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Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of welcoming alumni back to campus for Reunion. Over the course of that beautifully sunny weekend, it was heartening to watch alums engage with each other at events and enjoy each other’s company in quiet moments of reconnection.
I often say that one of my greatest privileges as your president is hearing the stories and accomplishments of our alumni and that was certainly true as we celebrated the milestone 50th and 25th reunion classes and honored those we’ve lost at the Service of Remembrance. Special events on the schedule included: an evening with trailblazing photographer and author Lynn Gilbert '59; a conversation on the state of higher education with Nancy Cantor ‘74, who will begin her tenure as president of Hunter College in August; and a seminar on the history of Israel, Palestine, and Zionism led by history faculty members Matthew Ellis and Philipp Nielsen. In between, alums exhibited and admired each others’ artwork in Heimbold, relived their days at the roundtable in faculty-led seminars, explored our work in the community at CURB and the Hudson River Museum, took the stage in Reisinger for a cabaret, gathered in the shadow of the Teahaus for Westlands Festival, and ended their Saturday night in the best Sarah Lawrence way possible – with dancing followed by Midnight Breakfast. Photo galleries from the weekend are available on the Reunion website. Thank you to all who attended and to the tireless staff members and volunteers who worked so hard to make the weekend together a success.
One of the highlights of Reunion for me is sharing a look back on the year just completed. I found it helpful to also glance back at prior years because so many of this year’s successes – not the least of which was watching the class of 2024, aka “the COVID class”, graduate in May – resulted from initiatives set in place earlier. I was vividly reminded that even in the heart of the pandemic and the day-to-day pivoting it necessitated, we strove to make decisions that were right not only for the moment but that would have long-term benefits. A few examples: four years ago, the Mellon Grant for Civic Engagement, which embeds faculty in community organizations and blurs the boundaries of a traditional classroom, welcomed our first fellows virtually; this year, we held an ebullient celebration with our five Mellon Fellows and numerous community partner organizations. Four years ago we embarked on a transfer agreement with both Bronx Community College and Westchester Community College. This year, we graduated our second cohort of students from those community colleges with bachelor’s degrees and two students from the first cohort received their master’s degrees in our Art of Teaching graduate program. Four years ago, the Sarah Lawrence Interdisciplinary Collaborative on the Environment was a faculty-led initiative that seized an opportunity for collaboration created by COVID-necessitated changes to the rhythm of the academic calendar; today, it has grown into a robust partnership between faculty and students at Sarah Lawrence and Bronx Community College supported by a $1.5 million grant.
There is no question that this was a year marked by challenges and tensions, but it was, as you’ll see in the Year in Review, also a year marked by abundant opportunities to come together and the attendant results of doing so. Throughout we were guided by a steadfast focus on and commitment to creating an environment in which all students were able to experience – unimpeded – the educational opportunity that SLC promises. That tenet will continue to guide us as we move toward and through the next academic year and, in short order, as we move into our second century.
I am deeply privileged to be part of something that our 20,000+ alumni lived. Yet again this weekend I heard about the ways in which a Sarah Lawrence education was transformational and life-changing. This college is an extraordinary institution, and you all are an extraordinary part of it. I thank you for everything you do for the College and wish you a restorative summer.
Yours,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez
Congratulations!
During the Annual Meeting of the Alumni Association, led by association president Leigh Heyman '98, a number of alumni were recognized for their dedication to the College:
Joanne Furio '84, Lynn Gilbert '59, and Jen Simonds '89 were honored with the Citation Award for Achievement, and Nancy Montgomery '64 and Nancie Schnur '74 were honored with the Citation Award for Service to the College.
Karl Peña ’99 and Patrick Larvie ’90 were elected to serve on the Alumni Council. My thanks to them and to the Council members whose terms concluded this year: Myles Lewis Alexander ’10, Andrea Fono ’86, Manuela Barreneche ’14, and Vrinda Manglik ’08.
Last but certainly not least, for the second year in a row we recognized the Reunion class with the most donors with the Golden Gryphon award. Congratulations and thank you to the Class of 1974, who took home the honor!