President’s Report 2020
Year 130 | Preparing the People of God for the Work of God
As part of Homecoming and Family Weekend, the Faith Rising lead gift and campaign launch were announced during a spectacular Convocation on October 4, 2019, which celebrated students of Gordon’s past, present and future. The event featured historical reenactments of several alumni stories and institutional milestones in Gordon’s 130-year history, culminating in the big announcement, complete with virtual fireworks. www.gordon.edu/faithrising
BUILDING TO LAST
Dear friends, Exciting things are happening at Gordon. Just a couple months ago, we publicly announced Faith Rising, a five-year comprehensive campaign to meet the emerging needs of students. We were blessed to receive a record-breaking lead gift of $75.5 million from an anonymous donor, the largest donation ever given to a Christian liberal arts college and the largest in Gordon’s history. The gift is designated for the College’s endowment, which will more than double in value, and directed to fund student scholarships, specifically the premier honors scholarship (introduced two years ago through our Global Honors Institute). But perhaps even more encouraging than the financial implications of this truly remarkable act of generosity is what it signifies: a vote of confidence in Gordon’s mission and vitality for the shortterm and the long-run. At a time when colleges around the country are feeling the pressures of demographic shifts and dwindling enrollments, Gordon is experiencing palpable momentum. The campaign strengthens our future by increasing scholarships to make a Gordon education more accessible and affordable, transforming opportunities for experiential learning for both students and faculty, and strengthening Christian community within a world-class educational experience. To ensure that Gordon continues to thrive in the dynamically changing landscape of higher education, we are both planning proactively for the future and prudently living within our means. Over the course of the last academic year, the College underwent a “prioritization process” to align ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues and to reorganize our academic offerings (you can read more at www.gordon.edu/nextchapter). This was the latest in a series of thoughtfully considered initiatives intended to prepare and position Gordon well for the years to come. While the process itself was a difficult (though necessary) one, the outcome is a clarified focus: to make Gordon more affordable and more adaptable, while remaining firmly anchored in Christ. We will spend the next three to five years bringing to reality three connected initiatives:
1. Launching a digital learning platform called Gordon Global that will allow us to reach more students who cannot afford a traditional residential undergraduate education; 2. Building a more adaptable undergraduate curriculum that makes it easier for students to complete a Gordon degree faster (for example, a three-year track for virtually every major) and/or to acquire multiple degrees during their time on campus; and 3. Increasing overall resources to sustain the College and to invest more in our people, programs and facilities. Already we have laid the groundwork for our digital learning platform to launch next fall; we have developed 12 new minors and concentrations, including offerings in political theory, human services, counseling and psychology; and we are piloting digital marketing strategies to expand our outreach to new undergraduate and graduate students. In addition to these exciting areas of growth, the launch of the Faith Rising campaign and this transformative gift have allowed the College to increase institutionally funded financial aid by 15 percent for new students coming in the fall of 2020. Over the next two years, the College will continue to grow merit- and need-based aid, diversify revenue streams, expand graduate programs, and build new internship and practicum opportunities. I hope that history will show that our collective contribution during this season has allowed the College to sustain its legacy while expanding its commitment to our founding—and our enduring—vision of preparing the people of God for the work of God. With blessings,
LAUNCH
January 17: Senior administrators hold the first in a series of meetings to bring the entire Gordon community into a prioritization process. Over the course of the academic year, this process will align ongoing expenses with ongoing revenues and reenvision academics at Gordon to meet the needs of future students.
January MOMENTS
New Nursing Program Gordon College kicked off 2019 with the announcement of a new dual-degree program in partnership with Curry College. The program offers the best of both worlds—a faith-based liberal arts foundation and the technical training needed to enter the field of nursing. Qualified students can earn a bachelor’s degree at Gordon in three years and then seamlessly transition into an accelerated program to add a Bachelor of Science degree with a nursing major at Curry College in just 16 additional months. Curry is in Milton, MA, just south of Boston with its cluster of world-class teaching hospitals. Curry’s program, which originated in Boston Children’s Hospital, was the first in Massachusetts to be granted accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Enhancing this new program and underscoring Gordon’s commitment to preparing students for healthcare careers is the anatomy and physiology lab, which opened in 2016 thanks to a $5 million grant. Both of these are part of the College’s multi-million-dollar investment in health professions, thanks to generous donor support.
