8/17/2026
New Affiliation Advances the Mount’s Commitment to Creating a Learning Environment Where Latino Students—and Students from All Backgrounds—Can Thrive
The University of Mount Saint Vincent, together with Excelencia in Education, is proud to announce that President Susan R. Burns, PhD has proudly chosen to affiliate with the national Excelencia in Action (E-Action) network, affirming the Mount’s commitment to creating a learning environment where Latino students—and students from all backgrounds—have the opportunity, resources, and support to thrive.
President Burns joins presidents, chancellors, and institutional leaders from across the country committed to advancing student success through evidence-based practices, data-informed decision-making, and continuous institutional improvement.
For UMSV, the work of the E-Action network is closely aligned with a mission that has long called those at the Mount to recognize the dignity and potential of every learner. It also complements the Mount’s continued efforts to meet students when, where, and how they need us—expanding pathways to higher education while ensuring that access is accompanied by the resources, experiences, and support students need to persist, graduate, and succeed beyond the classroom.
UMSV’s connection to Excelencia in Education grew through the CHARISM Alliance, a collaboration among four Catholic, Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving institutions located in major metropolitan areas working together to expand opportunities for their students. Through the CHARISM Alliance, UMSV, Dominican University, University of the Incarnate Word, and Universidad del Sagrado Corazón are developing high-impact student experiences, new educational pathways, faculty collaborations, joint research, cross-registration opportunities, and shared co-curricular initiatives.
All four CHARISM Alliance institutions have affiliated with the E-Action network, creating another avenue for each university to learn from one another, share evidence-based practices, and strengthen their collective impact. The shared affiliation is also a tangible example of CHARISM’s purpose in action: connecting mission-aligned institutions so that promising ideas, practices, and opportunities can extend beyond a single campus and create greater impact for the students and communities they serve.
“Joining the Excelencia in Action network reflects who we are at Mount Saint Vincent and who we continually strive to become: an institution that listens to our students, responds to the signs of the times, and measures our success by our learners’ ability to thrive,” said President Burns. “Our mission calls us to recognize the dignity and potential of every learner, and that commitment requires us to continually examine what is working, learn from the evidence before us, and have the courage to evolve where we can do better.”
Excelencia in Education launched the E-Action network to support institutional leaders as they work to embed student-centered, data-informed improvement cycles into their strategies and practices—and demonstrate their positive student impact to philanthropists, accreditors, and the communities they serve. The network fosters partnerships and advances evidence-based practices that improve retention, completion, and institutional effectiveness.
Through its affiliation, UMSV will gain access to tailored capacity-building opportunities that can help strengthen internal structures for continuous improvement, provide opportunities to learn alongside peer institutions from across the country, and demonstrate credible, measurable evidence of student success to external stakeholders.
“Leaders in the E-Action network have committed to making their institutions places where Latino, and all, students thrive,” said Sarita Brown, Excelencia in Education Co-founder and President. “Excelencia is proud to facilitate and support their impactful, campus-wide approaches. Showcasing the positive outcomes for their students and communities creates a path forward for higher education.”
UMSV now joins a select national network that represents only 5% of colleges and universities nationwide, yet enrolls 26% of Latino students and 14% of all students across the United States. E-Action institutions also graduate 29% of Latino students and 15% of all students earning American degrees.
“Through Excelencia and alongside our partners in the CHARISM Alliance, we have an extraordinary opportunity to learn from institutions that share our commitment to access, belonging, and student success—and to contribute what we are learning here at the Mount as we work together to create more pathways for students from every background to achieve their goals,” President Burns added.
Excelencia in Education welcomed UMSV and its fellow CHARISM Alliance institutions to the E-Action network as part of a community of action-oriented leaders committed to growing America’s young talent by expanding access to excellence in higher education.
And, at the Mount, our affiliation is only the beginning.
By learning alongside institutions across the country, examining data with intention, sharing practices that produce meaningful results, and continuing to listen and respond to the needs of today’s learners, UMSV will put the resources and relationships of the E-Action network into practice.
It’s yet another way the Mount is responding to the signs of the times—and another step forward in ensuring that every student who comes to the Mount has the opportunity not simply to access a college education, but to belong, persist, graduate, and thrive.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers a nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the University equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment, and leadership in the 21st century.
About Excelencia in Education
Excelencia in Education leads a national network of results-oriented educators and policymakers transforming higher education to tap the talents of the Latino community and address the US economy’s needs for a highly educated workforce and engaged civic leaders. With this network, Excelencia ensures access to excellence by promoting student achievement, informing educational policies, and advancing evidence-based practices to more intentionally serve Latino, and all, students. For more information, visit: EdExcelencia.org.
