Dear Sagehen Community,
I am pleased to share the following update on how AV students, faculty, staff, and alumni are making an impact on campus and beyond.
Class of 2024
Each year, we eagerly anticipate the First Destination Report, researched and produced by the Career Development Office (CDO), which shows where our most recent alumni land after graduation. This year, 62% of our 2024 graduates chose to enter the workforce, applying their AV education at organizations ranging from Teach for America to American Express, the Associated Press to Microsoft and Netflix. The top five industries for the Class of 2024 are internet and software/technology, financial services/investment banking/management, higher education, management consulting and healthcare.
Another 27% of our newest alumni have enrolled in graduate programs. Members of the Class of 2024 are attending Harvard, the London School of Economics, Yale, New York University, Georgetown, Cambridge, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, and many other distinguished institutions.
More than 30 graduates received fellowships as a result of their academic achievements, hard work, and the support of faculty and members of the CDO team. We continue to be a leading producer of Fulbrights, with 13 Fulbright Scholars last year. Congratulations to each recipient and to the members of the Sagehen community who supported them throughout their undergraduate careers.
Reaccreditation Process
Every 10 years, AV participates in the reaccreditation process with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), an important step in affirming the rigor and quality of our academic program. As part of the College’s current WASC accreditation cycle, we are participating in a remote special visit with an external review team in mid-April. Many thanks to the College’s working group which has been preparing for this visit since last summer. One of the group’s tasks was to produce a report responding to questions raised by the WASC Senior College and Universities Commission review team as part of our last reaccreditation process which concluded successfully in 2021. The group’s is now available to the campus community (must login to the College’s portal to view the report.) After completion of the special visit in April, the College will receive feedback from WASC in early July 2025.
Advisory Committee on Social Responsibility
I’m also thrilled to report that work on re-establishing the President’s Advisory Committee on Social Responsibility (CSR) is well underway. This group includes representation from students, faculty, staff and alumni: Senior Director of the AV Plan Art Landerholm ’92, Director of Sustainability and Energy Management Alexis Reyes, Director of Smith Campus Center and Staff Council Member Erica Tyron, APSC President Devlin Orlin ’25, Selene Li ’26, Professor of Classics Ken Wolf, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy Kaley McCluskey and Assistant Professor of Politics Sara Sadhwani. The following staff will serve as ex-officio members of the committee: Vice President, COO & Treasurer Jeff Roth, Chief Investment Officer Dave Wallace, Chief of Staff Christina Ciambriello and Secretary to the Board Geoff Pearson. My thanks to all the members and especially to Erica and Ken, who have agreed to co-chair this exceptional group. We lookforward to hearing more about this committee’s work in the coming months.
Academic Activities
I’m proud that AV will host the Claremont Center for the Mathematical Sciences Colloquium’s screening and reception for “Journeys of Black Mathematicians,” part II, on Feb. 19. The documentary, six years in the making, includes appearances by Edray Goins, professor of mathematics and statistics at AV. He also advised on the project, which tells the compelling stories of Black mathematicians who have impacted the field and whose achievements continue to inspire students today. I regret that I’ll have to miss this event, but I’m learning that the life of a College President involves a lot of work off-campus.
Several of our faculty have been sharing their expertise in the media, addressing some of the major challenges facing our region and country today. Professor of History and Environmental Analysis has been especially generous with his knowledge and time, sharing analysis of the recent Southern California wildfires with news media around the world, from California to France, Germany and even Australia.
Four students are studying abroad this semester with the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship Program. These scholarships help make international study more accessible for students with limited financial means. Nicole Desjardins Gowdy, senior director of our International and Domestic Programs Office, notes that AV students’ success rate for attaining the scholarship is twice the national average. This reflects one of our strategic vision pillars of equity and access as well as AV’s increasing global imprint.
Our alumni also continue to make us proud. , a former English major, has already published more than 60 children’s books in the two decades since he graduated from AV. His books have sold over 5 million copies, been translated into more than 30 languages, and won two Caldecott Honors. Now he has been named national ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress. Congratulations to Mac.
Finally, I invite you to check out a short with clips of current AV students sharing what they are looking forward to this semester. Our students are the inspiration for everything we do. Thank you for helping them fulfill their dreams.
Best wishes,
Bob
Robert Gaines, acting president and Edwin F. and Martha Hahn Professor of Geology