February 6: Alexander Lowry, executive director of Gordon’s Career and Connection Institute and Master of Science in Financial Analysis program, launches a new podcast called Boardroom Bound. Lowry and his guests explore an array of topics around serving on corporate and nonprofit boards. The central theme is how professionals can prepare themselves to be chosen for boards and to thrive as members of those boards. podcast.gordon.edu
February
A Win for Gordon Athletics The Men’s Basketball team, under Head Coach Tod Murphy, made it to the final game of the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship in February and posted an impressive 23–5 season record (one of the best in recent history). The Fighting Scots outscored opponents by an average of eight points during the season. Guard Eric Demers ’20 (#21) and Garrisson Duvivier ’19 (#4), pictured below, led the team in scoring.
LAUNCH
EVENT
ACCOMPLISHMENT
February 10: Two applied instructors in Gordon’s Department of Music are nominated for 2019 Grammy Awards through their work with the ensemble “A Far Cry,” which in 2018 released the album Visions and Variations. Rafael (Rafi) Popper-Keizer teaches cello at Gordon and Megumi Stohs Lewis teaches violin.
February 11–13: DEEP FAITH week features Chip Ingram, CEO and teaching pastor of Living on the Edge. This year’s theme is “The Real God, The Real You and True Spirituality.” Highlights include a large worship band composed of faculty and staff musicians, individual prayer times for students with faculty and staff, and commitments from 60 students to form small groups to discuss Ingram’s book on Romans 12.
March 19: Gordon launches Work Ahead: Ready for 2030, a yearlong initiative to prepare students for the future of work. The first in a series of events, which will feature more than a dozen thought leaders, brings to campus Andy Crouch, partner for theology and culture at Praxis, moderating a discussion involving Myron “Mike” Ullman III, chairman of Starbucks Corp. and vice chairman of Gordon’s board, and Mary Beth West, senior vice president and chief growth officer at The Hershey Co. on April 12. www.gordon.edu/workahead
March
A Celebration of Milestones The 2018–19 academic year marked milestone anniversaries for several signature programs. The Jerusalem and Athens Forum (a cohort of exceptionally talented students with a rich, challenging environment to tackle timeless questions), the Clarendon Scholars Program (a four-year, cohort-based scholarship opportunity for rising urban leaders) and the Center for Balance, Mobility and Wellness at Gordon all celebrated 15 years. The Art Department—which originally launched in a time-worn wooden shack in a corner of campus before relocating to a series of sites including a former stable and finally, in 1999, the Barrington Center for the Arts—celebrated 30 years with a show titled Currents that featured the work of Gordon art faculty.
MARKERS
161 students
took part in 15 mission trips to several U.S. cities, Northern Ireland, Haiti, Ecuador, the Philippines, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Nepal, Jamaica, Mexico, eSwatini and Jordan.
148 students
took part in ministry groups including Life Groups, Sports Ministry, Symphony Church Outreach, United Prayer Ministry, Outdoor Fellowship, Chinese Student Ministry, Acts of Love, Barnabas, CORE Missions Staff, Men’s Ministry, Women’s Ministry, REACH Drama Ministry, Lowell Mission Church Outreach and Habitat for Humanity.
EVENT
April 12: This year’s speaker at The Princemere Forum, held at the Commonwealth Avenue Harvard Club in Boston and hosted by Gordon’s Center for Faith and Inquiry, is Dr. Ivan Satyavrata. The Oxford-educated minister is senior pastor of the largest church in Kolkata, India.
EVENT
April 11: At the 6th Annual Social Venture Challenge, student entrepreneurs again show the diversity of skills and focused creativity that a Gordon education provides. A dozen finalist teams seeking top-three slots and with them a share of $10,000 in seed funding pitch companies or nonprofits. Their missions, if realized, range from reducing stigmas around mental illness to making it easier for non-experts to produce high quality YouTube videos.
$10 million GIFT
April 12: An anonymous supporter generously donates $10 million toward the College’s endowment. The restricted gift includes an unusual provision allowing for use of funds generated by the gift sooner than usually is possible. Those funds will be used to help launch the “Gordon Global” digital learning initiative.
April
May
MOMENTS
A Head-start on Success Members of the Gordon College Class of 2019 wasted no time in launching the next stages of their lives.
1
2
3
4
1 Tori Arau, a Pike Scholar who studied environmental chemistry, set off for the University of Colorado Boulder to pursue a Ph.D. in environmental chemistry. Nick Tozier, who studied finance and economics, started a 12-month fellowship as an analyst at Karasimbi Business Partners, a consultancy in Rwanda. 2 Grace Shaw, who studied philosophy at Gordon, began a year-long fellowship at The Clapham Group in Washington, D.C. 3 Antonio Vargas is putting his Gordon preparation
in Christian ministries, biblical studies and business administration to work as an associate pastor of Church in the City in New London, CT. 4 Hanna Im, who studied sociology at Gordon, is teaching English at The Academy at Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA. Sinead Miller studied business administration and mathematics at Gordon and is working as a systems engineer at Raytheon. Liz Johnson is working in the Businesses and Tax Services Department at KPMG.
