Each year, The Wood Word grades Marywood on an A-F scale, based on our coverage throughout the year. This year, we reported on several stories that we see as improvements, however there are several developing stories that we believe cannot be accurately deemed as positive or negative. These are stories that we will continue to follow throughout next year and will monitor how they affect the Marywood community.
Last year, Marywood saw a significant improvement from the 2022-23 academic year, ending the year with a “B-”
This year remained the same, with plenty of adjustments to Marywood and its community, both for better and worse.
As a disclaimer: These opinions are our own and were decided upon unanimously by The Wood Word Staff. As always, readers are welcome to write a Letter to the Editor to share their thoughts and opinions as well.
Good
Marywood’s nursing program achieved a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX exam. This feat was accomplished for the second straight year, with the department taking measures, such as frequent check-ins and tailored programming, to continue the trend.
Marywood made numerous changes to its dining. After testing a sandwich shop in the McGowan Center in Fall 2024, Marywood opened Pacer Food Court, expanding its facilities to accommodate for the new options and seating for students. With the expansion of options, the Study Grounds, located in the Learning Center, adjusted its weekend hours to give students somewhere to dine in the morning, starting at 8 a.m..
Expanding its reach, Marywood’s aviation program partnered with Blue Bell Airport in Philadelphia. The expansion to southeast Pennsylvania allows more accessibility for students to get experience, as well as expanding Marywood’s reach for potential prospective students.
Marywood inaugurated its 13th president of the university. Making history, President Lisa Lori became the first layperson in Marywood’s history to take the presidential office. Despite this fact, Lori plans to uphold the Catholic teachings that Marywood has stood by through its existence.
Given the mass arrests made by ICE, Marywood stands pat on core values and constitutional rights of the entire university community. Marywood administration shared protocol for the occurrence of ICE or any government agencies’ appearance at Marywood and emphasized the protection of students.
Throughout the academic year, Keystone College has been through ups and downs financially with the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) planning to withdraw Keystone’s accreditation. Keystone developed a teach-out plan where students could still finish their degree through Marywood. Although Keystone remains accredited and open, Marywood made the transition seamless for these “legacy students.”
Iffy
Due to an increase in problems involving parking availability for both residents and commuters, Marywood has added additional resident parking spots behind the gym to eliminate the overflow into commuter lots. Creating additional parking spots for resident students living in Regina were mentioned, however, this change has not happened.
According to Marywood’s Campus Safety Report, there was an increase in alcohol violations, doubling from the previous year, along with a reported rape on campus. The rape was an isolated incident but both campus safety and residence life hope to keep the residence halls safe. Campus Security Chief Michael Pasqualicchio and Director of Housing Erica Armstrong worked closely together over the academic year to try to decrease the number of alcohol violations on campus through activities on the weekend hosted by student engagement.
The Center for City Living and Marywood ended their partnership, which helped promote “community engagement and urban design for students in the school of architecture.” Architecture students had utilized the Center for City Living to expand their knowledge on urban development. To bridge the gap that would be left, Professor Maria McDonald will take over as the director of civic and community engagement.
In accordance with the “Dear Colleague Letter” published by the Department of Education, Marywood University has placed its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion program into abeyance. Due to structural changes within the university, Marywood originally placed the DEI program into abeyance in July 2024 and plans to bring back the University Standing Committee to support students. The letter has deemed that all educational institutions must remove their DEI programs. This is still an ongoing issue nationally as three judges have deemed this demand “unconstitutional.”
Bad
Starting in October of this year, Marywood discontinued the 10% bonus on Pacer Points. The allocated funds went to the career services office to support postgraduate students; however, some also believe that the funds should have gone to other resources that would feed students living on-campus.
Effective in the 2025-26 Academic year, meal plans will be required for all students living on campus. This decision comes after years of residential feedback and through this change, cheaper options will be offered for Woodlands residents who in previous years had the option of choosing a meal plan. Commuter meal plans have also been updated to accommodate the increase in commuter traffic at the dining hall. Some students are hesitant on these required meal plans as the Woodland Apartments were seen as a “transition” for college students to learn how to live on their own.
Though the incident was isolated, there’s no good way to spin a shooting threat on a college campus. There were multiple layers to this story, including the assault from the student’s teammates. Local authorities and Marywood enforcement took immediate action in making sure the threat didn’t come to fruition, but nonetheless there is no other category that this could fall under.
Contact the Editorial Board: [email protected]
