Summer 2024 Update

Dear Harvey Mudd Community,

This summer has been an enriching and engaging time at Harvey Mudd College, and I am excited to share some highlights with you. 

Our department summer research open house events have been truly inspiring, showcasing the incredible work being done by our faculty and students this summer. Forty-four faculty members have been working with more than 160 students on research projects studying everything from the effects of mitochondrial protease overexpression to high rate recoil of viscoelastic materials to lead-free brass for drinking water applications. 

In addition to summer research, it was a joy to welcome participants in the 21st International Conference on Fibonacci Numbers. In my remarks to the attendees, I tried my hand at a bit of Fibonacci humor around my recent interest in stock trading. I’m still working on my trading plan—perhaps I’ll make a trade on day 1, not on day 2, then again on day 3, but not on day 5; then layer in the Fibonacci retracement; I’m sure I’ll strike it rich by the time I’m 144!  Attempts at humor aside, I do want to thank Harvey Mudd’s Smallwood Family Professor of Mathematics and President of the Fibonacci Association, Art Benjamin, for organizing this remarkable conference.

Earlier this summer, I also had the pleasure to travel to Singapore, where we visited the United World College of South East Asia (UWCSEA) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) and gained insights around initiatives that could enhance our focus on entrepreneurship, sustainability and environmental stewardship. We also met with alumni, students, parents and friends and held a reception to connect with fellow Mudders.

Back in Claremont, it’s been delightful to see our campus bustling with younger students participating in the Upward Bound, BEAM (Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics) Program, and Bright Prospects programs. Harvey Mudd’s Upward Bound program has been helping low income, potential first-generation college students in the East San Gabriel Valley community for more than 30 years. The BEAM Program creates pathways for underserved students to enter STEM fields and offers rigorous programs during the summer coupled with year-round activities that challenge and engage participants. Bright Prospects empowers high-achieving low-income students by offering college readiness programming, one-on-one coaching, application assistance, and ongoing mentorship. Having students from these programs on campus has brought wonderful energy and reminds us of the importance of the work we do in strong partnership with our broader community. 

We continue to make significant progress on developing our strategic plan. The plan was shared with AABoG in June and we held workshops with the Board of Trustees and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee in July. We expect to further refine the plan over the next several weeks and will announce a date for reviewing these changes with the broader Harvey Mudd community in early September.

One key aspect of our strategic planning efforts has been the work of our Task Force on Clinic and Corporate Partnerships, which has been meeting regularly this summer. We now have a new website dedicated to this initiative where you can learn more about the task force and its work, review announcements about the group’s work, and share your questions and thoughts. Task force members are finalizing a survey to send to faculty, staff, students and alumni later this month and plan to schedule a series of meetings starting mid-September to share preliminary results and solicit feedback. Later in the summer, we expect the task force to have additional information on the dates for these discussions, and they will share that via their website.

I’ll reach out in early August with some specific dates on my office hours, Coffee with the Cabinet, and other opportunities for us to strengthen community and exchange ideas on how we can work together to accomplish our shared goals over the coming year. Meanwhile, I want to close by again expressing my gratitude to this community. On the first of this month, I celebrated my one-year anniversary with the College. I am grateful for your kindness and generosity in welcoming me into Harvey Mudd over the past year. I am truly excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us. I’d like to reiterate something I said in my inauguration address: Together, let us embrace this journey with optimism, courage, determination, and a shared dedication to excellence. Together, let us continue propelling innovation as we push the frontiers of knowledge and inspire future generations of thinkers and leaders. Together, let’s soar to even greater heights!

Kind regards,

Harriet B. Nembhard

President, Harvey Mudd College