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Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,
As the spring semester begins and campus comes to life after a long winter break, I want to extend a warm welcome: to the new year, to the new semester, and to our second century!
I’m writing to you from Washington, DC, where I’m attending the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges & Universities. Being in conversation with leaders from institutions across the country is a powerful reminder that while each college and university has its own distinctive identity, we are united in the urgent work of sustaining and strengthening higher education and, through it, our democracy. These opportunities for collective engagement in service of this shared mission are an important part of my role, and I’m proud to represent Sarah Lawrence in these national conversations.
Just before I headed to DC, I recorded an episode of The Sarah Lawrence Podcast with Tim Kail, which is available now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. This episode kicks off a centennial series of the Podcast that will not only look back on our history but on the future we are shaping together.
Sarah Lawrence was founded in 1926 to meet critical needs of the moment, and to do so in ways that challenged conventional thinking about education. That same spirit of meeting the moment animates the College today. As we enter our second century, I find myself focused on a simple but powerful truth: that a Sarah Lawrence education is and must be both timely and timeless.
Sarah Lawrence values are timeless: close, relational teaching; a deeply humanistic approach to education; a commitment to multidisciplinary exploration; a recognition that creativity and the arts are central to understanding the world; and a profound belief in the efficacy of hands-on learning. These principles have guided the College for a century, and they remain at the heart of this education.
What is timely is the expression of those values at any given moment in our history. Today, our students engage their education in ways that reflect the realities of this moment, of the world they are entering. Our reach extends beyond the traditional bounds of a residential liberal arts college. And our programs, partnerships, and spaces are designed to respond to contemporary needs and challenges while staying true to who we are.
So as we enter 2026, we embark on a multi-year celebration of the centennial of our founding, the centennial of the arrival of our first students in 2028, and the centennial of our first commencement in 2029 with the theme SLC100: Timely. Timeless. This theme served as the point of departure for my conversation on the Podcast, and Tim and I covered a wide range of topics, touching on faculty excellence, our deep connections to New York City, Yonkers, and Westchester County, and our expansive community of learners, from the youngest students in our Early Childhood Center to alumni and lifelong learners in later chapters of life. We also spoke about the transformation of the Remy Theatre as a metaphor for the College at this moment; if you haven’t seen the beautiful New Year video featuring the Remy and children from our Early Childhood Center yet, take a look!
Reflecting on Sarah Lawrence’s history, present, and future, alongside the conversations I’m having in Washington right now, affirm for me just how deeply a Sarah Lawrence education matters. At a moment when higher education and democratic institutions alike are being tested, the values that define this College are essential. This education has long equipped learners to think critically, to ask hard questions, to engage across difference, and to not only imagine but to create a better world. And that is what we will continue to do. With great pride in our College’s history, I’ll leave you with this:
Our mission endures, and our second century begins with boundless possibility.
Yours,
Cristle Collins Judd
President
president@sarahlawrence.edu
Instagram: @slcprez