Dear Colgate Faculty, Students, Staff, and Alumni,
I write today to offer an update on Colgate’s Third-Century Plan. While the University has created a webpage that offers detailed descriptions of the initiatives under the plan, and while we have been sending out monthly emails to the campus and to alumni, a general update of all the main initiatives of the plan might be welcomed at this time. This is especially true given the number of construction projects underway on the campus and the number of initiatives — capital and non-capital — that will become more apparent to the community over the next several months.
In the future, a detailed, annual update about the state of the University and its strategic direction will be sent from the Office of the President to all faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Recent developments, however — spurred both by Board of Trustee approval of capital projects and the strong support provided by the Campaign for the Third Century — prompt this extended and, by necessity, extensive, wintertime message.
It’s important to note, at the start of this letter, that the initiatives under the Third-Century Plan are quite wide-ranging; touching, as they do, every corner of Colgate’s enterprise. Several of these initiatives, such as the build out of the Middle Campus, will take years to complete. So, at best, this letter can only really provide a broad outline of the plan and our work currently being pursued under its direction.
It is also important to recognize that many activities that are deeply important to the University can’t be fully outlined here. This letter does not, for example, offer updates of the University’s Sustainability Plan nor the work being undertaken in conjunction with our DEI Plan. It does not speak to any single academic department, center or program, nor does it speak to issues of free speech and academic freedom or other larger issues much discussed in higher education today.
But, despite the limitations of its form, a general email update sent to the larger community does have its benefits given the scale and number of initiatives currently underway at Colgate.
For those who wish a more detailed update on the initiatives of the plan, please see the updates provided at thirdcentury.colgate.edu. Further, please note that we will continue our practice of sending out monthly emails on specific initiatives currently underway.
This update is organized around, first, a review of those initiatives designed to attract and support outstanding students, faculty, and staff to Colgate. It then speaks of those initiatives related to strengthening Colgate’s academic program. It concludes with brief updates on those initiatives related to student life, including athletics.
In the same spirit of greater communication and understanding, in a few weeks, Senior Vice President JS Hope and Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lesleigh Cushing will also send an update to Colgate faculty and staff. Their update will provide information on Colgate’s current operations and on the development of next year’s operating budget.
It is my hope that this overview will provide for the greater Colgate community a general outline of the Third-Century Plan, the activities that are already underway in connection with the plan, and a look at what we can expect over the next few semesters at Colgate.
I. Initiatives Related to Attracting and Supporting Outstanding Students, Faculty, and Staff
Colgate first launched its initiative focused on student access and affordability in the fall of 2020. The Colgate Commitment began with the elimination of federal loans for all current and incoming students coming to Colgate from families with a total family income of $125,000 or less. Through that step, student loans were replaced by University grants. Today, this program has been extended to all students coming from families with incomes up to $175,000. Further, as part of the Colgate Commitment, students coming from families with total income below $80,000 attend Colgate tuition-free.
In just this past year, we have also introduced increased financial aid support for textbooks and other costs of attendance beyond tuition. Taking these new efforts into account, the University has increased its financial aid budget by $17 million, or nearly 30%, since 2016–2017.
These financial aid changes, combined with growing awareness of Colgate in the national spotlight, have played an important role in the increase in applications for admission to the University — which have once again topped 21,000. Just a few years ago, Colgate received approximately 9,000 applications per year, so this is quite a significant increase. Notably, and importantly, the application pool for the Colgate Class of 2027 is more diverse than was seen in recent applicant cohorts as measured by ethnic diversity, socioeconomic diversity, and geographic distribution.
Meanwhile, increased support for faculty in the past few years has meant incoming faculty now have access to significant start-up funds that allow them to launch their research careers at Colgate. More funding is available for faculty to attend and present at professional conferences and do research-related travel, and pre-tenure faculty are now entitled to take a year-long sabbatical to enhance their research. The next phase in the quest to attract and retain outstanding faculty is the move to a four-course teaching load, which will create the opportunity for faculty to devote more intensive attention to teaching, research with students, and their own scholarship.
We had as a primary goal in the Campaign for the Third Century the creation of 20 new endowed faculty professorships. Nothing provides a more stable foundation for a faculty than having sufficient endowment funds to support an ever-strengthening faculty. As of this writing, we have raised funds to allow for the creation of 12 new endowed professorships. Payments into these chair pledges will, in a number of cases, take a few years. But as we move on into the future these new funds will provide ever increasing support for the Colgate faculty and, thus, the University’s academic mission.
As we attract new faculty and staff to our community, we must also ensure that there is affordable, nearby housing. The University has completed the first round of new housing in the Five Trees neighborhood, adding over 20 new homes that will be limited to Colgate faculty and staff and to those who will work in the Hamilton community.
Through what is now an emerging Hamilton Housing Initiative, we will add a number of new rental apartments in the village at the 18-22 Utica Street site. We are also looking at other sites that the University owns to see how best to continue to expand the housing options available not only for Colgate faculty and staff but also for those who work in our local hospital and schools.
