Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff Members,

As we approach winter break, I want to provide an update on the College’s strategic plan, Swarthmore Forward. We’ve made good progress, including by forming the Swarthmore Forward Implementation Advisory Committee. The committee will serve in an advisory capacity to me and will ensure that the structures are in place to advance the plan, measure progress, and achieve our shared goals. My thanks to the following individuals who’ve agreed to serve on the committee:

• Jean-Vincent Blanchard, Professor of French and Francophone Studies
• Megan Brown, Associate Professor of History
• Simone Collins, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services
• Elizabeth Drake, Assistant Vice President, Sustainability and Strategic Initiatives
• Andy Feick, Associate Vice President of Sustainable Facilities Operations & Capital Planning
• Jane Gillham, Professor of Psychology
• Rob Goldberg, Vice President for Finance and Administration
• Ralph Gomez, Associate Professor of Mathematics
• Val Gómez, Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator
• Stephanie Ives, Vice President of Student Affairs
• Cat Norris, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Programs & Research and Associate Professor of Psychology
• Sarah Pearson, Vice President for Advancement
• Andrew Ruether ’94, Director, Academic Technology
• Elizabeth Stevens, Associate Professor of Theater
• Brooke Vick, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Rich Wicentowski, Professor of Computer Science

As I wrote when I introduced the plan last semester, your ongoing involvement is critical to bringing the plan to life. The implementation committee will identify ways to engage and inform students, faculty, and staff throughout the process.

We’ve already made substantive progress on some of the plan’s aspirations, which include exciting and important initiatives that were already underway. For instance, the faculty recently voted to create a Black Studies major and approve the conversion of Black Studies from a program to a new academic department. This work began long before we developed Swarthmore Forward and speaks to our stated goal of strengthening interdisciplinary teaching and research.

We’ve also begun working on the curriculum review, the College’s first in 30 years. As the plan states, the review will help ensure that our academic program remains true to our core values, while providing our students with the range of knowledge and skills needed to thrive in today’s global society. Central to this effort will be an examination of our institutional learning goals and the extent to which they are reflected in our graduation requirements. The Curriculum Committee will serve as an advisory board throughout the review, and there will be many opportunities for a broad range of perspectives across campus to be heard as the process moves forward. We’ll share more details about the review early in the spring semester.

We’ve made significant progress on other aspects of the plan as well. For instance, we have brought the first set of buildings onto our new geoexchange system, a significant milestone in our To Zero By Thirty-Five energy plan that is critical to our ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2035.

Swarthmore Forward promises to prioritize community health and well-being and ensure that buildings support the College’s strategic vision. With that in mind, we are taking the next steps of reimagining Cunningham Fields and replacing the aging Lamb-Miller Field House. I’ve written to you in the past about these projects and their important role in supporting the personal and physical development and well-being of everyone on campus — students, faculty, and staff members alike. We recently partnered with a design firm, Sasaki Associates, to advance this work. Sasaki has begun engaging with the campus community to hear from you directly about space needs and desires; please be on the lookout for more information on additional opportunities. These projects are still conceptual; gaining Board approval and bringing them to fruition will require significant philanthropic support.

Much of the work on Swarthmore Forward is still ahead of us, but the early progress on these and other fronts helps us visualize opportunities and possibilities as we move further into implementation. I am grateful for all of the time and energy so many of you have already dedicated to this important work, and I am excited by what we will achieve together.

Sincerely,

Val Smith
President