Faculty & Staff Late Spring Update

On this page, you will find the June 4, 2026 communication from President Dr. Lisa Lambert.
Late Spring Newsletter
By Lisa Lambert / 4 June 2026
 
Hi everyone,
 
I hope everyone is enjoying the early June weather and the quieter time on campus after spring classes and before the start of Day Camp. Thanks to the work of many, we had a wonderful Commencement ceremony last month and a great send-off to the class of 2026!

Enrollment Update

Kudos to Brandy Gershon and everyone in Admissions, Marketing, Financial Aid, Advising, Housing, Athletics, Facilities, Academic Affairs, and everyone who helped with all aspects of the recruiting cycle. It truly takes the whole community to help with student recruitment. Under Brandy’s leadership, we are on target to welcome our second-largest undergraduate class in the fall!
 
As of the first week in June, we are up over 56% in undergraduate deposits compared to last year, exceeding the target we projected in February. On the graduate side, we are up 3% overall, which is on track with our goal, but down in deposits in a few programs in the College of Health Sciences. Many factors are affecting this, including concerns over federal student loans. We are working to help applicants with their questions and to keep an eye on trends that could impact the budget. The changing landscape of graduate education will need to be a part of our strategic planning process this fall.
 

Advancement

We are working with a search firm to recruit a new VP for Advancement, whom we hope to have in place by the start of the fall semester. The ad is in multiple places including here: https://www.boyden.com/brief/vice-president-for-advancement-chatham-university-62716635/.

While the search continues, I’m working with the team to schedule as many alumni, donor, and foundation visits as possible. 

Budget Update

The Business office is working on end-of-the-year numbers, and so far, it looks like we’ll hit our budget projections or, more likely, exceed them (in the positive direction). We’ll have more to report after next week’s Board meeting.
 
You may have seen or read a recent (May 22) article in Forbes Magazine that featured several colleges (including Chatham), describing them as “on the brink.” The data they used were from public documents and were mostly from the time when we uncovered our deficit. They also chose to focus on a single metric (UNAEP). This is based on a formula that includes endowment numbers but does not include operating budgets or enrollment. Unlike the impression given by the article headlines, we have NOT been borrowing money to meet expenses over the past three years.  In fact, since 2023:
  1. We have been reducing debt and not borrowing money.
  2. We are not doing supplemental endowment draws and are not “burning through” our endowment, which has remained stable.
  3. We have improved operational efficiency and addressed enrollment issues not included in the Forbes analysis.
One number cannot tell the story of any institution. The changes we have been making since 2023 have put us ahead of many other institutions in financial sustainability. Most importantly, we are making progress on many operational and enrollment goals. My current top priority now is fundraising, which is needed to re-engage our alumni and friends and to support our growth.

Summer Projects

Our Facilities crew continues to work miracles with a slim budget. The Dilworth and Eastside renovation projects are in full swing. Other projects include asphalt and Library parking repairs, replacement of the balconies at Hicks Annex, grounds improvements including the grass on the main quad, and concrete and plumbing repairs around campus.

Middles States Update

The Middle States Commission won’t be meeting until close to the end of the month. We’ll send an update as soon as we hear from them.
 

Athletics

Congratulations to our spring sport teams! Our men’s Baseball team made it to the PAC playoffs for the first time in their history, just barely missing the championship game and had 3 players named to the All-PAC 1st team. Women’s and Men’s Lacrosse both made it to the conference championship game, both for two years in a row, and 4 women and 4 men were named to the 1st Team All-PAC, and men’s Volleyball advanced to the conference championship game and had 2 players named to the All-PAC 1st team. 

Events and News

Copies of this, as well as past newsletters, are available on the “From the President” page on chatham.edu(so you don’t have to search through your emails!) I plan to do another update after the June Board meeting, then the newsletter will go on hiatus until August.
 
Please remember to read and submit your accomplishments and ideas for stories to The Pulse- we all want to hear about the great things you are doing! Here’s the link to submit your news: https://www.pulse.chatham.edu/contact. If you want to cc my office, our email is presidentsoffice@chatham.edu.
 
Thank you, and I hope you are enjoying the warm weather!
 
Lisa