Dear Colleagues,

I am grateful that we have reached Week 10 of the Spring Quarter. To help close out the quarter on a high note, the City of Santa Clara today honored our National Champions in Women's Soccer and tonight we will honor some of our most outstanding undergraduates with academic, leadership and service awards. Thanks to each of you for pressing on to serve our students and community, bringing your best selves for each other even after a very long, tiring year!

Enrollment Management update: In a year of uncertainty, we have very good news to share on undergraduate admissions. Our target enrollment for the first-year class is 1400 students. By midnight of the May 1 deadline, we received over 1,600 deposits and hit all our targets in terms of the mix of students and academic quality. I am particularly excited about the increase in our BIPOC students since 2019. As of May 2, Black students (including multi-ethnic) make up 6.3% of the class (up from 5.1% in 2019), Latinx students make up almost 18% of the class, and our First Generation students make up 11.4%. We always watch the summer melt carefully so we can manage our large waiting list, but thus far melt has returned to pre-pandemic levels. Transfer students have until June 15 to deposit. Thanks to Vice President for Enrollment Management Eva Blanco Masias and her entire team, who have led this effort with great success so far. 

I am also so pleased to acknowledge Eva being named one of 100 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal --along with Professor Laura Norris of the Law School. Congratulations, Eva and Laura!

We also have some good news on academic accomplishments: in addition to our first Truman scholar since 1985, we can boast 4 Fulbright Scholars and 3 Fulbright alternates who may receive awards later this year. Congratulations to our remarkable students and to the faculty and staff who mentored them along the way. 

On Friday, we will hold our spring meeting of the Board of Trustees. I look forward to hearing presentations from Dean Daniel Press, who will give an update on the College of Arts and Sciences, and Renee Baumgartner, Coach Jerry Smith and student athletes who will speak about athletics and the impact of our incredible Women’s Soccer National Championship. The trustees are also expected to discuss the Presidential search. You will hear more after the trustees’ meeting.   

Commencement: On June 12, we will host a virtual commencement for the Class of 2021, with an optional in-person opportunity on June 11 for seniors, each of whom will be able to bring two guests. Thanks to so many of you who are making it possible for our graduates and their guests to celebrate on campus, bringing great joy! We will celebrate the Class of 2020 during Grand Reunion Weekend in October. And congratulations to our graduates in the Law School and Jesuit School of Theology who celebrated their commencements a few weeks ago. 

Administrative Closure Days: Last week, I was pleased to recognize our staff for their tireless service to the University throughout this difficult year and announce administrative closure days on July 6-9 for our staff. Read the announcement here. 

I hope that the Memorial Day weekend provided some rest and joy for you. I also hope you took some time to remember all of those who died while serving our country and their families. We honor them for making the ultimate sacrifice for our democracy. 

Best wishes for these final weeks of the academic year.

Sincerely,

Lisa A. Kloppenberg
Acting President