Friends,

I hope you took full advantage of summer and, like my family, found opportunities to relax, recharge, embrace new adventures or just indulge in a good book. Fall classes have started at Guilford and we’re excited to have our students back on campus. As we settle into a new academic year, I want to let you know about some of the many accomplishments and transitions that have occurred recently at the College.

Our two summer sessions helped students catch up or lighten the workload for coming semesters. Our inaugural Dissertation Boot Camp brought together eight doctoral candidates from around the country to research, write, discuss professional paths and inspire each other. Our goal is that during their week on campus, some of them might see Guilford the way we do, and one day join us as faculty or staff. With Spring into Guilford and Orientation, many first-year students got a sneak peek at their “second home” for the next four years. And some of the nation’s most accomplished professional and student musicians as well as guest artists filled our campus with music during the 62nd annual Eastern Music Festival.

So much has been accomplished in 2023 with more to come: We’ve launched new academic programs, first-year enrollment is expected to grow for a second straight year, an array of physical campus improvements have been completed or are wrapping up, our spring athletic teams made us proud and the College’s strategic plan continues to take shape.

Enrollment

Over 400 new students – exceeding our budget target – are learning their way around campus, representing the second largest incoming class after the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 350 students attended Spring Into Guilford events on campus, and many other efforts both in-person and through communications were made to ensure maximum enrollment. There are increased initiatives underway to retain students at a higher rate.

Strategic Plan

We are in the final stages of developing our strategic plan, Envisioning Guilford College 2027, and anticipate sharing versions of the plan with the community in the early fall. It is being developed around five themes: academic engagement and student success, enhancing our communications and marketing infrastructure, fostering a positive working and learning environment, supporting long-term sustainability through sound financial processes and practices, and cultivating partnerships to support our mission.

We will also spend time this year exploring elements of our identity that will help us grow as an institution. Several meetings are being planned to help us explore the role of the liberal arts and humanities at Guilford, transformation and inclusion and our responsibilities and opportunities as a Quaker-founded institution. We look forward to engaging with members of our community on these topics.

Finance

As approved by Trustees in May, Guilford’s operating budget for the next two years will be balanced, and provide a carryover for each year. This represents our commitment by everyone at Guilford to the careful stewardship of our resources and the good work of the faculty-led, widely representative Budget Committee. The implementation of Workday (noted later in this message) strengthens our ability to manage finances successfully.

In June, S&P Global Ratings revised Guilford’s outlook from negative to stable. At the same time, the ratings agency confirmed the Public Finance Authority’s long-term debt issued for the College.

The revised outlook reflects S&P’s view of Guilford’s return to stable enrollment and demand metrics, along with consistently positive operating performance on a full-accrual basis and expectations that both enrollment and operations will remain stable over the next two years.

The new rating was also based on Guilford’s improved financial outlook, and its healthy 5.44% positive margin in fiscal 2022, which is anticipated to continue. In its report, S&P also noted the College’s “stabilized management team, which has a demonstrated ability to harness thoughtful strategic planning and make difficult decisions, including expense reductions and willingness to address historical enrollment declines.”

Philanthropy

The College received more than $3.72 million in total gifts and pledges in the 2022-23 fiscal year. More than $1.1 million was earmarked for the College’s endowment. A total of 1,714 donors gave to Guilford with 51 percent of those gifts coming from alumni. From those who gave, 329 were first-time donors and 52 were first-time alumni donors.

The new fiscal year started with a $3.7 million bequest – an unexpected gift for which we are most grateful. We will use it to provide revenue for the next three fiscal years that helps keep the College on sound footing and gives us more time to increase revenues to offset assistance we received during the pandemic.

The gift came from the estate of William and Myrtle Burns Pickard. The Pickards, who lived in Durham, did not attend Guilford. Family members say they don’t believe the couple ever set foot on campus. But they heard many comments about Guilford from a friend whose grandson, Zac Apple ’10, attended the College.  

Academics

The College has three new minors beginning this fall – Entrepreneurship, Public Health and Health Humanities – which will provide more opportunities for students to pursue interests and passions in meaningful ways. They are designed to prepare students for careers in these growing fields.

Entrepreneurship is designed for students majoring in another discipline but who have an interest in the process of entrepreneurship. Health Humanities is interdisciplinary and will draw on arts, humanities and social sciences in its approach to health, healthcare and well-being. Public Health reflects the College’s Quaker commitment toward working for social and environmental justice for all. It will combine courses in the sciences, medical and health fields, technology, business and public policy.

Partnerships

In July, I led a delegation of Guilford leaders and students to South Africa, where we forged a new partnership with the University of Venda and explored others with nonprofits across the country. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Venda is the second agreement reached by Guilford with a South African university. In February, the College signed a similar agreement with the University of Pretoria. I’m excited by potential partnerships in research, student and faculty exchanges, and joint research projects between the schools as well as faculty and student exchanges and community engagement programs that can grow from these relationships.

Physical Projects

A number of physical improvements are being made around the campus this summer. Larger projects include replacing the roofing on the north end of Frank Family Science Center, renovating the grill downstairs in Founders Hall and repairing the steam line that provides heat and hot water to many buildings. If you drive by McBane Field where Guilford’s baseball team plays, you’ll notice the outfield wall has a fresh coat of paint.

Workday

Also in July, Guilford launched Workday, a new operational platform for finance, human resources and payroll. Nearly two dozen staff, administrators and students worked for a year in order to go live with the platform, which is used by many colleges and universities. Workday will streamline many administrative tasks such as managing departmental budgets in real time and tracking employee leave and other benefits. John Wilkinson, Vice President of Administration and Finance and CFO, says the new system will help save the College as much as $325,000 in reduced personnel hours. We anticipate the new software to pay for itself in five to seven years.

Athletics

Allen Smith, an assistant coach at the University of Lynchburg, is our new men’s golf coach, succeeding Adam Crawford. Allen is taking over a team that this spring won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Championship for a record 19th time and finished seventh at the NCAA Championship.

Led by ODAC player of the year Lindsay Gauldin ’23, our women’s basketball team went 20-6. The men’s basketball team finished the season with a 22-6 record, losing in the championship game of the ODAC Tournament.

Softball enjoyed one of the more impressive turnaround seasons. After finishing 11-27 and winning only two conference games in 2022, the Quakers went 23-19 this season and finished 11-9 in the ODAC.

We’re just getting started

International partnerships and a robust new platform for finance, human resources and payroll might have seemed improbable a few years ago. It’s really just a starting point. Our strategic plan, Envisioning Guilford College 2027, outlines a new set of ambitious goals for Guilford. To reach these goals, we will need your help. Alumni support and alumni vision are hallmarks of every remarkable institution of higher learning.

The enthusiasm and participation of our alumni and friends are integral to shaping and realizing our goals. When you receive a request to support the College, especially through annual giving, consider including Guilford among your philanthropic priorities.

So many of you have reached out with encouragement and advice since I arrived at Guilford in January 2022. I am grateful for it and hope you continue in the future. Please let me know your thoughts and questions by writing to me at president@guilford.edu.

I would love to see you on campus this fall, including at Homecoming & Family Weekend Sept. 29-Oct. 1.

Warmly,

Kyle Farmbry  
President