Changes in the Office of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program

August 4, 2003

I am writing to tell you of changes that you will find in the Ada Comstock Scholars Office when you return to campus. As you know, the college faces financial constraints because of the decline in the value of the endowment, increases in the financial aid budget, and increased health insurance costs for employees. In order to meet these budgetary challenges, and to protect the priority that campus groups have urged us to give to the academic program and to financial aid, we have embarked on a process of examining each administrative department of the college carefully to ensure that services are provided in the most efficient way. These considerations have led us to reorganize the Ada Comstock Scholars Office.

Erika Laquer will join the Class Deans' Office in College Hall 23. Her title will be Dean of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program; she will advise Ada Comstock Scholars, and she will continue to direct the program.

We will move the admission function of the Ada program to our Admission Office on College Lane. Sid Dalby will oversee the process from there, reporting to Audrey Smith, Director of Admission. We have decided to make this change in part because of the legal climate surrounding admission policy and practice. It is more important than ever to ensure consistent oversight in all of our admission operations and careful coordination of programs within our broad admission mandate.

The staff in the Class Deans’ Office and in the Admission Office, respectively, will provide support for the activities of the Ada Comstock Scholars Program now located in those offices. The positions of assistant director and administrative assistant in the current Ada Comstock office will be eliminated. We appreciate the very important role that the people in these positions have played in the lives of current Ada Comstock Scholars and of the Program's alumnae. We value their contribution, and we realize the loss that many of you may feel both of their friendship and support and the sense of place that they created.

I want to assure you of my support for the Ada Comstock Scholars Program. I know that all parts of the college community—from traditional undergraduates, to faculty, staff, alumnae, and the Board of Trustees—share that regard and appreciate the contribution that the Program makes to the excellence of the College. The Ada Program has an illustrious history as the largest and most prestigious program of its kind; I would do nothing to diminish its luster. Our goal is to preserve the qualities of the program that have made it special, while meeting some pressing institutional imperatives, and we are firmly committed to that goal.

I look forward to greeting you at convocation and to seeing you on campus when classes resume.

Sincerely,

Carol T. Christ