Welcome to Lesley University's Centennial Celebration!
Now celebrating 100 years since Edith Lesley began training teachers of young children at the turn of the 20th Century, we look back at this university's history of preparing men and women for careers that make a positive difference. We explore and celebrate our graduates' influence on schools and communities throughout the world, and celebrate an institution that has continually evolved in many ways to serve the public good – always with an overt, consistent mission to make this world more educated, sustainable, and just.
While reflecting upon this remarkable history, we also look clearly at the present and to the future, understanding that our mission is more important than ever. In our Centennial Year, our society faces complex challenges and a failing economy that has devastated families and communities around the globe. The challenge to reverse the widening gaps in education, employment, income, health care and the environment will require the energy, skill and creativity of current and future generations of Lesley students, graduates and faculty.
A university can be a force for good, but this happens most dramatically through the talent, energy and commitment of its graduates. From the first small group of students that gathered in Edith Lesley's living room on Everett Street in Cambridge in September of 1909, to the more than 9,000 who annually study with us today, Lesley students have always distinguished themselves by applying their talents in careers that serve others. Through its 65,000 graduates, Lesley University has had a positive impact on the arts, social services, schools and businesses that are the fabric of our communities.
It is in this spirit that we celebrate 100 years of Lesley University and the diverse communities we serve. Through guest speakers, stimulating symposia, provoking art exhibitions, and timely forums about public policy, we will do what Lesley University, its faculty and students have always done well – ask hard questions about the challenges of today and tomorrow, while renewing our commitment to integrate theory with practice, and the classroom with the community.
Whether you are a student, neighbor, graduate, friend, employee or higher education colleague, we invite you to participate, communicate and celebrate with us throughout the 2009-2010 academic year. We also invite you to help us shape an even more responsive and reflective university for our second one-hundred-years of education, scholarship, creativity and service.
Joseph B. Moore
Joseph B. Moore