Dr. Chris Fiorentino recently gave his final welcome back address to students, faculty, and staff at West Chester University, promising to be busier than ever during his final year as university president.  

The West Chester University president announced his retirement at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.

That gives him a year to continue promoting and encouraging the university’s upward momentum that’s been happening during his six years as president and his 41 years serving on campus.

“I certainly intend to give all that I can to ensure that my final year here is my best year,” Dr. Chris Fiorentino said in his recent address in the university’s Asplundh auditorium. “I look forward to working with all of you to create more success stories.”

Under his watch, the university has made significant advancements on several fronts, including navigating the pandemic, building the 175,000-square-foot Sciences & Engineering Center and The Commons as well as the Business and Public Management Center, nearing the completion of a successful $65 million fundraising campaign, engaging in a national student-success mission designed to help underserved populations of students in the Southeastern PA region graduate from college, and more.

The university’s success is demonstrated in Fall enrollment figures.  

It had projected about 16,500 students. Enrollment will actually exceed 17,000, Fiorentino said.

West Chester University also received a new Carnegie Classification, moving its status from an M1 (a master’s college and university) to one of only 133 R2 (doctoral university high research activity) institutions in the U.S. The new classification more accurately reflects the level of ongoing research across campus while maintaining teaching as the number one priority for faculty.

For 2024, U.S. News ranks the university #209 overall out of 435 national universities that include Ivy League schools plus MIT, Drexel, Northwestern, and others.

Dr. Fiorentino plans to work on five goals for the upcoming year:

• Finalize a comprehensive strategic plan
• Complete a facilities master plan that will include plans to identify and build more university-owned housing
• Advance a national student-success mission to help underserved student populations in the Southeastern PA region graduate from college
• Identify increased academic pathways to encourage more transfer students and adult learners in the workforce
• Raise the remaining $6 million needed to complete the $65 million 150Forward fundraising campaign for student scholarships, student research, student technology needs, and student travel abroad.

He highlighted the many success stories of West Chester University students.

There is Zach Starr, a student entrepreneur in residence at West Chester’s Cottrell Center.

Zach created a tobacco-free vaping alternative product to help folks kick their harmful addictions and went on to form a company, Quix Labs, to manufacture and market the product.  

He talked about alumna Julie Frymyer, who graduated from West Chester’s athletic training program and is now a vital part of the training staff for the Kansas City Chiefs.

West Chester students also took an active interest in Ukraine when they traveled to Saarland University in Germany to work with Ukrainian students. 

Now, they are collecting oral histories of those living through the terror of war in Ukraine.

“Together, all of these individual success stories combine into one compelling narrative about our University,” he said.

As president, he’s seen the public’s perception of the university change.

Once thought of as primarily a teacher college with a pretty good music and physical-ed program, the university has become so much more. 

People on and off campus now recognize him and praise the university.

“Their praise is not so much about anything I am doing but about everything you are doing,” he said, offering his own praise to the faculty and staff.

Dr. Chris Fiorentino started at West Chester University in 1983 as an assistant professor of economics.

He became chairman of the department, then dean of the College of Business and Public Affairs (now the College of Business and Public Management).

He served as dean for 20 years, ensuring the business school’s accreditation.  

“At that time, we had a good business school with dedicated faculty members doing important work, but much of their work was going unnoticed and underappreciated,” he said. That’s no longer true.

Dr. Fiorentino was appointed interim president in April of 2016 and was inaugurated as the university’s 15^th president on April 21, 2017.

He used the moment to remind those in attendance about challenging trends that all college campuses are facing today — challenges of pandemic learning loss, mental health, free speech, and debate limits, as well as negative views about higher education, he said.

“When I think of all the stories of exceptional people doing extraordinary things at our university, and when I think about how all those individual stories have collectively reshaped perceptions of our university, I am certain that we have the people to meet the challenges of this moment,” he concluded to a standing ovation.

A hallmark of Dr. Chris Fiorentino’s leadership is the personal interest and interactions he has with students and faculty.

Cherie Fishbaugh, director of Autism Services at West Chester University, has known Dr. Fiorentino for 20 years. She noted his special connection to the students.

“The students at this university and their success are his top priority,” she said.

She praised his support of a D-CAP program seven years ago that helps students with autism who are seeking a degree at the university.

The program started with four students and now boasts over 100.

When some of her students had anxiety over the university’s undergraduate degree graduation ceremony, Dr. Fiorentino made special accommodations, conducting a special service just for them.

“He wants to make that connection with the students, to know their names,” she said.

“You will see him out for a walk on this campus in the morning, on weekends. It’s very important to him not to be a behind-the-scenes person.”

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