La Salle’s newest title: The Comeback College

La Salle University is going from strength to strength, drawing the attention of national media.

Journalist Eric Hoover highlights four main pillars that are helping drive the growth in enrollment: adding sports teams and enhancing community, reworking enrollment operations and personalizing outreach, rethinking recruitment and financial aid, and adding offerings and expanding access.

Read the full article from the Chronicle of Higher Education here.

In 2025, La Salle University received acknowledgement and accolades from several outlets and organizations. As this year of growth and accomplishment comes to an end, the university has just been given its newest title, The Comeback College, in an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, published December 4.

While it's no secret that La Salle has faced struggles, the University and its faculty and staff have been working hard to make the university more successful than it's ever been. And that work is paying off.

The Chronicle article highlights all the things that have been happening at 20^th and Olney, including insight from University President, Daniel J. Allen, Ph.D., and Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing, Greg Nayor, Ph.D., to show the thought and care behind the decisions that are helping La Salle go from strength to strength.

Journalist Eric Hoover highlights four main pillars that are helping drive the growth in enrollment: adding sports teams and enhancing community, reworking enrollment operations and personalizing outreach, rethinking recruitment and financial aid, and adding offerings and expanding access.

Looking at athletics and community, the article highlights the introduction of rugby, triathlon, and acrobatics and tumbling to the women's sports roster, and the reintroduction of baseball. As well as these team sports, the dance and cheerleader squads are being expanded, and a pep band started, which is just as much a draw as the teams.

In the fall, two residence halls were reopened, needed to house the 300 more new and returning Explorers living on campus in 2025, part of the largest class at the University since 2018. To support all these students on campus, and enhance their higher education journey, a new assistant vice president for student success has been hired, and the second floor of the Connelly Library has turned into a hub offering tutoring, advising, and many other services to students.

"The idea here is to situate our facilities in ways that drive communities," Allen told The Chronicle, "so students feel seen and known."

When it comes to enrollment and outreach, processes have been streamlined and modernized, leading to recruitment campaigns that in turn lead to enrollment success.

Communications with prospective students have been personalized, and campus visits have been changed to make sure every prospective student knows that they are seen and valued as a future Explorer.

"When it comes to growing and sustaining enrollment," Nayor said in the article, "doing a whole bunch of little things well makes a difference."

Recruitment and financial aid, which make up the third pillar highlight by The Chronicle as part of La Salle's comeback, have also been revamped by Nayor and his team.

Instead of blindly targeting high school students, La Salle is looking to those who have expressed an interest in the key majors offered, who have shown interest in attending a Catholic institution, and who've shown that they have exceptional grades. The university is also paying attention to where they look for students, focusing on areas that have similar demographics to the Philadelphia region.

Financial aid is also being reworked, with students receiving offers sooner and a move away from the "late-aid" strategy.

Finally, new degree offerings including sport-management and cybersecurity, are drawing students interested in these new and emerging fields. These new degrees, alongside the opening of the Miguel Campos School, which houses several associate degree programs, are offering new pathways for everyone interested in getting into higher education.

"We feel great about the progress we've made," Allen told The Chronicle, "and are clear-sighted about the work that we still have left to do."

-Naomi Thomas