2025 News
2025 CPS NEWS
- Beyond the Prompt: Moving from Curiosity to Confidence in AI To thrive in an AI-driven economy, professionals must move beyond prompts and into confidence. That means moving past just asking questions and into learning how to evaluate answers, apply AI responsibly and integrate it into workflows in meaningful ways.
- “It Felt Like Home”: How Villanova’s Paralegal Certificate Launched Lauren Berry’s Legal Career When Lauren Berry arrived on Villanova’s campus to study as part of the Fall 2023 cohort of the Paralegal Professional Certificate Program, she brought a standard five-subject notebook for class. As the program continued through the semester, covering 15 topics over just a few months, Lauren’s notebook slowly filled with all the knowledge she absorbed day after day. Now as she continues her path in the legal field, as a paralegal hopeful to attend law school and with aspirations to reach the top of the industry, her notebook is always nearby – a resource to remind her of the foundation of knowledge she’s built for a budding legal career.
- VUnited Inclusive Employment Symposium Celebrates Neurodiversity and Accessibility in the Workplace This March marked the inaugural VUnited Inclusive Employment Symposium, an event championing neuroinclusion in the workforce. Created in conjunction with Villanova’s VUnited Scholars the symposium welcomed lawmakers, employers, educators, students, and guests to discuss inclusive hiring practices. Presenters included Pennsylvania First Lady Lori Shapiro and speakers from KPMG, Comcast and Wawa.
- CPS Graduate and Former Villanova Basketball Star Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to Deliver Student Address at Villanova's 2025 Commencement Jeremiah Robinson-Earl '25 CPS, a former member of the Villanova University Men’s Basketball team, has been selected as the student speaker at Villanova’s 2025 Commencement ceremony on Friday, May 15. Robinson-Earl, currently a member of the New Orleans Pelicans in the National Basketball Association (NBA), completed his degree in General Studies online through the College of Professional Studies (CPS). This marks the first time that a CPS student will deliver the student address at Villanova’s Commencement ceremony.
- Degrees of Determination: Jen Villalobos is a Villanova Story of Persistence and Pride Jen Villalobos’s journey to her degree wasn’t a straight path—it was a story of persistence, determination and the belief that it’s never too late to take the next step forward. The road to receiving her degree wasn’t without its challenges. As a working professional, wife, and mother of six in a blended family, Jen juggled a demanding job with part-time coursework.
- “Finish What You Start”: Russ Ebbets Completes Villanova Degree 50 Years in the Making When Russ Ebbets arrived at Villanova University for his freshman year in the fall of 1972, he never would have expected that he would complete that degree more than 50 years later, having traveled the world, built a career and published a handful of books in between. After the many twists and turns of his life, he returned to CPS, with a bachelor's degree and multiple graduate degrees to his name, to proudly finish what he'd started decades prior.
- Philadelphia Eagles VP of Marketing Brian Papson Brings Championship Experience to the Classes He Teaches at Villanova Philadelphia Eagles VP of Marketing Brian Papson brings championship experience and real-world insights into the classroom at Villanova. From Super Bowl victories to global sports marketing, Papson shares his expertise to inspire a diverse student population in sports management and leadership.
- Meet the CPS Class of 2025 Every year, the College of Professional Studies is proud to celebrate a graduating class, compromised of students of varying ages, from different backgrounds and different pathways to their degree. This year's graduates are no exception, with the Class of 2025 excelling in the classroom, in their careers and in their efforts to better the world around us. This page includes several stories of the members of this class making an impact.
- 2025 CPS Graduate Francis Schlupp Pursues Decades-Long Dream to Make a Difference This spring, at 53-years-old, Schlupp is graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in History, and he was selected to speak at the College of Professional Studies’ Evening of Celebration. The journey to his degree has spanned a lifetime, but well worth the time and effort. Schlupp, awarded for his research work as an undergraduate, will continue his education, in an effort to fulfill a lifelong dream to teach to those in underserved communities.
