By Paige Comeau.
By Paige Comeau ’26
Staff Writer
Before announcing its special guest on Feb. 21, senate began with the usual land acknowledgment. Skipping over E-Board updates, the senate quickly launched into a presentation given by Interim President Beverly Daniel Tatum. This presentation, announced earlier that week in the Dean’s Corner, gave information on the state of the College. More specifically, Tatum discussed the College’s recent focus on strategic planning.
Tatum’s presentation began by describing the College’s current funding situation. 62 percent of Mount Holyoke’s revenue comes from student fees and tuition. Tatum underscored that, because of this, it matters how much the students pay. In totality, Mount Holyoke students pay less for tuition than Amherst students and the Seven Sister Schools. Tatum stated that this meant that the College had less money than its neighbors. Mount Holyoke is meeting its goal of enrollment and acceptances. Tatum noted that Mount Holyoke admits more students than Amherst College and the Seven Sister Schools. Furthermore, the acceptance rate is dropping with the number of applications on the rise. Tatum explained that this is a good thing because it allows the College to be more selective with the type of student it would like to enroll.
11 percent of the money that Mount Holyoke receives is from donors, with most of the donated money going to scholarships. According to Tatum, 2022 was one of Mount Holyoke’s best fundraising years, making as much as $50,621,125. Around 41 million dollars of this money went to student financial aid.
26 percent of Mount Holyoke’s funds come from the endowment. This year the endowment is just over one billion dollars, but not all of that money is available for immediate use. An endowment is like an investment account, with the money being invested in stock portfolios and bank accounts. The College is only allowed to use the money that is earned from those investments. The general rule is that only a spending rate of 4.95 percent can be used. If more is used, the school could begin to eat into the endowment funds.
Tatum ended her discussion on the college’s finances by saying that though Mount Holyoke is doing well financially, it is not doing as well as our neighbors.
The President announced that she is considering changing the college’s mission statement. Later this spring, Tatum said, the students, staff and faculty will be allowed to submit suggestions. Submissions must be less than 25 words long.
Tatum then discussed the College’s strategic planning. She explained that the College completes strategic planning because it’s necessary for continuous improvement. Additionally, it is required for the College’s re-accreditation. Tatum examined the many goals achieved by the previous and current plans. Triumphs include but are not limited to: funding for internships and research experiences, expansion of the Blanchard Community Center, creation of the Fimbel Maker & Innovation Lab, sustainability commitment to be carbon neutral by 2037 and advanced student recruitment.
Tatum then asked the room how the college could improve. First, she examined the data presented by prospective students. This data showed that the college has the opportunity to distinguish itself and increase demand by underscoring cross-cutting themes, career focus, experiential learning, inclusivity and gender diversity.
As for already admitted students, Tatum looked at the student conference committee survey. This survey is sent to MHC students every spring, asking them how they feel about certain aspects of the school. The major recommendation from this data was to increase the opportunity for inter-group dialogue — something that, as Tatum explained, the college has been expanding on this year.
Next, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education New Student Survey, a questionnaire sent out to all new and accepted students, collected data surrounding student demographics and the thoughts of incoming students. These results showed that 73 percent of new students identified as LGBTQ+, 23 percent identified as having a chronic mental health condition, 35 percent felt unprepared or only somewhat prepared to succeed academically and 44 percent felt unprepared or only somewhat prepared to get along at college. Tatum stated that she believes that the growing anxiety and mental health issues can be attributed at least in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The COFHE 2022 Senior Survey showed that compared to other schools, Mount Holyoke students were more likely to be satisfied with having gone to Mount Holyoke and would recommend this school to their younger selves. When this data gets broken down, Tatum illuminated the fact that minority students did not necessarily feel that way. The data shows that less than 30 percent of African American students, compared to more than 80 percent of white students, felt that they would have done so. Likewise, around 60 percent of Latinx students, 75 percent of Asian American students and over 90 percent of international students would have recommended this school to their younger selves.
When asked what experiences seniors would recommend, the survey found that students who were satisfied with their academic experiences had done research with a professor, an independent study, worked as a tutor, received tutoring or attended a LEAP symposium. Students who were satisfied with opportunities outside of Mount Holyoke had studied abroad, done an internship or completed volunteer work. As for participation in extracurricular activities, students recommended a usic/theater group or student publications.
Research shows that Mount Holyoke College, among other historically women’s colleges or liberal arts schools, has fewer students graduating with a job offer or official position. This is the same for students who had reached out and spoken to college alums. This is even though 75 percent of early career alums indicate that they would like to serve as a resource for current students interested in the industry.
When thinking about how to communicate the MHC experience to the market, Tatum stated that she liked to use the acronym BIG, as in, “Think BIG: Build our community; Improve our infrastructure; Grow our distinctive programs.”
“Think BIG: Build our community; Improve our infrastructure; Grow our distinctive programs.”
One senator asked a question regarding the geothermal project, an energy system that will take Mount Holyoke’s carbon footprint down 80 percent. They wondered, referencing the recent accident on Skinner Green, how safe the construction would be for members of campus. Tatum responded by first acknowledging that no accident should have happened in the first place. But, she added, it was a construction accident. No student or staff was at risk for harm. The areas under construction will be roped off and safe. She warned, jokingly, that although it would be safe, it would be ugly.
Another student asked how the President felt about the statistics presented, especially since she has known the MHC community for longer than any of the senators. Tatum responded by saying that she felt as though Mount Holyoke College was evolving.
A third member asked a general question that they knew other students had concerns about. Regarding the recent school shooting at Michigan State University, they asked, was Mount Holyoke taking any specific measures to update campus security? Tatum said that there were systems in place and that the OneCard system made the school remarkably safer than in previous years. But, she added, there’s no way to build a wall around campus. As such, we must rely on each other. She emphasized that it is important to remember that if you see something, you need to say something.
A final student took the chance to ask about accessibility. Many of the buildings, they stated, were not very accessible above the first floor. They asked if the College had any plans to change that. Tatum took the time to reference the earlier mentioned facilities update plan and said that as the buildings were renovated they would be made fully accessible, but many may not be for several years.
Following the last question, Tatum presented an activity in which the senators were allowed to give their input on what needs to be done within the school. These ideas, she stated, would be organized and read by a committee, before being prepared as a list for President-Elect Holley.