JENKINTOWN, Pa. – After more than three years of ambitious transformation at Manor College, its board renewed President Jonathan Peri’s contract nearly a year early. When Dr. Peri arrived at Manor in late 2015, the college was facing financial challenges. Within seven months he led the college to a balanced budget, erased deficits, created significant excess revenues and restructured debt by fiscal year end. By fall 2017, and for the first time in about 10 years, both enrollment and revenues increased.
In fall 2018, Manor’s total student population skyrocketed, increasing by 125 students over the prior year. Such an increase in the current marketplace of higher education is practically unheard of. Colleges in the region are facing decreasing and leveling-off college-going populations and tighter budgets. There have even been reports of closures, but Manor is bucking the trend. Manor’s projections are for continued enrollment and revenue growth in 2018-2019 and beyond. It has become the best-priced private college in Pennsylvania and is attracting new students.
“Manor’s renaissance resulted because Dr. Peri refreshed the cultural commitment to our mission; he is authentic, and he took decisive strategic action,” said Manor’s Board Chairman Dennis McGrath. Chairman McGrath is right: During Dr. Peri’s first three years at Manor, the Marketing Office was restructured and a rebranding campaign was successfully launched, the Admissions Office obtained energized new leadership, the Advancement Office was given new directives and resources enhancing fund-raising, and major facilities improvements have happened thanks to a “Transforming Spaces” campaign.
“We know what the marketplace looks like in the region,” continued Mr. McGrath, “There are about a hundred colleges and universities in our backyard. The competition for visionary higher education leadership is probably stronger here than in university-saturated New England. We renewed Dr. Peri a year early because his kind of talent gets recruited, and we were not going to let that happen.”
During Dr. Peri’s first term, Manor was named a “Top 5” associates degree granting college in Pennsylvania. Without letting go of that achievement, Dr. Peri has just led the college to become both an associates and a bachelor’s degree-granting institution. Since he led the process for another regional college to move to university status, he may have designs on a similar future for Manor College. As it is, Manor was recently listed in the Chronicle of Higher Education for having the 16th highest paid faculty in the country for a private Associates college. So attracting and retaining talented faculty members is clearly on President Peri’s mind.
“Right now we’re working with our Board of Trustees and our entire campus community on our next vision statement as a lead-in to our next strategic plan ‘2021 and Beyond.’ Contract renewal a year early is a welcomed way to ensure consistency in that process,” said Dr. Peri, “Having a really wonderful board, a chairman and a community who are deeply committed to our Basilian mission and our students makes every bit of difference. I feel so blessed to be at Manor.”
Since Dr. Peri has been in office, Manor was named several times the among safest colleges in Pennsylvania. The college’s commitment to its Ukrainian heritage has grown, along with its commitment to campus-wide diversity. The college is recognized for its 10:1 student-teacher ratio, its higher than national average salary-after-graduation rate, and its student surveys show significantly higher satisfaction year over year.
Located in suburban Philadelphia, Manor is a small college that offers more than 50 associates, bachelor’s and certificate programs in allied health, science and math; business technology and legal studies; and the liberal arts to traditional age and adult students. Manor is America’s only accredited institution of higher education founded by Ukrainian Sisters, the Sisters of St. Basil the Great. Readers can learn more at www.manor.edu.
President Peri graduated from Villanova University and Widener University – Delaware Law School. In 2017 he completed the Organizational Leadership doctoral program at Eastern University. This makes him one of approximately .00054% of people globally admitted to practice law and having earned both the J.D. and the Ph.D. Dr. Peri is also the only person in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who, through gubernatorial and senatorial appointments, concurrently serves without compensation on five state boards (and two private boards) related to education.