The PRESIDENT's porch
Thoughts from the Porch
As spring unfolds across our beautiful campus, I am filled with gratitude and optimism for 缅北禁地’s future. The dogwoods are in full bloom, and their delicate blossoms remind me of the constant renewal and growth that marks both this season and this moment in our institution’s history.
Following my April installation as Meredith’s ninth president, I shared my vision of making Meredith stronger 鈥� building upon the exceptional work happening across our campus and taking our achievements to even greater heights. Like the deep roots of the magnificent oaks that grace our campus, Meredith’s foundation is solid and true. Our task now is to nurture new growth while honoring the strength of our traditions.
As you’ll read in this issue of The President’s Porch, there is much to celebrate across every area of our college. From the approval of our new nursing program to Making It Count for Meredith with record-breaking giving during our tenth annual Giving Day, our community continues to demonstrate its commitment to excellence and growth. These achievements reflect the collaborative spirit that defines Meredith 鈥� the innovative work of our faculty and staff, the determination of our students, the passionate support of our alumnae and donors, and the thoughtful guidance of our trustees.
Spring at Meredith has always been a season of promise, but this year feels especially meaningful as we write this new chapter together. I invite you to read about the remarkable accomplishments happening throughout our campus community and join me in celebrating the vibrant life of our college.
As we move forward together, I am reminded that our greatest strength lies in our shared commitment to nurturing the potential within each member of our Meredith family. Like the spring itself, we are embracing renewal while remaining deeply rooted in our values and mission.
Academic Programs Celebrations
On January 16, 2025, the North Carolina Board of Nursing approved Meredith鈥檚 application to provide a Nursing major at Meredith. Meredith received approval to recruit a cohort of 25 students each year, and the College is already recruiting pre-nursing students to enter in Fall 2025. These students will go through a secondary admission process to be part of Meredith鈥檚 inaugural cohort in January 2026. The N.C. Board of Nursing approval follows that of SACSCOC, Meredith鈥檚 college accreditors.聽
Professor of Music Kent Lyman presented the 2024-25 Faculty Distinguished Lecture on February 27, 2025. In the lecture-recital, Lyman showed the power of music to connect people across time. He shared vignettes that explore the life and work of musicians, including Beethoven, Chopin, and Lili Boulanger. A member of Meredith鈥檚 music faculty since 2000, Lyman is a Steinway Artist and has traveled extensively as a performing artist throughout the United States, in South Korea, China, Brazil, and Italy. He has appeared with several orchestras and has collaborated with many leading musicians in the state of North Carolina and beyond.
In April, Dr. Anita Thomas was named Meredith鈥檚 provost. She is deeply committed to student success, faculty collaboration, and continuous improvement initiatives. Thomas鈥檚 leadership experience in higher education includes four years as executive vice president and provost at St. Catherine University and one year as president of North Central College. She holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology and an M.A. in community counseling from Loyola University Chicago, and a B.S. in education and social policy from Northwestern University.
Meredith supports students who apply for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. Program participants receive grants to conduct research, teach English, or pursue graduate study abroad. Last year, two Meredith students applied for grants, and one received an English Teaching Award for Spain. This year, two Meredith applicants have been approved as semi-finalists. Associate Professor of Spanish Vilma Concha-Chiaraviglio serves as Meredith鈥檚 Fulbright advisor and has been exceptionally successful in promoting participation in the program since taking over as advisor in 2019. She has worked with 11 student applicants, four of whom have received awards. She has also coordinated visits from two Fulbright Visiting Scholars this academic year. A scholar from Nepal visited in October, participating in science and international studies classes and meeting with Meredith faculty. Another scholar from Argentina visited in April to participate in science and world languages classes.
Business and Finance Celebrations
In partnership with Meredith, Aramark has invested in the renovation and refreshing of the BeeHive and Belk Dining Hall. The most recent upgrade was to Belk Dining Hall, which now has new equipment, new LVT flooring, digital menu screens at each station, and wrapping of the cabinets. This renovation was the first step in investing in Belk Dining Hall, with additional renovations being done over spring break and with plans in place for more during the summer of 2025.
Meredith鈥檚 Office of Human Resources hosted the annual Faculty/Staff Awards & Recognition Celebration in April. This event includes longevity awards, recognition of retirees, and presentation of ten awards for employee excellence. The HR team, led by Associate Vice President for Human Resources Pamela Davis Galloway, has also continued coordinating employee enrichment events, including an Employee Talent Show and a 缅北禁地 employee event at an NC Courage soccer game.
After many months of work, the College鈥檚 new Intranet, MyMeredith 2.0, officially launched in January 2025. MyMeredith serves as a central hub for sharing resources, updates, and information with the 缅北禁地 community. The design and implementation of the new MyMeredith was the work of the Intranet Implementation Team, led by Instructional Design and Academic Technology (IDAT) Services. The new intranet offers a much improved user experience.
Enrollment Celebrations
Incoming Meredith students will take part in a new program called 鈥�Ready. Set. Go Strong,鈥� which is designed to help onboard students at the start of their Meredith experience. The new online 鈥淩eady. Set. Go Strong.鈥� replaces the previous Start Strong on-campus pre-orientation program. This revamp effort is led by Admissions and a committee of representatives from across campus. Their work is bringing together all elements of onboarding a student from the point of acceptance through arrival on campus. Onboarding also includes the use of ZeeMee, an app to help admitted students connect, and CampusESP, a platform for the parents of our prospective students.
In March, the Enrollment team added two new staff members. John Saparilas is serving as director of graduate enrollment, and Shawna Lynch-Watkins is senior associate director of graduate admissions & lifelong learning. Their focus is on enrolling adult students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Saparilas will oversee recruitment efforts across Meredith鈥檚 graduate and post-baccalaureate certificate programs. He brings over 20 years of experience in admissions and enrollment management to his new role at Meredith. With a strong background in planning and program coordination, Lynch-Watkins will develop a recruitment plan that supports the College鈥檚 enrollment goals for adult student populations and will work closely with campus partners to facilitate course enrollment for adult students.
This spring, Admissions wanted to bring more attention and celebration to the Full-Ride Scholarship for the incoming class by doing these presentations, 鈥淧ublisher鈥檚 Clearing House鈥� style, in person for local students and virtually for international students. Members of the admissions team, faculty, alumnae, parents, and school officials all helped present to our scholarship recipients. These scholarships are fully funded through an endowment created by a group of generous alumnae. Admissions worked with Marketing to create oversized checks for the presentations and social media content featuring these incoming scholars. These presentations were featured on Meredith鈥檚 social media. The first presentation generated 31,130 views and 616 interactions on Facebook, 20,725 views and 1,314 interactions on Instagram, 1,658 views on TikTok, and 587 views on YouTube shorts. Each of the subsequent posts of Full-Ride scholarship presentations also generated strong engagement.
College Programs Celebrations
The Board of Trustees met during its annual spring meeting with student athletes and coaches while touring athletics facilities on campus. Trustees enjoyed time to talk directly with the student-athletes, learning about their programs and their successes on the fields, courts, and courses. Coaches talked with Trustees about recruiting, both of students and of athletics staff.
The Summer Reading Program (SRP) for 2025-26 is Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith, a memoir by the former Poet Laureate of the United States. The SRP Committee is jointly chaired by Chrissie Bumgardner, Co-Director of First Year Experience, and Ashley Hogan, Associate Professor of Practice in the Department of English.
Chaplain Stacy Pardue traveled with ten students to Washington, D.C., during spring break to meet with congressional officials and tour nonprofits addressing issues of food insecurity, including World Central Kitchen.
College Programs personnel joined with other staff, faculty, and students to plan and staff the community-based inaugural events celebrating the installation of Meredith’s ninth president, Dr. Aimee Sapp.
Marketing and Communications Celebrations
Marketing and Institutional Advancement worked together to raise $1,582,557 from 2,522 donors in 24 hours during the College鈥檚 tenth annual Make It Count for Meredith Giving Day. Marketing鈥檚 contributions included designing ads and an awareness postcard, creating graphics and videos, filming Facebook Lives, promoting giving challenges, and creating content and managing social media posts across Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for 24 hours. Social media analytics showed there were 249,212 views with over 5,000 interactions. Published content included 36 videos, 30 photos, 26 stories, and five Facebook lives. The top posts for the day were at 7:05 p.m. when the Giving Day goal was achieved, photos of the Board of Trustees, and faculty/staff photos.
The Meredith Events team has supported several internal events such as the inauguration, Celebrating Student Achievement Day, and admissions events. Recent external events supported include the North Carolina Music Educators Association (NCMEA) High School Choral Festival, which brought 2,569 high school students to the campus to perform on campus, and Congresswoman Deborah K. Ross’s second annual State of Women in Wake County meeting and panel. The team continues to book weddings for 2025 and 2026.
Director of Public Relations Melyssa Allen has coordinated significant recent media coverage for Meredith鈥檚 academic programs. Meredith鈥檚 new nursing program was featured in The Triangle Business Journal on March 11 and in a story on WRAL.com on March 15. Both stories, which featured interviews with Program Director Michelle Hartman, emphasized that Meredith鈥檚 program will help address the nursing shortage in North Carolina. Meredith鈥檚 Health, Exercise, and Sport Sciences program was also recently featured in Private University Products and News, a trade publication about higher education facilities. HESS faculty member Heather Sanderson was interviewed for this cover feature about how Meredith鈥檚 CHESS Building and the Lowery Fitness Center support student learning. The Meredith Poll has also recently made headlines in outlets such as The Guardian, Newsweek, The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer, WRAL, WTVD, and WUNC radio鈥檚 Due South 辫辞诲肠补蝉迟.听
Institutional Advancement Celebrations
Our Institutional Advancement team has raised $11.1 million in major gifts ($25,000 or more) and in documented planned or estate gifts so far this fiscal year (as of February 28, 2025). Our major gift officers have made 637 personal visits in the first eight months of this fiscal year and presented 113 new proposals to donors. Ten new endowments have also been established.
The Office of Alumnae Relations continued to host welcome events for President Sapp, visiting the following cities: Greensboro, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla., and Richmond, Va. Senior Welcome Events across the state have started, and a total of 15 are scheduled for this semester. For the year, ten events for current students and members of the 1891 Club are scheduled. On Giving Day, the Office of Alumnae Relations hosted the campus birthday celebration and 10 regional giving day celebrations.聽
缅北禁地 raised $1,582,557 in 24 hours during the College鈥檚 10th annual Make It Count for Meredith Giving Day, held on February 25, 2025. The fundraising event exceeded its $1.2 million fundraising goal by more than $300,000, and a total of 2,522 donors contributed to the campaign. There were 12 Meredith-wide challenges totaling $400,000 and 13 class-specific challenges totaling $116,000 to increase class participation rates. This year we increased communication about Meredith鈥檚 Greatest Needs, and an estimated 190 more donors gave to that fund compared to last year.
The Offices of Alumnae Relations and Advancement Services were instrumental in planning the Inauguration celebration for President Sapp. In addition to campus events, they worked with local businesses and vendors to create a Two Roosters ice cream flavor and Larry鈥檚 Coffee specialty blend to commemorate the occasion. Alumnae Relations also worked with Marketing to oversee the design of giveaways, coffee tumblers, t-shirts, a 鈥淔lat Aimee鈥� for a social media campaign, buttons, and stickers.
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