Open Letter to Guilford College Faculty

Thu, Jun 26, 2025, 8:43 PM

Dear Friends,

I know this is a difficult time, so I'll get right to the point.

I’m writing now because it’s not too late to save your college and mitigate some of the bad outcomes. I have studied colleges in crisis since 2019 (Hampshire, Marlboro, Guilford, Goddard, Mills, Antioch, Sweet Briar), seeing what works and what doesn’t.

Three critical things need to be done now: cuts, an ambitious multi-year fundraising campaign to support operational costs (enrollment will take time to turn around), and an inspirational plan for the future. I mention some ideas for avoiding financial exigency as well as rebuilding trust with various constituencies in my "Hail Mary" article. All of this will work much better if there is a clear vision and buy-in among stakeholders, which comes from the co-creation of an inspiring go-forward plan.

I’ve read the fundraising appeals from Wess Daniels, Max Carter, the description of Jean Bordewich’s talk at the recent Quaker Higher Ed Conference at Guilford, and the plan to preserve the forest. All of it is productive and would be enough if Guilford were a preservation or historical society. But it lacks what is needed to save the college right now.

Donors, lenders, and regulators will need a clear answer: why would saving Guilford work again this time and be sustainable?

Prospective students will need a clear answer: why is this the right place for my life and career in the 21st century? What makes Guilford special compared to other colleges in its peer group and within my price range?

The plan you create will answer these questions, inspire confidence, build trust, and garner buy-in.

This effort requires all hands on deck and all ideas on the table. I have been part of a similar re-envisioning effort before, and it can be accomplished quickly, inclusively, and with a significant impact. The visioning and strategic efforts in Guilford’s past haven’t gone far enough in those regards. Here are some key steps necessary for this emergency:

• Zoom sessions
• Welcome everyone: students, staff, alumni, faculty, external stakeholders etc.
• Can break into different groups by stakeholder type or issue, but maintain inclusivity by having larger sessions too
• Facilitation that is clear about the goals and deadline
• Encouragement of bold and radical ideas
• Make sure the ideas people come up with are recorded
• Have a method for sorting the ideas by effectiveness and stage
• Arrange the results into an aspirational plan
• Create visuals/slide deck (example)
• Share widely

During this process, urgency is your friend. Don’t get stuck seeking perfection or trying to resolve every conflict. The idea is successive approximations – later stages delve into more details, including operationalization.

By the way, some have given up on Guilford and think Hampshire had advantages, but actually Hampshire had daunting issues in 2019: leadership that was trying to close the college, decided not to accept a fall class of students, and laid off virtually the entire admissions and fundraising staff.

I’ve studied what changed to bring the college off course (and back again), and that helps me see what can be done to help Guilford change course, even at this late stage. Guilford has advantages too - for example, the combination of how it fosters values, attention, as well as practical skills.

There is time to do this. Consider me available to help in any capacity.

Best,

Jonathon