A Sound Future Update

Dear Campus Community,  

As we approach the end of this academic year, I would like to provide you with an update on the many initiatives underway as part of A Sound Future: Response, Recovery, and Renewal (ASF), a set of strategies to advance the goals of the Leadership for a Changing World strategic plan, return the university to a balanced operational budget by FY26, and ensure the continuation of our educational mission. These adaptive, aligning, and foundational strategies represent our roadmap to renewing our programs and realizing our vision of firmly positioning Puget Sound among the finest liberal arts institutions in the nation.

With this context, I am pleased to share this report on our recent progress on some key ASF strategies related to revenue generation, housing investment, faculty and staff alignment, and program economics and curricular efficiency, all of which are moving us towards our shared vision of a promising present and even greater future.

Revenue Generation
A significant aspect of ASF is exploring various avenues for sustainable revenue generation. One way to do so is to more fully utilize our beautiful campus and its facilities. This past fall, we were pleased to host the 2023 Festival of Trees in the Tennis Pavilion and are looking forward to hosting again in 2024. This summer, we expect significant activity on campus as part of a record-setting summer conference season. Additionally, we have expanded our overnight conference accommodations through repurposing of two Union Avenue houses.

In the longer term, we are optimistic about the potential for adding a campus conference center with flexible space that can be used for both university purposes and external conferences, programs, performances, and events. We recently conducted a feasibility study for such a center, and the results show promise. Some of the initial designs were shared during the Campus Development Plan (formerly known as the Campus Master Plan) Open House.

Additionally, we are exploring strategic partnerships with notable institutions and organizations like Seattle University and Tacoma Public Schools to provide revenue opportunities while also elevating our brand as well as complementing and enhancing our academic programs.

Following the success of the inaugural faculty-led Alumni Tour program to Greece last summer, we are currently planning another trip for early 2025, and continue to work with faculty with a goal to be able to offer up to four trips per year in the future.

We are also looking to generate revenue through more robust trademark licensing (including an Amazon store with university merchandise) and sponsorships.  Although it is not a formal component of our ASF strategy, our ongoing Greater, We Ascend campaign has already raised more than $51 million in gifts and pledges in support of its three pillars that advance priorities in the strategic plan.

Investments in Housing
As a residential liberal arts university, we continue to plan for our future housing needs on campus as part of our overall campus development plan. We have partnered with Scion Advisory Services for a comprehensive housing study, which will involve campus engagement, data analysis, program development, and financial analysis. This study will provide valuable insights including results from a housing market study and student survey results to inform future investments in our housing inventory.

More immediately, Regester Hall will undergo a refresh this summer similar to last summer’s improvements to Seward Hall and create single gender restrooms on each floor, more community gathering space, expanded laundry facilities, and improved kitchen facilities. These improvements are an important enhancement to our overall enrollment and retention strategies while also increasing housing revenue to support our educational mission.

Alignment Strategies
We continue to work toward our strategic enrollment goal of rebalancing enrollment to 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students. Through targeted initiatives and our new core curriculum, we are constructing a more agile, sustainable, and innovative approach to the liberal arts and our operations that also aligns the institution’s faculty and staff numbers with this expected enrollment goal.

Faculty Alignment
We seek to incrementally return to our historic 11:1 student:faculty ratio (our FY24 student:faculty ratio is 8.8:1), which has required us to make necessary yet difficult reductions in our faculty salaries and benefits. We met our FY24 goal and achieved a $2.4 million reduction in faculty salaries and benefits through retirements and the elimination of open positions. Our reduction goal for FY25 is $1.7 million, which we have achieved through resignations, retirements, strategic allocations of visiting and adjunct appointments, and the utilization of other resources.   

Staff Alignment
This necessary yet difficult work is similarly underway to align our staff resources with current and projected enrollment needs. For FY24, we achieved a $1.9 million reduction in staff salaries and benefits. For FY25, our goal is $500,000 in additional staff salary and benefit budget reductions. Thus far, we have identified nearly $425,000 in savings through vacant position eliminations.

To minimize impact, we are considering a combination of measures to address the gap between the nearly $425,000 in identified reductions and our goal of $500,000, including realigning roles and responsibilities to ensure optimal efficiency and strategically filling vacancies to ensure the smooth functioning of operations. Conducting layoffs will be a last resort if other strategies are unable to meet the required budget adjustment.

On both the faculty and staff sides, I know these changes are hard and often represent the loss of long-serving and valuable campus colleagues. The eliminated positions all have supported student success, academic excellence, and effective operations. I want to express my appreciation for your ongoing dedication and flexibility during this process and my gratitude for your patience as we work together to identify creative ways to achieve our institutional goals.

Program Economics & Curricular Efficiency
The ASF plan also focuses on optimizing our existing academic programs and implementing new programs that are consistent with our mission and student/employer demand. One such example is our successful Master of Education in Counseling program, which is being expanded to meet growing demand. Additionally, we will launch a distinctive Environmental Studies & Sciences program this fall, and we have hired a new Professor of Interdisciplinary Data Analytics to support multiple academic programs and help catalyze our new data analytics minor, which is targeted for launch in fall 2025.  

With support and active engagement from the faculty, we also continue to assess and streamline existing programs. The School of Music will sunset the composition major while realigning course scheduling to increase efficiency, and the Asian Studies and Asian Languages & Cultures programs are consolidating.

The Office of the Provost, in collaboration with the Faculty Senate, has initiated a review of our course release policy, which will increase transparency and equity in connection with faculty service and administrative assignments, and better support our instructional FTE for the upcoming academic year.

As you can tell, we have lots of important and significant work underway.  As I shared with you when I introduced A Sound Future in fall 2022, I am confident these strategies for recovery and renewal will ensure success for Puget Sound in our current moment, and a sound future for generations of Loggers to come. I remain optimistic about the future for our beloved university and have faith in the transformative work we are doing together. I am grateful for your continued commitment to the success of the university and its students. For more information, please visit the ASF webpage or email your questions and feedback to asoundfuture@pugetsound.edu.

Sincerely,

Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President