{"id":43,"date":"2012-06-04T14:20:42","date_gmt":"2012-06-04T14:20:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad252624251213\/presidents-message\/"},"modified":"2025-06-23T14:43:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T18:43:35","slug":"presidents-message","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/presidents-message\/","title":{"rendered":"President&#8217;s Message"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Welcome to Western Connecticut State University<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to a new academic year at Western Connecticut State University\u2014a place where you\u2019re not just encouraged to grow, but empowered to lead. Whether this is your first semester or your final year, we\u2019re proud to be part of your journey.<\/p>\n<p>WestConn is on the rise. Our student body is growing, pride is deepening, and our community is energized. That\u2019s not just good fortune\u2014it\u2019s the result of your commitment, our faculty\u2019s passion, and our shared belief in what this university stands for.<\/p>\n<p><strong>To our new students<\/strong><strong>:<\/strong> You\u2019ve taken the first bold step toward unleashing your full potential. This is a community where you\u2019ll be challenged, supported, and called to lead. You\u2019re not just joining a campus\u2014you\u2019re joining a pack.<\/p>\n<p>To our returning students: Your resilience, curiosity, and drive for impact power this university\u2019s momentum. Because of you, WestConn doesn\u2019t just move forward\u2014we lead forward.<\/p>\n<p>As I begin my first year at WestConn, I\u2019m energized by the opportunity to build on this momentum with you. Now recognized as the largest Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in Connecticut, we are embracing a bold vision: to become the region\u2019s most impactful, community-engaged university. That means opening more doors, elevating your voice, and shaping a future of purpose, possibility, and shared success.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s lead the pack\u2014with courage, collaboration, and care.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Bienvenidos a su universidad\u2014una comunidad de transformaci\u00f3n y esperanza.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to WestConn. Let\u2019s make this year extraordinary\u2014together.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Jesse M. Bernal, Ph.D.<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><br \/>\n<\/em><\/strong>President<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wcsu.edu\/president\/\">Meet WCSU President Dr. Jesse Bernal<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Western Connecticut State University Welcome to a new academic year at Western Connecticut State University\u2014a place where you\u2019re not just encouraged to grow, but empowered to lead. Whether this is your first semester or your final year, we\u2019re &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-43","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/43\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/catalogs.wcsu.edu\/ugrad\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}