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Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
As we prepare to open the 2025-26 academic year with the arrival of new students tomorrow, I am delighted to extend a heartfelt welcome to each of you. This year holds particular meaning as we will begin our celebrations of Sarah Lawrence’s centennial in 2026: our seniors — the Class of 2026 — will graduate in the anniversary year of our founding, while our incoming first-year students — the Class of 2029 — will graduate in the centennial of our first commencement. Together, these milestones bridge the College’s past, present, and future, reminding us how each generation of students builds upon Sarah Lawrence’s enduring legacy and helps to shape its future.
We begin this new year at a time of considerable challenge — for our country, for the world, and for higher education. These challenges make ever more urgent the work of Sarah Lawrence, a college dedicated to critical thinking, deep humanity, and the pursuit of knowledge across disciplines.
In that spirit, we have chosen Building Bridges as the theme for this year’s Presidential Event Series. Continuing the work we began in last year’s exploration of Polarization, the series turns now toward reaching across perspectives, experiences, and ideologies to create spaces of dialogue, understanding, and shared purpose. Through conversations with thought leaders, this series will highlight the power of listening and empathy in building and strengthening connection and community.
We are pleased to welcome Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu to campus in the first week of classes to launch this series of important conversations. Educator, author, human rights advocate, and daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rev. Tutu has centered her life’s work around bringing different groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their shared humanity. Rev. Tutu will join me in conversation on Tuesday, September 2, at 7 p.m. This event will take place both on campus and virtually via Zoom, and I hope you will join in what promises to be a powerful start to the year.
Thank you for being part of this vibrant community, and for all you do for the College. I am excited to begin the 2025-26 academic year and look forward to the important work we will embark on together at a time when the education Sarah Lawrence offers is more vital than ever to understanding and engaging with a complex and changing world.
Yours,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez