January 7, 2025
Dear alumni, families and friends of Connecticut College,
Happy 2025! Let me extend my good wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous year to all. I hope everyone had the opportunity to spend time with family, friends and loved ones during the holidays. Here on campus, we are looking forward to the beginning of a productive and active spring semester.
As I have shared in previous emails, one of my top priorities has been to rebuild the senior team. In that regard, the vice president for Advancement search is fully launched and the search committee has begun their work for this critical position.
During January, I also plan to finalize support for the Division of Equity and Inclusion. I appreciate the valuable input I have received from faculty, staff, students, alumni and parents regarding how to best support and advance our goals toward a more equitable and inclusive community.
The other pressing priorities are the budget and infrastructure. We are working diligently on analyzing data to determine opportunities for savings in order to ensure financial sustainability for years and decades to come. Christina Williams, vice president for Finance and Administration, is conducting a full review of our current processes and systems to build a more accurate, timely and transparent budget process for next fiscal year.
Regarding infrastructure, in November, we received the initial report of a Facilities Condition Assessment (FCA), which conducted a comprehensive review of 40 campus buildings. The findings conclude that although the buildings have “good bones,” many need significant restoration. The next step is to assess current usage and ensure that we are maximizing time, places and resources to best meet our needs for today and for thefuture. This will help us to understand the prioritization of such renovations and the optimal use of various spaces. At the Board’s February meeting, trustees will engage in a robust discussion, and following this meeting, I will host an on-campus town hall on the topic. This will, of course, be a multi-year project, but will ensure that our campus is preserved for future generations.
I will be traveling quite a bit this spring–Texas this week, Florida in February and California in March. I hope to see many of you at the events in your regions. Again, all my very best wishes for a wonderful start to 2025.
Sincerely,
Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D.
President