OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Jesse M. Bernal, Ph.D., is the 10th president of Western Connecticut State University (WestConn), Connecticut’s largest public four-year Hispanic-Serving Institution. A first-generation college graduate and son of migrant farmworkers, he brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience across higher education, K–12 education, public charter schools, and educational access initiatives in Michigan and California.

Since becoming president of WestConn, Dr. Bernal has led a comprehensive effort to strengthen the university’s foundation while positioning it for long-term growth and impact. Under his leadership, the university has increased enrollment and retention, advanced institutional planning, improved financial stability, expanded workforce and employer partnerships, strengthened shared governance, enhanced student success initiatives, and elevated WestConn’s role as a regional anchor institution and economic development partner for Western Connecticut. He has championed a vision of WestConn as a relationship-rich, career-connected public university that prepares students for meaningful careers, civic engagement, and lifelong learning while serving as a catalyst for regional prosperity and social mobility.

Prior to joining WestConn, Dr. Bernal served in several senior leadership roles  in Michigan and California where he led institution-wide strategic initiatives, presidential priorities, government and community partnerships, and organizational transformation efforts. He also served as Chief Executive of one of the nation’s largest university public charter school authorizers. Earlier in his career, he held state and system-level leadership positions supporting TRIO programs, college access initiatives, K–12 partnerships, and programs designed to improve educational attainment and student success.

Dr. Bernal’s leadership is guided by the principles of Welcome, Weave, and Widen, creating environments where all students feel they belong, connecting people and systems to support success, and expanding pathways to educational opportunity, workforce readiness, and economic mobility. He is a national advocate for the transformative power of public higher education and its essential role in strengthening communities, developing talent, and advancing the public good.

Dr. Bernal serves on the boards of the Center for the Advancement of Professional Students (CAPS), the Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration, and the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), as well as the national NCAA Division III Presidents Council. He chairs the board of EQPD Learning. He is also a member of the REP4 Presidents’ Council, an incorporator of Ives Bank, a board member of the Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce, and a peer reviewer and former advisory committee chair for the Higher Learning Commission. He earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and completed executive education programs at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley.