Board of Trustees Update, Oct. 3, 2025

College Community:

The Harvey Mudd College Board of Trustees held its September meeting on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 26–27. Many trustees also arrived a day early, joining the campus community on Thursday, Sept. 25, to celebrate the College’s 70th Anniversary Symposium and to recognize the accomplishments of our students at the Summer Research and Scholarship Poster Celebration. During our visit, trustees enjoyed engaging with students, faculty and staff and hearing directly about their work and experiences. We concluded our visit to campus with a celebration of life for our friend and devoted board member Michael Blasgen ’63, whose wise council we will deeply miss in our meetings.

On Friday morning, the board welcomed Thyra Briggs, vice president of admission and financial aid, to lead a conversation with trustees on the work of the College’s Task Force on College Affordability. President Harriet B. Nembhard created the task force in January 2024 to make recommendations that will support the College’s strategic plan goal to ensure that access to a quality HMC education is available to all students, regardless of their financial circumstances.

On behalf of the trustees, we thank the members of the task force for their important work on advancing equitable access and affordability at Harvey Mudd College. We look forward to continuing the conversation at the annual trustee retreat in November and at our January 2026 meeting.

Karl Haushalter, vice president for academic affairs and R. Michael Shanahan Dean of the Faculty, shared an update from the Innovation Accelerator Laboratories with the trustees. The teams reported on progress in advancing innovative approaches across disciplines and highlighted upcoming initiatives. We are excited to continue exploring these ideas together at the trustee retreat, where we will engage more deeply with their work and hear pitches for the Innovation Accelerator Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence.

Saturday’s plenary session featured an update from President Nembhard on STEM for a Better World: Harvey Mudd College’s Next Horizon. She highlighted how Harvey Mudd can build on its history of transformative innovations to define its next frontier. Confronting global challenges like climate change, health crises and artificial intelligence, the College’s blend of STEM rigor and humanistic values equips graduates to lead with creativity, mastery and ethical courage. The Innovation Accelerator was spotlighted as a launchpad for advancing key elements of this work.  

The plenary also underscored the importance of investing in people, places and partnerships to realize the vision. Investments in academic and research spaces, along with campus infrastructure, were framed as critical foundations for discovery and collaboration. Partnerships within The Claremont Colleges, with industry, and across global communities were cited as critical to scaling impact and extending Harvey Mudd’s influence beyond campus. 

The Advancement Committee and the board heard an update on the pre-leadership phase of campaign planning, designed to position the College for a productive Saddle Rock trustee retreat and to build momentum for the comprehensive campaign. Vice President for Advancement Jennifer Eccles reported on how Advancement is optimizing infrastructure, strengthening systems and setting the pace of work necessary for campaign success. These efforts demonstrate how Harvey Mudd is laying the groundwork for a new era of philanthropy in support of the College’s ambitious goals.

In addition to these important conversations, the Board also made some key decisions and received important updates during our meetings, including:

Campus Improvements

• The Physical Plant and Campus Planning Committee (PPCPC) received updates on sustainability efforts as well as plans to improve indoor air quality and explore retrofit options for older buildings. The Committee was briefed on progress with the Solar PV Phase 2 project to increase the College’s solar capacity to nearly 30% of annual usage.
• The PPCPC received its annual update on emergency preparedness and safety, including the College’s new shared leadership structure that aims to strengthen coordination across Human Resources, Facilities and Maintenance, and the Safety Committee. Key topics included lessons learned from the spring 2025 Claremont McKenna College swatting incident, ongoing emergency preparedness skills, enhancements to safety policies and reporting, and recent incident responses. 
• Joseph Vaughan, vice president for computing and information services and chief information officer, shared with members of the PPCPC an update on several Information technology initiatives, including completion of audio visual system upgrades in the R. Michael Shanahan Center for Teaching and Learning, ongoing challenges with Cisco’s new licensing model and a pilot of “networking as a service” to improve user experience and cost predictability. The report also emphasized developments in cybersecurity, expansion of high-performance computing resources through new NSF-funded clusters and planning for anticipated infrastructure needs. The PPCPC was also provided with an update on the campus artificial intelligence efforts and initiatives. 
• The Board saw and recognized the tremendous effort behind recent campus enhancements. From revitalized outdoor spaces and sustainable landscaping to improved infrastructure and signage, the Facilities and Maintenance team’s work reflects Harvey Mudd’s deep commitment to sustainability, safety and community wellbeing. These upgrades elevate the daily experience for our on-campus community and advances strategic goals that ensure we remain a thriving, inclusive and forward-looking institution.

Board Actions

• The board voted to approve the replacement of the elevator in the Norman F. Sprague Center, targeted for summer 2026.
• Upon a recommendation from the PPCPC, the board voted to extend the term of the Green Fund by one additional year to provide the administration time to develop a comprehensive list of potential Green Fund projects that would support the case for extending the Green Fund’s term beyond the one-year horizon. The Green Fund was established in 2015 to support campus sustainability initiatives that deliver both measurable environmental benefits and adequate financial returns.

On behalf of the trustees, I extend my deepest gratitude to every member of our staff and faculty for your continued commitment to our students’ success. In a time when higher education faces unprecedented challenges, your commitment continues to be a source of inspiration. The work we do together in support of our students is more critical than ever. As we look ahead, we are excited to deepen our collaboration and continue advancing our shared vision: STEM for a Better World.

Sincerely,

Jim Bean ’77
Chair, HMC Board of Trustees