Growth as a Calling

Growth as a Calling

By Lisa Ferguson

At a meeting in 2023, Franciscan University’s Board of Trustees and administrators were debating the merits of increasing student enrollment.

On-campus and online enrollment had grown four percent every year for 10 years, with record freshman classes each fall. That growth seemed almost miraculous in a higher education landscape where enrollment decline nationwide had forced many colleges and universities to close their doors for good.

Yet, Franciscan leaders knew growth, especially in on-campus numbers, came with its own challenges. The big one: Could Franciscan grow without losing what made its vibrant academic and spiritual community so uniquely transformational?

“In the midst of this passionate discussion, one trustee said, ‘Isn’t it our ultimate role to save souls? And don’t we do that better than anyone else?’ His words captured what we’ve always known to be true at Franciscan,” says Father Dave Pivonka, TOR ’89, who has served as president of Franciscan University since 2019. “In that moment, we all understood this wasn’t about growth for growth’s sake. We were being called to growth.”

So, the question for Franciscan University became, “How can we form more disciples of Jesus Christ and have an even greater impact in their lives and in our Church, country, and world?” The 2024-2027 Be Light Strategic Plan that emerged from those campuswide conversations answers that with three aspirational goals: 1) educating, evangelizing, and forming students to engage fully with the world and transform it; 2) extending the University far beyond its hilltop campus; and 3) galvanizing the faithfully Catholic university of the future.

“The strategic plan set forth the initiatives that will help us prepare each person for leadership and service in this life and for eternal happiness with God in heaven,” Father Dave says. “As I tell our graduates—and this applies to everyone in our Franciscan University community—my job isn’t finished until they hear God the Father say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

While the University has only entered year two of the Be Light Strategic Plan, good progress is being made.

“Our new Christ the Teacher Hall and expanded Christ the King Chapel, both funded by our highly successful $126.1 million Rebuild My Church Capital Campaign, have provided much-needed breathing space for our academic programs and sacramental ministry in this time of unprecedented enrollment growth,” he says, also noting the Ward and Kathy Fitzgerald Homeland Mission in Washington, D.C., personal vocation initiatives, expanded Faith and Reason resources, and conference outreaches among other achievements.

Future-Proofing Franciscan

Franciscan’s focus right now, say Father Dave and Senior Vice President Brenan Pergi ’97 MBA ’02, is on the goal to galvanize the University of the future.

“We need to future-proof Franciscan to fulfill God’s call to grow. First and foremost, that means strengthening the people who make our mission possible,” Pergi says. “We’re working to build up faculty and staff, so they flourish professionally and spiritually. We’re introducing more donors to our sacred mission and inviting them to work alongside us to sustain Franciscan for generations to come. We’re also facilitating a greater sense of community among our alumni, so they can support one another throughout their lives.”

Trustees and administrators are also grappling with the campus facility implications of enrollment growth.

“Facilities play a role in student formation. A comfortable, safe, homelike environment fosters greater encounter, conversion, and community,” says Pergi.

The Executive Team and trustees remain in active discussion about the Campus Master Facilities Plan, but priorities have already “bubbled to the top” of the needs list. Here are a few that could be on Franciscan’s horizon.

More Student Housing

“We have a unique approach to student life that has blessed so many. However, we need to reinvest in our residence halls, student center, and athletic facilities to solidify that core experience,” Pergi says. “We’ve found creative and economical ways to increase capacity, but we’re at an end to that. Even with our decision to slow on-campus enrollment to two percent annually, we project needing another 500 beds by 2035.”

The Master Planning committee would like to see maintenance updates and renovations for Marian Hall (last renovated in 2012), along with Trinity, St. Francis, and St. Agnes, in the next several years. Pergi says the real game changer, however, would be a proposed 400-bed residence hall.

“We’re currently discussing the possibility of a new residence hall on lower campus with a bridge to upper campus that would unify the two locations in a way we’ve long desired,” Pergi explains.

A potential bridge would allow greater connections and easier access to the hilltop for students who live in existing and proposed lower campus residences. It would also encourage those on upper campus to take advantage of the restaurants, activities, and communal spaces on University Boulevard, including five new eateries coming to Franciscan Square in summer 2026.

“The Franciscan Square development will not only provide more dining options for students, faculty, staff, and the local community,” Pergi says, “but it will also serve as another much-needed student center.”

Bigger J.C. Williams Center

The need for more social activity space is apparent when walking through the J.C. Williams Center. Meeting and study rooms are occupied, tables and chairs are full both upstairs and down, and The Pub and Clear Creek Coffee Shop do lively business.

The J.C. Williams Center opened in 1970 when the College of Steubenville had 1,000 students. Enrollment had more than doubled by the time of the last expansion in 2006.

“An expanded student union would give more space for student clubs and groups as well as general social and study space. We’re also considering a different dining concept to take pressure off Antonian Dining Hall,” Pergi says.

“Students spend roughly 80 percent of their time outside the classroom. So, having an expanded and renovated student union and new and upgraded residential facilities are mission critical and would help us to pursue more effectively our core values.”

New Auxiliary Gym

Finnegan Fieldhouse, built in 1992 and expanded in 2013, is the most used building on campus, with NCAA athletics, intramurals, Steubenville Conferences, larger Masses and Festivals of Praise, and other events vying for space. An auxiliary gym would allow Baron athletics to flourish and provide more flexibility all around, Pergi says.

“We have not added gym space since our move to DIII athletics in 2007, though we’ve grown from 12 sports to 20. In that same time, our summer conferences have increased in number and attendees. Also, as on-campus enrollment has increased, we’ve had to use the fieldhouse more often for campus-wide events.”

With the possibility of a new auxiliary gym, Pergi says, “we initially discussed a gym that could seat 1,700 people. As we’re working through our master planning process, we’re starting to wonder, should we be thinking bigger to create even greater opportunities for larger conferences, a single graduation ceremony, and other new uses?”

A Forever Mission

The renovation of Starvaggi Hall, an exterior facelift for Egan Hall, and other projects are still being considered for the Steubenville campus, but Franciscan’s student enrollment growth has also impacted the Austrian Study Abroad Program in Gaming.

“With 229 students at the Kartause Maria Thronus Iesu this fall, we’re at maximum capacity,” Pergi says. “That has created additional demands for common areas, study spaces, mensa operations, and exercise facilities. We’re also studying the best ways to renovate existing housing and classrooms and to expand access to this life-changing experience.”

The Executive Team and Board of Trustees will continue to discern and decide these and many opportunities and needs, keeping in mind God’s call to grow.

“The longer I am president, the more convinced I am of this: What we do here at Franciscan University matters—in ways we may never fully appreciate this side of heaven,” Father Dave says. “We do not take our roles, our time, in this chapter of Franciscan’s 79 years lightly. The decisions we make not only have an impact today but also throughout the decades.”

Pergi shares a similar commitment to leaving a legacy that will serve Franciscan University far into the future.

“When our time here is up, we want to leave the University positioned to continue its mission forever, no matter the whims and waves of our culture, economy, and government. We want to ensure our transformative Catholic educational experience will be available to students yet to be born.”