November 30, 2016

Dear Members of the Connecticut College Community,

I am pleased to present you with Building on Strength: A New Plan for Connecticut College. This document reflects the work of many people over many months, the outcome of an inclusive planning process conducted during the 2015-16 academic year. With the leadership of a talented campus committee, and the collective wisdom of students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents, and trustees, we arrived at the strategy that will enrich our academic and residential culture, strengthen our community, sustain our institution, and ultimately raise Connecticut College to greater levels of national and international prominence. The Board of Trustees endorsed the plan’s priorities, goals, and actions at their most recent meeting in October.

A good strategic planning process always begins with an examination of mission and values. In our case, that means reflecting on the principles of innovation, equity, and excellence in education that have defined this College from the very beginning. These values provide an even more powerful foundation for our future as we seek to attract and educate a new generation of leaders for a globally networked 21st-century, citizens who will enter a world of increasing social and technological complexity. Our future success depends on the solutions our graduates will find for as-yet-unimagined problems. This will require new kinds of knowledge, judgment, and skill building.

In this respect, the plan can be read as a redoubling of our commitment to the liberal arts and to the kind of connected and worldly education that has long been a hallmark of this institution. Our new curriculum, Connections, is a reflection of that commitment and evidence that the work of the plan is already well underway. Other ideas will take more time to evolve. As a whole, Building on Strength offers a powerful statement of our core values and of the aspirations that we hold for Connecticut College as it enters a second distinguished century.

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the many members of our community who contributed to this plan. I hope that as you delve into its details, you will be inspired by what lies ahead for Connecticut College. I invite all who care deeply about this institution to become even more involved in helping us advance to greater levels of distinction. Our future will be built on your strength.

Yours,
 
Katherine Bergeron
President