Monumental May
The month of May on our beautiful campus has always been a time of quiet reflection on the academic year just completed, a slower-paced time of serenity after the frenzy of April at The Woods.
But let it be forever remembered that here at William Woods in this May of 2023, we chose movement over mellow, as in the higher education equivalent of moving mountains.
We chose earth shattering over easy going. Grandiose over going-with-the-flow.
So maybe those may seem like the height of hyperbole, but seriously – how many of our peer colleges or universities had a month like the one we are having here at WWU?
First, we announced on May 4th the establishment of the first-ever Ph.D. program in the University’s illustrious history, our new Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership (https://news.williamwoods.edu/william-woods-university-establishes-first-ph-d-degree-program-in-universitys-153-year-existence/).
Workforce analysts have identified leadership as the critical skillset needed in the 21st Century economy, and we are uniquely positioned to educate the next generation of business and industry leaders through this innovative new degree program. For a University that has made a name for itself through innovation over the years, with the first-ever four-year degree in Equestrian Science, the addition of online and graduate degrees way back in the 1990’s, and the creation of the LEAD program among others, establishing our first Ph.D. program continues that impressive historic trend.
Now, you might’ve said that outshining the announcement of our first Ph.D. program in University history would take a real “Hail Mary” so to speak, but on campus on May 22, we did just that!
On a lovely afternoon in Spring, we channeled the Boys of Fall – announcing that in 2024, William Woods was officially adding intercollegiate football, plus the rapidly expanding sport of women’s flag football, to our growing athletic department and University! So for the first time in that aforementioned 153-year history as an institution, William Woods will be represented on the gridiron.
The addition of these two news sports, bringing to seven the total number of new intercollegiate sports added at The Woods in the past year and a half, represents our latest initiative into expanding the total college experience for our current and prospective students. It will help transform the culture of the University, not the least of which will include the first-ever traditional autumn homecoming on campus that will be centered around a home William Woods football game. But it’s even bigger than that.
You see, independent universities like ours just don’t start up intercollegiate football programs much these days. But William Woods is not like most universities. Across the board here, we have been growing as a University – in enrollment, academics and athletics – and adding two new football programs is the latest prominent example of that exciting trend. The opportunities we offer at The Woods, both inside and outside the classroom, continue the make our University a phenomenal place to get a college degree.
Adding a first-ever Ph.D. program and the addition of football within weeks of each other? It may be earth-shattering to some, but around here we just call it “May.”
Jeremy Moreland, Ph.D.
President
William Woods University