EVENT
LAUNCH
April 26: Thanks to the generosity of three donor families, Gordon plans to launch students into the Bay Area through internships in partnership with Transforming the Bay with Christ, career expeditions and an eight-week summer intensive program in data science and analysis. This is the latest in a series of efforts to offer more cutting-edge opportunities for Gordon students in practical and experiential learning.
May 10: Following months of work by a committee of faculty, staff and administrators, the results of the prioritization process are made public. In addition to academic restructuring, the College announces a new track (a forthcoming accelerated undergraduate option), a new model (the “Gordon Global” digital learning initiative, which is scheduled to begin in fall of 2020), and a new school (the School of Graduate, Professional and Extended Studies, which is also scheduled to begin in fall of 2020).
May 19: Gordon graduates 385 undergraduates and 85 graduate students, including the first to earn Master of Science in Financial Analysis degrees, at the 127th Commencement. Honorary degrees are awarded to Russell Reynolds, founder of Russell Reynolds Associates; Kwabena Darko, chairman of Darko Farms and Company Limited; Solano Portela, director of basic education at Mackenzie; Beth Moore, founder of Living Proof Ministries; and Wesley Roberts, senior pastor of Peoples Baptist Church of Boston.
June MARKERS
Spotlight in The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal featured both a recent Gordon graduate and a senior in a story on the strengths of small colleges in June. In the piece, Andrew Huang ’18 talked about turning to the Gordon alumni network to land an internship at State Street Corporation and then a job at investments-advisor Cambridge Associates. Neema Kamau ’20 discussed the significance of her work as a Gordon Presidential Fellow in the office of then-CFO Mike Ahearn in her success obtaining an internship as an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York.
Class of 2019
40,066 credit hours completed
95,000 cups of coffee consumed at Chester’s Place and Bistro 255
Top states represented: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, California
Top countries represented: United States, South Korea, China, Brazil, Cambodia
Top majors: Business administration, psychology, communication arts, Christian ministries, biology
GIFT
July 2: John and Susan Goetz ACCOMPLISHMENT
July 2: The White House announces that Dr. John E. Harris ’98 is one of only about 300 scientists from across the country to receive the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. The announcement states: “The PECASE is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology.” Harris runs a laboratory studying a rare skin disorder called vitiligo.
July
generously donate a $1 million unrestricted gift to support the campaign and the initiatives that are part of the Next Chapter strategy. ACCOMPLISHMENT
July 26: The six-week Computer Science Summer Symposium concludes with several accomplishments from Gordon student developers, including the creation of a progressive web app for the Gordon 360 student portal and a more comprehensive co-curricular activity and career development tracker.
August 16–25: A dozen Gordon string players led by Adams Endowed Chair in Music Dr. Sarita Kwok travel to Ukraine to perform and spend six days working with middle school students and at an orphanage.
August
MOMENTS
Grad Programs Go Global
Fulbright Horizons
Forty new students entered the Master of Science in Financial Analysis program and graduate leadership programs this summer, including four May 2019 graduates who got a head start through the Gordon Plus program during their senior year. In June, the graduate leadership program launched a new satellite cohort of students in Atlanta, GA, an area showing significant interest in the program. Next June, the program will begin a partnership with the Andrew Jumper Theological Graduate Center at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in São Paulo, Brazil, that allows students to simultaneously enroll in Gordon’s M.A. in Leadership and complete a concentration in Christian school education.
Assistant Professor of Economics Kristen Cooper ’06 spent the fall semester at the Universidad de La Laguna on Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, researching on a Fulbright Scholarship. Cooper’s is the third Fulbright awarded to Gordon faculty in three years—with Provost Janel Curry developing a strategy and plan for a center for leadership at Forman Christian College in Pakistan, and Professor of Biology Greg Keller researching with The Arctic Initiative and the University of Iceland—a rare accomplishment for liberal arts colleges.
September 11: Gordon
EVENT
August 23: Gordon welcomes a flood of new students for Orientation, including a new “Legacy Family” luncheon during Welcome Week. Of the incoming Class of 2023, 25 percent has some type of family connection to Gordon.
August 28: The 130th year of classes begins. This year, students are taught by four new faculty members: Dr. Rachel Chang Yoo (communication arts), Rev. Dr. Daniel S.H. Ahn (biblical studies and Christian ministries), Dr. Benjamin Klemme (music) and Dr. Dan Norton ’05 (psychology).
