The first day of York University

Last September, the announcement regarding the transition was made public. The York College Board of Trustees approved the name change in mid-January.

Today, it becomes official and real.

The institution is now York University.

The university’s president, Dr. Sam Smith, explained that the process – from an unaccredited junior college many years ago to accreditation to offering four-year degrees to the addition of their graduate programs -- has taken years and the time to move toward university status is now.

As Dr. Smith said, “University will more accurately describe York’s profile as a comprehensive higher education institution offering undergraduate and graduate programs that encompass the liberal arts, pre-professional preparations, and professional studies. Recent record enrollments, tripling of the permanent endowment over the past decade, and ongoing fundraising successes provide a context of strength to make the change now. The name change also represents an important enhancement for York’s recruiting efforts as university status is more widely understood among international, graduate and non-traditional audiences. These groups are increasingly important for the institution’s future and represent an opportunity to have a far greater reach than ever before possible in the school’s 130-plus-year history. It also creates opportunities for expanded academic partnerships benefiting students and faculty.”

He added that as time has gone on, the perception of the word ‘college’ often infers a two-year program – and that hasn’t been the case for the York institution in a long time.

“This reflects what we already are,” Dr. Smith said.

The community will see a lot of changes in the next year or so – as signage is transitioned to say York University, the new logos are used, a new website is launched and much more.

“This will include our athletic logos, our outdoor signs, etc.,” Dr. Smith said. “One major project will be at the Freeman Center – as we have a very large ‘YC’ emblem on the gym floor that will have to be changed. There will be York University gear available at the book store in the fall. There will be a lot of things done over the course of time. And we hope the community will help us embrace this exciting change and realize this is York’s University – a town of 8,000 people now has a university. We want them to see and hear that in all we do.”

When asked if he could predict a remarkable increase in enrollment due to the change, he said that is a hope. But he also recognized that “we are in one of the hardest times to recruit students, all colleges and universities are. We have our eyes wide open trying to figure out how to handle an enrollment cliff – we believe we are ahead of the game by moving forward.”

He was also very clear in that the change to York University “does not change our mission of providing a faith-based, Christ-centered education. That will always continue to be our mission. We will continue to remain focused on transforming lives through Christ-centered education, equipping students for lifelong service to God, family and society.”

He said alumni “have been overwhelmingly positive about the change to York University and they have been actively embracing it, as have supporters and the community.”

The transition has been undergirded by a $15.9 million fundraising campaign – which was started a year ago. Dr. Smith said this was intended to be a three-year campaign – amazingly, the goal has already almost been met. And if anyone wants to contribute to this effort, they can do so by going to york.edu/give.

“I really want to give a shout out to our advancement team – they have done a lot of work to get us ready for this moment and will continue to do so going forward,” Dr. Smith added.

As Dr. Smith walked on the campus, he noted signs signifying York University aren’t up yet – but there are still sights signifying growth and commitment in recent years going into this milestone moment, including the multi-million-dollar renovation of the 1902 Hulitt Hall, the new academic resource library, a new residential hall, the renovation of the cafeteria, the renovation of the restrooms in Thomas Hall . . . to name a few.

“I want to invite the community to visit our university’s campus,” Dr. Smith said. “They are welcome to come, walk on our campus, go to our events, as we try to be good neighbors to them and want to be yet better neighbors every year. York University is part of the York community and will continue to be for many years to come.”