Spotlighting 2017: Highlights from the President’s Report

For Gordon College, 2017 was a year highlighted by steady growth in key areas and several important new initiatives designed to strengthen the College for the future. As we move forward with faithful expectation in 2018, let’s take a moment to consider—in brief snapshots—some of the more positive developments in the past year. These are excerpted from the President’s Report, an annual print piece provided to key supporters and friends of the College.

 Honors and Scholars

• A transformative $25 million gift strengthened Gordon’s endowment and made possible the launch of the new Global Honors Institute.
• A total of $794,581 was awarded between the top five faculty grants of 2017.
• Greg Keller (biology) received a Fulbright Scholarship, and Stephen Zani ’17 was accepted for a Student Fulbright.
• We developed and introduced a biochemistry major, concentrations in music composition and music in worship, a new master in financial analysis, and an entrepreneurship track in the Master of Arts in Leadership as part of the new Gordon Plus program (geared toward qualified Gordon seniors).

New Places, New Faces

• Easton Dining Hall was rededicated as Tupper Hall in honor of supporter Sherry Tupper, whose gift made possible a partnership with Bon Appétit Management Company to enhance food options and dining facilities on campus.
• The new grab-and-go Bennett Café was added as a much needed amenity in the Bennett Athletic and Recreation Center.
• Gordon welcomed Charlene Mutamba (director of multicultural initiatives), Alexander Lowry (executive director of the Master of Science in Financial Analysis), Hang-Wei (Henry) Hao and Todd Palmer (professors of economics and business), Tout Wang (professor of physics) and Bill Bodwell (head coach of Men’s Lacrosse). Christine Gardner completed her first year on faculty in the Department of Communication Arts.

Looking Ahead, Early On

• 100 sophomores attended the inaugural Calling and Career Conference.
• Students completed 567 internships—the highest number in Gordon’s history.
• Gordon 360, an electronic portfolio detailing students’ professional skills and extracurricular activities, was launched successfully.

Faith in Action

• 16 teams went on mission trips.
• One-third of students participated in small groups.
• Amy Orr-Ewing of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics led campus in three days of Chapel talks, worship and prayer for Deep Faith Week.

Sports Successes

• Six teams were awarded the Commonwealth Coast Conference Sportsmanship Award.
• 111 student-athletes were honored on the Commonwealth Coast Conference Academic All-Conference Team.
• Caleb Cole ’17 (Men’s Soccer), a lead scorer who concluded his career at Gordon with 36 goals and 33 assists, was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America Second Team.
• Damon Kilgore ’18 (Cross Country) raced to five individual wins, including at the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship, and finished 29^th in a field of 380 in the NCAA Division III New England Championship. He completed his collegiate cross country career with a 204^th place finish at the NCAA Division III Men’s Cross Country Championships.

Recruiting and Enrollment

• At June 30, overall unduplicated enrollment (of undergraduate as well as all graduate students) reached 2,465, the highest enrollment figure in College history. While College revenue is still largely dependent on undergraduate enrollment, this has been an encouraging trend with 18 percent total enrollment growth since 2011.
• 49 states represented in the student body.
• 55 countries are represented by the undergraduate student body.
• Gordon achieved a total international and multicultural enrollment of 29 percent.