LAUNCH
September 10: Gordon launches the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program which includes Will Sanchez, venture partner at Thundermark Capital; Kaitlyn Trabucco ’07, senior product manager, Twitter; Mark Norman, managing partner at Fraser McCombs Capital and former president of Zipcar; and Rob Go, partner at NextView.
announces an increase in meritbased scholarships (now worth up to $80,000 over four years) for students entering the fall of 2020, along with new scholarships for any student who visits campus (up to $8,000 over four years)—all made possible by the Faith Rising campaign as part of Gordon’s commitment to affordability. Soon after, another announcement about increases in music scholarships (now up to $112,000 over four years) is made. LAUNCH
September 18: Gordon officially rolls out the Alumni Ambassador program. A group of 40 alumni are generously giving back to the College by serving prospective students and their families in their local areas.
September
A Home for Gordon Rowing Gordon’s rowing program wrapped up a year of transforming part of a former camp on Chebacco Lake in Essex, MA, into its new base. The property was purchased by a generous supporter of the rowing program and donated to the College. Rowing began at Gordon in 2015 as a club sport with two participants and later became a varsity sport and the team went on to compete in Head of the Charles this year. One of the leaders of that club, Maddie Hopkins ’18, now is the coach of the program and some 70 students took part in rowing during 2018–19. Team boats were purchased by donors and dedicated during Homecoming 2019. Recently, Golf also joined the ranks as a varsity sport at Gordon.
MARKERS
Enrollment by the Numbers
2,400+
52
44
total students
countries represented
U.S. states represented
31%
60:40
international and multicultural students
Fall 2018 brought the most male first-year students to campus in five years and near-parity to the femaleto-male ratio, bucking a trend among peer colleges.
8.9%
86%
Hispanic students on
campus—a new record achieved during the 2018–19 academic year.
of classes during the 2018–19 academic year included fewer than 30 students—the highest percentage in eight years.
LAUNCH
October 4: A day that goes down in Gordon history. The College announces the public phase of the $130 million Faith Rising: The Campaign for Gordon College, which will target investments to enhance affordability, academics and community for current and future Gordon students. In conjunction with announcing the two-year public phase of the campaign, the College announces that an anonymous donor has committed $75.5 million.
GIFT
October 4: Following the announcement of the campaign’s lead gift in the morning, another gift is announced during the Homecoming Awards Ceremony: A Celebration of Faithful Leadership. A seven-figure commitment from John, Elaine and John Jr. Kanas ’13 supports Gordon Athletics, including capital improvements in the Bennett Athletic and Recreation Center and beyond.
EVENT
October 5: Homecoming and Family Weekend welcomes Gordon alumni to their old stomping grounds and features new hits like an Enneagram workshop by expert Ian Morgan Cron and a concert by David Leonard, who was part of the critically acclaimed, Grammy Award-nominated duo All Sons and Daughters.
October
November
MOMENTS
A Bright Future for a Steadfast Mission As the flagship Christian liberal arts institution in the heart of New England, Gordon College is poised to prepare thoughtful contributors and change-makers for the cause of Christ. Faith Rising: The Campaign for Gordon College ensures that Gordon continues to thrive in a changing landscape. It’s a call to courageously rise to the challenge of the times, to strategically pursue the opportunities ahead and to eagerly walk toward the future God has for Gordon. The five-year, comprehensive campaign, which was announced on October 4, will raise $130 million in gifts and pledges to support three main pillar goals:
Affordable
Adaptable
Dramatically increase merit- and need-based scholarships to recruit and retain top Christian students and graduate them without significant debt. ($65 million)
Build multiple pathways for students to connect learning with doing. ($9.5 million)
Sustain the College with unrestricted annual support to fund all aspects of Gordon’s remarkable education where tuition revenue falls short. ($18 million) Strengthen the foundation of the College with planned gifts, including trusts, wills and bequests. ($2 million)
Foster vibrant classrooms by feeding faculty intellect by recruiting, investing in and supporting faculty in their teaching, learning and professional development. ($9 million) Support these goals with enhanced technology to propel Gordon’s educational model into the future. ($6.5 million)
EVENT
November 15: Gordon announces
ACCOMPLISHMENT
October 29: Gordon College Advancement and Athletics partner in another successful Clash of the Tartans one-day giving campaign. This year, teams rally to raise a record-breaking $117,500 to fund the experiences and equipment necessary to train intensively, face new competition and ultimately win. Go Scots! October 31: Gordon permanently loans the Kenneth H. Olsen Collection, comprised of the personal papers of Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and longtime Gordon trustee, to Harvard Business School’s Baker Library, one of the world’s largest business libraries.
the creation of a School of Education and installs Dr. Priscilla Nelson as the inaugural Richard F. Gross Endowed Professor in Education, a position created in honor of the College’s sixth president through a generous gift. The School of Education will officially launch on January 15, 2020, under the leadership of Dean Dr. Janet Arndt. As part of this exciting celebration, Gordon also announces the creation of the Grace Evelyn Hinshaw ’65 School of Education Endowed Scholarship and the Margaret C. Wright Memorial Alumni Award.
