This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.

This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.

This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Friday, December 8, 2023

This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Monday, November 27, 2023.

This message from President Wendy Raymond was sent to the College community on Sunday, November 26, 2023.

Friends,
 
This is a heart- and soul-wrenching time for many of us at Haverford and for Fords across the world.
 
Today I reach out to state unequivocally that antisemitism is not and will not be tolerated at Haverford. I write this to you in multiple contexts. The scourge of antisemitism is acutely on the rise on other college and university campuses and elsewhere in the U.S. Many among our Jewish students, staff, and faculty feel afraid and intensely vulnerable because of the war, antisemitism on other campuses, their concern that they will experience antisemitic acts here, and tensions on our own campus these past weeks. And tomorrow and Friday, November 9 and 10, mark the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht.
 
I also reach out to state unequivocally that Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of hate-based discrimination are not and will not be tolerated at Haverford. Many among our Palestinian, Muslim, and Arab students feel an eroding sense of belonging, as well as fear, despondency, and desperation as the war continues. Some of these students and their supporters have chosen to organize events and demonstrations on campus with the intent of raising awareness. My colleagues and I have been working with students to invite respectful dialogue with peers, faculty, staff, and one another.
 
In these contexts, students who are deeply impacted by the war continue to focus on their education, to the best of their abilities, and with outstanding faculty and staff support. Despite challenges, many students, staff, and faculty are also actively engaged in dialogue across considerable differences of thought, perspective, knowledge, and experience. I have been in some of these conversations. Many among our staff and faculty, too, need support. I am deeply grateful to each of you for investing in the educational, emotional, psychological, social, and holistic well-being of others during this trying time.
 
Members of our community have worked hard and well, together and individually, to offer all manner of support and care to students and one another. During these first four weeks of war in Gaza, we have focused our attention on direct support and care for Jewish, Muslim, Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, and other students most directly and indirectly impacted. That focus of care, concern, and support continues, and I thank all those who have dedicated their attention to this. 
 
For generations, Haverford students have set and practiced community standards via the Honor Code. In addition, the College also maintains a number of policies intended to safeguard individual rights and delineate responsibilities to each other when any of us speaks (literally or figuratively). These include: 

• Expressive Freedom and Responsibility: Haverford promotes fundamental academic freedoms of inquiry and expression within the continuity of a residential learning community.
• Posters: flyers or similar signs on campus must meet specific criteria that foster engagement and dialogue or they will be removed. 
• Harassment and Discrimination: targeting individuals or groups is strictly prohibited. If you think you may be witnessing or personally experiencing antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism, or any other form of hate-based discrimination, you can send a report via this Incident Reporting Form for acts committed by students, or contact our EEO officers for reports concerning faculty or staff.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you about resources available to provide support.

Students should be in touch with:

• advising deans about navigating academic and social matters;
• faculty teaching your courses or serving as major advisors for academic guidance; 
• CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) counselors about concerns you have about your life, including a wide range of topics that upset, frighten, confuse, thrill, sadden, or anger you; 
• religious and spiritual life advisors, including:
  • wsulliva [at] haverford.edu (Walter Hjelt Sullivan), Director of Quaker Affairs
  • selkhashab [at] gmail.com (Sameena Elkhashab), Muslim Student Association
  • egurevit [at] haverford.edu (Rabbi Eli Gurevitz), Bi-Co Chabad Student Group
  • hamza.shaikh [at] gmail.com (Hamza Shaikh), Muslim Student Association
  • jwinaker [at] phillyhillel.org (Rabbi Jeremy Winaker), Philly Hillel Network
• other student life and SDEA (Student Diversity, Equity, and Access) staff for emotional support; and
• Campus Safety for concerns about personal safety. Any member of the community can also use our reporting form to alert appropriate staff members to issues of concern.

Faculty and staff may wish to contact the College’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for access to a variety of helpful resources including 24/7 mental health counselors. 

