Pardis MahdaviCo-founder and CEO, MyUni Education · Reimagining higher education for workforce outcomes

Message from President-Elect Pardis Mahdavi

1 Aug 2023 · 2 min

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2:05

In this recorded address, Pardis Mahdavi announces her selection as the 19th president of the University of La Verne. She begins by expressing deep gratitude to the Board of Trustees, the search committee, and her predecessor, Devorah Lieberman, for their work in raising the university’s visibility and service mission. Mahdavi then diagnoses a crisis in higher education, citing the lingering impacts of the pandemic, escalating climate emergencies, and persistent social and racial inequities, which together have eroded public trust and caused U.S. institutions to slip in global rankings. Positioning the University of La Verne as a model for change, she emphasizes its commitment to access, excellence, service, and social transformation that upholds democratic values. Concluding with optimism, she affirms her humility and excitement to collaborate with faculty, staff, and students, and looks forward to joining the campus community in the upcoming fall semester.

Chapters

Hello, my name is Pardis Mahdavi, and I am honored and humbled to have been chosen as the 19th president of the University of La Verne. But first, a note of gratitude. I wish to thank the Board of Trustees, the search committee, and everyone who participated in the search process. for their faith in me. I also want to thank my predecessor, Devorah Lieberman, for her tireless efforts in increasing the national visibility, accessibility, and service mission of this fine institution. The world is at a turning point. We are emerging from a moment of pandemic, climate emergencies that burn our world, and social and racial inequalities that Higher education is at a tipping point. Faith in higher ed is at an all-time low in America, and the United States institutions of higher education slip in global rankings day after day. The time for change is now, and the University of La Verne is exactly the kind of institution that we need to lean into and live into the mission of higher education to engage social transformation and uphold democracy that our world needs today. With outstanding faculty, staff, and students, and a mission to pursue knowledge and truth relentlessly, to be curious about the world, to learn and live into service, and to uphold a mission of access and excellence, the University of La Verne is without a doubt the model for what higher education can be in social transformation. I am humbled to be a part of the bright future of this remarkable institution, and I can't wait to meet and work with all of you. See you in the fall.