L&AD is F&M’s bold and strategic five-year plan (2022-2027). It is so named to capture not only our community’s ambitions for the College, but also, with its ampersand, F&M’s mission, identity, inclusivity, and core values. The plan was created with the input of hundreds of faculty, staff, students, trustees, and alumni, and is designed to advance the College and secure its position, in perpetuity, among the finest liberal arts institutions in the country.

Together, by leveraging excellence and accelerating discovery, we will achieve five key goals:

    1. Revitalize our curriculum to respond to and guide students’ evolving needs, goals, and interests.
    2. Empower students to engage in an inclusive and joyful community.
    3. Advance our aspirations through the highest and best use of all our resources.
    4. Center community and belonging as institutional values.
    5. Ignite a strong culture of philanthropy, service and rewarding engagement.

 

L&AD Goals

Academics

Student Experience

Institutional Sustainability

F&M student holding LGBTQ+ flags

Community & Belonging

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F&M graduates standing beneath the Lux et Lex arch

Alumni, Parent & External Engagement

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L&AD Outcomes 

L&AD is accompanied by a living and flexible implementation plan designed to promote significant progress toward our goals in three to five years. Each activity will lead the community towards greater viability, visibility, and vitality.

Viability: We must revise our financial model by promoting innovation and securing institutional sustainability.

Visibility: We must enhance and explain the value of an F&M education to inspire potential students and families, alumni, donors, and other partners to engage with F&M and the opportunities we offer for the future. 

Vitality: We must better and more consistently engage all members of our community by nurturing their sense of belonging and living the College’s values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility

 

F&M's Strategic Plan in Action

November 3, 2025

F&M Announces Commonwealth Commitment To Open Doors for More Pennsylvania Students

F&M’s newly launched Commonwealth Commitment ensures that Pennsylvania residents with household incomes below $75,000 attend tuition-free. Those earning between $75,000 and $150,000 pay no more than in-state tuition at Penn State. Need-based aid supports 65% of all F&M students, including international students.

October 27, 2025

Wall Street Journal Recognizes Franklin & Marshall for Student Outcomes and Learning Opportunities

F&M was ranked among the best colleges in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal-College Pulse, which rates 584 eligible universities in the country on how well colleges set graduates up for financial success.

October 23, 2025

Alumni Gifts Endow Director Position for Klehr Center for Jewish Life

Franklin & Marshall College is pleased to announce that the directorship of the Klehr Center for Jewish Life has been endowed by a group of alumni, parents and friends in honor of Ralph S. Taber, who spent more than 34 years working to support student life at F&M.