PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE Access: A national imperative
This past January, I was privileged to be invited by President Obama to join a group of other college and university presidents, along with business and foundation leaders, to a daylong educa- tion summit at the White House. We were there to discuss ways in which we could increase access to a college edu - cation. Both the President and Mrs. Obama shared personal stories of how education transformed their own lives. They challenged us to do what we could to ensure that other students who had considerable talent and drive but not considerable financial resources could experience similar transformations. The unfortunate truth is that a young person born into the lowest eco- nomic quartile of our society—the bot- tom 25 percent—has only a 9 percent chance of earning a college degree. By contrast, a child born into the top eco- nomic quartile has an 80 to 90 percent likelihood of graduating from college. That disparity represents both a human and a national tragedy. Two out of every five students on our campus are here at least in part because of the financial aid we are able to offer to them. In 2014 that totaled more than $40 million, which we distributed to more than 1,000 students. That’s an enormous invest- ment, one that we make each and every year. Some might question the value of making such a commitment, but to me the real question is: How could we not do so? Our students represent the future, our future. They are the ones who are going to have to find solutions to the many problems raised by global climate change, who will be charged with de- ciding how to navigate the ethical is- sues created by our burgeoning knowl- edge of the human genome, and who
must find a way for us to learn to live together peace- fully and to share our re- sources equitably. Having a robust financial aid pro- gram ensures that we can make Skidmore accessible to every student with the ability, passion, and dedi - cation to make a difference in the world. To my mind, it is the best investment we could make.
So much of the conver- sation about higher educa-
SKIDMORE PRESIDENT PHILIP A. GLOTZBACH
HAVING A ROBUST
FINANCIAL AID PROGRAM ENSURES THAT WE CAN MAKE SKIDMORE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY STUDENT WITH THE ABILITY, PASSION, AND DEDICATION TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
tion today is about cost, and we are cer- tainly committed to finding ways to be more efficient in how we operate and keeping our increases in the compre- hensive fee as low as possible. But I be- lieve that the more important question is about value—value to the individual, value to our society, value to the world. Consider one of the greatest periods of economic expansion in American history: the 1950s. That decade’s eco- nomic progress was fueled by educa- tion, much of it financed by the GI Bill. Soldiers came back from World War II and went to college in unprecedented num- bers, becoming the driving engine for a period of unprece- dented economic suc- cess. Now consider what’s happening in- ternationally—other
countries are investing in education at an incredible rate. They’ve seen what the United States accomplished by mak- ing education a priority, and they want the same results. We must reinvest in this foundational advantage to assure that the current generation of students can compete on this global playing field.
Skidmore is doing its part by prepar- ing graduates who will take their places
as leaders in their fields. We are com- mitted to offering students the best possible, personal- ized undergraduate education across the full spectrum of the liberal arts. Period. There are no short- cuts, and the first step is ensuring that we provide access to as many students as we can.
I’m proud to say that with the help of many individuals from the broader Skidmore community we have made tremendous strides in our efforts to make the College accessible to all de- serving students and their families. Even so, we are not yet to our goal. This past year, we were able to admit 75% of our class on a need-blind basis, but at that point our financial budget ran out and we were forced to pass on many de- serving students.
Closing this gap is a significant chal- lenge, one that won’t be met in a single day; but as has been true throughout our history, I am certain that we will eventually reach our goal. Skidmore has never been afraid to set ambitious goals, particularly when they are so central to our mission, and particularly when the cost of not responding to the challenge is so much greater, for individuals and the larger society, than the cost of an- swering it.
DO THE WRITE THING
Scope welcomes letters to the editor. Send your comments by e-mail to
srosenbe@skidmore.edu or mail c/o Skidmore College. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
2 SCOPE SPRING 2014
GARY GOLD
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