t’s Desk The COVID-19 pandemic and the attendant economic disruptions profoundly impacted our nation, the higher education sector, and Lycoming College from March 2020 to April 2022. The higher education sector was impacted in ways that are only now becoming clear. For example, we now know that enrollment in higher education declined by approximately 10 percent from Fall 2019 to Fall 2021. On average, our peer group — northeast national liberal arts colleges ranked 75 to 150 — lost more than 10 percent of their pre-COVID enrollment. Lycoming fared better than most with a 4.5 percent enrollment decline during that timeframe; we gained market share even as our student body became somewhat smaller. As you well know, while the viral transmission risks of COVID-19 became less acute during the summer and fall, the economic disruptions associated by the pandemic triggered a 20+ percent market correction from March 2022 to October 2022 that reduced the value of investments. The value of college and university endowments dropped during this time and compounded the financial challenges posed by the enrollment decline. While the value of Lycoming’s endowment remains a strength, we were not immune from the impacts of post-COVID economic disruptions, as our endowment fell from a peak of $240 million to just under $200 million (some of this decline represented investments in new facilities drawn from the Plant Fund). As the nation and its higher education sector emerge from the pandemic, I am convinced that Lycoming College is well positioned to benefit from the projected recoveries of both the college-going rate and the financial markets. The generosity of our alumni and the wisdom of our trustees allowed Lycoming to continue investing in both programs and facilities during 2020 and 2021-22. Computer science has been added to the curriculum as a major, and the Humanities Research Center has been opened and received a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Renovations in the Heim Science Building have continued, and the Doug and Dawn Keiper Stadium and Trachte Music Center were completed. Baseball and field hockey have been restored as intercollegiate sports, community-based learning and volunteering are again flourishing, and the program in Outdoor Leadership & Education has resumed offering robust opportunities for students. Global education has also been restarted, student-faculty research collaboration has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and campus life is again thriving. During a recent January retreat, the trustees and the administration engaged in thoughtful conversation about Lycoming’s path to post-pandemic equilibrium. While acknowledging the significant headwinds facing the College, the meeting also affirmed that Lycoming is on an upward trajectory. We agreed that expenditure reductions were needed, but we were optimistic about gaining market share as the post- pandemic recovery unfolds. The trustees are also committed to completing the renovations of the College’s residence halls and developing a plan for modernizing the Lamade Gymnasium and Keiper Recreation Center. We emerged from our gathering inspired yet again by the power of the undergraduate residential liberal arts mission of Lycoming College. I trust that you share this pragmatic optimism about the College’s trajectory, and I invite you to express that optimism by making a gift during the annual Days of Giving on April 18-19, 2023. The next several years will determine whether Lycoming can continue its evolution into one of the top 100 national liberal arts colleges or fall back. The engagement and financial support of alumni and friends will be more important than ever. Kent C. Trachte, Ph.D. President 3 www.lycoming.edu
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