Transylvania University President Brien Lewis would like to see the Lexington private school grow by about 150 students. Lewis addressed Lexington Rotarians Thursday.
Student enrollment at the downtown historic university currently hovers around 1000. But Lewis said it’s been growing during a time when many higher education institutions have seen flat or declining numbers. “We have increased enrollment. We had higher enrollment last year during the pandemic than the year before. And we have increased deposits for the academic year that’s just about to start by 11%,” said Lewis. Lewis also noted student diversity is up by four percentage points.
A market feasibility study is examining the possibility of adding academic programs. After speaking, Lewis said there might be two or three faculty members in an area and three quarters of the courses needed to offer a new degree program. “Then it’s really only a matter of adding one faculty member with another element of expertise that can round that out and then, all of sudden, you have what you need to offer a completely additional program,” explained Lewis.
The Toronto native became Transylvania’s 28th president on July first of last year, right in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. At this time, Lewis said the plan for the fall semester calls for operating normally. The Transy president anticipates a high percentage of students will be vaccinated, although it’s not required.
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