From holding Commencement in Fischer Stadium for the first time ever to
building a sciences center into the side of a hill, 2018 was a year full of
highlights at Lafayette. Hi, I'm Alison Byerly. Let's take a look at some of
Lafayette College's top stories of the year.
In August we welcomed the largest and most diverse class ever as we continue
to make Lafayette more affordable and distinctive through growth. In addition
to having the highest test scores ever, a record 14% of students in the Class of
2022 are the first generation in their families to attend college. Increasing
financial aid is at the heart of our strategy. The second annual President's
Challenge brought faculty, students, and staff together to promote an online day
of giving that raised $1.5 million. The President's Challenge will
be back again in March, so get ready. New tenure-track faculty joined the College
this year. We're proud to be in the top 10 nationally for the number of women
faculty in engineering, and we're in the top 20 in the number of engineering
bachelor degrees awarded to women. The newly created Hanson Center for
Inclusive STEM Education will strengthen our efforts to increase the diversity of
both faculty and students in these fields.
Students had another stellar year, winning two Goldwater Scholarships and a
prestigious Beinecke Scholarship for graduate study in the arts, humanities,
and social sciences. Lafayette also was among the schools
producing the most U.S. Fulbright winners. Put our students into teams and they're
nearly unbeatable. We took first place in the National Student Steel Bridge
Competition, and we beat graduate students from around the world in a
geotechnical engineering contest. Our mock trial team finished 12th nationally,
and women's basketball ranked 14th academically among Division I programs.
Faculty honors included a Guggenheim Fellowship for film documentary,
receiving one of only eight Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Awards to support
research with students, and being recognized as one of the nation's top
math teachers. From talking about their research on dark matter or the mental
health needs of new mothers to writing op-eds on Korea, or describing sugary
treats as the new secondhand smoke, Lafayette faculty also appeared in some
of the nation's top news outlets. The Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center will
open in fall 2019 as a signature academic building that serves as the new
home for biology and computer science as well as other programs. In addition to
the Hanson Center, the building will also include the newly named Bradbury Dyer
III Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
As we continue to add new professors faculty are exploring six areas that
each cut across multiple disciplines as they work to shape the curriculum of
tomorrow. Those areas are data science, design media and the arts, environment
and sustainability, global education, the humanities, and inclusive STEM education.
Career services has been shaped into the Gateway Career Center with deeper staff
expertise in a variety of sectors and expanded funding to support internships.
And here are two more bragging points: Among small colleges our engineering and
international affairs programs were ranked among the nation's best.
International affairs kicked off its 60th anniversary celebration this year with a
lecture from Nobel Prize laureate and former President of Liberia Ellen
Johnson Sirleaf.
And while we're bragging, how about our alumni? New York Times reporter Michael
Schmidt, Class of '05, shared in two Pulitzer Prizes, and Kristen Gibbons
Feden, Class of '04, was the prosecutor who obtained the conviction of Bill
Cosby. Kevin Mandia '92 continued to be sought
by media worldwide for his expertise on cybersecurity. Our board of trustees
elected alumni to important new leadership positions.
And we had some exciting news in athletics. We welcomed a new athletics
director, Sherryta Freeman, who laid out a five-year strategic plan, "Creating a
Championship Culture," that will help us to achieve excellence in our Division
I athletics program.
We welcomed distinguished visitors including artists and writers such as
William Wegman, Christo, and Rita Mae Brown as well as the founder of the Me Too
Movement, Tarana Burke. And as Commencement speaker alumna Marcia Bloom
Bernicat, ambassador to Bangladesh. Lafayette himself paid a visit in the
person of Broadway actor Daveed Diggs, one of the original stars of "Hamilton." Thanks
for watching. Oh, and there is one more thing. Thanks to your generosity we
surpassed the $400 million goal in our Live Connected, Lead
Change campaign. You'll have to wait a few more days to learn exactly how much
we raised, but know this: As a result of the incredible dedication and commitment
of this community, Lafayette's future is brighter than ever. From all of us here
at Lafayette, thank you and Happy Holidays.