The honor recognizes the University’s efforts to educate and register voters, and support strong turnout at the polls.

La Salle University is one of only 258 colleges and universities nationwide to earn a Voter-Friendly Campus designation from NASPA and the Campus Vote Project.  

This is the fourth consecutive election cycle La Salle has earned this designation from NASPA—Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education and the Campus Vote Project. These organizations evaluate colleges and universities based upon their respective plans for helping to register, educate, and ensure voter turnout at the recent 2022 midterm elections. Additionally, NASPA and the Campus Vote Project considered voter engagement analysis and its facilitation efforts with campus partners and analysis. 

“I am delighted that La Salle is again being recognized for its commitment to engaging students to vote and become active citizens,” said Regina Gauss Kosiek, ’01, director of university ministry who also provides voter-advocacy support and resources on campus. “Engagement in the communities where we live and commitment to a vibrant democracy align with our University mission to guide students to live lives oriented toward the common good.”

La Salle has a historic legacy of voter advocacy and civic engagement. The Voter-Friendly Campus designation is the latest received by La Salle for its proactive voter-engagement efforts. In November 2021, for example, two national studies found that La Salle students exceeded the national voting rate, with 76% of all eligible student-voters casting ballots in the 2020 election. 

Behind La Salle’s latest Voter-Friendly Campus designation is the work of the La Salle Votes! initiative, a collaboration between University faculty, staff, and students. The group works to spread voting awareness and resources months prior to elections, and organizes in-person and virtual conversations that provide access to information and resources that will inform and educate them.  

On election day in November 2022, La Salle Votes! leadership provided access to multiple vehicles that provided shuttle service between the University’s campus and its closest polling places during free periods for students. Also, La Salle Votes! drove interest with multiple events leading up to the election and a ‘Donut Forget to Vote’ station on campus, at which they gave away sweet treats to passersby as a reminder to perform their civic duty. 

In the past, La Salle Votes! has gathered La Salle alumni who hold elected office in the U.S. and Pennsylvania Houses of Representatives for a panel discussion on voter engagement and civic activity. 

“La Salle has made a strong statement about its civic mission to prepare students to be engaged participants in our democracy and is eager to continue engaging students through 2023, 2024, and beyond,” said leadership of NASPA and the Campus Vote Project. 

—Christopher A. Vito