John Flicker introducing Charter Class member Nancy Piña-Gray at the 50th Anniversary Time Capsule ceremony, April 4, 2017
President’s Corner
T
his is the 50th Anniversary issue of Transitions. For those of you who were unable to attend the four days of festivities we hosted on campus in October, we hope we can give you a taste of celebration in these pages. I was heartened to see so many alumni return this past fall, to hear their stories, and to see leaders from the local community come out to support us. It’s the people that make this place so special, and people involved with Prescott College – over the past 50 years and today – are passionate about PC, and passionate about the mission and philosophy of education that serves as a foundation for everything we do. I’m convinced more than ever that what we have here is something out of the ordinary: the best of an intimate small liberal arts college campus community, plus the flexibility to meet people “where they are” physically or spiritually in life through our hybrid distance programs that provide the same mission-based, high-quality, self-directed, experiential education. While we have a proud history of innovation, it’s no secret that Prescott College has also had its challenges. But we never gave up. We always came back. We are the comeback college. Instead of being torn apart by difficult times and hard decisions, our faculty, staff, and trustees came together. As we begin our second half-century, I can say with great confidence that we have gotten our house in order and we are here to stay. We have balanced our budgets and are adding cash to the reserves. Our fall enrollment for resident undergraduate students was up for the first time in five years, and projections for next fall are even higher. Thanks to a generous gift from longtime College friend Richard Bakal, we are investing more in recruitment and retention for our resident undergraduate program than we’ve been able to do in recent years. Last, but not least, we are launching a highly affordable, highly accessible online-only Master of Arts program in Social Justice and Community Organizing, where we already have student interest and accreditation approval. This new program is a pilot, but I hope it will prove to be the first of many similar programs that will see us well out of lean times. We are benefiting today from the hard work of so many people over the last 50 years. Thank you. And thank you for the privilege of stewarding this amazing institution. As we draw inspiration from our founding and history this year, I – we all – can look forward with hope and excitement to the next 50 years.
Onward!
John Flicker
2
Transitions Issue 2017