Image courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Athletics
By Casey Roepke ’21
News Editor
In a Sept. 17 financial update, College President Sonya Stephens and Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Shannon Gurek announced the discontinuation of the College’s varsity golf team and stated that the Equestrian Center and physical education program will be undergoing external reviews.
Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education Lori Hendricks said these external reviews are a normal procedure for academic departments, centers and other offices on campus, and they are typically held once a decade. The reviews aim “to assess the operations of the area and alignments with broader organizational priorities, identify future opportunities and needs and think about the strategic investment of resources.”
The review process typically begins with an internal review, or “self-study,” conducted by the area or department in question, according to Hendricks. “There is data collection to answer [key] questions,” Hendricks said. “The reviewers will use this information to inform their interviews with key stakeholders, e.g. students, alums, employees, institutional leadership. The reviewers will develop their own reports to share with the department and College. Out of the review, a strategic plan is created or updated.”
A 2018 external review of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics and subsequent 2019 strategic plan recommended that the physical education program and Equestrian Center undergo separate and specific external reviews.
The physical education program was last reviewed in 2010. According to Hendricks, it is likely that peer institutions will serve as barometers for external reviewers. Hendricks said that the focus of this review would surround student programming and physical education credit for club sports, among other questions.
“Students have been interested in the opportunity to receive PE credit for their participation in club sports. We have investigated this possibility and piloted work with the teams and their coaches,” she said. “We are also curious about the courses that we offer. Do they meet the needs and interests of our diverse group of students? Are there other programming and instructional trends that we should be exploring? Are there additional ways in which PE can support the Be Well initiative?”
The Equestrian Center has not been reviewed in Hendricks’ 14-year tenure. The College will bring in “a mix of professionals from higher education riding programs as well as industry leaders in equestrian,” according to Hendricks.
Mount Holyoke’s Equestrian Center and riding program are a point of pride for the College. On the official website for the center, the College writes: “Built in 1987, the Mount Holyoke College Equestrian Center is considered to be one of the finest facilities for education and competitive riding available to students anywhere.” Hendricks echoed this sentiment when she said, “The Equestrian Center and our riding programs are areas of distinction for the College. … Not only have we been able to attract top riding talent, but these programs attract high quality students to the College.”
The review of the Equestrian Center is aimed at continuing to maintain the standards of the program and its resources. “In order to continue to attract top talent and boast of a top collegiate riding facility and program,” Hendricks said, “it is critical that we assess our strengths, identify areas of weakness and needs, and develop a game plan that strategically invests to meet both needs and opportunities.”
The specific focus areas for the Equestrian Center review also rely on student requests. “I suspect that we will hear from both the reviewers as well as students about select needs of the riding programs like heat in the indoor arenas, high quality horses for top level competitors, and stall renovations. I also know that we have a passionate and committed group of alums who want to support our riding programs,” Hendricks said. “We need to identify our priorities and engage them to support our expectations for excellence.”
The reviews of the physical education program and the Equestrian Center will be conducted in the 2020-2021 academic year.