May 20, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
I hope you had a good end to the semester. For those who were able to join us for Commencement, I trust you enjoyed it as much as I did. It was a wonderful celebration of our Class of 2026!
I’m writing today with a few updates and to invite you to an employee meeting on Tuesday, June 2, at 2:00 p.m.
First, an admissions update: There is significant strength in the incoming Class of 2030. In all, we currently stand at 560 deposits—including our first meaningful growth in domestic deposits in eight years. Although experience tells us that number will decline somewhat during the summer, our projections have us exceeding 500 enrolled students at the start of the academic year. This result is especially remarkable given the decline in international deposits here and across higher education.
The strength of the class reflects the collective work of our community—from new majors and programs, to the remarkable dedication of our faculty and staff in supporting our students, to investments in facilities, to the efforts of our talented Admissions team and so much more. A big thanks to each and every member of this community!
Increasing enrollment and revenue, while continuing to identify areas for efficiency and cost reduction, remains central to our long-term path forward. As we do so, we will need to continue to navigate demographic pressures, increased competition, and questions of value and cost. We are also working through the long-term implications of enrolling classes that are smaller than those graduating—a reality faced by many liberal arts colleges, but with a special impact here given historical enrollment patterns. As we have discussed together, responding to these realities requires us to continue aligning the size and structure of the institution with today’s environment, while also investing in our future.
These topics were an important part of the Board of Trustees meeting this past week. In February, we committed to providing additional updates in early June following the spring Board meeting. We will hold an employee meeting on Tuesday, June 2, at 2:00 p.m. in the CUB Ballroom. For various reasons, it will be in-person only, so please try to join us if at all possible.
We will have more to say about the budget passed by the Board when we meet in June, but, between now and then, compensation increases will be reflected in upcoming paychecks for eligible employees. Given that, I will share the news that the Board approved a 2% increase in next year’s compensation pool.
Thank you, as always, for your commitment to Gettysburg and for all you have done throughout this year.
Sincerely,
Bob Iuliano
President