June 16, 2022
Dear Parents and Guardians,
I hope your students are enjoying some well-deserved rest this summer after another rigorous academic year.
We have just completed an extended graduation season here at Conn, with not one but two commencements -- the first for the Class of 2022, which took place May 22, and the second, long overdue, for the Class of 2020, which took place just this past weekend. In between, we welcomed hundreds of alumni, friends and family back to campus for a spectacular Reunion Weekend, our first in-person reunion since 2019. The grateful crowd and beautiful weather made for a wonderful homecoming filled with Camel pride.
The pride was amplified in my State of the College address on June 4, when I summarized some of the most notable achievements of the past year. I delivered the address in the new Athey Center for Performance and Research at Palmer Auditorium, a renovation that has brought a historic Art Deco gem back to life.
The renovation was obviously one of the great highlights of this year. Among the others were:
• our record year for admissions, with nearly 9,000 applications for the Class of 2026 and more than 660 students making deposits by the May 1 deadline
• the ongoing success of our core curriculum Connections, which has placed Conn among the most innovative colleges in the nation
• the revitalization of our Thames River waterfront for athletics and research
• our Gold ranking from the American Association for Sustainability in Higher Education, placing Conn among just 15% of colleges and universities in the country
• the strength of our faculty’s research, including Prof. Siver’s lifetime achievement award from the American Phycological Society and Prof. Rosa’s remarkable coral reef restoration in the Thames River
• the bounty of prestigious fellowships received by our students, including a Watson, a Beinecke, and nine Fulbrights, the largest number in a decade
• the success of our athletics program, which included not only All-America selections but the first national championship title in College history, won by our men’s soccer team
• the generous philanthropy of our alumni and families, which makes all this achievement possible
I was especially pleased to report on the public launch of our Defy Boundaries campaign, the most ambitious campaign in College history, with a goal of $300 million. Now in its fifth year, the campaign has already reached $228 million, or 76 percent of our goal, and is on track to see the best year of fundraising in our history. Thank you so much for your support.
I want to thank you, too, for the difference you are making by sending your wonderful students to Connecticut College and for helping them achieve their dreams. It is their dreams that give us hope. As I told the Reunion crowd, I know the future of our world is brighter because of the courage, the talent, the conviction and the strength of these extraordinary young people. We look forward to welcoming them back in the Fall.
In the meantime, wishing you all a restful and productive summer.
Yours,
Katherine Bergeron
President