Tradition Meets Innovation
by President John E. Jones III '77, P'11
All Dickinsonians have a favorite season. Mine happens to be the fall, when our campus transforms into palettes of color as leaves change and the air grows crisper. The classic beauty of our college in fall reminds us of some of our most treasured and lasting traditions. In this issue you’ll read about many of them, including the story of how our mermaid came to be, as well as students traversing the old stone steps and through the massive doorway into and out of Old West for their Convocation and Commencement ceremonies.
Although it is hard to imagine Dickinson without these and other traditions, it is important to note that, from the time of our chartering in 1783, it has been central to the mission of this college not just to celebrate our revolutionary past but to boldly embrace and chart our revolutionary future. This is in our DNA, and it is why Dickinson continues to provide its superb, world-class educational experience to our students. It is also critical given the challenges facing higher education today. You must innovate or risk failure.
The Burgess Institute for the Global Economy, which is now just over a year old, continues to offer cutting-edge opportunities that provide our students with advantages that will prepare them for whatever career paths they elect to follow. We have big plans for its future, as opportunities to expand the institute abound.
For example, Dickinson students now have access to Bloomberg Terminals—industry-leading tools that provide real-time global financial data. This advancement reflects our continued commitment to preparing students to think critically, act creatively and lead with purpose in an increasingly data-driven world. By integrating this technology into our campus spaces, we offer students direct experience with the same platforms used by top professionals in finance, policy and research, further strengthening the connection between academic inquiry and real-world application. Relatedly and as you’ll read about in these pages, we are placing our students into summer internships in increasingly high numbers. These are critical to student success and provide invaluable real-world experiential learning.
As you’ll also see in this issue, Beth and I recently had the privilege of traveling to Bologna, Italy, for the weeklong celebration of the 60th anniversary of our program there. We joined over 200 alumni and friends of the program, and it was terrific listening to their inspiring stories of how their time abroad changed their lives. But of equal note was that these alums are tremendously excited about Dickinson’s future. They like what they are seeing and fully endorse our bold strategy to continue to move Dickinson forward. As I said, the desire for revolutionary change is indeed in our DNA.
As I move through the fifth year in a job I love, I am even more excited about our future than when I started. Be assured that we’ll continue to innovate boldly. Watch this space and our other communications for more exciting developments ahead. It is the Dickinson way, and I am ever grateful for your support and good wishes.
Read more from the fall 2025 issue of Dickinson Magazine.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published August 29, 2025
Published December 1, 2025