(The following is a Cal U email message to students, faculty and staff with the subject line “From Dr. Dale: Important reminders about our future,” Oct. 20, 2021.)

Dear students and colleagues,

On October 14, we announced the name of the integrated university – Pennsylvania Western University or PennWest. It will be used with our campus location names – PennWest California, PennWest Clarion, PennWest Edinboro and PennWest Global Online. As we said from the beginning, our campus names will remain visible and foundational to our identities.

Here are some important reminders:

• All three campuses will maintain their current athletics logos, colors and mascots. We are still the Vulcans, the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Scots. Our university logos will remain in place until we launch the integrated university next fall.
• Students, you can finish what you’ve started. You may complete your program of study in your chosen discipline on the campus where you enrolled.
• You can graduate on time. The transition to a new version of your academic program will NOT require additional credits that would extend the time required to complete your degree.
• The NCAA has indicated that it will act following a decision by Middle States, our accreditor, which is expected in Spring 2022. Given state and federal alignment required for athletics, this is not a surprise. We are continuing along the path we laid out from the beginning – that we will retain athletics on the three campuses that currently host them.
• Pennsylvania Western University will launch in Fall 2022.

We look forward with excitement to the many new opportunities ahead, yet some apprehension surrounding change is inevitable. I assure you that the essence of who we are and the mission we serve will remain. Indeed, we will continue to offer transformative experiences to our students for many years to come.

Forging ahead!

Dr. Dale