{"id":1162,"date":"2014-10-04T22:37:55","date_gmt":"2014-10-05T03:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wordpress\/?p=1162"},"modified":"2014-10-04T22:37:55","modified_gmt":"2014-10-05T03:37:55","slug":"successful-adaptation-and-transformation-theme-of-state-of-the-college-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=1162","title":{"rendered":"SUCCESSFUL ADAPTATION AND TRANSFORMATION THEME OF STATE OF THE COLLEGE ADDRESS"},"content":{"rendered":"

ALLENTOWN, PA \u2013 October 3, 2014<\/em>\u00a0 \u2013 When Carmen Twillie Ambar arrived at Cedar Crest College in July 2008 to become its 13th president, the women\u2019s college was experiencing several challenges. Among them were declining enrollment, the perception that women\u2019s colleges were a thing of the past, a previous president\u2019s short tenure, and the need for a vision that could take the College into a new era.<\/p>\n

Ambar will give her State of the College address to students, faculty and area business leaders on Thursday, October 9 at 11:00 am<\/span> in Alumnae Hall Auditorium. She says the overall message she hopes to convey is about transformation and successful adaptation, both at the college and in our lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, this is a story about successful transformation,\u201d said Ambar. \u201cLike many colleges in 2009, Cedar Crest had to adapt to a new normal. It\u2019s not a secret that the financial crises brought many challenges to small private colleges, and Cedar Crest was no different. It was a trying time. We needed a new direction, and even as we rededicated ourselves to our mission, we needed a new thinking about that mission. We\u2019ve made strategic decisions that provided us opportunities to redefine Cedar Crest and the impact she makes on the community. We have had enviable success these last few years. Today Cedar Crest is a role model for what it means to be a thriving institution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the past six years the College:<\/p>\n