or treasure—every gift is meaningful and works powerfully in the life of our students and the people in our communities.

Thank you to our students and supporters for your continued generosity of spirit and selfless consideration of others.

    Bashar W. Hanna, President

Doing our part

Each spring for the past decade, Bloomsburg University students have participated in “The Big Event,” a Saturday in which thousands of students volunteer their time and help members of the Bloomsburg community with projects ranging from assisting a local business with its exterior design to doing a backyard cleanup for elderly residents. Whatever the task, our students have accepted the various challenges with cheerful attitudes and a sense of pride in giving back – because giving back to the community is in their DNA. Organized each year by the elected student leaders of BU’s Community Government Association, this event serves as a wonderful example of the power of collaboration for the benefit of our neighbors and community partners.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and current social distancing guidelines, this year’s Big Event was unfortunately canceled not long after BU made the difficult decision last month to move to online instruction for the remainder of the semester.

During these extraordinary times, the opportunity to assist a fellow member of the community is challenging, if not impossible. Despite these challenges, however, I am proud to say that Bloomsburg University continues to do its part by helping in the community.

Since the last week of March, thanks to the generosity and compassion of our nursing department, and to the resourcefulness and ingenuity of my colleagues in both the College of Science and Technology and the Zeigler College of Business (where we used our 3D printers in the Nicholas J. Giuffre Center for Supply Chain Management to produce masks and face shields), Bloomsburg University has donated the following personal protective equipment items to Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital, Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, and Evangelical Community Hospital in Lewisburg:

• 3,714 surgical masks
• 1,272 N95 masks
• 300 isolation gowns (and 15 disposable gowns)
• 150 face shields
• 60 visors
• 50 medical coveralls
• Multiple boxes of sterile gloves and non-sterile gloves

Because our students are not on campus and almost all of our residence halls are vacant, we are also prepared to provide temporary living quarters to Geisinger employees who are seeking alternative accommodations out of concern for exposure to their own family members. According to a metric geometry working group at Tufts University in Boston, there currently exist 46,167 total hospital beds in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania while there is capacity for 196,174 individuals in empty dorm rooms at colleges and universities across the state. It is my hope that this pandemic does not create an urgent need for rooms at BU or any other institution of higher learning in Pennsylvania. But given the current environment on college campuses, it is clear that universities are well situated to assist local hospitals should that need unfortunately arise.

While I am proud of the many Bloomsburg University alumni who are health care professionals fighting on the front lines of this pandemic in Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey, I am equally as proud of what BU is doing in this area – and I hope that our actions can serve as an example of the opportunity to make even a small difference in the community amidst challenging times.

As we face an uncertain future together, it is ever more important to strengthen our ties within this region so that all can benefit in brighter days ahead. I personally look forward to those brighter days ahead when our students return to campus, and to one day in particular next year: The Big Event in Spring 2021. I hope it will be the biggest and most impactful one yet.

Bashar

It's Been a Great First Year

The saying “time flies when you’re having fun” may be cliché, but it’s so true for me. Where have the last 12 months gone? It seems like only yesterday I was arriving to Carver Hall to humbly serve as the 19^th president of Bloomsburg University. Now more than 12 months have passed and I can stop, look back, and reflect on how much I have enjoyed getting to know our students, our faculty and staff, and our many graduates. You’ve embraced me and made me feel part of the BU family in ways I could never have imagined.

As I sit here and think about all that has happened, I am honored to have been a part of so many wonderful events and look forward to meeting more new people in the next 12 months.

We had many highlights in the last 12 months starting with last August when we have welcomed more than 1,600 new students to the Husky family. That was followed by the dedication of Soltz Hall, our new suite-style apartment building and the close of the It’s Personal capital campaign, the most successful one in university history. In December over 400 students became the first BU graduates with me as president. In late April I survived the inauguration ceremony, and in May we celebrated the graduation of over 1,500 Huskies.

Our students continue to show all of us how they want to help those around them by holding the biggest Big Event in school history; putting on one of the most elaborate Make-A-Wish reveals ever for a local child battling cancer; hosting the annual Bocce Ball Bash for Special Olympics as well as the annual Relay for Life event for cancer research.

Another one of the enjoyable parts of this job has been the chance to meet and talk with everyone. My chats with students in Starbucks, the dining halls or just walking through campus, have given me a real sense of what is important to them and reminds me daily of why I got into higher education. I’ve also had the chance to meet with many faculty and staff (both active and retired) and find out what they like about working here at BU and ways we can make this an even better place to work.

And finally, as I travel the state and around the country to meet with our alumni, there is one common theme I hear over and over and that’s about how “someone at BU changed my life.” That power of transforming the life of someone (and their family for generations to come) is something we can’t take lightly. I am also thankful for all our alumni and friends who continue to support current and future Huskies. Every gift has an impact, more than you can imagine.

There is a lot of work to be done in the next 12 months, but I know, with the help of my pack of Huskies by my side, we will continue to be successful and accomplish our mission which is to educate the citizens of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond.

Until next month, GO HUSKIES!

Bashar

Greatness is determined by service

Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday break and preparing for a great spring semester.

January is the month that we celebrate and honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His lasting legacy of peace and equality is something we continue to strive for to this day. While progress has been made in many quarters, much work is still needed.

One of Dr. King’s many powerful statements that moves me is "Everyone has the power for greatness, not for fame, but greatness, because greatness is determined by service."

This call to service should be an everyday goal for each of us. It doesn’t take moving a mountain to be considered great. Right here on our campus, a student’s call to greatness can be helping tutor a classmate or volunteering with one of BU’s many service organizations.

Your call to greatness could also be working at The Big Event or just donating blood. For faculty and staff, there are many organizations inside the communities where we live that are starving for a helping hand. We should all consider lending a helping hand in the coming 12 months. Not only will you be assisting someone else, you’ll feel better about yourself.

Enjoy your final few days of break and be sure to look for future meet and greet opportunities this semester. And as always, Go HUSKIES!

     Bashar