Message from Dr. Joe Cicala
Once upon a time, the legal principle in loco parentis governed the actions of colleges and universities. The faculty and staff were allowed…expected, really…to do their work “in the place of parents.”
Legally, those days are long gone, as I believe they should be. Personally and philosophically? That’s another story.
My name is Joseph J. Cicala (Joe to my friends and family and usually “Dr. C.” to my students), and it’s an honor to greet you as the new Vice President for University Life and Student Learning Experiences. Currently in my twenty-ninth
year of service to student learning in higher education (with stints at West Chester, Syracuse, Suffolk County CC, NYU, Philadelphia U., and, most recently, La Salle), I’m looking forward to helping all of our students embrace and live the words, “Knowledge joined with love.”
Certainly, we’ll not be their parents. Just as certainly, we will strive to welcome them into and help them create the kinds of personal and professional relationships, in an active and vibrant community, that lead to strong involvement in learning, inside and outside the classroom, and preparation for lives of meaning and citizenship.
Please regularly visit the University Life Division’s portion of our website to learn more about our work, and please don’t hesitate to contact me (joe.cicala@alvernia.edu or 610.796.8211). I hope to meet you at one or more Alvernia events soon!