President's Message
Dear Friends,
I think it's safe to say that over the past decade Juniata has transformed itself. We've moved from being a good liberal arts college capable of consistently posting educational outcomes that surprised onlookers to a great institution of higher education that people expect to produce excellent graduates in programs ranging from the humanities to social sciences to information technology to the natural sciences.
A few recent measures have underscored what we knew, and helped spread the word to others about the quality of Juniata. For instance, the College's long history of transformational education has been celebrated for a decade in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives. Juniata earned Honor Roll status in the Chronicle of Higher Education's "Great Colleges to Work For" survey, and Huntingdon was named one of "America's Coolest Small Towns" by Budget Travel, three indicators we have a great environment for learning.
For the investments we make in our students' successes, U.S. News and World Report ranked Juniata 85th among liberal arts colleges in 2009 - a jump of 13 spaces from the previous year. On top of that, based on the outcomes we achieve - job and graduate school placement, earning power, quality of instruction, and time to graduation - Forbes.com ranked Juniata 75th of all 3,200-plus colleges and universities in the United States.
Instead of scrambling to catch up with our perceived rivals such as Allegheny, Franklin & Marshall, and Ursinus, we are now rightfully considered with these and other colleges as "destination education." Long considered a college that specializes in science, we have improved our outstanding track record in those areas while enhancing established programs in education, history, politics, religion, environmental science, theatre, communications and business. Our wide strengths in many areas, and the outcomes to match, are probably part of the reason the Princeton Review this year remarked that "Juniata College has catapulted from regional to national status in the past decade."
That focus - on student success - not only fueled our recent ascent, it helped us through the significant challenges of the last year. This year's report is titled Responsibility because of the way we summoned the fortitude to innovate in order to meet our responsibility to Juniata's constituents. In fact, you could take the word apart and look at its components - response and ability - and have some insight into what this year's report covers: our ability to respond to the challenges facing everyone in ways that help us accomplish our core mission of helping students earn a transformational education that gives them global awareness and personal and professional momentum.
Two stories within detail different innovations we have pursued in order to attract students to Juniata who will benefit from our approach. Another describes new efforts aimed at more effective fundraising to support our students. And what is perhaps the main story deals with this community's response to the economic challenges facing students and families.
Alongside all of that information are what have become the usual elements of this report: a timeline of the year's milestones, an overview of our athletic successes, and - most importantly - some of the noteworthy student achievements of the past year. They are the biggest photos (taken by students!) because to us, they are a big deal. The biggest deal.
So yes, it was a trying year in some respects. We tried a few things that were different, and most of our initiatives bore fruit. At the same time, we are fortunate that earlier planning has resulted in a now-complete transformation of the central campus, an increase in the quality and number of our faculty, and vibrant new programs in IT, religion and environmental science - all without putting the College in the poorhouse. Through timely gifts, expert use of grants, and solid financial management we have avoided the massive overbuilding and debt obligations that so many of our competitors now face. Colleges and universities across the country are laying off staff, cutting entire academic programs and cutting salaries. We have had to tighten our belts with a wage freeze and other adjustments, but our core mission, the education of students, is unaffected.
To put it in current economic crisis terms, we're Ford and many of our competitors are GM. Although Juniata, like Ford, faces some challenges, we are not staring into the abyss. Indeed, we have our eyes focused on the journey ahead.
Read the full President’s Report.
Warm Regards,
Thomas R. Kepple Jr.
President
The president's office is located on the 3rd floor of Founders Hall.
Home Address
2201 Washington Street
Huntingdon, PA 16652
Phone: 814-643-6922
Juniata College
1700 Moore Street
Huntingdon, PA 16652-2119
Phone: 814-641-3101
Fax: 814-641-3355
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