President Devereaux notes exceptional achievements during challenging year

Dear Goucher Community,

I am delighted to be writing to you just as we welcome our new and returning Goucher students back to our beautiful campus for the first time in almost two years! Seeing our Gophers on campus after more than a year of remote learning brings me immense joy and gratitude. I appreciate how our community came together in support of the college and how so many people have helped us navigate this pandemic safely. Some highlights to be proud of include:

• Celebrating two graduating classes who succeeded in matriculating through hybrid and remote learning environments with fantastic outdoor Commencement ceremonies

• Relaunching our [UNDAUNTED] campaign with the creation of two new endowed professorships—one in integrated data analytics and math, the other in Mandarin Chinese and Asian studies—thanks to the generosity of our alumnae/i

• Raising over $2.4 million in unrestricted support through the Greater Goucher Fund (GGF), with over 50% of those funds going straight to financial aid and scholarships for our students

• Creating a five-year strategic plan with the input of the entire Goucher community to ensure that the college will remain an innovative global leader for years to come

We are thankful for the support we’ve received from you and for your help extending the Goucher spirit into the future.

As we look ahead, I want to recognize all of you who broke through barriers and pushed the boundaries to become agents of change in your careers since graduating from Goucher. Now, with your financial support, we work to ensure that this same commitment to academic excellence that you received will continue for generations to come. It is your unrelenting spirit that perseveres through pandemics and public protests and motivates our students to pursue their passions. Thank you for staying connected, sharing your stories, and inspiring our students.

Our new strategic plan lays out a vision to preserve and expand the Goucher legacy. By concentrating on the elements that make Goucher distinctive, we will strengthen our people, our programs, and our resources.

We are committed to becoming a diverse, inclusive institution that treats every individual with humanity and respect.

Our community is empowered and sustained by committed individuals and relationships. Making everyone feel included no matter their background supports our vision to deliver graduates who can solve complex problems together with people who are different from themselves.

This year, we hired six new tenure-track faculty members, bestowed tenure on six others, promoted four faculty members to full professor, converted seven more faculty from non-tenure-track to tenure-track or professor of practice positions, and, as mentioned above, created two completely new endowed professorships. What a year! And what a statement about our commitment to recruit and retain a highly qualified, diverse faculty that is both representative of our student body and second to none.

We are strengthening our academic programs and reputation by focusing on student success.

Last spring, we announced two new 4+1 academic programs with Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business and Loyola University Maryland. This fall we’ll be announcing similar programs in other disciplines with three other top-tier colleges and universities. I can’t wait to tell you about them. We’ve added in-demand majors designed for the careers students dream about, and our Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program continues to have a 100% acceptance rate into top-ranked medical schools like Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Washington. Likewise, our students continue to pursue impactful careers with companies like Microsoft, Apple, T. Rowe Price, and The New York Times, or graduate work at schools like Yale, Johns Hopkins, or Boston University.

We are ensuring that Goucher College has the financial resources, technology, and facilities to attract, retain, and graduate the leaders of tomorrow.

With the appropriate resources, there is no limit to what Goucher can accomplish. More than ever, this past year reinforced how a strong foundation from a liberal arts education like the one Goucher provides, combining the arts, humanities, and the sciences, better prepares our graduates for the advanced, dynamic employment opportu- nities available to them today and emerging in the future. That’s why the completion of the new Science Research Center remains the top priority of our [UNDAUNTED] comprehensive campaign.

Your donations change lives. Over 71 % of the funds raised by the college last year came from generous alumnae/i like you.

This past year we secured over $12 million in new donations, grants, or pledges, far exceeding our $6 million goal. With new commitments to our Science Research Center, endowed professorships, and endowed scholarships, we have now raised over $70 million toward our [UNDAUNTED] campaign goal.

All gifts to the college count toward our $100 million campaign goal. However, donations to the college’s unrestricted annual fund, the Greater Goucher Fund (GGF), ensure we will continue to meet the college’s commitments, and, more importantly, transform lives.

A gift to the Greater Goucher Fund supports the core of a Goucher education.

Please join me along with your generous classmates in committing to a gift today to help us reach this year’s $2.25 million GGF goal. You can do so by returning the attached card, or give online at www.goucher.edu/presidentialgive.

In the meantime, I look forward to meeting many of you in this next year—to hear your stories, thank you for your leadership, and share with you how together we can build a Goucher legacy we are proud of for decades to come.

All my best,

Kent Devereaux
President, Goucher College

P S. To learn more about details into Goucher’s strategic plan, please visit our website: www.goucher.edu/strategicplan