Colgate continues to be committed to recruiting and retaining excellent staff. This commitment often takes the form of collaboration with the Staff Affairs Council (SAC), a representative body created during the pandemic and charged with facilitating communication among faculty, staff, and the administration. In recognition of the challenges faced by Colgate’s workforce during the pandemic and continued through elevated vacancies in the wake of changes to the national labor market, the University also took steps to invest in its people, through one-time payments totaling over $900,000 and significant market-driven adjustments to pay rates to ensure Colgate remains competitive in compensation.
Further, in coordination with the SAC, Colgate launched a staff wellness series last summer and is working to implement a number of important changes to enhance the work life of Colgate staff. Current projects include a review of Colgate’s remote and flexible work policy, a recommendation for additional discretionary days off for staff members, and an exploration of additional nonmonetary ways Colgate can express respect and appreciation for all that staff members continue to do for Colgate.
II. Initiatives Related to the Academic Program
On campus, the Ho Mind, Brain, Behavior Center construction continues on the north side of Olin Hall. The Ho-Olin expansion and renovation has proved to be more challenging than even our best planning efforts would have predicted, as we have discovered the need for more improvements and renovations in this large, 60-year-old building. We anticipate that the final cost of this renovation and expansion will be approximately $48 million. Fortunately we have identified the funds we need to fully renovate the building and provide what will be a marvelous, expanded academic building. The opening of the Ho Mind, Brain, Behavior Center and the repopulation of Olin is still on track for the spring semester of 2024. (Thank you to the faculty and staff who work in this building who have patiently waited for the completion of this massive project.)
Work has now begun in the Middle Campus — the area of campus that runs from Case-Geyer Library to the Dana Arts Center. Infrastructure work — moving steamlines, adding in geothermal capacity, and updating electric lines — has begun to support the construction of the Benton Center for Creativity and Innovation and other Middle Campus buildings. This work is taking place behind the screens and fences on Whitnall Field. Computer science, dance, theater, entrepreneurship, and more will all find their home in the new Benton Center, slated to open before the end of 2024. The Middle Campus will eventually be home to a renovated James C. Colgate Hall and Dana Arts Center as well as new performing and collections buildings.
As work begins on the construction of the Benton Center, we will also see work related to the restoration of the current ravine that, in the near future, will connect the expanding Middle Campus to the traditional heart of the campus up the hill. (The ravine is the several-acre, undeveloped, and somewhat degraded parcel of land below Curtis Hall and Spear House and above Dana.)
A restored and improved ravine will feature wooded pathways and walkways and a newly improved plaza in the Curtis-Frank traffic circle area. It is my great hope that not only will this ravine better connect the academic parts of the campus, but will also provide a beautiful, natural park line area for all members of the campus to enjoy.
Colgate is also working on a broad, multi-departmental academic initiative related to public affairs, policy research, and data practices in the social sciences and beyond. Further, as part of the Initiative in Arts Creativity and Innovation, we look forward to enhanced programs for students, faculty, and alumni in entrepreneurship.
III. Initiatives Related to Improving the Student Experience
Colgate is also actively planning for construction and renovation on Lower Campus — that portion of the Colgate campus along College Street and Broad Street that houses approximately half of the student body. Architects are developing detailed plans for the comprehensive renewal of living spaces along Broad Street, the creation of new gathering spaces for students in this neighborhood, and the provision of new dining options. Renovations to structures in this neighborhood will begin in the summer of 2024 with construction for new student housing in the neighborhood to begin shortly thereafter.
Significant planning efforts are underway in connection with the reimagining of the Reid Athletic Center. This building was constructed at a time when the campus population was significantly smaller than it is today and before the arrival of women’s varsity teams. The building, in short, does not meet the needs of our Division I programs and the student-athletes who participate in them. We have already received significant support for this project, and I hope to be able to announce final architectural plans soon.
Even as we enhance our athletics spaces, we will also invest in the student-athletes, coaches, and staff who define our Division I tradition. We are actively exploring the ways and means by which we increase annual support and endowment resources specifically designated to strengthen our athletics program while also further freeing up additional funding for other investments on campus.
In Conclusion
Two important points should be made as I conclude this letter. The scale of the work connected with these initiatives is unprecedented in the 200-year history of Colgate, and it will take time to complete. It is also unprecedented in higher education, and it is taking place through the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends who have participated — and continue to participate — in the Campaign for the Third Century. I want to acknowledge those on this campus who have made these plans and those both on and off the campus whose support is making them possible.
We are pursuing this course because it is vital to the health and well-being of Colgate, but also of our society, which sorely needs wise leaders who understand that learning is a lifelong pursuit, an art, and a science. We move forward guided by a clear vision, so that the Colgate we pass to the next generation is an even more thriving expression of the energy, spirit, and tradition that makes it special to us all.
Thank you all for the part you are playing in this challenging and rewarding work.
Sincerely,
Brian W. Casey
President