The September Town Hall was the first of the 2022-23 academic year and kicked off the first hybrid meeting with several people attending in person and on Zoom. 

Alan Liebrecht, vice president of enrollment, marketing & communications, gave a presentation about how the past 10 years of the Smaller. Smarter. advertising campaign has impacted the University and enrollment trends since 2012.  

Since the conception of the Smaller. Smarter. brand in 2012, the University has received more recognition among high school students. The advertising campaign has increased awareness, perception and overall goodwill toward the school. Liebrecht is looking forward to discovering the next phase of Smaller. Smarter. and continuing to increase awareness of Texas Wesleyan in the community. 

Liebrecht also showed charts on enrollment trends, showing a rise from 2012 to 2022 in freshman enrollment. Over the past two years, freshman enrollment has dramatically increased — enrollment numbers for the 2022 class is the largest since 2012 and has the largest first-time student enrollment in over 50 years.  

The charts also showed some rises and falls in transfer enrollments. Liebrecht credited the creation of the football team for the rise in 2015 and 2016, and the COVID-19 pandemic and overall decrease in community college enrollment nationwide for the fall of transfer numbers over the last few years. 

During the Town Hall, President Slabach also presented Associate Vice President of Enrollment Djuana Young with the Staff Hero Award. During her time at Texas Wesleyan, Djuana has overseen numerous enrollment projects, including helping implement the TCC to TXWES Pathway, becoming a test-optional institution and recently establishing a partnership with Greenlight Match. 

“Djuana’s leadership of our student recruitment efforts have been an important part of Texas Wesleyan’s enrollment growth, including welcoming a record freshman class this fall,” Liebrecht said. “Her commitment to the admissions staff and collaboration with others across campus have helped the community recognize the wonderful opportunities available at TXWES. She is a perfect example of what we mean when we say Smaller. Smarter., and I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the Staff Hero Award.” 

This was the first Staff Hero Award given since the start of the pandemic in 2020. The award is given to a staff member who goes above and beyond to help reach University goals in alignment with the Engage 2025 Strategic Plan. 

You can watch the Sept. 27 Town Hall online and make sure to mark your calendars for the remaining town halls this academic year by viewing the schedule.