Dear Lafayette Community,
Bill, Monica, Matthew, and I send our best wishes to you and yours for a happy new year!
As we enter a new semester and the start of the year in which we will begin our bicentennial celebration, let us first take an opportunity to reflect on the many accomplishments of our community in 2024. As an institution committed to academic excellence, we continue to attract exceptional students, faculty, and staff, and most recently, we received the largest number of applicants ever in our Early Decision 1 pool for the Class of 2029. The Enrollment team is working tirelessly to build upon this early success through the entirety of the enrollment season, and we are grateful for their efforts
Our faculty are leaders in both their teaching and scholarship, and our students and staff continue to be recognized for their contributions across the Lehigh Valley, the Commonwealth, the nation, and around the globe. These accomplishments inspire national attention, with the College receiving notable accolades from Washington Monthly and the Princeton Review, among others, and a ranking of 3rd among liberal arts colleges in the northeast in the most recent Wall Street Journal poll. The College also benefits greatly from our alumni, who are leading lives of consequence and impact in a number of sectors, including here on College Hill, where Jennifer Stone ’04 led the field hockey team to a Patriot League Championship.
Through our planning work, we developed a new mission statement and institutional values together, and advanced on our strategic and campus master plans. Our development efforts brought record participation and contributions during “Bring the Roar” and have set us up for the largest campaign in College history. From boardrooms to classrooms, from scholarship and field work to athletics and artistic performances, the Lafayette community is leading in exciting ways.
As we begin 2025, our bicentennial is an incredible opportunity to celebrate our history while amplifying the College’s reputation and preparing for our third century. For more than 16 months, task forces of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and neighbors have been working on assembling plans to mark the College’s enduring record of education, service, and leadership. Activities will begin during Fall Weekend, September 26-28, and you can review our latest plans and find continuing updates on the bicentennial website. As part of the celebration, this semester we will launch a “Third Century Conversations” series in which we will engage faculty, alumni, and leaders in discussing the College’s contributions to addressing critical issues of the day. It is always inspiring to engage with our Lafayette family as we elevate their scholarship, leadership, and service. To kick off the series, we look forward to welcoming Chip Bergh ’79 to our first conversation in the coming weeks.
In addition to celebrating this important milestone, we will also spend time this year exploring issues critical to the health, success, and continued strength of the College. This semester we will be launching “Forward Together,” a series of discussions on campus designed to engage our community on topics important to the future of Lafayette. As higher education navigates the headwinds we all know well, we look forward to sharing the College’s approach to facing these challenges through vital aspects of our work in such areas as the operating budget, enrollment planning, strategic priorities, endowment objectives, and advancement–work that will strengthen our infrastructure and ensure Lafayette remains a leader in liberal arts education. Together, we will advance our shared commitment to academic excellence and a strong, vibrant future for the College.
We enter 2025 with a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished as a community and excitement for the opportunities ahead. Whether through our exceptional students, faculty, and staff or the engagement of our alumni, Lafayette will continue to be a beacon for the power of a liberal arts education. I extend my special thanks to everyone whose creativity and dedication will advance our strategic priorities and goals, lift up the College during our bicentennial, and carry forward the excellence that distinguishes this community of learning.
May the year ahead bring love, joy, and peace.
On Lafayette–to great things ahead!
Yours,
President Nicole Hurd