Letter from the Dean
In this issue of the Whitman magazine, we shed light on a commitment that Whitman made to be a school that is welcoming to all. I suspect that most of the readers of the magazine will find that to be something obvious. Why would Whitman not want to be a place that is welcoming? I agree, but achieving that requires a lot of thought, some decision making about goals and priorities and then clear investment. How does a school become welcoming? Might different people feel welcome in different ways? How does it know when it’s achieved ‘‘welcoming’’ status? These are more than philosophical questions, as they help to drive discussion and consideration of how we meet that goal. While we certainly have our work cut out for us to truly be a welcoming place for all, what I think is impressive is what Whitman has done so far and the significant progress that we’ve made in a variety of areas over the last few years.
In the Fall 2023 magazine, I highlighted some key numbers to reflect other areas that are making Whitman increasingly inclusive, such as welcoming the largest number of females and students from underrepresented minority backgrounds as part of any incoming class. Our progress is tangible in those areas.
But where else can we make progress? One group that stood out was first-generation students. These students, who made up 19% of Whitman’s incoming class, oftentimes needed extra advice, guidance and support. This was the first experience in higher education for some students and their families. This created a potential challenge, when some of the processes and timelines might not be as clear to these families as they are to other families in which the parents had attended college. We wanted these students to get the full Whitman experience and have created two new programs, and, thanks to some alumni donors, we’ve also made sure that there are financial resources to ensure that they maximize their time and can continue their studies at Whitman. We also identified our students with military backgrounds, whose life experiences and global perspectives may be fundamentally different than traditional students. Whitman and Syracuse University’s long-standing commitment to working with the armed forces is captured in the 70th anniversary of our Defense Comptrollership Program. We also identified the area of learning differences, such as ADHD, to help make a difference. Whitman has some world-class scholarly work on understanding these learning differences and how they can be viewed and harnessed to be an advantage to entrepreneurs.
These are just a few of the ways that Whitman has invested in becoming a place that is welcoming to all—and in ways that move beyond visible differences. Whitman recently received national recognition for our efforts with multicultural and first-generation students and their families, showing that our refined way of thinking —to being inclusive in different ways—is ahead of the curve.
As part of our now regular operations, Whitman has continued our emphasis on innovation and making a difference to our students through closer connections with industry. As you’ll see in the articles in this magazine, some of the new programs that we’ve launched in the past few months include the IMPACT Speaker Series, where we’ve brought in outstanding C-suite level speakers, and the ’CUSE50 alumni entrepreneur awards program for recognizing the top 50 fastest-growing alumni-founded businesses. As part of the awards programing, we hosted a series of panels and activities to support our student entrepreneurs. We’ve also launched a new Master of Science in sustainable organizations and policy program (together with the Maxwell School) and welcomed industry and academic leaders as part of the 74th annual Salzberg Memorial Lecture Program, one of the programs run by our supply chain management group.
All in all, Whitman continues to lead the charge in important areas, and our commitment to being welcoming to all and pushing the envelope on student programming and academic work helps support our upward trajectory.
We couldn’t be where we are now—or get to where we want to go in the future—without your help. Our commitment to being welcoming to all—whether through programming, mentoring or scholarships—can’t happen without the support of our alumni, donors, corporate partners and friends. My sincerest thank you to those who have contributed already, and I welcome those who want to support Whitman in the way most fitting to you.
Best wishes,
Alex McKelvie