Last week we got on update on the University of Providence from Dave Gantt, the new Director of Student Engagement. Dave is an alumnus of the College of Great Falls who left his position as Head Volleyball Coach at Gonzaga in 2016 to become UP's Vice President for University Athletics. This is his first year in his new role, which includes athletics but goes beyond it to include the university's two major schools - the School of Health Professions and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The health sciences programming includes master's programs in clinical mental health and nursing, bachelor's degrees in nursing and health administration, associate degree programs in surgical technology and adult gerontology nurse practitioner, and certificate programs in applied health information and pharm tech.
New programs in the liberal arts and sciences include a master's program in sport management, an online baccalaureate program in business administration and a bachelor's program in exercise science.
Sports programming continues to thrive at the university, with 7 men's programs and 8 women's programs. Title IX requires that the male/female ratio in sports is equivalent to the male/female ratio in the student body and UP is in compliance with that requirement. Last year 75% of their enrolled students were in some sport; this year, the number is somewhere between 67%-70%. The goal is to get students on athletic scholarships down to 50% of those enrolled.
Sustainability is a big focus of the university in both academics and athletics. Faculty are developing more and more options online and are innovating to meet individual students' interests and needs. After a fall semester without sports, all sports will be competing in an abbreviated season this spring. There have been no students on campus this fall; courses have been entirely online. Students will return in January, so, as Dave said, "The craziness for us is just beginning."
The university has also made some impressive facilities improvements, with a dazzling new university center, a new facility for wrestling and improvements to the McLaughlin Center. As excited as Dave is about these additions, he's even more excited about the changes he sees in academics. "A lot of our students are first-generation college students. We need to make a good case to them and their parents on the return for investment of a college education," he said. Beyond that, we want to improve our career services, through internships and other innovations, so that students have job experience to point to as they seek jobs upon graduation.
Dave represents higher education well, clearly having a passion for the mission of the institution he represents, as well as what he calls "an obsession for innovation." He enjoys being back in Montana and enjoys those "fewer degrees of Kevin Bacon" that we all experience living in Montana. His former student teacher is now his athletic director. He now works with Sarah Worrell after driving by her family's spread near Loma all these years. Best of all, he spends his days on the campus where he got his start, working hard to return that favor. Full circles are so beautiful.
