Our Path Forward: The BW Way

January 26, 2026

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good morning BW,

It's long been a BW tradition to host a Fall Semester Faculty and Staff Conference at the beginning of the academic year to celebrate the start of the semester.

Last week we started a new annual tradition – the first-ever Spring Semester Conference (given the current weather, it might be better described as Winter Conference!) – at which I had the opportunity to share our university progress and outline our strategic priorities. Future Spring Conferences will be more robust and create additional opportunities for faculty and staff to connect and share learning.

I shared a sampling of recent student and program successes:

Ranked among Top Regional Universities in Midwest by U.S. News; Transfer Student Honor Roll for exceptional support of transfer students; Best College for Veterans in the Midwest by U.S. News; Berea, Ohio Named one of Safest College Towns in Nation by Research.com.

Ranked as a U.S. News' Best Undergraduate Engineering Program; BW Engineering students won National Marine Energy Collegiate Competition; won grant from U.S. Department of Energy.

BW Accounting Students won Intercollegiate Ethics Case Competition.

BW's Mental Health Counseling Graduate program won a $1 million dollar grant.

Named a Top 25 Drama School and Top 20 Broadway Talent Pipeline by The Hollywood Reporter and Playbill; National Opera Association chose BW Opera production, "Speed Dating Tonight," with First Place Division I prize.

Our women’s basketball team rose to No. 10 in the national rankings, our men’s wrestling team won its 41st straight match, and 97 student-athletes earned Academic All-Ohio honors.

I emphasized that our mission of student success inspires us and our financial margin fuels and sustains our mission. Our relentless attention to financial sustainability allows us to keep our promises to our students that they will be leader-ready, career-ready, and future-ready.

That's why I was very pleased to share that our recent report to the Higher Learning Commission received a positive review, stating, "Baldwin Wallace University is commended for its thorough and comprehensive responses to strengthen its financial position."

I also shared the goals and strategies of our Transformation Action Plan. The Plan is designed to ensure that BW is distinctive, financially sustainable, and anchored by strong strategic partnerships throughout Northeast Ohio.

Central to our distinction as a university is working with our faculty to ensure that our academic offerings are responsive to current and evolving student and labor market demand, and aligned with our promise that our graduates will be leader-ready, career-ready, and future-ready.

We call this "The BW Way." The BW Way is a promise to our students, a pathway for our future, and a unifying vision for Building What's Next.

Lee Fisher
President, Baldwin Wallace University