Dear Member of the Franklin Pierce Community,

At the October of 2005 Annual Meeting of the Trustees, the Board directed the College’s management to undertake the necessary due diligence to consider a change in institutional status. Consideration of a transition to university status was motivated primarily by two factors: 1) recognition that the College has undergone substantial transformation as an academic institution over the past decade (with the addition of graduate programs, including two doctoral degrees; and, 2) the “identity and reputation advantage” that such a change would achieve, given the multiple constituencies (including global) to which the institution is obligated.

The due diligence process undertaken was comprised of nine major activities, including programmatic and financial analyses, studies of similarly-situated institutions which have undergone such change, and consultations with our accreditors. My recommendation to the Board at their June 8-9, 2006 meeting was to move forward with a change in status. As a result, the Board adopted the following resolution unanimously on June 9, 2006:

Be it resolved that the Board of Trustees of Franklin Pierce College hereby directs the institution’s management to undertake all necessary action to effectuate a change in name and status to that of a “university”. A transition period of one year shall commence in November of 2006 and shall conclude on November 12, 2007, which is the forty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the institution’s charter.

With the adoption of this resolution, much work remains. In the months preceding November of 2007, it is important that the community take, among other necessary steps, the following actions:

1. The administration of a comprehensive branding and positioning assessment (employing outside counsel), with special attention focused on prospective and incoming undergraduate and graduate students;

2. The institution must attend, in word and substance, to the concerns that the “College at Rindge” not lose its essence as a “close-knit community of teachers and learners committed to excellence in undergraduate education;” and

3. The Trustees will approve the ultimate name change of the University (at the Board’s October 2006 Annual Meeting). The President will bring a recommendation (and alternatives) to the Board after our “branding and positioning” counsel has had an opportunity to research this matter appropriately.

With our timelines for a transition fixed by the Board of Trustees, the final commencement exercises for Franklin Pierce College will take place in May of 2007 and all prospective students scheduled to enter the institution in September of 2007 will be informed that university status will be completed early in their first year of study.

This is a significant, if not defining and exciting, moment in the institution’s history. The move to university status says much about our ambitions and confidence in the future. I am certain that you join me in celebrating the Board’s decision and look forward to writing you again prior to the beginning of the academic year as we approach the implementation phase. In the interim, if you would like to comment on this undertaking, please forward your thoughts to Brian Stuart, Director of Communications, at stuartb@franklinpierce.edu .

With gratitude and all good wishes, I remain

Sincerely,

George J. Hagerty
President