- WATCH: Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, CPS Graduate and Former Villanova Basketball Star, Delivers Student Address at Commencement For the first time since the founding of Villanova University's College of Professional Studies (CPS) ten years ago, a student graduating from CPS delivered the student address at Commencement. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, a former star on the Villanova Men's Basketball team, spoke to thousands of his fellow graduates and their invited guests, earning massive cheers and praise for his heartfelt remarks at the ceremony on Friday, May 16.
- Evening of Celebration 2025 Villanova University's College of Professional Studies (CPS) held its annual Evening of Celebration, recognizing students who have completed their studies at Villanova. CPS was pleased to recognize its students' accomplishments, including 48 bachelor’s degrees, six associate degrees, and eight members of the VUnited Scholars program.
- Ambitiously Ahead of Schedule: Zachary Amos to Graduate from CPS at 19-Years-Old This May, while many 19-year-olds are finishing their freshman year of college, Zachary Amos is graduating with his bachelor’s degree in Information Systems & Technology (IST) from Villanova’s College of Professional Studies (CPS). After earning an associate degree at 17, he worked to complete his degree and start a career that will begin with a trip across the world to serve others.
- Resourcefulness and Resilience: Bella Cipresso's Journey from Cabrini to Villanova and Her Degree When Cabrini University and Villanova University finalized the agreement between their institutions, both sides stressed that the impact and legacy of Cabrini were to continue as part of Villanova. Bella Cipresso, a former Cabrini student and graduate of Villanova’s College of Professional Studies (CPS), epitomizes those efforts. Cipresso completed her degree at Villanova while fully immersing herself in the Villanova community. For her excellence in the classroom, she was awarded the academic medallion for her program.
- Villanova University Appoints the Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, as Dean of the College of Professional Studies Villanova University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD, ’75 CLAS, today announced the appointment of the Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, ’89 CLAS, as Dean of the College of Professional Studies (CPS), effective August 1.
- Faculty Spotlight: Marvin Meissner, MBA In professional education, the value of a course often depends on how well faculty can connect theory to the realities of working adults. At Villanova, that connection is shaped by faculty practitioners who bring field experience, perspective and practical judgment into the classroom. For Marv Meissner, that means combining decades of industry, leadership and training experience with a teaching approach rooted in real-world application.
- From Resistance to Embrace Change and taxes are often said to be the only constant in life. Yet, despite our daily exposure to change, organizations continue to struggle with transformation initiatives. Research has consistently shown that up to 70% of change programs fail to achieve their goals. The missing link? A deep understanding of the psychology behind change resistance and the tools to transform that resistance into enthusiasm.
- Mastering the Full Contract Lifecycle The government contracting landscape is undergoing significant transformation. From rapid technological advances to new regulatory updates and heightened performance expectations, contract managers across federal, state and local agencies face increasing complexity in a market that saw more than $759 billion in federal contract spending in FY2023 alone. Navigating this developing environment requires not just experience—but strategic upskilling.
- Leading Change at Scale In most organizations, process improvement still sits in a corner—siloed, underfunded and occasionally tapped when KPIs start slipping. Experienced Black Belts recognize that reactive fixes aren’t enough—instead, they work to embed continuous improvement into the very fabric of how the organization operates.
- The Changing Role of the Instructional Designer The instructional design and learning experience design (LXD) landscape is shifting, again. As organizations adjust to hybrid work models, rising upskilling demands and an ever-expanding ecosystem of digital tools, learning and development professionals are entering a new era. It’s no longer enough to build content. Today’s instructional designers must architect learning experiences that are measurable, adaptive and learner-centered.
- Hard Lessons, Soft Systems The post-pandemic landscape promised recovery. Instead, it delivered a reckoning. Just as supply chain leaders began to recalibrate after COVID-19 revealed the limits of lean operations and underinvested digital infrastructure, a new wave of geopolitical and economic turbulence has emerged—this time, driven by tariffs.