The Building Our Future capital campaign began five years ago to support a vision equal in ambition and purpose. Today, because of the successes of this campaign, the state of the College is good. Programs are strong. Progress is substantial. Enthusiasm is high. The Planning Commission has begun work sooner than anticipated on a new round of agenda-setting because we are meeting ambitious goals even faster than we thought possible.

Since 2000, undergraduate enrollment has grown rapidly, and our admission profile has grown stronger. This fall we saw 1,257 new and returning full-time undergraduates, an increase of about 50 percent over 2000. More than 700 were residents on campus, up 90 percent over 2000. This growth makes possible a fully vibrant campus life.

Our faculty is talented, accomplished, deeply committed, and very hardworking. Biology offers just one example. Over the past several years, our faculty has earned highly competitive grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Such grants not only help us to acquire state-of-the-art laboratory equipment, but also make possible student-faculty collaboration in advanced research, helping to prepare students for the finest graduate programs and professional opportunities. Inspired work like this is replicated across departments for which grant funding is not commonly available. Where student achievement can be statistically measured and meaningfully compared to that at other institutions, Mount students are very impressive. On the nursing licensure examination, for example, Mount students are the best. Among traditional bachelor’s degree programs in our region, our students are at the top:

National Council Licensure Examination Passage Rates
(7/01/06 through 9/30/06)
College of Mount Saint Vincent..........88%
New York University.........................88%
Hunter College...................................86%
Dominican College.............................83%
Mount Saint Mary College.................81%
Pace University..................................80%
College of New Rochelle...................78%
Wagner College.................................77%
Molloy College..................................71%
Lehman College.................................70%
Adelphi University..............................69%

The dedication of our faculty is amplified through the work of the Mount’s staff and administrators. In advising, coaching, and tutoring—and by example—we keep the bar high; we help students to find what they love and to exceed their own expectations. Our very high graduation rates validate this work.

Our students and programs put Mount Saint Vincent on the frontier of higher education in the United States. Every talented, ambitious student is welcome. We are unusual in the large number of students we serve with very high financial need. Less commonly recognized, we also enroll a significant number of students who have no financial need. Many schools serve one constituency or the other. Few serve democratically. Our student body represents the region and the future of our country. That is right for democracy. It is right for students and for us all to live with a fundamental understanding of human dignity and equality. And it is right in preparing students for the emerging nation in which they will work and serve. In the combination of high quality programs, high expectations, and authentic inclusivity, the Mount is a model other institutions will need to emulate in coming decades.

The Sisters of Charity entrust us with this mission. We seek to educate the whole person to a way of living life informed by and sustained in faith. Our strength is therefore our people—our students, faculty, staff, and administrators joined in a beautiful, purposeful community of high expectations and the gift of God’s love.

This living mission is expensive. All education is, of course: the salaries earned; the financial aid needed; the technology employed; the heat, light, and plumbing; the insurance and security; the laboratories; the buildings themselves. . . .

During the Building Our Future comprehensive campaign, the College promised to relay its foundation for the 21st century. Initially, our consultants thought the College could raise $12 million. A second study suggested that $16 million might be overly ambitious. Confident of the strength of our case and the commitment of our alumnae/i and friends, we chose a goal of $18 million. Because so many people share a self-sacrificial belief in the importance of what we do, we are proud to announce and celebrate more than $25 million in gifts, grants, and pledges. The generosity of alumnae/i, friends, and foundations has helped to make many, many good things possible:

• We have renovated Seton, Alumnae, and Spellman (Summer 2007) Residence Halls to improve the quality of student life.
• We have constructed Mastronardi Hall (Summer 2007) to accommodate our growing number of residential students.
• We have expanded and rebuilt Maryvale Hall to provide state-of-the-art facilities for communication and fine arts.
• We have built the Stephen J. Maloney Computer Center, including computer laboratories, workshops, support services and extended-hour study space on the ground level of the Elizabeth Seton Library.
• We have completed Phase I in the renovation of our science laboratories.
• We have raised funds toward new nursing arts laboratories and associated spaces.
• We have raised more than $5 million in gifts and pledges to complete Phase I in recreational improvements.
• We have more than doubled the size of our very modest endowment, from $3.2 million to $6.9 million.
• We have made major improvements to drainage and infrastructure.

These steps are a foundation—a down payment on the future. There is still much to do. Strong programs need facilities that enrich and open possibilities and ensure a quality of life consistent with our high expectations. We must grow our endowment so that this good work can continue. And, of course, our beautiful campus is a unique trust and demands careful stewardship. Over the next several years we have many critical goals:

• We must complete Phase II of recreational improvements, culminating in the construction of an athletic field and the Peter Jay Sharp Recreation Center, a comprehensively renovated and much expanded gymnasium. Our current gymnasium was built in 1930 for a college of fewer than 400 students. A growing, engaged, healthy student body requires more.
• We must fulfill Phase II of the renovation of our science laboratories. Hugely expensive, state-of-the-art laboratories are critical for safety and for excellent programs in the sciences and nursing.
• We must fully fund the renovation of new nursing arts laboratories and associated spaces.
• We must grow the endowment to support financial aid, faculty development, and student research.
• And we must do a great deal of work to improve Marillac Hall, the Elizabeth Seton Library, Fonthill Castle, the Administration Building, and the fundamental infrastructure of roads and drainage.

The Annual Report each fall celebrates annual giving, which is the foundation of unrestricted financial support for the College. Two years of such giving and two years of proceeds from the Scholarship Tribute Dinner—totaling over $1.5 million—are included in this comprehensive campaign. This Dolphin celebrates particularly those gifts, commitments, and grants to capital improvements and to the endowment. From every student, every faculty member, every administrator, and every member of the staff: To every alumna/us. To every friend. Our immense thanks for the generosity that is reflected in this report.