The BW Life-Ready Promise and The BW Way

August 24, 2026

"Do the best you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
— Maya Angelou

Good morning BW,

There is something special about the beginning of a new academic year. Our campus comes alive again. Students move into residence halls. Classrooms fill. Old friends reconnect. New friendships begin. And across campus, there is a renewed sense of possibility.

For our newest students, this is the beginning of their BW journey. And in some ways, I know exactly how they feel.

This is my second year as president, so I am entering my sophomore year. Just last year, I was a BW freshman — learning the campus, meeting new people, discovering our traditions, and beginning my own BW journey.

Here is a link to a video message I sent to our students last Friday.

I talked about two ideas that I believe capture both what Baldwin Wallace promises our students and what we ask of everyone who is part of this community: The BW Life-Ready Promise and The BW Way.

The BW Life-Ready Promise
The BW Life-Ready Promise is a promise to our students that when they graduate, they will be ready to lead a life of purpose and to make a difference in the world.

Leader-Ready and Team-Ready.
Our students come ready to learn, and they leave ready to lead. We help our students communicate effectively, solve problems, work with others, and understand that none of us succeeds alone.

Career-Ready.
We don’t just open minds, we open doors. We connect our students with faculty and coaches, alumni and employers, internships, research, service, and real-world experiences that prepare them to launch a meaningful career.

Future-Ready.
We don’t just prepare our students for the jobs of today, we prepare them for the opportunities of tomorrow. Every BW graduate should be prepared not only to navigate an AI-powered world, but to shape it for the better.

The BW Way
Along with the promises we make to our students, there are promises we ask them — and all of us — to make to one another. It begins with the two letters we see everywhere on our campus: BW. We call it The BW Way.

Be Welcoming.
We can make a difference with something as simple as saying hello, learning someone's name, inviting someone to lunch, offering to help, or making room for someone at the table. BW is a place where people know your name, where we embrace our differences, and where friendships can become family.

Be Who You Are — and Get Better at Who You Are.
We want our students to discover who they are and have the confidence to find their voice. BW is also about growth. It's about developing your character as much as your résumé. It's about becoming a better student, a better leader, a better teammate, a better friend, and a better human being.

Chart a Better Way and Make a Better World.
Our students will discover new interests, encounter new ideas, reconsider old assumptions, and sometimes change direction entirely. We want them to be curious. To be open. To have the courage to chart a better way forward.

But a BW education has never been only about individual success. One of the hallmarks of a BW graduate is the desire to use their education, talents, skills — and most importantly, their heart—to leave the world better than they found it.

As we begin this new academic year together, I hope each of us will think about the role we play in fulfilling The BW Life-Ready Promise and living The BW Way.

Welcome back,

Lee Fisher
President, Baldwin Wallace University