Fall Greetings

Dear Furman Colleagues,

As we prepare to begin a new school year, I hope that you’ve had a wonderful summer and an opportunity for rest, recreation, and reflection. With this in mind, I want to share a few updates as we head into another fall semester.

Class of 2023

First, we’re delighted to welcome the class of 2023, which currently includes 656 first-year students and 19 transfer students. This class is one of Furman’s most academically talented classes with an admit rate of 57% (the most selective in over a decade), a core GPA of 3.6 and an average SAT score of 1350 (middle 50%, 1260-1400; ACT middle 50%, 28-32).

I’m also excited to share that Furman has been selected to be a partner institution with The Davis United World College Scholars Program, the world’s largest, privately funded, international scholarship program, which provides grants to selected American colleges and universities to support United World College graduates who attend these schools. The Furman Advantage directly aligns with the Davis UWC Program’s purpose and mission of providing a richer and more internationalized experience for all on the Furman campus.

Reflecting on our Past

As I shared at the end of May, the Furman Board of Trustees unanimously approved a number of recommendations made by its Special Committee on Slavery and Justice, including creating a statue and day of celebration to honor the late Joseph Vaughn, the university’s first African-American Student. The statue will be placed in a prominent, comprehensive place of celebration and reflection on campus.

Among the other accepted recommendations, the board approved renaming James C. Furman Hall to Furman Hall to honor and celebrate the entire Furman family and all of the students, faculty, staff and alumni who have contributed to the university’s history.

Other approved recommendations include:

• Renaming the lakeside housing area the Clark Murphy Housing Complex in honor of Clark Murphy, an African-American who worked for decades as a groundskeeper at the Greenville Woman’s College, which later merged with Furman University.
• Naming the walkway area leading up to the Bell Tower the Abraham Sims Plaza in recognition of Abraham Sims and other enslaved persons who built and worked on Furman’s various campuses prior to the university moving to its current location.
• Honoring Lillian Brock-Flemming and Sarah Reese, Furman’s first female African-American students, in a comprehensive place of celebration and reflection on campus, and exploring naming programs related to their fields of study and connections to Furman and the Greenville community.

Several working groups have been formed to develop plans for implementing the recommendations, which are part of the original work by the Task Force on Slavery and Justice, a group of students, faculty, staff and alumni who produced the “Seeking Abraham” report in 2018. We will provide updates throughout the year on this important work. For more information, please visit the Task Force on Slavery and Justice website.

Giving

The generous contributions of alumni, families and friends, as wells as faculty, staff and students, provide a critical source of support to help the university fulfill its promise of offering The Furman Advantage to every student.

This last fiscal year, more than 8,700 members of the Furman family contributed more than $32.6 million, helping the university provide a premier educational experience. Private support, at every level, helps elevate the Furman experience, and so many of you have helped provide the tools, resources and connections that are preparing students for positive impact on their professions and communities.

A true testament to the power of the Furman family was our fifth annual Dins Day, this past spring. Our alumni, parents, students, faculty and students united to raise a record $2.6 million with nearly 2,700 gifts during the 24-hour celebration of Paladin pride and philanthropy.

We were thrilled, too, to see our overall participation rates continue to rise, with more than 22.5 percent of alumni giving back, and a record 52 percent of faculty and staff over the past year. I extend my deepest gratitude to those who have answered the call to invest in our students.

Other highlights this past spring include:

• Welcoming Allison Foy ’05 as the new Executive Director of Alumni and Parent Engagement.
• Rolling out the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement’s new website, featuring the launch of 19 FAN Clubs across the country.
• And 59 percent of our youngest alumni contributing their first Furman gift.

Gallup Partnership

As we reflect on our calling and look to the future, we will continue to do so with a laser focus on students and the student experience. Such focus works, research shows. In the national Furman-Gallup study launched nearly two years ago, Furman alumni across generations reported having had higher-than-national-average levels of the essential emotional and engaged learning experiences that make up Gallup’s “Big Six” indicators for well-lived lives.

Moreover, Furman alumni scored at least 14 points higher than the national average in each of the five indicators of well-being. On campus, our faculty and staff placed in the top 5% of the most engaged employees in higher education and the top 25% across all industries – both off the charts, according to Gallup. Why is this important? Because we know the number-one driver of student engagement is faculty and staff engagement.

The research is also showing us areas where we can improve – and we’re on it. We’re increasing our efforts to build affinity and to prove the value of a Furman degree. We’re also building an ecosystem of career support for students, with such discussions starting when students arrive at Furman and continuing through their four-year pathways.

Accolades

Furman continues to gain national attention for its efforts. The university was once again included in The Princeton Review’s college guide, “The Best 385 Colleges.” Among the featured lists in the guide, Furman ranked No. 3 for “Most Politically Active Students” and No. 12 in the category of “Most Accessible Professors.” Furman is regularly included in other Princeton Review guide lists each year, including “Best Value Colleges,” “Top Green Colleges” and “Best Schools for Making an Impact.”

In Forbes’ “25 Top Colleges and Universities in the South 2019, Ranked by Academics and Outcomes,” Furman ranked No. 21. The ranking noted Furman’s “growing national reputation” and praised the university for fostering “innovation on campus.”

The new U.S. News & World Report rankings come out Sept. 9. You may recall that last fall Furman moved up two spots to No. 51 in the national liberal arts colleges category and was once again listed among the nation’s “most innovative schools” and as a “top college pick” among high school guidance counselors. In addition, the magazine ranked Furman No. 39 for “best undergraduate teaching.”

Economic Impact Report

Furman’s annual economic impact on Greenville County and the surrounding Upstate counties is more than $297 million, according to a study by the university’s Department of Economics released this summer. The study, which found that Furman supports more than 2,200 jobs in Greenville and surrounding counties, was conducted by Associate Professor of Economics Jason Jones and Dyson Von Robinson, who graduated this spring with a degree in economics.

It is important that Furman and the Upstate community have a beneficial and prosperous relationship, so it’s gratifying to see that we are contributing significantly to the economic well-being of the area. Greenville is home, and Furman is proud to be an integral part of the community.

New Administrators

As announced earlier this summer, Ken Peterson has been named Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. As the university’s chief academic officer, Dr. Peterson is responsible for the faculty and related administrative departments supporting all undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programs. Ken, who has been a key leader in developing and driving The Furman Advantage while serving previously as the Dean of Faculty, brings to his new position great passion, extensive knowledge and a deep understanding and appreciation for the challenges and opportunities facing our university. Suzy Summers, the James C. Self Professor of Business Administration, was appointed Interim Dean of Faculty.

Also this summer, we welcomed Jason Donnelly as our new Athletics Director. Jason previously served as the senior associate athletics director and executive director of athletics development at Villanova University, where he was a highly successful administrator and fundraiser. We look forward to the vision and energy he is already bringing to the university.

Please see the Furman news site for more updates and stories on the accomplishments of our students, faculty, staff and alumni, all of whom are integral to the success of the university.

Thank you for your continued support, hard work and counsel as we strive to realize our vision and best serve our students. Best wishes for a great year.

Warmly,

Elizabeth Davis
President