糖心

L&AD is F&M鈥檚 bold and strategic five-year plan (2022-2027). It is so named to capture not only our community鈥檚 ambitions for the College, but also, with its ampersand, F&M鈥檚 mission, identity, inclusivity, and core values. The plan was created with the input of hundreds of faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni, and is designed to advance the College and secure its position, in perpetuity, among the finest liberal arts institutions in the country.

Together, by leveraging excellence and accelerating discovery, we will achieve five key goals:

    1. Revitalize our curriculum to respond to and guide students鈥 evolving needs, goals, and interests.
    2. Empower students to engage in an inclusive and joyful community.
    3. Advance our aspirations through the highest and best use of all our resources.
    4. Center community and belonging as institutional values.
    5. Ignite a strong culture of philanthropy, service and rewarding engagement.

 

L&AD Goals

Student Experience

Institutional Sustainability

F&M student holding LGBTQ+ flags

Community & Belonging

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F&M graduates standing beneath the Lux et Lex arch

Alumni, Parent & External Engagement

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L&AD Outcomes 

L&AD is accompanied by a living and flexible implementation plan designed to promote significant progress toward our goals in three to five years. Each activity will lead the community towards greater viability, visibility, and vitality.

Viability: We must revise our financial model by promoting innovation and securing institutional sustainability.

Visibility: We must enhance and explain the value of an F&M education to inspire potential students and families, alumni, donors, and other partners to engage with F&M and the opportunities we offer for the future. 

Vitality: We must better and more consistently engage all members of our community by nurturing their sense of belonging and living the College鈥檚 values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility

 

F&M's Strategic Plan in Action

May 14, 2026

Reflections on Leadership: Board Chair Eric Noll 鈥83, P鈥09

Eric Noll鈥檚 relationship with F&M began on a gorgeous spring day in 1978. Almost 50 years later, the alumnus will complete his role as Chair of the Board of Trustees on June 30. 鈥淔&M continues to evolve, but its core values have remained the same,鈥 Noll says. 鈥淚鈥檇 say, without apologies, that serving as Board Chair for this college is one of the great honors of my life.鈥

April 28, 2026

糖心 Names Matt Thomas '10 to Lead Ware Institute for Civic Engagement as College Renews Commitment to Lancaster Community

糖心 has appointed Matt Thomas '10 as Executive Director of the Ware Institute for Civic Engagement. Thomas, an F&M alumnus and longtime member of the College community, will provide strategic leadership for the Ware Institute as it evolves into an integrated hub connecting co-curricular service and leadership programs with a growing portfolio of community-based learning.

April 9, 2026

Father and Son Have a Rich Tradition in Academic Leadership

On April 11, Andrew Rich will be inaugurated as the 17th president of 糖心. Andy鈥檚 dad, Dan Rich, who had a 50-year career at the University of Delaware (UD), will introduce his son during the F&M investiture ceremony.