Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

2 SCOPE SPRING 2019 C O M M U N I T Y R E V I E W Members of the Class of 2022 enter the Williamson Sports Center for Convocation on Sept. 2, 2018. FORGING AHEAD, FLASHING SMILES In 2003, at the beginning of my first academic year at Skidmore, I spoke of my “profound respect for the achievements of so many who have created the Skidmore we know” and my “unfailing optimism for the Skidmore of the future.” It is with this same spirit of appreciation and confidence in our future that I announced in February my retirement as president after the 2019-2020 academic year. All of us at Skidmore are part of an enterprise far grander than any one of us, and, as educators, we are tasked with the humbling responsibility of inspiring the next generation. Together, we are already pursuing our next bold step: the Center for Integrated Sciences. CIS is more than just a building; it is Skidmore’s vision for the future. As I noted at the CIS groundbreak- ing ceremony in October, today scientific literacy is a requirement for everyone. The world’s most pressing issues — from climate change and infectious disease to access to food and water — demand that we grasp how science works and also think past traditional academic boundaries. It is this creative vision for the future that guides the CIS. Never have I been as impressed by our accomplish- ments and so hopeful about our future. The first phase of CIS construction, the North Wing, is scheduled for completion next year, and the Board of Trustees recently approved an accelerated plan to complete the entire project by 2024 — all at significant savings. CIS is at the heart of our Creating Our Future: The Campaign for Skidmore , for which we have already raised $180 million toward our goal of $200 million by 2020. Our Skidmore community owes outgoing Board of Trustees Chair W. Scott McGraw a debt of gratitude for his exceptional leadership during this busy and impor- tant period. As we celebrate these accomplishments, we also look to a bright future. We are very fortunate that Nancy Wells Hamilton ’77, who has co-chaired our campaign so successfully, will serve as our next board chair. Skidmore will continue to prosper under her leadership. The search for Skidmore’s eighth President is under- way, in the hands of a search committee that is a vibrant cross-section of our community, including trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and students. Skidmore’s financial stability and reputation as a premier liberal arts college will no doubt attract a deep pool of talented applicants from near and far. The transition when Marie and I step down on June 30, 2020 will be an occasion to celebrate and reaffirm Skidmore as a place where Creative Thought Mat- ters, today and in the years ahead. Skidmore is in good hands and will remain so for years to come. — Philip A. Glotzbach FROM THE PRES I DENT Christopher Massa