A Message from David F. Finney - The Seventh President of Champlain College

Vision. Innovation. Passion.

Your help is needed to infuse these core values with the momentum to make Champlain intentionally different-by design.

Champlain College continues to evolve into a most remarkable educational institution. We do this purposely and -in a characteristically Champlain way- courageously. With the steadfast support of alumni and friends near and far, the College is taking the educational world by storm.

With your help, over the next few years, we will complete a campus-wide master plan, adding initiatives we believe today's students will need to compete in tomorrow's careers. We'll increase our financial stability to weather demographic changes nationally, renovating campus facilities and adding buildings that will blend harmoniously within Burlington's historic Hill community. New resources will enable faculty to better reach, teach, and inspire students. Together, we continue to create niches for entrepreneurs, thinkers, learners, workers, single parents, and minorities -Vermonters- who aspire for more. More education. More opportunities. More from themselves and from their college.

Learning never ends. Nor does change. At Champlain, we must embrace a curriculum that adds substance and value to our communities. We must ask our faculty and students to "raise the bar." And we must, as a college, be there alongside, raising expectations for ourselves, as well.

It is my dream that this message will capture the imagination of those who know that Champlain will-and must-always be a leader in the race for a better and stronger tomorrow. By encouraging our faculty and students to constantly push at the edges of what is probable, they will discover and understand what is possible.

As we begin this initiative, which will drive Champlain quickly and boldly out in front of an increasingly similar pack, it is important for you to know that this college-your college-will maintain its core traditions, even as it intentionally reinvents how education happens. This will happen not just  here in Vermont where our roots and commitment remain strong and deeply embedded, but in new and exciting locations around the world. The world where our students must be equipped with the skills and courage to lead.

In the words of a longtime faculty member, "We didn't invent innovation; we are simply, and endlessly, perfecting it." The next round of innovation begins now. Please join me as we take Champlain College boldly toward new horizons.

- David F. Finney, President