This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Lafayette President Arthur J. Rothkopf ’55 informed the College’s Board of Trustees today that he will complete his service as president at the conclusion of the 2004-05 academic year, after having served for 12 years in that position. Rothkopf has led a far-reaching transformation of Lafayette since becoming president in July 1993.
Lafayette Board of Trustees chairman Alan R. Griffith ’64, vice chairman of the Bank of New York, announced that a search committee will be formed to identify Rothkopf’s successor. The committee will be chaired by trustee Riley K. Temple ’71, a prominent Washington, D.C., attorney. Robert L. Yohe ’58 of Naples, Fla., and Bethlehem, Pa., a trustee and former vice chairman of Olin Corporation, will serve as vice chair. The committee will consist of six trustees, including Temple and Yohe, three faculty members, two alumni, and a student.
“Arthur Rothkopf has inspired confidence in all of us. He has challenged us, and helped us transform Lafayette,” Griffith said. “His commitment to the role and importance of the independent college nationally has inspired the entire Lafayette community. His support and respect for our faculty and administration, and his desire to challenge our students, has made the Lafayette experience one of excellence as defined by any measure.
“Lafayette has become the first choice for more and more of the best and brightest students in the nation,” Griffith said. “The College’s improvements in admissions selectivity and the quality of incoming classes show that it has achieved ever greater national recognition for academic excellence under Arthur Rothkopf’s leadership.”
Griffith cited the dramatic improvement in facilities and the College’s financial stability under Rothkopf.
“The College has virtually transformed its campus with more than $150 million in new and renovated academic, residential, and recreational facilities,” Griffith said. “This has been achieved while maintaining a stable financial situation during a decade that included both good and difficult financial times.”
Lafayette’s endowment, which was $284 million when Rothkopf became president, now exceeds $565 million, Griffith added.
“Lafayette is blessed with outstanding undergraduates, highly competent and dedicated faculty and staff, loyal and generous alumni, and a Board that is focused on the academic aspirations of the College,” said Rothkopf in a message to the campus community. “I can say without hesitation that I have never been prouder of my alma mater than I am today.”
Rothkopf led the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in Lafayette’s history. The Lafayette Leadership Campaign, publicly launched in 1997, concluded in October 2001 with $213 million in gifts and pledges, far exceeding its original goal of $143 million. More than $100 million was dedicated to strengthening excellence in the classroom, the campaign’s highest objective.
Under Rothkopf the College has played a key role in the revitalization of the City of Easton and forged a closer relationship with the city whose citizens founded the College in 1826. This includes developing the Williams Visual Arts Building in downtown Easton and acquiring and beautifying properties near the arts building. In addition, there has been impressive growth in community outreach activities, with about half of Lafayette’s students engaged each year in sustained programs of voluntary service.
“The College’s accomplishments should be a source of genuine pride to every member of the Lafayette community because they reflect our shared commitment to the advancement of the College, to the education of its students, and to their development as thoughtful, caring, and responsible citizens,” Rothkopf said.
“Over the next 17 months I intend to focus on implementing the ambitious goals contained in Lafayette’s strategic plan. I look forward to your support and assistance as we continue working toward making Lafayette the nation’s leading undergraduate institution that successfully integrates the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering,” Rothkopf added.
Rothkopf currently is board chair of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. He recently served as board chair of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania and the Council of Presidents of the Patriot League, the athletic conference of which Lafayette is a member. He is treasurer of The Pennsylvania Society, serves on the boards of the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Lehigh Valley Partnership, and was a trustee of the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority. He has been a board member for several years of Insurance Services Office, a company providing data and analytic services to the insurance industry.
Rothkopf graduated from Lafayette with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in English, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his law degree from Harvard.
Prior to becoming Lafayette’s president, Rothkopf was Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. He was appointed to the position in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate. He served under Andrew H. Card Jr., who was then Secretary of Transportation and is now White House chief of staff. Rothkopf played a major role in defining government positions on such issues as foreign investment in U.S. airlines, the role of the U.S. merchant marine, trucking deregulation, and other matters related to aviation, highways, railroads, and maritime affairs. Prior to becoming Deputy Secretary, Rothkopf served as General Counsel of the Transportation Department (also a Senate-confirmed position).
