Professor Emerita Tahany Naggar retired from teaching economics in 2012 but her unwavering support for West Chester continues. After her retirement, she served from 2015 to 2022 on the Board of Trustees of the West Chester University Foundation. Her belief in the importance of fundraising for the University predated the establishment of the foundation in 2000.

“I remember back then there was only one person working in development,” recalls Naggar, who joined the faculty in 1977 with her husband, the late Ali Naggar, professor emeritus of accounting. “Some of the faculty went to the president and said, ‘We really need to expand.’”

Naggar and her husband came to West Chester because it offered them both tenure track faculty positions. They had met before earning their doctorates at the University of Oklahoma. Several years later, when the WCU Foundation was established, Naggar became the faculty representative to the Foundation from what was then the School of Business. In that role, she provided input about needs in the business programs. A priority was raising funds for the Graduate Center on McDermott Drive that would house graduate business programs. Later she lent her support to a new building for the College of Business and Public Management.

A member of the foundation’s Carillon and Heritage giving societies, she says the importance of supporting the University has increased over the years. “It’s very valuable. Tuition is insufficient to cover the University budget,” Naggar says. “Maybe in the 1970s, when I first came here, it was sufficient, but as years went by, that changed. That’s a reason I became involved. I’m very proud to see improvements to the facilities we’ve been able to support. It’s a great advantage to the students. It’s a must.” She adds that scholarship help also is increasingly important, noting that she established the Ali Naggar Excellence in Managerial Accounting Scholarship in her late husband’s name.

“I’m very proud to see improvements to the facilities we’ve been able to support. It’s a great advantage to the students. It’s a must.”

She’s proud that she hired University President Chris Fiorentino as an economics faculty member when she was chair of the economics department. She praises initiatives he led when he later became dean of the School of Business and Public Management. They included a new building and successfully achieving AACSB accreditation. His accomplishments have grown since becoming president, Naggar says. She notes that he continues to ensure that students and faculty have first-rate facilities, such as the new Sciences and Engineering Center & The Commons.

“As president, he’s continued to focus on the needs of the students,” she says. “He’s a very patient person, he’s fair handed and quite an engaging leader. He’s a good listener and, when there’s an issue, open to hearing different opinions.”

Under his leadership, she’s seen a continuation of West Chester’s upward trajectory. Over more than three decades, the many positive changes include an emphasis on faculty research, campus expansion, the addition of more undergraduate majors, the growth of graduate programs, and an increasingly capable student body. Recalling that when she joined West Chester, many described it as “a well-kept secret” among state universities, she now says, “Instead of being the best-kept secret, it’s now the jewel of the State System. The accomplishments came from the whole team working on it. Our reputation gleams and it improves.”