Dear Parents,

Shortly after last year's Commencement, I received a letter from the proud father of a graduate. "When we met with the college administrators in the initial orientation weekend," he wrote, "we were presented with a promise by the College--it would provide our daughter with a quality and well-rounded education, and PC would provide an abundance of opportunities if she became an active member of the Friar community."

He continued, "Providence College lived up to its promise to us in numerous ways. In these four years, we have seen our daughter grow and mature as a person, a Christian, and a leader. She has taken from PC a wealth of knowledge, friendships, experiences, and wisdom. She has learned to take on challenges and opportunities with confidence and determination, while at the same time has gained a true appreciation of her ability to impact the lives of others."

These heartfelt words are a welcome affirmation of the value of a Providence College education and a sober reminder of our sacred responsibility to students and their parents. Nevertheless, there are other perceptions about the value of a college degree today at a time when many people equate higher education with career preparation, the national media write stories questioning why college costs are so high, and Congress is planning to require ever more stringent proofs of accountability and assessment. 

The Dean of Admissions at Reed College recently wrote a pointed commentary critical of colleges for not telling their story more clearly about the cost of higher education at their institutions. He wrote that "the liberal arts college classroom is more akin to an artisan's workshop or an artist's studio than to a factory floor or an assembly line." He continued, "If higher education must be forced to adopt the language of the business transaction, then perhaps the small liberal arts college must make the case . . . that consumers always pay higher prices for, and are more willing to make sacrifices to afford, handcrafted goods in comparison to mass-produced goods."

His commentary drove home the point that a liberal arts education is "the product of craftsmanship, the result of a slow, labor-intensive process that produces individually unique student learners whose lives have been transformed for the better by four years at the institution." At Providence College, we do not accept the premise that success in higher education is measured by exponential future earnings, but rather by a higher standard: graduates who seek a life-changing educational experience with the ability to continually learn, adapt, and flourish as they change employers and careers throughout their lifetime. 

Our mission--as a private, liberal arts college uniquely grounded in the Catholic and Dominican tradition--must be to create a vibrant academic, spiritual, and social environment that fosters lifelong intellectual curiosity, helps students recognize the providence of God at work in their lives, and provides exceptional opportunities for personal development and service to others.

In today's highly competitive "business" of higher education, keeping our promise has become an increasingly complex and costly challenge. The degree to which today's students and their parents are demanding enhanced campus infrastructure and amenities has created a virtual "arms race" among colleges to see who can have the newest, largest, or finest facilities and programs. Few colleges--even those of us with small endowments and modest fundraising--can dismiss the pressure to upgrade existing facilities and build new ones that will help attract and retain students.

Escalating campus needs and the expectations of students and parents have propelled Providence College's Master Space Plan forward for more than a decade. Over the last 12 years, Providence College has invested more than $165 million to build new facilities--including St. Dominic Chapel, Smith Center for the Arts, Suites Hall, and Concannon Fitness Center--and to significantly expand and enhance existing facilities, including Phillips Memorial Library, Raymond Dining Hall, and Hickey Hall Science Complex, while creating numerous smart/multimedia classrooms. The result has been a dramatically improved campus landscape that has enabled us to effectively compete with other colleges that interest our prospective students.

But facilities alone--however fine they are--do not guarantee students a transforming educational experience. Providing such an opportunity also depends upon the excellence and commitment of our faculty and the quality of the student life experience. Over the next three years, the College will invest in recruiting and hiring 15-20 new faculty from the top 50 graduate schools in the country to provide more inter-disciplinary instruction in smaller-size classrooms as we revise our Core Curriculum for the first time in more than 30 years. At the same time, the College will renovate its student union, Slavin Center, to allow for more diverse student programming and socialization. Residence halls also will be refurbished to provide more study and social space.

In future years, students may vaguely recall a classroom or dining hall. However, their fondest memories undoubtedly will center around a professor who took the time to know them and exerted a lasting influence on them as a respected scholar, and the campus culture that provided the environment to establish lifelong friendships with classmates.

The "product of craftsmanship" at Providence College also includes our commitment to maintaining small classes, to ensure a rigorous Core Curriculum, and to offer abundant opportunities for faculty and students to collaborate on research and publishing activities that enrich the total educational experience.

Nevertheless, Providence College continues to be heavily tuition-dependent. Over 85% of the College's total revenue is derived from student tuition, fees, and room and board, and is invested in first-rate facilities and faculty, effective academic and student life programs, and College-funded financial aid. The College's Board of Trustees recently approved a tuition increase of 6.5% for the 2008-09 academic year, bringing tuition to $30,800. Room and board will increase 4.6% to 5.9% depending on the type of residence hall and meal plan chosen.

I realize that this tuition increase comes at a time when we are surrounded by news of financial uncertainty. Even as I list the scope of Providence's investment on behalf of our students, I likewise encourage you to recognize that by enabling your son or daughter to attend PC, you also are making a lasting investment in his or her life--one that undoubtedly will impact your child's immediate future and generations yet to come.

With your continued support of Providence College, I remain confident in our ability to stay focused on our mission, wisely steward our resources, and ensure that someday you will be able to echo the father cited above who affirmed, "We could not have asked for a more rewarding and wonderful college experience, and we're sure that as our daughter pursues her dream … she will always be a proud member of the Friar family."

Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P.