Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff Members,

As you know, over the past 18 months the College has been working towards developing a new strategic plan that establishes priorities for the next decade. I am very grateful to all of our community members who participated in the work, from the working group and cross-cutting theme members to everyone who engaged with the pop-ups, community conversations, workshops, surveys, and meetings. I appreciate your insight, enthusiasm, and vision. 

The planning process has allowed us to think collectively about our mission and core institutional values and to work intentionally and deliberately toward shaping an environment that upholds those values within the context of great social and cultural transformation. It has allowed us to identify ways to strengthen what is already an extraordinary education. Our new strategic plan seeks to enhance a sustainable community in which we thoughtfully steward resources, commitments, and time and model what it means to manage them with care and intention. It prioritizes an environment and culture of well-being for our intellectually passionate and engaged student body, faculty of dedicated and talented teacher-scholars, and caring and committed staff members. 

We are now nearing the completion of this work, and I am sharing this current draft of the plan for your review and feedback. I invite you to offer your comments using this feedback form or by emailing strategicplanning@swarthmore.edu. Please do so by Monday, November 13. Your feedback will be important as we finalize the plan and seek approval from the Board of Managers in early December.

Thank you for your support of the planning process and your service to the College. 

My best,

Val Smith
President