After endless speculation about Y2K compatibility and unprecedented media build-up, the new millennium is here.

Many chose to commemorate this milestone by pausing to reflect on their own lives, taking stock of past achievements and thinking about challenges ahead. The year 2000 holds special meaning for the Lesley community as it marks Margaret McKenna's fifteenth anniversary as president, and provides the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at an exciting chapter in Lesley's history.

During President McKenna's tenure, Lesley has experienced impressive growth. Enrollment is up nearly 49 percent from 1985. In 1987 Lesley was granted authority to establish a Ph.D. program and accepted its first group of doctoral students. To date, 26 doctoral degrees have been awarded and currently 60 people are enrolled. As demand for business programs increased, Lesley responded by creating a School of Management in 1992. The college was restructured in 1995 creating two new schools, the School of Education and Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences, in addition to the School of Management and School of Undergraduate Studies. Along with better definition, the new structure created more opportunities for collaboration across the institution and allowed Lesley to showcase what has always been one of its greatest assets: its programs in education. In 1998 Lesley added a fifth school through its merger with The Art Institute of Boston, a merger that has expanded the richness of academic offerings at both colleges.

Meanwhile, the physical campus has expanded, with the number of buildings owned by the college rising from 36 in 1985 to 51 today. Especially notable was the 1994 purchase of the Porter Exchange building which provided much needed classrooms, studios and administrative offices. Lesley has also devoted considerable resources to improving its extracurricular programs. Five years ago Lesley became a member of Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), competing for the first time with other New England colleges in cross-country, crew, soccer, softball and tennis. In 1991 the Oxford Street Players launched its first production, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. The group's success with its annual productions led to the development of a drama minor in the Women's College.

Through all these changes, Lesley has remained true to its mission of preparing individuals for careers in education, human services, management, and the arts, with a strong emphasis on field-based learning and responsiveness to the needs of society.

Take a snapshot of the faces you see around the Lesley campus today, and you will get a very different picture than the one you would have had in 1985. A former civil rights lawyer, President McKenna made diversifying the college's population and curriculum a priority from day one.

As one of the first steps toward achieving this goal, Samuel Turner was hired in 1990 as Special Assistant to the President for Affirmative Action. Under Turner's direction, a number of important changes have been implemented. In 1992 Lesley chose to fill the 15 open faculty positions with people of color, as a remedy for historical discrimination. In addition, Lesley announced that any student of color from Boston or Cambridge accepted into the Women's College would be guaranteed tuition and funds for book expenses. These efforts, along with steady outreach and active recruiting, have had dramatic results: The percentage of students of color enrolled in the Women's College rose from 7 percent in 1987 to 19 percent in 1999. Faculty members who are people of color rose from 3.5 percent in 1987 to 20.8 percent in 1998.

Also in 1992, $225,000 from an alumna was used to create the Lesley College Diversity Initiative, with the goal of preparing Lesley students to become positive forces for diversity within their communities. Resulting from the initiative are Diversity Day, a campus-wide celebration of the many facets of diversity found at Lesley; a comprehensive curriculum revision in which more than 80 courses were revised and 50 new courses created; and a monthly "Dialogue on Race" discussion series.

There is no denying the impact technology has had on society in the last 15 years, and Lesley has consistently proven itself ready. In 1985 the Internet as we know it did not exist. E-mail was not in general use. In 1979 when Lesley founded its Computers in Education program (now the Technology in Education program), the college pioneered ways to integrate technology into the classroom. Lesley was again on the cutting edge in 1997 when it offered its first full-fledged degree program delivered entirely via the Internet. The 11-course online master's program in technology attracts students from as far away as Japan, South Africa, Germany and Mexico.

Mary Mindess, longtime professor in the School of Education, has found the Internet and e-mail to be extremely effective teaching tools. In her experience, "Students improve their writing and thinking skills through increased e-mail communication. Many individuals who are not entirely comfortable in the verbal environment really thrive in online class activities." Mindess also cites the amount of one-on-one support students receive and the close bonds students form via online discussion groups.

Lesley prides itself on its ability to develop programs that address needs within the larger society. One such program is the Center for Peaceable Schools, born out of concern about the rise of violence and its effects on children. The center's first summer institute in 1993 drew 100 teachers and youth workers from 40 neighborhoods. Since then the center has experienced continual growth, developed long-term training relationships with schools, and now houses the nation's only master's program in Conflict Resolution and Peaceable Schools.

Another program that links Lesley to the community is The Art Institute of Boston's Young Artists Program. Established in 1998, it provides free tuition and stipends to talented, inner-city high school students who could not otherwise afford to attend AIB's summer pre-college program.

Believing that education should not take place in a vacuum, Lesley consistently seeks ways to integrate classroom theory with real-world practice and to create opportunities for field-based learning. The School of Education has established a number of collaborative internship programs in which students directly apply what they are learning, working side-by-side with experienced teachers. The School of Management's Community Agency Management Partnership (CAMP) provides opportunities for Lesley management students to apply their skills by working with nonprofit agencies and for-profit organizations on community development issues. Lesley students in three environmental education programs with Lesley partner, the Audubon Expedition Institute, travel throughout the U.S earning academic credit and gaining firsthand experience in environmental issues.

These are just a few instances of the many programs and partnerships that exemplify Lesley's mission. Carol Streit, Dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies, believes it is exactly these kinds of programs that will allow Lesley to continue to succeed. "Partnerships are the landscape of the future," she says. "The ability to connect to other populations in the real world is what makes education meaningful."

No matter how great an idea, it takes the funding to make an exciting concept or new program a reality. Thus, development has played a key role in many of the changes that have occurred at Lesley in the last fifteen years. Tricia Kramer, Director of Development, has witnessed the growth in development firsthand. "Back in 1985, there were just two or three people working in development. Now, we have a staff of 17 full-time employees working in all areas of institutional advancement, from annual fund and alumni relations to planned giving and grant-writing." When President McKenna arrived at Lesley, the school's endowment was less than $1 million. Today, it is more than $30 million. In 1985, annual contributions totaled $375,000; in 1999 this figure was over $6 million.

Contributions from generous alumni have made an impact as well. In 1990, Eleanor DeWolfe Ludcke '29 donated $1.6 million to Lesley, at the time the largest single gift in the college's history. Her donation was designated for renovations to the library, as well as improvements to the Deborah Raizes Student Center. In 1998, Lesley received $5 million from Tashia '75SOE and John Morgridge to create the Center for Special Education as a resource for practitioners, researchers and policy makers.

The remarkable growth experienced by Lesley during the latter half of the eighties and throughout the nineties did not escape the notice of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). During a 1995 accreditation review they noted, "From redefinition of and recommitment to a clearly articulated mission, to the hiring of an ethnically diverse and highly competent faculty, to the restructuring of its academic organization and the tightening of academic standards throughout the college, Lesley's progress since the last comprehensive accreditation review has been exemplary."

So what does all of this say about where Lesley is today and where we are headed in the future? Under President McKenna's leadership, Lesley's mission has remained strong and its values have been affirmed through changing times. The college remains committed to the integration of theory, practice and the liberal arts; to building an environment that creates engaged citizens and leaders; and to quality, diversity, and community. And yet, Lesley has proven itself an institution that embraces change. Lesley is that rarest of institutions: an organization with one foot firmly planted in the past, but with eyes that are focused on the future.

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Kimberly French works in the public affairs office. She is currently working toward a master's degree in special education.