Dean of the College John McKnight, Vice President for Institutional Equity and Access Nikki Young, and other faculty and staff are also working together to plan intentional spaces for students, faculty, and staff in the weeks ahead and welcome your ideas and suggestions about such convenings. We also welcome the sharing of learning resources such as the guide compiled by our Libraries.

Haverford’s values of peace, justice, and seeing the light in every person undergird our daily and enduring mission to provide an incomparable liberal arts education. The College’s Quaker-rooted commitment to peace is an inherent condemnation of all acts of violence. This commitment is also a call to recognize those whose families, neighbors, and communities have experienced unspeakable violence and must live with and through the ravages of war. May Haverford’s values invite us into a community of empathy and care. 
 
Sincerely,
Wendy

Friends:

Tuesday on Founders Green, I joined scores of students, faculty, and staff who came together seeking connection at a time of horrific loss, and community at a time of conflict. Gathered in a peace circle, we mourned the hundreds of Israeli citizens who were murdered or kidnapped by Hamas beginning on Saturday. We mourned the war it unleashed, the generations-long conflicts leading to this moment, and the certainty of more devastation to come for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

We came together to mourn for the victims of this crisis, their families, their neighbors, and the small-world network through which these deaths directly touch many of us. It is a network that includes Haverford’s Jewish and Palestinian students, faculty, staff, and alums, who are suffering deeply.

We came together to share common ground, in testimony to an essential Haverford determination to bridge differences through dialogue and through building community. We came together to affirm our faith in community and to open ourselves to others.

Many in the circle chose to speak. I found myself deeply moved in particular by two students, one Jewish and one Palestinian, standing next to one another in our peace circle, willing to express their pain in a group gathered to hold that pain and offer embodied support.

I thank them for their courage to speak their truth. I thank those who made themselves vulnerable by speaking from the heart. I thank those who chose silent sharing through a tradition of placing a pebble or written comment in a common bowl. I am grateful for the connection that the gathering afforded immediately afterward, and which radiated outward in time and substance from there.

It is a start.

At my regular evening get-together with students yesterday, I spoke with Jewish and Muslim students who expressed concern about how we will navigate the coming months of international strife that across the nation has already included challenging campus tensions, in order to thrive at Haverford and as Haverford. They seek support and thoughtful engagement from all of us across the student body, faculty, and staff. I am one of many in that support system.

As we move forward together, I would like to remind students about resources such as our CAPS counselors and other dean’s office staff who can provide academic and emotional support. An Employee Assistance Program (EAP), through Carebridge, provides free, confidential assistance for employees and their immediate loved ones.

This war is ongoing and we do not know the course it will take. But this much I know for certain: Haverford prepares students for bold engagement and ethical leadership through an incomparable educational experience. We root our mission in values drawn from our Quaker history of seeing the light in every person, living a life of continual learning or revelation, and contributing constructively to community. I thank each of you for demonstrating in the days and months ahead how we can work for a better and more peaceful world, beginning with our own hearts, minds, and lives.

In sorrow, and with hope and gratitude,

Wendy

Dear Friends,

As we start the academic year, we are writing to share the College’s current protocols with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal government no longer classifies COVID as a public health emergency because of widespread immunity resulting from vaccinations and prior infections and because significantly fewer cases lead to severe illnesses or death. That said, we want the community to be aware of our safety measures since contracting COVID is no fun for anyone and can carry higher risks for our campus and local community members who are elderly or immune-suppressed. 

