Pie Chart of GFF Revenues and Expenses
 

Friends,

In the summer of 2021, as I was considering the presidency of Guilford College, I explored the history and values of an institution founded by Quakers in 1837, an important liberal arts college that has provided an excellent and practical education to thousands of students for more than 180 years.

In addition to learning about the institution itself, I wanted to know about its people. Before accepting the opportunity to lead the College, it was important for me to know that alumni, families, friends, and our own faculty, staff, and students were committed to its long-term stability.

Then, I experienced the passionate action of Guilfordians to help sustain the liberal arts focus and character of the College in the face of unprecedented challenges. My decision to join the Guilford community was affirmed by contributions totaling nearly $6.7 million for the Guilford Forward Fund, including $309,000 through the Save Guilford College movement.

On behalf of our students, faculty, and staff, I want to thank all those who contributed to the Guilford Forward Fund. You were there for the College when it needed you most. 

I’m writing to let you know how we are using the funds raised through the Guilford Forward effort. Overall, the funds stabilized College finances in a very challenging period and gave us a financial foothold and the opportunity to make choices about spending that resulted in progress in several areas.

Approximately $1.8 million of the funds raised have been committed to the retention of faculty and staff over two fiscal years. As you know, Guilford sustained significant losses in personnel in 2020 and 2021. Since then, we have worked to deploy positions in areas that impact students the most, and in June we were able to provide some salary increases.

The Guilford Forward effort generated almost $1 million for student scholarships, including the new Gap Scholarships, which are designed to close the gap between all institutional aid and other financial aid and the total tuition for a student. The average gap is about $5,500. Twenty-nine Gap Scholarships were established with four-year commitments of $22,000.

$1.85 million has been spent on some capital projects and campus information technology infrastructure. This includes replacement of the Hege Library roof, a Ragan-Brown Fieldhouse chiller project and replacement of the central boiler plant as well as the replacement of 25-year-old fiber optic cabling to 16 buildings and other projects supporting a stronger backbone for IT.

More than $400,000 was used to construct a softball hitting annex that supports students participating in athletics and our commitment to equity. The facility, now in use next to the softball field off New Garden Road, has two hitting and batting areas, a player lounge, a locker room and bathrooms with a shower.

Being in a stronger financial position as a result of Guilford Forward:

• Helped the College negotiate a favorable contract for the critical Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that is being implemented to greatly improve our efficiencies in finance and human resources administration. No funds from Guilford Forward were used to purchase the system.
• Made it possible for Guilford to make best choices about returning housekeepers as College staff earlier this year.
• Enabled the College to start MBA and Master’s in International Sport Management programs that attracted 24 students this year, exceeding our initial targets.

The success of Guilford Forward is a shining example of the power of a collective effort to support the College, especially by our devoted alumni, as well as the importance of philanthropy to this institution. The effort to raise $6.7 million served College needs at a critical time. However, it was a beginning, not an end. 

Moving forward, the investment of ideas, volunteerism and, importantly, financial resources by alumni, parents, friends and other benefactors will be pivotal to helping Guilford not only survive but thrive as a life-changing liberal arts college.

Warmly,

Kyle Farmbry
President

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