With the New Year comes a sense of new beginnings and looking to the future. It also provides a time and space for reflecting back on the previous year. The last 12 months at Daemen University have marked a period of remarkable achievements and milestones that have positioned the institution for long-term success.

In September, we welcomed our largest incoming class in the last five years, and our current application numbers are trending toward another healthy year for enrollment.

Students arriving on campus last fall were greeted by the Saffrin Public Square, a newly constructed quad right in the heart of Daemen. This project marked the culmination of a decade-long strategy to transform the look and feel of the campus in order to make Daemen a more welcoming place for students, which included beautifying the grounds, renovating major buildings, creating a campus-wide technological infrastructure, improving campus safety, expanding educational offerings, moving to university status, and strengthening the athletics program.

Building on that momentum, the university received a $2 million donation – the largest single donation in the institution’s history – followed in rapid succession by several other donations in excess of $1 million each. These donations will have an impact on nearly every aspect of life on campus. The U.S. Department of Education also awarded Daemen a $2.2 million grant through the Title III Strengthening Institutions Program, which focuses on increasing persistence and graduation rates and eliminating equity gaps.

All of these components put Daemen in a great position to weather the current and future storms facing higher education.

In this magazine, you can read more about these major achievements. They ultimately contribute to providing students with a first-rate college experience that, coupled with our first-class education, prepares them for life after graduation.

This is all possible because of you and everyone else who makes up our dedicated Daemen community. Thank you for being a part of our journey to make Daemen University such a special place.

Forever Daemen,

Gary A. Olson
President