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Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
At our most recent faculty meeting, I offered some preliminary thoughts regarding the evolving national landscape and its potential impact on higher education, and I wanted to use this issue of “From the President’s Desk” to share some of those thoughts with our broader community.
Every new presidential administration and new Congress brings changes to which we as an institution must adapt and respond. We do so with tenets of our mission as our North Star: to foster a diverse and global community of learners, to nurture critical thought, to inspire intellectual courage, to cultivate engaged citizenship, and, above all, to prepare our students to solve the problems of, and thrive in, a complex and rapidly evolving world.
The coming years are likely to bring significant changes in federal policy that will profoundly affect colleges and universities. As these changes unfold, it is important to remember that we don’t work in isolation; Sarah Lawrence is a member of a number of organizations with which we collaborate and from whom we receive helpful guidance at both the national and state levels. We are in active conversation with these groups about the higher education priorities of the incoming presidential administration and the new Congress, including proposals under consideration that would reexamine federal support for financial aid, adjust accreditation standards, reshape guidance on the protections enshrined in Title IX, and constrain the ability of institutions to set educational priorities. To take a single example of the potential impacts: federal funding decisions—especially regarding student loans and Pell Grants—would directly affect many of our students and families; shifts in these areas could make access to a Sarah Lawrence education more challenging, making our ability to provide scholarships more crucial than ever.
Many in our community are understandably worried about the potential erosion of individuals' rights and threats to their well-being. It is critical to defend and support the most vulnerable among us, and the College remains committed to principles of non-discrimination and respect for the flourishing of every individual. Further, we know that diverse perspectives enrich learning and foster intellectual growth, empathy, and a more thorough understanding of the world. Now more than ever, our classrooms must remain spaces for both inclusion and the deep exploration of competing ideas, demonstrating that these values are not—and must not be—in conflict but instead strengthen one another.
Higher education is under the microscope. Debates about free speech, diversity initiatives, and the cost and value of higher education are likely only to intensify, underscoring the importance of safeguarding our commitment to academic freedom, free expression, and the educational power of diversity that are central to the idea and promise of American higher education. We cannot ignore the pronounced and growing opportunity divide between those who hold college degrees and those who do not. One of the ways Sarah Lawrence is striving to bridge this gap is the work we are doing to reimagine our role as a civic anchor in our community. I am particularly proud of initiatives like the Mellon Grant for Civic Engagement and our community college partnerships, which deepen our connections with our surrounding neighborhoods by building true collaborations through reciprocity and the co-creation of knowledge. But what we should all recognize in the fissures laid bare in the recent election is how much more work we have to do.
Each year since my arrival, Sarah Lawrence has hosted an event series that engages our community in exploring critical issues at the intersection of education, society, and democracy. This year, the theme of that series is Polarization: Impacts + Solutions. We have benefited across the years of these series from many voices joining us on campus, and I invite you to revisit our archive of events. I hope you will join us for the first event of the spring semester as we continue this important work with Dr. Francis Collins, renowned for his leadership of the Human Genome Project and service as director of the National Institutes of Health, on January 30.
Our commitment to our mission and values must and will remain unwavering in the days ahead. We are steadfast in our determination to provide an education that prepares students to think beyond convention, navigate complexity, and not just adapt to change but to create it with integrity and purpose. This college will continue to be a transformative force and a home for bold ideas, constructive dialogue, and the cultivation of independent thought. Thank you for your support, and for standing with Sarah Lawrence at this critical juncture.
With warm regards and heartfelt thanks,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez