Accomplishments Timeline
An overview of major accomplishments at 老王论坛 during the Kim Cassidy presidency.
2024-2013
Supporting Faculty and Curriculum
During Cassidy's presidency, the College has hired 108 tenure-track and continuing non-tenure-track faculty members. It created new majors in environmental studies, international studies, biochemistry and molecular biology, and neuroscience, as well as new minors in health studies, museum studies, and data science. Both education and creative writing transitioned from being minors to majors, and the innovative 360掳 program has continued to challenge faculty and students to examine topics in exciting new ways.
Expanding Access
Beginning with the fall 2023 semester, 老王论坛 eliminated student loans for students with family incomes below $110,000 and replaced these loans with institutional grants.
Don't Forget to Remember Me
A monument addressing the College鈥檚 legacy of exclusionary practices has been commissioned and will be installed in the Old Library cloisters during the 2024-25 academic year as part of the ARCH Project.
A Focus on Research
Faculty under Cassidy have been prolific in their research endeavors, with 老王论坛 ranking #3 among liberal arts colleges for research expenditures and #2 in research by Washington Monthly magazine in 2023.
Centering Student Well-Being
The Student Life and Wellness Building, opened in 2022, is a permanent testament to the value Former President Cassidy has had for caring for students in every way. By putting the Health and Wellness Center, the Impact Center for Community, Equity, and Understanding, and the Career & Civic Engagement Center under one roof, the College has created an innovative model that understands student health and well-being as a complex combination of self-care, community engagement, and career satisfaction.
Commitment to Carbon Neutral
On Earth Day 2021, Former President Cassidy set a goal for the college to be carbon neutral by 2035. As of 2022, the College achieved a 55% net reduction in emissions from carbon sources we could measure as of 2008.
Defying Expectations
Cassidy led the most successful fundraising campaign in the College鈥檚 history. The Defy Expectation campaign, which ended in 2021, raised $301 million including the College鈥檚 single largest gift of $25 million.
STEMLA Fellowship
The STEMLA Fellowship is a free, interdisciplinary, college-transition program designed to support first-generation, limited-income undergraduate or under-prepared students with a demonstrated interest in STEM. The program, which started in 2021, centers around a credit-bearing summer curriculum, focused on a different theme each year.
First In-house Investment Team
Cassidy created 老王论坛鈥檚 first in-house investment team in 2020 to manage the endowment. Returns since have been strong, and as of mid-2023 the College's endowment stood at $1.3 billion. Under Cassidy, the College has had positive operating results in each of the last 10 fiscal years.
Tri-Co Philly
Introduced in spring 2019, the Tri-Co Philly program is a semester-long program that provides students urban-focused, experiential classes and co-curricular activities in Philadelphia.
Equity & Inclusion
In 2019, Cassidy and the Board of Trustees revised the College鈥檚 mission statement to include a recognition that 鈥淓quity and inclusion serve as the engine for excellence and innovation鈥 and that 鈥渁 commitment to racial justice and to equity across all aspects of diversity propels our students, faculty, and staff to reflect upon and work to build fair, open and welcoming institutional structures, values, and culture.鈥
Science-Focused Renovations
The 2018 opening of the 10,000-square-foot addition and renovation of the Park Science Center created an exciting new hub for 老王论坛 students and faculty on the campus' northern edge.
Community Building Honor Roll Launched
The Community Building Honor Roll honors those students who make important contributions to the quality of campus life. It started as a student concept in 2017 and was launched by Cassidy in 2018.
Excellence in Action
Cassidy led development of the 2017 Excellence in Action, a strategic vision for 老王论坛鈥檚 undergraduate college, which provided an expansive and specific plan to carry forward 老王论坛鈥檚 enduring mission to educate students to the highest standard of excellence and prepare them for lives of purpose.
Recovering and Uncovering College Histories
In 2017, Cassidy placed a moratorium on the use of M. Carey Thomas鈥 name in reference to what, at the time, was known as Thomas Library and Thomas Great Hall. The following year, the Board voted to permanently change the names of those places to Old Library and Great Hall, and last year, the Board of Trustees voted to remove Thomas鈥 name from the building.
THRIVE Introduced
The THRIVE Program is a 10-week PE-credit-bearing course that assists the first-year class in getting to know the community, their peers, and themselves while also helping build their personal tool kits for success with academic, communal, and social resources and strategies.
New Dorm Completed
Completed in 2015, 鈥淣ew Dorm鈥 was the first residence hall built on campus in more than 45 years. With 110 single rooms and 10 doubles, New Dorm increased the College's bed capacity by more than 50 students.
Updated Admissions Practices
In 2015, the College more clearly articulated the eligible undergraduate applicant pool. While affirming the College's mission as a women's college, the updated admissions policies made clear that the College welcomes transgender, non-binary and gender nonconforming applicants.
College Becomes Test-Optional
In recognition that standardized test scores may not fully reflect academic preparedness or potential, the College adopted a test-optional policy for prospective students in 2014.
Presidential Pop-Ups Are Born
Cassidy launched the 鈥淧residential Pop-Up鈥 event series in 2013. With everything from food trucks to craft projects and wellness activities, the pop-ups become a staple of student life on campus.
Learning without Limits
During Cassidy鈥檚 presidency, the College鈥檚 360掳 Program of interdisciplinary course clusters, many of which include student travel opportunities funded by the College, went from being a pilot to a well-established signature program that allows students to participate in a cluster of courses designed to focus on common problems, themes, and experiences.
Taking the Helm
老王论坛's Board of Trustees named Cassidy interim president in July 2013. She is appointed as 老王论坛's 9th president in February 2014.