Our current protocols are informed by updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as well as a team of medical professionals, and esteemed Haverford alums, who are infectious disease experts. The full protocols are detailed on our Be Safe, Friends website, and we draw your attention to the main points highlighted below:

• Our campus community is mostly vaccinated (99% of students; ~95% of employees);

• We are a mask-friendly campus and encourage students, employees, and guests to wear masks to take personal protective measures;

• Event hosts, inclusive of instructors in classrooms, can require attendees to wear masks;

• Anyone displaying cold or flu-like symptoms should remain at home (for employees) or in their room (for students), take a COVID self-test, and mask in the presence of others;

• Self-tests and testing appointments are available at local Rite Aid and CVS; 

• Students who test positive must isolate for at least 5 days within their assigned rooms, notify Health Services at hc-healthservices [at] haverford.edu or (610) 896-1089, and follow CDC guidelines; 

• Roommates and suitemates of students who have tested positive will not be relocated but should mask, keep safe distances, and take a self-test 5 days after exposure to a COVID-positive person;

• Faculty and staff who test positive should notify their supervisor and Human Resources at hc-hr-covidnotify [at] haverford.edu; and

• Anyone who tests positive should notify people with whom they have been in close contact.

Given what we now know about COVID transmission, we are likely to see positive cases on campus over the next few weeks because a large number of people are arriving from various locations, many of whom may have had recent exposure to the virus from end-of-summer social activities. We want to do our level best to keep our community healthy and encourage masking indoors for the first few weeks of the semester if you are carrying higher risks for COVID-related illness or just want to take extra precautions.

Health Services will offer a flu vaccine clinic later this semester and encourages students and employees to take advantage of this opportunity to boost our collective immunity against influenza. 

Thank you for your attentiveness to our health and safety protocols.

Sincerely,

John McKnight

Dean of the College

Nico Washington

Vice President for Finance and Administration

Hello Friends!

Greetings from the Office of Residential Education & Student Engagement! Haverford College is happy to welcome you to campus on Wednesday, August 30, 2023! Please follow the steps below for a smooth move-in day.

If you are attending International Student Orientation, Horizons (Chesick Scholars), Pre-Customs Outdoor Program (PCOP), or are a student athlete reporting early for pre-season, please follow separate move-in instructions for your program.

Before You Depart

OneCard Photo & Health Records: If you haven’t already attempted to upload your OneCard photo and sent in your health forms, please do so immediately. This will expedite your check-in.

Students with incomplete immunization records will not be permitted to move in. Be sure to check the secure messages from Health Services in your Haverhealth portal. If you have any questions about your health forms, please email hc-healthservices [at] haverford.edu.

Move In Day - Wednesday, August 30

Check-In and Move-In Process: Step 1: Please enter campus from the Lancaster Avenue entrance (gold star on map below and attached). Upon arriving to campus, park in the South Lot (blue circle on map) and proceed to the GIAC (blue star on map). Check-In is from 9am-3pm.

At Check-In you will receive your room key, OneCard, schedule for Customs Week, and some Haverford swag. You will also meet with Student Health Services and they will review your required paperwork and update your health insurance.  Please have your health insurance information readily available.

Tip: As an important first step in your Haverford journey, we ask that students navigate Check-In independently. Families are encouraged to visit the Alumni and Family Engagement reception in the Coop, which is located in the Whitehead Campus Center - directly across from New Student Check-In (orange star on map) while new students check in.

Step 2: Return to your vehicle and proceed to one of the Unload Zones (green circles on map). Welcome Crew, Customs teams,  and Haverford staff will welcome you to your new home and point you in the right direction! We ask that a driver stay with the vehicle during the unloading process.

Tip: Label all your belongings with your name and room number to help ensure that they get to the right place!

Step 3: After your car is unloaded, please return your vehicle to the South Lot (blue circle) to make way for your classmates moving in.

Step 4: Settle into your space and consider attending the optional Move-In Day events below. The first mandatory event is the Welcome Ceremony at 3pm in the Gooding Arena in the Gardner Integrated Athletic Center (GIAC).

Note: If your travel plans cause you to arrive after 3pm, please respond to this email and our office will make alternative arrangements for your key and OneCard pick up.

Move-In Day Events

9:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Family Welcome & New Student Check-in
Whitehead Campus Center, the Coop (Families; Closes at 2:00 p.m.)
Lobby, Douglas B. Gardner '83 Integrated Athletic Center (GIAC) (Students ONLY; Closes at 3:00 p.m.)

