Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff Members, 

I am writing with a summary of the December Board of Managers meeting. The full meeting took place on campus this past weekend, with several committees meeting via Zoom earlier in the week. I’d like to thank Student Government Organization President Abby Guise ’26 and Vice President Luca Campiani ’26, as well as Associate Professor of Art History Patricia Reilly and Women’s Head Soccer Coach Todd Anckaitis for serving as student and faculty board observers.

On Friday, Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Brooke Vick provided the Board with an overview of preliminary findings from the Campus Culture and Climate Survey conducted last spring. The survey yielded a trove of qualitative and quantitative data across a range of topics. Brooke, in partnership with colleagues in Institutional Effectiveness, Research & Assessment, is working to analyze and synthesize the information and plans to share the survey results with the campus community after we return from winter break.

Chief Information Technology Officer Jason Parkhill led a session on the College’s emerging artificial intelligence ecosystem. He outlined the collaborative work underway among faculty and staff to ensure that our AI practices and implementation are thoughtful, coordinated, and aligned with our values, while still allowing us to adapt as the technology evolves. The Board also reviewed how a number of other colleges and universities are approaching the integration of AI into teaching, learning, and administrative work as they navigate similar opportunities and challenges.

Among the highlights of the meeting was a lunch session on Friday with Abby and Luca. They shared insights and perspectives as student leaders on topics ranging from campus social life to student perceptions of the administration, student conduct, issues related to Title IX, and more. 

Later that evening, members of the Committee on Faculty Procedures, division chairs, associate deans of the faculty, and faculty Board observers joined the Board for dinner. The time together provided faculty and managers an informal setting for casual conversation. I know that managers deeply value talking with campus community members about life on campus and are grateful for the time Abby, Luca, and the faculty members took to participate in these conversations. 

Board Approvals

On Saturday morning, upon the recommendation of Provost and Dean of the Faculty Rich Wicentowski, the board approved this year’s endowed chairs. The names of those individuals will be shared at the faculty holiday luncheon on Friday and then announced publicly shortly after. 

And, upon the recommendation of the Honorary Degree Committee and approval by the Faculty, the Board endorsed this year’s honorary degree recipients. We will announce the recipients’ names once we confirm that they are willing and available to be recognized at Commencement in May.

In addition, the Board authorized the College to move forward with the next phase of the process to renovate Worth Hall and the Lodges 1-4. These residence halls, which are roughly a century old, have never undergone a comprehensive renovation. The planned work includes major energy-efficiency upgrades and connecting the buildings to our geoexchange system, a central component of the To Zero By Thirty-Five energy plan. The project also includes refreshed living spaces, new restrooms, improved common areas, and other needed updates. We expect to return to the Board in the spring for final approval.

College Finances

In keeping with its fiduciary responsibilities, the Board devoted a significant amount of its time to the College’s finances, and I expect that will continue in subsequent meetings for the foreseeable future. 

In September, I wrote to you about our fiscal landscape and outlined several areas of strength and stability. Demand for a Swarthmore education remains near an all-time high and among the strongest in the country. We have, so far, avoided the most significant external financial threats around research funding, international enrollment, the endowment excise tax, and other federal actions aimed at colleges and universities. And through careful stewardship, our endowment continues to provide nearly 60% of our annual operating budget, supporting core priorities such as financial aid and critical infrastructure renewal projects.

I also shared some of the financial challenges we, along with many of our peers, are navigating now and for which we are preparing. Our expenses, particularly our largest cost drivers, such as financial aid, compensation and benefits, and infrastructure improvements, are rising faster than our revenue sources, and that gap is widening. These pressures have pushed our endowment spending rate close to the 5% ceiling set by the Board. In recent years, we have closed budget deficits by drawing on reserves. Not only is that model unsustainable, generally speaking, but those reserves are nearly depleted.

Looking ahead, we face a number of uncertainties. For instance, demographic shifts often described as the “enrollment cliff,” ongoing inflation, and the public’s declining confidence in higher education raise important questions about how families will make decisions about college in the years ahead and how these broader forces shape our own planning and priorities.

I share these not to prompt concern, but to underscore that we should expect to operate in a period of greater fiscal restraint than we have in recent years. That will not limit our ability to innovate, create, and build a stronger Swarthmore. But historically, new initiatives here have often been additive. As we’ve discussed on multiple occasions throughout the strategic planning process, we will need to be deliberate in how we allocate resources and, in some cases, pause or conclude certain activities to create room for new priorities.

Our immediate goal with the upcoming budget request cycle is to limit operational budget growth to no more than 3%, with a premium on identifying savings to fund new initiatives. Budget managers will receive more detailed information from the Finance Office in the days ahead. 

The Board remains deeply focused on Swarthmore’s long-term financial health, and we will look for thoughtful ways to engage the broader community as these conversations evolve. While the path forward will require careful choices, I’m optimistic about where it will lead. We have a strong foundation, a clear sense of purpose, and a community committed to building a vibrant and enduring Swarthmore.

Sincerely, 

Val Smith
President
Roy J. and Linda G. Shanker Presidential Chair