A Community of Care

Dear Campus Community,

Welcome, everyone, to a new academic year. To those members of our community who are returning and to those who are joining us, I am delighted to have you as part of our Furman family.

As we have proven time and again, and especially over the past 18 months, we are a community that cares for each other. You have shown great diligence in following the COVID-19 protocols that have kept us safe while preserving an on-campus experience. Although the overwhelming majority of our campus community is vaccinated, we still need to be vigilant and show each other grace as the pandemic continues to evolve and affect how we live and learn together.

Please take some time to review our protocols for the opening of the fall semester, if you haven’t already done so. We designed our plans with our high vaccination rates and the following in mind:

• Providing a robust, in-person student experience.
• Balancing individual choice with our collective responsibility to protect those who are immunocompromised and/or caring for family members who might be immunocompromised or unvaccinated.
• Creating a supportive environment that does not divide the vaccinated from the unvaccinated.

How we take care of our community matters. And we will need to rely on each other doing our part, again, to help ensure another safe and successful year.

Joseph Vaughn and Our Values

Our community has shined in many ways over the past year. One was through the realization of our new Vision, Mission and Values Statements, which were developed by a group of students, faculty, staff, alumni and trustees. The statements focus on who we are, where we want to go, and what defines us as a university community.

We also celebrated Joseph Vaughn ’68, Furman’s first Black undergraduate student, first on Joseph Vaughn Day, January 29, and again on April 16, when we dedicated a statue in Vaughn’s honor on a plaza bearing his name, in front of the Duke Library.

We see Joe Vaughn and all he stood for in our vision, mission, and values. He inspires us. And, for many in our community, his statue is a beacon for belonging, as it is the first major representation of a person of color on our campus.

As we look to the horizon, we are directed by our vision and guided by our values, which call “on us to​ meet the challenges and responsibilities of a complex, diverse, and rapidly changing world with courage, moderation, justice, wisdom, and humility.”

Furman Hall, Clark Murphy Housing Complex

We will open the academic year on Monday with Convocation, which will include the dedication of Furman Hall and the Clark Murphy Housing Complex, which we also will celebrate with a lunch on the Furman Mall for the campus community.

As part of Furman’s progress toward a more equitable and inclusive university community, what was once known as James C. Furman Hall is now Furman Hall. The new name celebrates the entire Furman family and all of the students, faculty, staff, and alumni who have contributed to the history and success of the university. The renaming follows one of several recommendations in the “Seeking Abraham” report from Furman’s Task Force on Slavery and Justice.

Another change to the campus landscape is the renaming of the lakeside housing complex in honor of Clark Murphy, a beloved groundskeeper, custodian, and handyman who worked for four decades at the Greenville Woman’s College, which merged with Furman in 1933. As a new plaque at the entrance to Judson Hall reads, “The renaming of this complex also honors the unsung men and women who have labored throughout the long history of this institution, and in doing so, have contributed meaningfully to the life of this community.”

Class of 2025

Finally, I’d like to give a special welcome to the newest members of our community, the Class of 2025, which currently includes 667 first-year students and 20 transfer students. The class, our first to be recruited almost entirely online, is among our most academically talented and most diverse with 24% students of color and 5% international students.

Please join me in welcoming our new class as well as the faculty and staff members who are joining our Furman family this year.

Thank you all for your continued care for one another as we work together to live our values and realize our vision. We’re all in this together.

Best wishes for a great year.

Warmly,

Elizabeth Davis

President