In Part Two of his four-part reflection series, President Jim Burkee recounts Avila University’s remarkable second year — a period of record-breaking enrollment, international expansion, campus renovation, and a bold new spirit of ambition.
Part 2 of 4: Year Two — Growth, Growing Pains, and a New Spirit of Possibility
As I shared in Part One of this reflection series, my first year as Avila University’s 15th President was a period of urgent triage — a university at the brink, and a team working tirelessly to pull it back. But Year Two? Year Two was something altogether different.
It was the year growth came to Avila.
Not quietly. Not without its challenges. But undeniably.
The Year Enrollment Returned — And Then Some
Fall 2023 marked a milestone in Avila’s history: we welcomed the largest incoming class in the university’s history — 501 new students, shattering our previous record of 325.
This wasn’t magic — it was the result of intentional, exhausting work by a lot of people, especially Josh Parisse, Avila alumnus, tireless recruiter, and the sharpest bow-tie on campus. Josh and his team rebuilt our enrollment operation from the ground up, combining old-fashioned relationship-building with new partnerships and strategies.
Our domestic partnerships also took root:
- KC Scholars, led by Natalie Lewis, provided nearly $20 million to fund up to 800 students from low-income communities over eight years.
- Our agreement with Metropolitan Community College (MCC), led by its transformative Chancellor, Dr. Kimberly Beatty, made transferring to Avila seamless, strengthening the bridge between Kansas City’s largest community college system and our Catholic university.
- We expanded outreach into regional high schools where Avila’s name had seldom been heard in recent years.
The results were clear. Fall 2023 enrollment climbed to 1,733 students, a number driven primarily by traditional undergraduates — but growth was happening across the board.
A Global University in the Making
Meanwhile, our international partnerships began to bear fruit:
- Global University Systems (GUS), especially through the leadership of David Fisher (InUni) and Pawan Srivastava (Get2Uni), helped bring our first few dozen international students to campus in Fall 2023. More arrived each term.
- We launched an innovative low-residency model in cities like Boston, Jersey City, Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Chicago, and Los Angeles, bringing Avila’s programs directly to the largest pockets of international students in the U.S. The response? Overwhelming.
- We planted our first overseas partnership at American University North Africa in Tunis, giving students there a pathway to earn an Avila degree. Similar partnerships followed in India and beyond.
This wasn’t just enrollment growth. It was mission-driven. Our strategic plan made it clear: serving the “dear neighbor” in higher education means creating access — to a Catholic education, to opportunity, to a future — especially for those who otherwise might not have it.
Renovating, Reimagining, Rebuilding
With growth came growing pains. Our campus was not built for rapid scale. Two of our four residence halls — Carondelet Hall and Ridgway Hall — hadn’t seen major updates in 50 to 60 years. Students noticed.
We made a bold decision: renovate or risk losing momentum.
Thanks to the generosity of the Mabee Foundation, Sunderland Foundation, and the leadership of Avila’s Board of Trustees, we launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to restore Ridgway Hall. A capstone gift from Bill and Jean Buchanan — reflecting their deep love for Avila and the Sisters of St. Joseph — helped get us across the finish line. By summer 2024, Ridgway Hall was stripped to its bones, a powerful symbol of where Avila stood: under construction, but full of promise.
We also secured an unexpected housing solution when Senior Star closed Villa Ventura, a senior living facility just a block from campus. A timely LinkedIn message led to a lease — and a new, immediate housing option for our growing student body.
National Aspirations Take Root
The year’s boldest idea? A partnership with GUS to explore building an Avila campus in Goodyear, Arizona. The City of Goodyear wanted a university to anchor its new city center — and we were invited to the table. It was a longshot, but as I traveled to London to meet with GUS founder Aaron Etingen, and as Dr. Tom Jandris led the project back home, that longshot started to look real.
Building Culture, Embedding Mission
Through it all, we stayed true to our culture and mission. Every freshman and transfer student continued to be welcomed to our home for dinner. Every student visiting campus was greeted by me or my wife, Hanen.
The message was clear: Avila isn’t just growing — it’s staying personal, accessible, and true to its mission.
That mission found powerful new expression through the expansion of the Buchanan Institute for Peace and Nonviolence, ensuring that the Avila experience isn’t defined by enrollment numbers alone — but by service, by values, and by the philosophies of peace that have guided the Sisters of St. Joseph for generations.
From Survival to Ambition
By Spring 2024, less than two years after we wondered if Avila could survive, we celebrated surpassing 2,000 students, exceeding our all-time enrollment high.
The conversation began to shift — from survival to ambition.
Could Avila serve not just Kansas City — but the nation? The world? Could a university with humble roots set its sights on 10,000 students and beyond?
We didn’t have all the answers. But after Year Two, for the first time in a long time, we could believe the future was ours to shape.
In Part Three of this series, I’ll share how Year Three brought new challenges, deeper partnerships, and unexpected tests of everything we had built.
#AvilaUniversity #GrowthMindset #HigherEdTransformation #CatholicHigherEd
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