To the campus community,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College, I share with all of you that we have unanimously approved a resolution (included below) endorsing our complete confidence in President Nicole Hurd and her leadership of our cherished institution.
In a time of great challenges to higher education, it is imperative that as a community we focus our attention and resources on building a strong future for the institution, leveraging our current strengths and historic accomplishments. Lafayette College has a remarkable 200-year history, with wonderful triumphs and several very notable wise pivot moments. Our past success can be attributable to a combination of academic focus and rigor in the classroom, a uniquely residential and extracurricular student experience, an unwavering commitment from our community and alumni body, and strong institutional leadership from the faculty, administration, and Board.
It is also true to say that higher education faces pressures that challenge the status quo and require us to move beyond past accomplishments. It is imperative that as a community we come together to position Lafayette College to achieve future success. Such a challenge requires leadership that can enact change where needed, and that is why the Board has passed a resolution strongly affirming its support of Nicole Farmer Hurd.
We also acknowledge that our faculty have spoken this week through the College’s system of shared governance, and we commit ourselves to work with President Hurd to resolve the impasse and maintain transparency. The Board resolution directs the president and administration to work with the faculty to establish the proper vehicle—inclusive of faculty, administration, and Board participants—to discuss and better understand the concerns and grievances shared, and chart a path forward.
Our past success has been no accident, and the future is not guaranteed. Lafayette College is fortunate to have faculty and staff who care deeply about this institution, and a driven, inspired president who is fiercely devoted to promoting our progress and advancing our reputation. The College is also fortunate to have incredibly strong financial footing, and applications have increased by 28% since fall 2021 with a record total of 10,528 for the fall 2025 first-year class—the largest admission applicant pool in the institution’s history. We also have a student body excited to learn, be challenged to elevate and become their best selves, and continue to grow as individuals impacting the world and living lives of consequence.
Beyond the confines of campus, we also enjoy a resurgent City of Easton and its proud citizens, who have always been engaged partners with us and shown great interest in Lafayette’s prosperity. Loving and supportive families and friends wish nothing but the best for our students’ growth and well-being. And more than 30,000 alumni are proud to call Lafayette College their alma mater, standing ready to be inspired and support this institution’s continued success in any way possible.
It’s an extraordinary time to be part of this great College, with the strategic plan, campus master plan, and bicentennial celebration all moving forward. It is a moment that should inspire all of us to be our best and work together to position Lafayette College for even greater accomplishments.
As the Board’s resolution makes clear, our faith in President Hurd and her dedication, energy, and abilities to lead Lafayette College is unwavering. She is, in our estimation, best positioned to lead this College in this most extraordinary time, and she will maintain and advance Lafayette’s position as a top-tier liberal arts college in the United States.
The Board of Trustees joins with President Hurd in recommitting to uphold the mission of the College. Through sincere and constructive dialogue, we can support one another in the common purpose of Lafayette College and its influential role in higher education.
Sincerely,
Robert E. Sell ’84, H’18
Chair, Board of Trustees
WHEREAS, it is the duty of the Board of Trustees, taking account of the views of all members of the Lafayette College community, to safeguard both the immediate and long-term interests of the College and to secure the future of the College;
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees recognizes and reaffirms that the concept of shared governance is integral to the mission of the College;
WHEREAS, the Statutes of Lafayette College vest the Board of Trustees with the management, direction, and government of the College and the authority to appoint the President of the College;
WHEREAS, these solemn responsibilities include the advancement of the College’s dedication to excellence in undergraduate education, the progress of the College’s educational mission, the growth and continued enhancement of its reputation, the achievements and expansion of the Faculty, the quality of its admissions results, the stability of its finances, the successes of its fundraising, and the College’s sound response to broad societal forces affecting higher education;
WHEREAS, in all these categories and others, the Board of Trustees recognizes the outstanding accomplishments in the last three and one-half years under Nicole Farmer Hurd, sustaining and advancing the College’s place in the top tier of liberal arts colleges in the United States;
WHEREAS, in particular, the College has achieved numerous milestones during the presidency of Nicole Farmer Hurd, including but not limited to:
WHEREAS, Nicole Farmer Hurd and her Administration have made significant progress in strengthening and improving Faculty consultation, including but not limited to establishing a College Budget Planning Committee, Strategic Planning Steering Committee, and the Presidential Task Force on Compensation, and are committed to regular discussions with Faculty about their critical role in institutional governance;
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees recently reviewed and strongly endorsed the five priorities and associated goals of the College’s new Strategic Plan, Becoming Lafayette: A Vision for Our Third Century;
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees recognizes the need for, and benefits of, collaboration and cooperation between and among the Board of Trustees, the President and her Administration, and the Faculty of the College;
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees recognizes the right of the Faculty under principles of shared governance to bring forth a motion of no confidence as a means of expressing concerns;
WHEREAS, consistent with the principles of shared governance, the Board of Trustees carefully considered the views of the Faculty as expressed through its vote on the motion of no confidence.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY:
RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees strongly endorses the strategic direction of Lafayette College and Nicole Farmer Hurd’s stewardship; and it is further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees celebrates the College’s standing as one of the leading institutions of higher education in the country thanks to the dedication of the faculty, the ambitions of the students, the guidance of the staff and the support of alumni and friends; and it is further
RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees shall actively work with President Hurd, her Administration, and the Faculty to establish a process through which the Faculty, the Administration, and the Trustees can engage in constructive dialogue intended to ensure (i) that Lafayette College remains ever vigilant to identify ways that all those who foster the mission of the College do so in the most effective and efficient ways possible, and (ii) maintains its strong commitment to shared governance, so that it remains one of the best liberal arts colleges in the country; and it is further
RESOLVED, President Hurd and her Administration have the full support and complete confidence of the Board of Trustees in leading the College into its third century.