Calling all families! Join the Office of Alumni and Family Engagement in our Families reception area, while students (only) proceed to GIAC to pick up their OneCard, room key, and other materials.

11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. Re-use Store Open Hours
Basement, Comfort Hall

This space collects donations year-round and serves as a “free-store” for the campus community. 

11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. New Student & Family Lunch 
Dining Center

Lunch is provided by the College. 

11:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Photos on Founders Green
Founders Green

Stop by Founders Green for a Haverford photo with your student! Staff from Human Resources and the Center for Career and Professional Advising will be available for questions around students' employment for the year.

12:30–2:00 p.m. Arboretum Tours
Meet on Founders Porch

Join our horticulturists for a tour of Haverford's historic tree collection. The collection dates back to 1834, making Haverford College the oldest planned collegiate landscape in the nation. Please wear good walking shoes and dress for the weather as this event will take place rain or shine. Tours will last 30 minutes, and depart every 30 minutes.

2:00–3:00 p.m. Parenting Through the College Years
Sharpless Auditorium, Sharpless Hall

This presentation will explore how families can tune-in to the “psychology” of their adult student. Topics discussed will include saying “goodbye,” the first visit home, sophomore angst, and romantic turmoil. The panel will include members of the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

2:00–3:00 p.m. Student Q&A (Students only!)
Zubrow Commons, KINSC

Current students share insights about what first-years can expect from their first year.

3:00–4:00 p.m. Welcome Ceremony
Calvin Gooding '84 Arena; Douglas B. Gardner '83 Integrated Athletic Center (GIAC)

President Wendy Raymond, Dean of the College John McKnight, and Vice President of Admissions and Financial Aid Jess Lord will welcome new students and families to Haverford College, before new students join their Customs groups to begin Customs Week.

4:00 p.m. Customs Activities Begin!

Families share their final goodbyes at the GIAC. New students please find your Customs team!

4:00–5:00 p.m. Wine and Tissues Reception for Families and Friends
Founders Great Hall

As you begin to adjust to your new reality as the family member or friend of a Haverford student, enjoy desserts with College faculty and staff in celebration of your student’s new adventure!

Central Services (Mail & Packages)

Central Services (located in the Whitehead Campus Center) will be open on Move-In Day from 9am-4pm.  You will be notified via email when your package has arrived at Central Services. Use the link included in your notification to schedule a reservation or pick up from a package locker.  Regular academic year hours (Monday-Friday 9am-5pm) will resume on Tuesday, September 5.

Please reach out to hc-reslife [at] haverford.edu if you still have questions, we're happy to help!

We look forward to seeing you soon!

The Office of Residential Education & Student Engagement

On behalf of the Office of Residential Education & Student Engagement, welcome to Haverford College! We are looking forward to your arrival in a few short weeks! We are writing to share your academic year housing assignments as well as resources to help you prepare for your arrival.

To find out your housing assignment, please log into the housing portal via www.haverford.edu/housing. On the main page, under "Assignments" you will see your housing assignment for the 2023-2024 academic year.

Under the “Assignment” banner, you’ll see your building and room information. “Room Type” will tell you whether you’ll be living in a single room or a double room. To the right of that information, you will see “Roommates/Suitemates” which are the names of the people with whom you’ll be living.

If you are living in a double room, you will have the same room number as your roommate. Even if you are living in a single room, you may have suitemates (someone who lives in another room next door), but they will have different room letters (but same room number). We encourage you to get in touch with your roommates and/or suitemates in order to get to know one another before your arrival at Haverford. An important note: Housing assignments are final, but in the case of an emergency we will be in touch about moving your housing assignment.  

We encourage you to check out the First-Year Housing webpage. This page has important information about the amenities of each hall, building floor plans, packing lists, what to expect living in a specific building and on campus, and so much more. Please note that building floor plans and the First Year Residence Halls Guide page can only be accessed with Haverford credentials, so you’ll need to log-in to access that information. 

