Letter from the Dean
Dear School for Professional and Continuing Education Students:
American poet Mary Oliver asks: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?”
The community of 3900 passionate and caring adult students, alumni and faculty known as the School at Lewis University answers that call each day. We take great pride in the way we support you and your growth.
The education we provide is respected in this community. Employers want independent, self-starting critical thinkers and lifelong learners who can solve problems and communicate well with others. You want a high-quality, career-relevant degree program delivered with flexibility and with an understanding of your busy life. The School delivers both, because we treasure the quality of the personal relationship between dedicated teachers and devoted individual adult students. Our focus on adaptability and innovation to meet the education needs of working adults has led to our successes.
A Lewis degree is not easily achieved. It is clear that our students are challenged to do their best and they take pride in this accomplishment. This achievement is all the more remarkable given the range of backgrounds that our students bring to the classroom. In each class you will find working adults whose rising career requires a degree as well as people transitioning to new fields and workplaces. Each diverse class is united by a passion for an active learning style that is characterized by synthesizing and applying, not just memorizing. This distinctive model of education for working adults produces extraordinary results and highly satisfied graduates.
Our Lasallian values call us to prepare a better world through our work with you. At Lewis we respect each student, meeting you where you are and helping you to build your knowledge base and enhance your skills. This is a place in which you’ll find encouragement to grow intellectually, professionally, and personally.
As your Dean, I’ll add one endorsement. You can do this — though it might seem somehow out of reach. To paraphrase the author Dinah Craik’s character John Halifax, “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” Seek change. I can think of no better investment.
Dr. Walter S. Pearson
Dean, School for Professional and Continuing Education
