The below message was sent by Board of Trustees Chair Cynthia Archer to the ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø community on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
Dear members of the ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø community:
Earlier today, Kim Cassidy announced that she will conclude her service as President of ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø in June 2024, the end of her current term. By then Kim will have led the College through eleven years of remarkable growth and change with the generosity of spirit, unbounded energy and joyful dedication to learning and purposeful action so evident in all that she does. Her collaborative leadership has raised ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s enduring commitment to academic excellence, global engagement, and student success within a vibrant, inclusive community to new heights.
The Board of Trustees is deeply grateful to Kim for her transformational leadership. Early in her presidency, Kim framed a strategic vision for ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø. Excellence in Action provided an expansive and specific plan to carry forward ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s enduring mission to educate students to the highest standard of excellence and prepare them for lives of purpose. Kim led a record-breaking fundraising campaign to underwrite our vision, supporting the excellence of our faculty across undergraduate and graduate programs, attracting increasingly talented and diverse students along with the financial support they need to attain their degrees, and investing in our staff whose dedication and expertise is so essential to our community. We have re-envisioned Park Science Center, built a vibrant new Student Life and Wellness Center and garnered national recognition for ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s stewardship of its beautiful campus. ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø students now begin to prepare for their lives beyond ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø early, empowered by enhanced internship opportunities and programming through our Career and Civic Engagement Center.
²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s scholar-teacher model is thriving, our faculty and students are engaged across disciplines and around the globe, and many students now leave ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø with advanced degrees from our extensive 4+1 programs and partnerships. And all of this is happening within a community that is united and intentional in our work to create an ever-more equitable and inclusive ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø.
Kim has led ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø forward in enduring ways, preparing an incomparable opportunity for her successor to lead ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø forward. The Board of Trustees has initiated ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s search for our new President. I am grateful to trustees Amy Loftus ’90 and Cecilia Conrad, Wellesley ‘76, who will bring their exceptional talents to the leadership of this search. The search committee will include trustees, faculty, staff, and student members. Our new president will serve all of ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø and our search will actively engage our community in multiple ways to share hopes for ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø’s next leader. We will keep you informed in the coming weeks and will create a clear mechanism for you to share your thoughts as our search moves forward.
I will close by expressing again the Board’s profound gratitude for all that Kim has accomplished on behalf of ²ÝÁñ³ÉÈËÉçÇø. We are fortunate to have her leadership for another year, and we look forward to celebrating her presidency next spring.
Sincerely,
Cynthia Archer
Chair, Board of Trustees