While awaiting the arrival of incoming president Robert A. Oden, Jr., and bidding farewell to retiring president Stephen R. Lewis, Jr., Carleton College has recently focused on past progress and future goals.
A Stewardship Transformation
Despite a two-year-old economic downturn, the College's financial health remains strong. During Lewis's 15-year tenure as president, Carleton's endowment grew from $140 million to $500 million, its alumni annual fund participation rate increased from 43 percent to 53 percent and the total amount of gifts received annually rose from $6.8 million to $26 million.
According to Vice President for External Relations Mark Kronholm, Lewis's emphasis on alumni stewardship is responsible for the College's optimistic financial outlook. "President Lewis has really made Carleton a clear priority and responsibility for alumni, who readily accepted the challenge and have dramatically increased their level of support," he said.
Alumni have supported the College in other ways, too. Reunion attendance has doubled since Lewis assumed office, a national alumni volunteer network has helped increase applications for admission, and alumni regularly participate in over 150 Carleton-sponsored events across the country each year.
A Physical Transformation
Carleton has constructed three major facilities: an 80,000-square-foot recreation center, nine townhouses for student housing, and a language and dining center.
The College's two-year-old recreation center has been popular among students, faculty, and staff. During the past year, the center was used 103,850 times, a 34 percent increase from the previous year.
Non-athletes, especially, have benefited from the facility, Director of Recreational Sports Terry Rivers said. Carleton's previous fitness center was housed in windowless rooms in the Stadium and was used primarily by varsity athletes on exercise regimens. With floor-to-ceiling windows and mirrors creating a sense of openness, the current fitness center is utilized by a wide variety of people. "The fitness center is an inviting space to all users, whether they be recreational fitness enthusiasts or athletes from various varsity, club, and intramural teams," Rivers said.
Carleton's new, state-of-the-art language and dining center, opened in the winter of 2001, has been drawing the acclaim of faculty. On the first floor of the $14 million, three-story building, diners at Carleton's east side dining hall are offered panoramic views of Lyman Lakes. Upstairs, the College's foreign language departments share 7,681 square feet of classroom and office space, replete with technology. Every classroom features internet access, audiocassette, CD, CD-ROM, and video players, display devices such as document cameras, and a centralized, touchpad control center.
The nine student townhouses now lining Highway 19 are designed as living space for 100 juniors and seniors. The apartment-style housing combines independent living with the sense of community that comes with living on campus. A fully-equipped kitchen in each unit offers students their own cooking facilities.
The added beds will assist the College during the upcoming renovation of several residence halls. With the exception of Nourse Hall, which was renovated in 1999, each of Carleton's nine residence halls will undergo a face-lift in the next decade, Kronholm said.
Despite the current hiatus in new construction, a $5.5 million art museum is in the planning stage, and initial discussions about a new music and drama center are underway. "The art museum, to this point, has been funded by specially designated commitments from a variety of individuals," Kronholm said. "We also hope to have about $4 million in endowment committed toward the operation of the museum. We are seeking commitments for both construction and endowment costs at this time."
The art museum, which supporters hope will reflect Carleton's commitment to visual expression and experience, is tentatively slated for construction during the 2003-2004 academic year.
A Cultural Transformation
While alumni across the country strengthened their connections to Carleton during Lewis's presidency, recent years have brought a series of initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life on campus.
Last year, the College revamped its schedule to include blocks of unstructured common time two mornings per week during which no classes or committee meetings may occur. The schedule shift was designed to reduce the frenetic pace of life at Carleton, said John Ramsay, Hollis L. Caswell professor of educational studies and president of the faculty. "As a liberal arts institution, we claim to promote balance. There was a major conflict here between our mission and our lifestyle. Psychologically, faculty, staff and students needed time at work that is not given over entirely to full-time, flat-out working."
In addition to providing a needed break from the business of the day, the hour-long respites on Tuesdays and Thursdays have enabled the community to come together when necessary to discuss large-scale issues. The events of September 11th occurred on the first day of the new common time schedule. Students, faculty, and staff gathered in the chapel to reflect upon the tragic events unfolding on the east coast. "September 11th drove home the need for community common time," Ramsay said.
Carleton also has worked to increase the quality and diversity of the student body. Applications have been rising steadily and in 2001, for the first time in the College's history, applicants to Carleton exceeded 4,000 - a 40 percent increase over the past four years. Application and enrollment figures for traditionally underrepresented groups of students have also risen steadily over the past several years.
Dean of Admissions Paul Thiboutot attributes the rise in applications to greater involvement of alumni in recruiting, the emergence of the World Wide Web as an easy and cost-effective way to apply, and the $5 million dollar Starr Foundation grant the College received to fund a cross-cultural studies program and expand its international student population.
Thiboutot believes that increased selectivity will not alter Carleton's character or values. "We haven't changed the qualities and strengths that we're looking for in our students," he said. "Improved selectivity just enables us to find those same qualities in a larger, deeper applicant pool."
A Presidential Transition
In a recent speech at Carleton, Lewis reflected upon the future of the College. "We need to do even better in all aspects of building a diverse college, including participation in campus life by individuals from every background and belief," he said. "We don't discuss race and difference very well, and we lag on graduation rates of students of color; there's plenty still to do."
Incoming President Oden has indicated a readiness to address these challenges. "In the weeks ahead, I aim to read every history of Carleton I can locate, to seek out every source of information about the College's past and present. I look forward to this special education," he said.
