President Devereaux outlines exciting developments for the upcoming year
In his annual letter, President Kent Devereaux outlines the strength of Goucher's philanthropic community, as well as details exciting developments slated for Goucher in the coming year, with innovative programmatic focuses, and the continuation of the transformative [UNDAUNTED] campaign.
Dear Goucher Community,
Each fall, I reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and share the exciting developments we have planned for the upcoming year. This year is no different, with new majors and new partnerships designed to further enhance Goucher’s academic excellence and signature study abroad program, a new focus on athletics, and new ways for our alumnae and alumni to engage with each other and their alma mater across the country. Thank you for the role you play in making all this possible.
As a Goucher volunteer, philanthropist, or event attendee, your participation matters. It is a stellar example of Goucher spirit. Thank you!
This past year, we surpassed $80 million raised toward our [UNDAUNTED] campaign goal of $100 million, and we are well on our way to raising the funds to start building our final capital project—our new Science Innovation Center. Thanks to contributions from alums like you, this past year, we established new scholarships and endowed professorships like never before. This spring, we celebrated our first in-person Alumnae/i Weekend since 2019, and we look forward to hosting even more events on campus and around the country this upcoming year. We successfully finished the first year of our five-year Strategic Plan, Cultivating Global Changemakers, and are wrapping up our new Campus Master Plan, which envisions how we will enhance the experience of our students, faculty, staff, and community members in the years ahead.
With your support, we can do even more.
Your successes and those of your fellow Goucher grads pave the way for our students to explore their passions in new opportunities and careers. Our students thrive knowing they have a network of 22,000 alumnae/i who see the world through a Goucher lens, alums who know the rigor and dedication it takes to be a Goucher graduate and are always there to lend a hand, mentor, or advise when needed. Your support makes all the difference. Last year, generous alumnae/i and friends like you helped to establish 14 new scholarships and endowed funds, and contributed nearly $9 million to the college. Because of your generosity, we will expand our academic programs, enhance the student experience, and explore new ways for Goucher to impact our world positively.
The high-quality education Goucher has always been known for, updated for today’s world.
This year we are introducing three new graduate programs and three new undergraduate majors in fields as diverse as environmental sustainability, data analytics, digital arts, neuroscience, and public health. With the addition of these new programs, we’ve reorganized our academic division around five areas of focus: Communication, Arts, and Media; Education; Humanities and Interdisciplinary Studies; Natural, Computational, and Data Sciences; and Social Sciences.
In 2020, we launched our first 4+1 degree program with Johns Hopkins University, which allows students to obtain their bachelor’s degree from Goucher and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins in just five years. Today, we offer four 4+1 degrees with several top-tier colleges and universities—with more coming soon—including most recently a partnership with Middlebury College that allows our French transnational studies and Spanish majors to obtain their master’s degree in these languages from Middlebury with just an additional year abroad in Paris or Madrid.
Please consider joining your fellow alums by making a gift to the [UNDAUNTED] campaign today.
When we launched the [UNDAUNTED] campaign four years ago to fund new scholarships, professorships, and buildings, our ambitious goal of $100 million seemed—well, daunting. Now, however, having raised over $80 million toward our goal and completed four capital projects, we have only one project left to fund: our Science Innovation Center.
The new Science Innovation Center will provide our students and faculty with the teaching and research facility they so richly deserve. Since our founding in 1885, when Goucher College was one of the first colleges in the nation to allow women to enroll in undergraduate science classes, excellence in the sciences has been a hallmark of a Goucher education. Today, Goucher College continues to rank high among liberal arts colleges nationwide for the number of women, especially Black, Latina, and mixed-race women, who graduate and pursue med school or graduate work in the sciences. Similarly, our Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Program continues to rank as one of the top programs in the nation. However, our primary science facility, the Hoffberger Science Building, has remained largely unchanged since it was first built in 1953.
The new Science Innovation Center will provide our students and faculty with 44,000 square feet of environmentally safe state-of-the- art lab, teaching, and common spaces designed for the science of today and tomorrow. It will bring our Biological Sciences, Molecular Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Post-Bac Premed programs under one roof, providing our students with the founda- tional skills they need to succeed in today’s much-in-demand health sciences and biotech careers. It will also allow us to foster scientific literacy and exploration among all our students and inspire innovation for generations to come.
To learn more about how you can contribute to the Science Innovation Center or the [UNDAUNTED] campaign, please visit our website at undaunted.goucher.edu.
Generosity of spirit and deed is a character trait embodied by our Goucher graduates. We see it in your work as authors, teachers, entrepreneurs, and activists. We see it in how you volunteer your time with our students in virtual chats, hosting interns, and helping our incoming class move in every fall. We see it in the thousands of alumnae/i who donate to the college every year, or those who have made arrangements to donate to Goucher College in their estate plans.
Goucher College relies on the support of our alumnae/i donors throughout the year to provide over 93% of our students with financial aid and scholarship packages. Greater alumnae/i participation also influences our U.S. News & World Report rankings, which in turn enhances the degree you hold. Most importantly, your gift directly assists our students in achieving their Goucher degree.
I hope you will join our community of Goucher philanthropists by making a gift today. Giving to the Greater Goucher Fund, Goucher’s unrestricted priorities fund supports all areas of campus, including scholarships, academic support, sustainability, and more, which allows your gift to have the greatest impact. You can make a gift by going online, or calling us at 1-800-GOUCHER and selecting option 6.
Thank you again for remaining an active member of our community, supporting our students, and making us all Goucher Proud!
All my best,
Kent Devereaux
President, Goucher College
P.S. We hope you have seen the recent Impact Report, which shares more in-depth details on the impact your gifts collectively made on our community last year (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022).