December 5–7: Gordon College once again invites the campus and local communities to begin the holiday season by remembering the reason for it all. Christmas at Gordon, and in particular the Christmas Gala musical performance, represents the North Shore’s largest Christmas celebration.
Recent Recognitions “Very competitive” Barron’s Profile of American Colleges / 2018 “Best Colleges” Forbes / 2019 “Best Bang for the Buck” Washington Monthly College Guide and Rankings / 2019 “Guide to Green Colleges” Princeton Review / 2019 “Best 385 Colleges” Princeton Review / 2019
December MARKERS
Anchored Connect learning to job placement by building the exceptional Career and Connection Institute that will bridge our students into meaningful vocations and/or graduate school. ($4.5 million) Propel La Vida forward as the premier institute of outdoor experiential education that develops servant-leaders who are equipped to transform their communities worldwide. ($2.5 million) Strengthen Gordon Athletics into a consistently winning program that also continues to foster character-based servant-leadership development. ($5 million)
Gifts to Gordon
5,552 distinct gifts made in fiscal year 2019—the third fiscal year in a row with more than 5,000 gifts.
1,475 new donors in fiscal year 2019—the third fiscal year in a row with more than 1,000 new donors.
$248,609 donated for ministries in fiscal year 2019—the largest sum in five years.
#413 of U.S. Colleges The Wall Street Journal / 2018 “National Liberal Arts Colleges” U.S. News and World Report / 2019 “Top Performers on Social Mobility” U.S. News and World Report / 2019 “Best Colleges” Money / 2019 “Best College Values” (national category and liberal arts category) Kiplinger / 2019 “Top 20 Best College Theatres” Princeton Review / 2019 “Great Schools for English Majors” Princeton Review / 2019
UPCOMING EVENTS IN 2020
February 3
March 19
April 16
May 16
WORK AHEAD: READY FOR 2030
WORK AHEAD: READY FOR 2030
PRINCEMERE FORUM
128th Commencement
Kay Coles James
Kirk Perry
Eric Metaxas
President of The Heritage Foundation
President of Brand Solutions at Google Inc.
Malcolm Reid Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Humanities
February 10–12
March 26
Harvard Club of Boston
DEEP FAITH WEEK
JOHN MASON LECTURE IN ECONOMICS
April 17
Featuring the conferring of honorary doctorates to Adrian de Visser, Founder and Senior Pastor of Kithu Sevana Ministries in Sri Lanka, and Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, pioneers of the Alpha course 10 a.m.
6 p.m.
Pastor Rich Villodas
Dr. Kristen Cooper
Lead Pastor of New Life Fellowship in NYC
4:30 p.m.
FOUNDER’S WEEKEND CONVOCATION
A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel
Chairman’s Room, Ken Olsen Science Center
WORK AHEAD: READY FOR 2030
Andy Crouch February 17
March 27–29 and April 1–4
CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT
The Velveteen Rabbit
Marvin Ellison
Adapted and directed by Norm Jones
CEO of Lowe’s
7:30 p.m.
February 20 CFI WISDOM LECTURE
Dr. Elaine Phillips 4:30 p.m. Chairman’s Room, Ken Olsen Science Center
March 3 CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT
Jane Stevenson
Matinee March 28 and April 4 | 4 p.m.
April 15 RICHARD GROSS LECTURE AT SYMPOSIUM
Eric Metaxas Malcolm Reid Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the Humanities
Partner for Theology and Culture at Praxis
Rosalind Picard Founder and Director of the Affective Computing Research Group at MIT Media Lab 10:25 a.m. A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel
The Quad
October 2–3
Homecoming and Family Weekend Featuring the Kanas Gymnasium dedication and La Vida’s 50th anniversary celebration
December 4–5
130th Christmas Gala Phillips Music Center Recital Hall
May 2
Spring Pops Concert 7–9:30 p.m. A. J. Gordon Memorial Chapel
4:30 p.m. MacDonald Auditorium, Ken Olsen Science Center
Global Leader for CEO Succession and Vice Chairman, Board and CEO Services at Korn Ferry
View more information about Gordon College events at www.gordon.edu/calendar