Happy Birthday, DeSales! Bar Talk with Eric Bartosz

It happened again; the summer months seemed to fly by at the speed of a backyard bottle rocket. What was just Memorial Day weekend has become Labor Day, and I hope this summer bookend has delivered three months of memories filled with family-and-friend fun.

September, long associated with ‘back to school’ time, is upon us, and with that I thought it would be fitting to acknowledge a significant milestone of a school in our own backyard that is beloved across the U.S. and beyond. DeSales University, which welcomed its first freshman class in September 1965, is celebrating its 60th anniversary this month, and that headline is worth a celebratory salute.

As an alumnus (MBA class of 2015) and faculty (adjunct MBA professor), I’ve spent a significant amount of time at DSU over the past 13 years and have extensive firsthand experience of what a unique and exemplary institution it has evolved into over the decades, and why the continuous accolades and national recognitions are so well-deserved.

Primarily, it’s the people–students, staff and faculty–driven by a mission and purpose. This collective energy translates to the campus community feeling a strong sense of belonging that I suspect all universities strive for, but many struggle to achieve. This sentiment is echoed by countless past and present students who quickly learn that the DSU reputation of “where everyone knows your name” is indeed very real. When you pair that with national distinctions of accreditation and academic excellence in over 100 degrees spanning from bachelor’s to Master’s and Doctorates, and situate it on 550 acres of beautiful Lehigh Valley campus, all the stars align to create a truly special place to call home.

If we jump back in time to 1965, what was then called Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales was opening its doors on Sept. 15 for the first incoming class of 156 students. These first students were all undergrad men, and to use today’s terminology, were all commuters. In 1965, the incoming students would have found only two buildings on campus; neither of the new structures were completely finished, and no residence halls were available. From these humble foundations, Allentown College continued to build, both literally and figuratively, throughout the upcoming decades. It has a rich history filled with milestones too numerous to list here, but worth reading about: History of DeSales | DeSales University. One significant point regarding the name change is that in 2000, the State of Pennsylvania approved the application for university status, and the following year, the shift to ‘DeSales University’ was official.

As a high-level ‘then and now’ comparison, the incoming class of 2025 is the largest class in the university’s history, with over 600 new students welcomed to DSU, representing an impressive standard of academic excellence with a cumulative GPA of 3.4. Total enrollment is currently close to 3,000 students, and the full-time faculty has grown from 10 to 140, but the family feeling of ‘we are one DeSales’ remains constant.

Also, of recent note, DSU received the most significant gift in the University’s history, which established the Kathleen and J.B. Reilly School of Business and helped pave the way for future-focused learning and the launching of a College of Arts, Education and Humanities, a College of Sciences and a College of Healthcare Professionals. In addition to these advancements, DSU continues to enhance its course offerings and curriculum across all fields and majors to ensure that what students are learning is well-aligned with the skills and expertise that will make them leaders in their fields when the time comes to put their degrees to use.

Innovation and forward-thinking ideas, as seen through the lens of providing students with an enriching educational experience that will have a lifelong impact, have been guiding principles since 1965. While DeSales can trace its modest beginnings to its ‘college in the cornfield’ days, the forever ‘onward’ mentality has established the University as a national powerhouse that is continuously developing to ensure the next 60 years are as dynamic as the last six decades.

Regular readers will know that I subscribe to the idea that progress has no finish line. As true as that is in our personal lives, it is a mission-critical aspect of successful organizations. From my perspective, one of the most unique and valuable characteristics of DeSales is that delivering excellence is a North Star, and anyone who is part of that community is enriched because of this focus.

St. Francis de Sales said, “Be who you are, and be that well.” Words of profound wisdom, and I’m confident St. Francis would be proud that his message of pursuing personal excellence is being lived every day in Center Valley.

Congratulations and happy 60th to everyone in the DeSales University family!

Eric Bartosz is the founder of BAR40 and the author of the internationally acclaimed and bestselling book ‘BAR40: Achieving Personal Excellence.’ He lives in Center Valley with his wife Trish, daughter Riley and pug Piper, is an adjunct MBA professor at DeSales University and serves the community as an Upper Saucon firefighter, a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley and a local race organizer. Eric is a 20+ year runner and racer and can often be found logging miles on the Saucon Rail Trail. Catch up on Eric’s latest Bar Talk columns here.