At Lincoln South Rotary Club on Friday, September 25, we learned about Dr. Darrin Good - how he got here and what is happening at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Dr. Darrin Good loves teaching and believes in a student centered education. He loves promoting diversity and inclusion. He loves being a healthy community partner.

You can read Darrin's bio to find out where he studied and worked prior to coming to Lincoln. As he was looking at Lincoln he said one of the things the recruiter emphasized was the community. They talked about all of the "top 10 lists" that Lincoln is on from health and wellness to business environment. They talked about diversity and how they contribute to the inclusive community. And, they talked about the college culture in Lincoln - even those that are not students of UNL, being part of that culture is a draw.

Earlier in Darrin's career he did a great deal of International travel. He took many students to Latin America on 11 different trips through a medical program. He stated that during his International travels he saw many examples of Rotary and the Service Above Self motto. He stated that he saw the Rotary logo on buildings and attached to projects.

Darrin spent time reviewing the programs and successes of NWU. 

At any time, there are about 2,000 students through NWU. Besides the traditional students, they have graduate and adult programs. There is also the Wesleyan Honors Academy with courses offered to students in High School.

About 35% of the students are involved in athletics. They do not offer scholarships - the students participate because they want to. They are well-known for their theatre and music programs. Their Greek system is large with healthy clubs. He is very proud of the community service they provide. Every year, groups of students do community service projects - they go as a class.

Of their 2018 graduates, 99% were placed within 1 year. 88% remained in Nebraska. He also mentioned some Lincoln leaders that graduated from NWU. He said that those alums are part of the reason NWU has such a great placement rate - they are anxious to hire NWU grads.

One of the myths is that NWU is a "rich kid school". In recent years, 30% of the students were pell-eligible (pell is a grant program based on unmet financial needs, low family income.) The Access NWU Scholarship Program fully funds tuition through federal, state and NWU merit-based and need-based aid for Nebraska first-time, first-year students who qualify for the federal Pell Grant. They specifically reach out through community partners of mentoring programs such as TeamMates, Upward Bound, College Possible and Lead Up. They are also increasing the scholarships to Community College students.

Within their medical programs, they have a 92% Dental School acceptance rate and 82% Medical School acceptance rate. They are ranked 3rd among the colleges feeding students to UNMC. Nearly 400 physicians in Nebraska started at NWU.

They rank #7 in Academic All-Americans among ALL division schools (not just Division 3). And their theatre program is #1 in the State.

He talked about the impact of COVID-19 on the campus and activities. They spent the summer planning how they would resume classes in the Fall. Students are on campus and in classes. Some sports activities have resumed. They only saw a 2% decline in enrollment. NWU was well-prepared and, because they are relatively small, could be nimble.

They have their own testing and tracing in cooperation with the Lancaster County Health Department. A report goes out every Monday to the Campus Community about the cases.

 

BIO

Dr. Darrin Good was named the 17th president of Nebraska Wesleyan University effective July 2019.

Prior to this appointment, Good served as vice president of academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Whittier College, located near Los Angeles, Calif. Whittier College is one of the country’s most ethnically / racially diverse private national liberal arts colleges with an enrollment of 1,700 students.
Prior to Whittier College, Good served as the associate provost and dean of science and education at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., from 2012-2015. 

Prior to that he was a biology professor at his alma mater, Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill., where he assumed administrative roles including director of service learning and leadership initiatives, director of summer academic programs, director of Nicaragua Medical Service Learning Program, chair of the Division of Natural Sciences, chair of the Governing Board of the Pre-Health Professions, and admissions coordinator for biology and pre-health professions. 

Good earned his bachelor’s degree with a major in biology from Augustana College and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in biology from the University of Kansas. Good and his wife, Diana, have an adult daughter.