What is West Chester University’s new president planning? Here’s what’s at the top of her list.

R. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky said she’ll soon launch a listening tour to plan the university’s next chapter.

R. Lorraine "Laurie" Bernotsky talks about her new role as West Chester University president.Read moreTyger Williams / Staff Photographer

Published Aug. 31, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

R. Lorraine “Laurie” Bernotsky is hardly new to West Chester University, but she’s brand new to the president’s role there this semester.

After having spent more than a quarter century on the campus — her first 15 years as a political science professor and later provost — she left in 2022 to serve as acting president of Pennsylvania Western University, another school in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, formed in 2022 through the merger of Edinboro, Clarion, and California.

Bernotsky, 57, who will earn $456,000 annually as West Chester’s president, returned home this summer and began her new role July 1, taking over for Christopher Fiorentino, who retired, though now is in line to become interim chancellor of PASSHE.

Born in Philadelphia and raised in the Lancaster area, Bernotsky got her bachelor’s degree from then-Messiah College (now a university) in political science, a master’s and doctorate from Oxford University, and another master’s from Temple University.

With about 17,100 students, West Chester is the largest university in the system and has remained one of its strongest. Bernotsky recently talked about carving out West Chester’s next chapter.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

How does it feel to come back as president?

It’s been two years I’ve been gone, and this place, of course, is amazing, and lots of great things kept happening. What I realized, it’s not like returning to West Chester. It’s coming to West Chester with new eyes.

For the students I’m welcoming, I want them to fall in love with West Chester because I realize I love this place, and being way away from it a little bit helped me remember. That gives me sort of a directional point — how can I do everything I can to make sure our new students, our current students, have every opportunity to fall in love with this place.

What made you fall in love with it?

We have a very strong shared governance. We work collaboratively … Certainly, just the good fortune we have about where we are located and who our community partners are.

Students who come here have access to an incredible array of not only what West Chester has to offer but major cities around it.

Have you noticed anything different since you’ve been back?

Our new sciences and engineering center and dining hall were just opening when I left, and so yesterday, I got to go in. I got to see students on the learning stairs.

The learning stairs?

We know students want to sit … between classes. They need places to plug in their phones. We came up with this notion. They have cushions built in and charging ports, and it faces this two-story or more video wall.

What have you been focusing on since you got back?

I’ve been reconnecting with as many people as I can. I’ve also been gearing up for a listening tour I intend to do this fall.

One of the things I was hearing from the folks involved in the interview process … was a theme around wanting to be part of figuring out the next chapter for West Chester.

We have tremendously talented people. We have good financial sustainability. We have a lot of good things going on for us, high demand for the institution, good enrollment. So, how do we carve out what that next chapter looks like?

What did you learn from your time at PennWest?

There were three campuses, Edinboro, Clarion, and California. … They had only been integrated a couple months. So it was figuring out how do you take three distinct campuses … and find the common ground of how to work together, how to achieve together.

I’m very team-oriented already. It was a chance to learn in broader ways with teams that were very different.

How would you describe your leadership style?

A good leader adapts their style based on who they are interacting with. You sort of meet people where they are. I am a very team-based person. I am very interested in having more people at the table and including more voices. There are some core values that I at least strive to make sure are central to my leadership style. And at the top of that list would be DVR — treating people with dignity, value, and respect. Leading with compassion, leading with humility, and having a sense of humor.

What are your priorities for the academic year?

There’s a pretty obvious one. Our housing needs. We know that we need more housing than what we have … just to meet our current enrollment. If we had maybe 500, maybe 800 more beds over time. We definitely want to be able to do that.

Are you talking about a new residence hall?

Depends. Is it a new residence hall? Is it renovating something? (Between university-owned and affiliated housing, West Chester has about 5,000 beds.)

We are trying to get permission to get some swing space so we can start renovating in a phased approach our current housing. To do that, we are trying to put 128 temporary [modular] housing units … [in Lot M. That would require approval from the West Goshen board of supervisors.]

The other one [is] we have done a lot here to shore up our supports for students, but I think that we need to stay focused on that. That has to remain a top priority. In higher ed, we’re still getting our head around what does the post-pandemic student need. Instead of saying are these students ready for college, we need to say are we ready for these students? Are we student-ready?

What are the biggest challenges facing West Chester?

I would put housing at the top of that list. We have a wait list right now. A week ago it had 700 students on it. There’s more demand, so even though we are not growing, there is more demand.

Do you guarantee housing for freshman year?

We can’t even do that. We absolutely prioritize it.

Another thing, we were very happy to get a 6% increase in [the state] appropriation. Our board of governors was then able to hold tuition flat again … But it’s still a challenge for us. Even with that, we’ve got inflationary costs and things like that. It doesn’t quite keep up with that appropriation increase.

You’ve said West Chester isn’t looking to grow enrollment?

If there is anywhere we are going to put energy to grow, it would be in our online grad program. It’s a demand that we can meet … by bringing in more faculty. It doesn’t put any pressure on our surrounding community and it doesn’t put any pressure on the facility parts of our campus.

And now for the fun stuff:

Last book read: “I just reread Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen.”

Favorite book? It’s from the Lord of the Rings series. It’s The Return of the King.