Before joining DOT, Rothkopf was a senior partner from 1967 to 1991 in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Hogan & Hartson.
Rothkopf’s wife, Barbara, serves on the boards of the Northampton County Museum, Lehigh Valley PBS, and the Allentown Art Museum, and was a board member of the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation. She is a member of the Governor’s Commission on Women and a co-founder of ProKids, an alliance of child-related agencies in the Easton area. Before moving to Easton, she was administrator of Woodley House, which operates a non-profit mental health program in Washington. The Rothkopfs have two daughters, Jennifer, a psychiatrist living in Chicago, and Katherine, a museum curator living in Washington.
National Recognition
Increased student quality and admissions selectivity have strengthened Lafayette’s national reputation for academic excellence. Lafayette is one of only 65 colleges and universities in the nation classified as “most academically competitive” by Barron’s, publishers of Profiles of American Colleges and Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges. The Fiske Guide to Colleges says, “Lafayette is well on its way to being considered one of the finest liberal arts colleges on the East Coast.” Lafayette’s academic excellence has also been recognized in, among others, U.S. News & World Report, Peterson’s 4 Year Colleges, and The Princeton Review’s Top 351 Colleges.
Capital Campaign
The Lafayette Leadership Campaign, the most ambitious and successful fundraising campaign in the College’s history, was publicly launched in 1997 with a goal of $143 million. The campaign concluded in October 2001 having raised $213 million to strengthen academic programs, improve campus facilities, and increase financial aid. More than $100 million was dedicated to strengthening excellence in the classroom, the campaign’s highest objective.
Advancing Academic Excellence
Lafayette transformed its campus with more than $150 million in new and renovated academic, residential, and recreational facilities. New and completely renovated academic facilities include Kirby Hall of Civil Rights, Hugel Science Center, Williams Visual Arts Building, Oechsle Hall, Acopian Engineering Center, and Skillman Library. The College implemented a new curriculum model emphasizing innovative interdisciplinary and collaborative partnerships, and the number of faculty has grown to 188, with two new endowed chairs. New majors were added in neuroscience and Africana Studies, along with several interdisciplinary minor programs. A new high-speed Ethernet computer network was installed.
Academic Scholarships
Merit-based academic scholarships help Lafayette attract top applicants. In 1996 Lafayette began awarding minimum scholarships of $10,000 per year ($40,000 over four years) to about 60 incoming students, designated “Marquis Scholars,” each year. In 1999, the minimum Marquis Scholars award was increased to $12,500 per year ($50,000 over four years), and the College began awarding about 32 Trustee Scholarships each year at $7,500 annually ($30,000 over four years). Beginning in 2005, incoming Marquis Scholars will receive an annual minimum academic scholarship of $16,000 and Trustee Scholarship winners will receive an annual minimum award of $8,000. The Lafayette Leadership Campaign added more than $33 million to Lafayette’s permanent endowment for student financial aid, both need-based aid and merit-based academic awards.
New Residential and Recreational Facilities
New and thoroughly renovated residential and recreational facilities include Allan P. Kirby Sports Center, Pfenning Alumni Center, P T Farinon House, Conway House, Keefe Hall, Jesser Hall—South College, Kirby House, and Easton Hall.
Collaboration in Easton’s Revitalization
Lafayette has played an important role in revitalizing Easton, beginning with the College’s collaboration in the development of Two Rivers Landing Visitors Center. Students in Lafayette’s Technnology Clinic developed and installed an impaired driving simulator in the Weller Health Education Center and played a key role developing plans for the adaptation of the Bachmann Publick House into an Early American history and heritage center. Lafayette’s Williams Visual Arts Building benefits the community and the College and is a cornerstone of revitalization in the downtown area that is a gateway to Lafayette, to Easton, and to Pennsylvania. Streetscape improvements, a collaborative effort of the College, the city, and Northampton County, are scheduled for the area in March. The College has also acquired and beautified other properties in this gateway area.