The Lafayette Presidency: Reflections From the President’s Office

Lafayette College Bicentennial programming continued Oct. 9 with a presidential panel in Colton Chapel. Three former Lafayette presidents, David W. Ellis, Daniel H. Weiss, and Alison R. Byerly, joined current president and event moderator Nicole Hurd for a 70-minute reflection and discussion among those who have held the highest office at the College.

Topics ranged from higher education access, affordability, and financial aid to female representation nationwide in higher education. The four presidents, whose collective terms spanned more than three decades, touched on the teacher-scholar model, faculty investment, and the student experience and mentorship, while also covering the foundation of the Patriot League and the current student-athlete identity. 

The time-honored challenge of balancing tradition with institutional progress was a topic all four had to wrestle with during their respective tenures, accompanied by fundraising and endowment growth, construction, and the Lafayette-Easton relationship.

A livestream of the event was available to Lafayette’s 32,000 alumni across the world and has been archived here.