Inspired by the extraordinary vision of our community, and carried forward by the service and support of educators and advocates, Lafayette College commits to this strategic plan with pride in our history, confidence in our present moment, and ambition for the promise of the third century to come.
From its founding, Lafayette College has been an experiment by and for the people. A group of citizens gathered to create a space to read, reflect, and bring their ideas to bear on their world. Motivated by the values of its namesake, Lafayette has carried forward this distinctly democratic origin by educating scholars, scientists, and citizen leaders since 1826.
At the College’s bicentennial, Becoming Lafayette: A Vision for Our Third Century rededicates Lafayette to the educational dynamism and ingenuity that superb faculty, students, and staff have modeled from our founding. Through a curriculum anchored in the liberal arts and engineering with a rich array of interdisciplinary programs, we are poised for the next century and will welcome new generations of innovative, inclusive, and creative students. This is a strategic plan that fully embodies our aspirations toward a culture of “and” through connections that define us and delineate our strengths: the liberal arts and engineering and interdisciplinary programs; ties to our communities and a close-knit residential campus; commitments to sustainability and inclusivity.
Here, guided by committed teacher-scholars and professional staff, our students engage in research, field work, creative projects, and cocurricular service. They experience the rewards of a distinctive academic program within a vibrant residential living and learning environment, where deep and historical community connections meet global reach. As they do, they develop diverse ways of knowing and build meaningful expressions of responsible citizenship.
Our strategic priorities and goals are at once anchored in the College’s liberal arts core, while encouraging exploration, innovation, and collaboration around areas of technology, stewardship, and design. They emphasize both the College’s enduring connections to the greater Lehigh Valley and a robust and engaged community that spans the globe. They seek to build a future where we can have dialogue across differences and provide access to a liberal arts education, ensuring the College is an engine of opportunity. They center us in an inclusive residential learning and living space that invites us to build community and the practices of shared governance.
Becoming Lafayette aims to elevate the excellence and impact of an undergraduate institution whose potential is as great as its past. The plan seeks to provide every student with an undergraduate learning experience that rivals any liberal arts college in the country, preparing our undergraduates to explore problems, imagine solutions, and create possibility wherever their lives take them.