Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
Welcome to the 2024-25 academic year! And a special greeting to the Class of 2028—we are so thrilled to have you join our campus community.
I hope everyone had a productive summer that allowed time for rest and reflection. A new academic year is always an exciting time and this semester is filled with both promise and possibility as we welcome new community members, continue our excellence in academic pursuits, follow our varied interests and passions, and work together to build the College’s next chapter. I am very pleased to share updates with you on recent significant developments and others ahead.
Class of 2028
There are many reasons to celebrate the arrival of the 701 students in the Class of 2028. Here are some notable statistics:
We received 10,194 applications. This is the second-highest application total the college has received.
We had a 31.4% acceptance rate.
The class represents 42 unique states and territories, a record for the College’s geodiversity.
Roughly 7% of this class is international. This includes students from countries such as China, India, Liberia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Romania, and Vietnam.
This class consists of 27.6% who identify as domestic students of color, a record representation for the College.
The number of students who are Pell-eligible is 14.7%, a record for the College.
Thirteen percent of the class identifies as first generation and will be the first in their family to graduate from a four-year college.
Many thanks to the staff and faculty across campus, led by our teams in Student Life and Enrollment Management, who worked diligently to welcome our newest class of students and their families through move-in weekend, Orientation, and Convocation.
Faculty Updates
I would like to draw your attention to a series of brief profiles published on our website to celebrate the faculty who have recently earned tenure, promotion, and endowed chairs, as well as those who have joined us as new colleagues. As you read, I hope that you will share my admiration for the amazing range of teaching creativity and scholarly expertise demonstrated by our Lafayette faculty
Special thanks both to the faculty and staff who made these important searches and promotional processes a success and to our Communications Division for highlighting these milestones.
This semester also starts with the launch of three new minors in Indigenous studies, music technology, and electrical and computer engineering. These are exceptional additions to our curriculum, and I commend the many faculty who put in the intensive work to build these programs and assemble the courses that will make these minors so meaningful for our students.
Leadership Team
Our new provost, Laura McGrane, who joined us on July 1, is off to a productive and busy start. She has already been involved in conversations around strategic and master planning and will continue to meet with many members of the community as the Chief Academic Officer of the college. As those of you who are meeting her for the first time are now finding out for yourselves, she is engaging, committed, thoughtful, curious, and ready to champion Lafayette’s academic excellence as we head into our third century.
Meanwhile, a search is well underway for our next Vice President for Communications and Marketing, to succeed Pete Mackey, who has been serving in the interim role since summer 2022. We expect to begin interviews of finalists starting in late September and look forward to welcoming this new leader to our campus later this semester. We are grateful to our campus search committee for leading this effort with assistance from Storbeck Search.
Academic Structure
Provost McGrane has implemented an interim administrative structure for this academic year that includes Associate Provost Markus Dubischar and Dean of Faculty Ingrid Furniss, along with four academic deans: Dean of Arts, Humanities & Interdisciplinary Programs Tim Laquintano; Dean of Natural Sciences (including Neuroscience) Lisa Gabel; Dean of Social Sciences Dave Shulman; and Dean of Engineering (including Engineering Studies and Integrative Engineering) Lauren Anderson. Over this academic year, Provost McGrane will continue to work with the faculty to establish a more permanent administrative structure.
Administration Updates
After more than two decades of exemplary service to the College, Dr. Jeff Goldstein, Director of Health Services and College Physician, has retired effective September 1, 2024. Through his knowledge, skill, and devotion to others, Jeff has helped thousands of members of our campus community. He also played an instrumental role in leading Lafayette through the H1N1 and COVID-19 pandemics. Jeff has agreed to work a limited schedule of two days per week as our health center transitions to the leadership of our new Director of Health Services, Jodi Schluter, a Physician Assistant on Jeff’s staff since 2012. You can learn more about Jeff and his time at the College from a message shared by Vice President for Student Life Sarah Moschenross. I hope you will join me in extending gratitude to Jeff and best wishes to Jodi.
As announced last month, Walter Snipes will be joining the College this fall as our new Dean of Students. He brings more than 20 years of experience in higher education, including roles at Davidson College, Oxford College of Emory University, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He will join us on October 1, 2024, and oversee the offices of residence life, student involvement, wellness and prevention, student conduct and restorative practices, and case management.
The College’s recently-formed Division of Inclusion is taking shape under the leadership of Vice President for Inclusion Ernest Jeffries. The division, which includes the Office of Intercultural Development and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, welcomed Executive Director of Intercultural Development Kimberly Weatherly in July.
Capital Projects
We have been excited to open both new and renovated academic, residential, and dining spaces over the past few weeks. The William E. Simon Center for Economics and Business and McCartney Street Housing, Phase II are tremendous additions to the campus learning and living environment. And our renovated dining venues, including Cinco and Gilbert’s Cafe, which were designed through extensive student engagement, have already seen lots of traffic. Please join me in extending our gratitude to all of those who made these important projects possible.
In July, we broke ground on a new facility, the Wallach Sports Performance and Lacrosse Center at our Metzgar campus. This two-story building will feature a weight room for all student-athletes, a nutrition center, men’s and women’s locker rooms, a film room, a sports medicine area, and coaches’ offices.
Strategic Planning and Campus Master Planning
In a few weeks, I will provide my next update, focusing on these emerging plans, including dates for related community briefing and feedback sessions. For now let me share that throughout the summer, thanks to the leadership of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, the hard work of our strategic planning campus-wide working groups, and the teams leading the way on the campus master plan, we have made great progress in these important efforts. We are grateful for all the work of faculty, students, and staff on these endeavors and look forward to being in conversation with you as we enter this next phase. We remain on schedule to have the strategic plan and campus master plan processes completed by the end of this semester, so we can move into implementation in 2025.
Bicentennial Planning
I am pleased to share that our celebration of the College’s bicentennial will officially kick off with Homecoming in 2025 (September 26-28) and run through fall 2026. After the board meeting in October, we will be announcing the full program. The bicentennial will feature an array of events, community activities, learning opportunities, publications, and more that will be held on campus and beyond as we reflect on Lafayette’s history of excellence and its promise for the future. I am grateful for the outstanding work of our Bicentennial Planning and Management Group as we prepare to mark this crucial moment in our next chapter as a global Lafayette community.
Other Updates
Please find below information about some other notable Lafayette moments from the past few months (for more summer highlights, please see our online newsroom):
High praise from Washington Monthly – In rankings announced last month, Lafayette was named one of the “20 Best Colleges for Women in STEM” in the U.S.
LEARN celebrates two decades of service – For more than 20 years, LEARN (the LafayettE Alumni Research Network) has connected students and alumni for neuroscience summer research.
Preseason picks in field hockey and football – Our field hockey program was predicted to finish second in the Patriot League; while our football program, which is ranked nationally in preseason top 20 polls, is the unanimous pick to repeat as Patriot League champions.
Green Move Out & West Ward Sale – The Office of Sustainability and Landis Center for Community Engagement partnered on a highly successful Green Move Out and West Ward Sale at the end of the spring semester. The impact of this effort was impressive. More than 6,500 items were collected, resulting in donations of more than 2,100 items to 21 local nonprofits and a West Ward Sale that served approximately 335 families.
As we launch this academic year, I extend my best wishes to each of you. The work before us is exciting and important, and I continue to be grateful for your inclusive and thoughtful participation as we move together into our next century as a College community.
To great things ahead!
President Nicole Hurd