Building on Strengths, from Admission to Plans after Graduation

Friends:

Following our Commencement and Alumni Weekend celebrations, the Haverford campus is leaning into a summer rhythm of research, facilities renovation, program development, and much deserved rest. I'd like to bring you up to speed about progress in three related areas—admission and graduate outcomes, fundraising performance, and financial health—that are important measures of our success.

Admission Update

By all quantitative and qualitative measures, the Class of 2028 is an amazing group that we cannot wait to welcome to the Haverford community. They join us from a pool with the highest number of applicants in College history, and are among the highest yielding group we've ever admitted. Their qualifications are as impressive as those we've ever enrolled.

While the final makeup of the class won't be settled for several weeks, we expect it to consist of approximately 390 students. This number is above our target of 370 students, reflecting a higher-than-expected yield with admitted students and extraordinary interest in the College.

One year ago, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling prohibited colleges from considering race or ethnicity in college admission decisions. The current admission year was the first in which such new requirements were in place and, as you can imagine, we significantly altered our process in order to comply with the law. With the class of 2028 enrolled and no further admissions from the waiting list expected, we have uncovered demographic data for our incoming first-years, information which had been hidden from view per the new rules.

Haverford's results are notably similar to the demographics of previous classes, prior to the Supreme Court decision. We experienced only a slight decline in the proportion of students of color enrolling, and that proportion still represents the fourth greatest percentage of both US-based and total students of color in the College’s history. The Office of Admission continues to evaluate these outcomes and to examine ways to strengthen our process to both support being in compliance and support the building of a diverse student community.

We did not necessarily expect such results even as we had confidence in our revised application review process, and thank Jess Lord and the Admission team for this important success.

Outcomes and Career Planning

Our enthusiasm about Fords is justified, looking at the success of our graduates. Fords continue to obtain an impressive number and variety of fellowships from organizations such as Fulbright, Watson, Goldwater, and others. Please take a moment to meet our newest fellowship winners, who are doing such important and interesting work. Thank you for the myriad staff, faculty, and peer efforts that encourage our students toward these outstanding outcomes.

In addition to celebrating our graduating seniors' accomplishments, Commencement is also a time to consider where our students will go and what they will do with their extraordinary education. We'll know more about the Class of 2024's plans later this year, but in the meantime, our Center for Career and Professional Advising (CCPA) has published results for the Class of 2023. Of those responding to our survey nearly all are either employed or pursuing graduate study, with a clear majority of those employed pursuing careers in business, finance, science, and technology.

Many Fords will tell you that an internship during their undergraduate years profoundly impacted their career path. That's why Alex Robinson '96 and his wife Monica have made a generous $2 million gift to seed an initiative that will cover the cost of at least one paid internship for every Haverford student, beginning next year. Alex says he was inspired by our Haverford 2030 strategic plan and its plank calling for more robust and impactful career services. We expect this to have real impact in further strengthening the career options of our graduates and helping them find pathways for their talents more quickly.

The Power of Philanthropy

Alex's gift shows the power of philanthropy and how gifts to Haverford make not just a difference, but the difference. Three other Fords recently contributed vital support for strategic initiatives. Michael B. Kim '85 P '17 is lead donor for our new Institute for Ethical Leadership & Inquiry, and Bill Harris '49, together with his wife Nan BMC '51, joined Jim Kinsella '82 and his husband Bob McNeal to create our new entrepreneurship initiative. These enhancements will help prepare students for fulfilling lives of impact and, in the case of the Institute, help enhance the visibility of Haverford's ethos and reputation. I so look forward to collaborating with you as we implement these and all the exciting initiatives called for in Haverford 2030, our strategic plan.

Most of those who support Haverford financially, like myself and many campus colleagues, do so by making a contribution to annual giving, which covers approximately 5% of our annual budget. This essential support, in addition to our annual drawdown from our endowment, helps bridge the gap between what it costs to provide this extraordinary education and what we charge for it. Without it Haverford would not be the same. Many thanks to all our alums, families, friends, and campus members for participating in our current end-of-fiscal-year fundraising effort ahead of June 30, when the current fiscal year ends. I am grateful to all of our donors.

Another Successful Budget Year

The College will end the fiscal year with a projected operating surplus of $1.8 million, representing 1.5% of the FY24 budget. The fiscal year beginning July 1 will have a GAAP-balanced budget, including an allowance for depreciation of the assets of the College. This is an important indicator of financial well-being, as are performance numbers with respect to our endowment, which covers 24% of our operating budget: Haverford’s endowment return for the fiscal year ending last summer was 8.1%. This ranked in the top quartile for performance as compared to peer institutions with $1–5 billion in assets on the annual NACUBO Endowment Study. The endowment value on June 30, 2023 was $643 million.

Other late-breaking news as we head into summer:

• Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Studies and Associate Provost Helen White will co-chair (with VP and Chief of Staff Jesse Lytle) the implementation effort for Haverford 2030. She succeeds Associate Professor of English and Associate Provost Laura McGrane, who will be Provost at Lafayette College starting July 1 (congratulations, Laura!).
• Our participation in a huge new solar energy venture is locked in thanks to a new agreement with other colleges and universities who have joined together to work toward carbon neutrality. Many thanks to Jesse Lytle for leading this effort.
• Data from Raiser’s Edge and Slate, two of the College's core enterprise software programs (which run Institutional Advancement and Admission operations, respectively), are now in our new data warehouse/lake, Edify. This represents a significant step forward in our progress toward better incorporating data in campus-wide decision making. Other features of this effort, which is supported by our $2.25 million 'Uplift' grant from the U.S. Dept. of Education, include a data literacy program, now launched, which will initially focus on DAPs (Department Assessment Plans); enhanced data quality and governance; a baseline data literacy assessment for appropriate staff; and Haverford Bionic data ingestion into the data warehouse/lake. Let's hear it for our colleagues in IITS, Institutional Research, and their partners!
• The Student Life division is pleased to share the following staffing updates:
  • Campus Safety will join the Student Life division effective July 1, 2024. This closer partnership will help us continue streamlining policies and protocols for holistic health, safety, and well-being.
  • Scott Wojciechowski's title will change to Dean of Student Life and Kelly Wilcox will become Dean of Student Success effective July 1. In tandem, the advising deans will be called Associate Deans of Student Success. These changes acknowledge Scott’s and Kelly’s broad responsibilities within the Student Life division and leadership of collaborative work across the College.
  • Jennifer Urbine will move to full-time status as Divisional Case Manager to expand our support for students experiencing personal and health-related concerns. A search is underway for an Assistant Director of Access and Disability Services to backfill this important part of Jen's previous dual position.

In Closing

I hope you share with me a great sense of accomplishment that these data and updates provide. Delivering the budget we need to ensure our financial health, enhanced by your professional focus on our strategic priorities, is absolutely essential to our ability to attract the best and brightest and for those students in turn to have powerful impacts in their chosen field of study. Please know that I am grateful for your dedication and support on so many levels, and that we will continue to build on our strengths in the coming year.

With gratitude,
Wendy