A few things to keep in mind as you look at your room and begin thinking about what to bring to campus:

• Room sizes/dimensions: Due to the unique features and layouts of most of our residence halls, each room is slightly different from one another. We are unable to provide exact dimensions for your individual room. Floor plans are not drawn to scale.
• Furniture: Every room includes a bedframe, extra-long mattress, desk, desk chair, armoire or closet, and built-in or free-standing shelving. All of our furniture, like our rooms, have unique features, so we are unable to provide dimensions or tell you if your bed frame can be lofted. Upon arrival, you will be able to make these decisions once you see what furniture is in your room.
• Consider your essentials: Space in your room is at a premium so we recommend starting with only what you need. We don’t recommend loading up a car (and certainly not a U-Haul) with items you think you’ll need. If you need to purchase essential items, consider visiting the (RE)use Store or taking advantage of the shopping shuttle on Move-In Day. 
• Appliances: Each section and floor of all first year buildings have a community microwave, so you do not have to bring one (we suggest not bringing one as they take up a lot of space). No appliances should exceed 700 watts, including mini-fridges which cannot be larger than 4 cubic feet.

We will be in touch soon with detailed information regarding New Student Move-In Day on Wednesday, August 30 starting at 9 AM. We are excited to welcome you as you start your time at Haverford! 

-The Office of Residential Life

Friends:

Today the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decisions in a pair of much-awaited cases centering on the consideration of race in college admissions. The plaintiffs sought to end affirmative action programs that many schools – including Haverford – have long used in our effort to enroll a diverse student population on campus. Haverford was among a number of colleges and universities that joined an amicus brief in support of the consideration of race as one of many possible factors in admission processes.

In their decisions, the Court determined that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are unconstitutional. "Writing for the court’s majority," notes The Chronicle of Higher Education's summary of the cases, "Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said that policies that claim to consider an applicant’s race as one factor among many are in fact violating the equal-protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution…The decision reverses decades of legal precedent affirming that a diverse student body is a ‘compelling state interest,’ a stance that had allowed colleges to use race-conscious admissions to reach that goal."

The effect of these rulings will likely mirror what has already happened in states that have imposed race-based prohibitions upon their colleges and universities' admissions processes: there will be a meaningful, and negative, change in the diversity of student populations. As Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her dissent, "The devastating impact of this decision cannot be overstated. The majority’s vision of race neutrality will entrench racial segregation in higher education because racial inequality will persist so long as it is ignored."

We are deeply disappointed in and disagree with these rulings. As we made clear in an email to campus on May 2, we want to affirm for all members of the greater Haverford community – students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families – that the College is unwavering in its commitment to equitable access to education and to the essential nature of diversity in the collegiate experience in and out of the classroom, and to the responsibility to build diversity across our community.

Notably, the Court has prescribed an approach to admission that is grounded in an individual's qualities – as Justice Roberts wrote, students “must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual — not on the basis of race." Haverford's approach to education, from admission through graduation, is marked by exactly that: a focus on the individual.

The decisions also leave room for colleges like Haverford to consider how race has impacted an applicant’s life, should an applicant raise the issue. The ruling notes "[n]othing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university."

Haverford is, of course, committed to compliance with the law. We are confident that we will be able to continue our holistic approach to evaluating admission applications, a process that strives to understand each candidate as an individual and in the fullness of their life experiences and contexts. As our recently completed strategic plan, Haverford 2030, makes clear, we will also continue to assert the central importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to our mission and our ability to provide the best liberal arts education possible.

The Supreme Court’s decisions will create challenges for Haverford. We have been working steadily and thoughtfully, ahead of the Court's rulings, to consider how our approaches in multiple areas – including admission, financial aid, and student life – could be made to align with Court rulings.

We are confident in Haverford's ability to navigate the road ahead in ways that are consistent with our mission and values, as we operate within the law.

Sincerely,

Wendy Raymond, president
Jess Lord, vice president and dean of admission and financial aid
Nikki Young, vice president for institutional equity and access