Jay Scifers was officially named Moravian University's new provost this past spring. Photo by Nick Chismar ’20
Jay Scifers has never shied away from a challenge.
As Moravian University’s new provost he’s taking on one of the biggest in higher education: helping the university adapt to a rapidly changing landscape by rethinking programs, embracing innovation, and continuing to prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce.
“I like challenges, I like problem solving, I like being collaborative and working with faculty and other administrators. I’m really excited to tackle all that, but I think we’re at a point across higher education where if you’re standing still, you’re probably dying,” he says of his leadership philosophy. “You need to keep moving, keep modernizing the curriculum, and be really innovative about the way you operate.”
Scifers was officially named provost in the spring after serving in an interim position since July 2025. He’s stepped into the role during an unprecedented time for higher education. Scifers points to the “demographic cliff,” a sharp decline in traditional college-age students across the United States driven by falling birth rates.
While that decline has been expected for years, Scifers says something that caught educators off guard has been a growing lack of confidence in higher education, with a larger number of recent high school graduates choosing to forgo the traditional four-year college experience and pursuing trade school or an associate’s degree instead.
“One of my biggest roles is to help Moravian University navigate this really unique time in higher education, to be entrepreneurial, inventive, and to think outside the box in terms of how we offer our existing programs and what programs we might add,” Scifers says.
Moravian has adapted in a variety of ways, including growing its School of Professional Studies and Innovation geared toward adult learners. This fall, a new aviation management and professional pilot training program will be taking off as the university expands its offerings to include aeronautics. Last year, a fully online associate’s degree in digital media and gaming was added in partnership with the digital arts academy CG Spectrum.
Moravian’s School of Behavioral and Community Health also recently began offering tracks in clinical counseling, school counseling, and social work to meet the growing demand for mental health professionals.
These efforts have produced measurable results.The university reached record enrollment, with a total of 3,020 students enrolled last fall, according to the most recent data available. Since Scifers joined Moravian in 2016, total enrollment has increased by nearly 25%, while graduate enrollment has more than doubled, rising from 442 to 895 students.
The Journey to Provost
Scifers started leading the university’s rehabilitation sciences program 10 years ago. In 2022 he was named associate provost and dean of the new College of Health, overseeing the Helen S. Breidgam School of Nursing and Public Health, the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, and the School of Behavioral and Community Health.
Last July, when former provost Carol Traupman-Carr moved into a new role as Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and Dean for Academic Operations, Scifers was tapped to step in as interim provost.
In January, Moravian’s Board of Trustees asked how the faculty were experiencing Scifers’s leadership. In response, a survey was conducted among all academic affairs faculty and staff, and the results came back “clearly positive,” wrote President Bryon Grigsby ’90, P’22, P’26, P’29 in an April email to campus announcing Scifers’s promotion.
Grigsby then brought the matter to the Faculty Senate, not for a vote, but to “invite faculty voice into a decision that ultimately sits with the president and the board,” he said.
The Faculty Senate, through the Faculty Advocacy Committee, organized forums where Scifers shared his platform and priorities, gathered faculty feedback, and responded to what he heard, Grigsby wrote. When concerns about faculty morale surfaced, Scifers asked the Faculty Advocacy Committee for additional forums to address them directly.
Grigsby acknowledged that a national search was not conducted to fill the role, but said even if such a search were done, “the question before us at the end would have been whether Jay is someone the faculty could support as provost.”
“After the HR survey, the senate’s work, and a year of Jay’s actual leadership, that question is already answered. He is the person doing the work, earning the trust, and moving us forward,” Grigsby said.
Meeting the Challenge
From the perspective of the Faculty Senate, Scifers has approached this period with transparency, and a genuine commitment to shared governance, says Sonia Aziz, dean of the School of Business and Economics and president of the Faculty Senate.
“He has consistently treated faculty as partners in addressing the university’s challenges, inviting them into conversations early, welcoming thoughtful debate, and recognizing that the strongest decisions are built through trust, open communication, and meaningful faculty engagement,” she says. “Even when institutional timelines have required difficult decisions, Jay has worked to preserve those principles rather than view them as obstacles.”
Moravian University values community, service and meaningful learning, all qualities that are reflected in the way Scifers approaches his work and in how he collaborates with and mentors faculty, staff, and students, says Louise Keegan, associate provost and dean of the College of Health. When she started at Moravian in 2017, she says Scifers became a mentor.
To meet the challenges facing higher education right now, universities need leaders who are innovative, adaptable, compassionate, and willing to listen to the people most affected by decisions, Keegan says, adding that Scifers exemplifies such qualities.
“He listens, challenges people to grow, and then supports them in doing so. He is innovative in how he approaches things and is always willing to explore outside the box ideas,” Keegan says. “He leads by example, is involved and present, asks questions, supports others, and is continuously working toward what is best for students and our community.” —Christina Tatu
Learn more about Jay Scifers in the fall 2026 edition of Moravian University Magazine.