Dear Randolph-Macon Community, 

Since my first days at Randolph-Macon, I have been inspired by the clarity and enduring power of our mission: to develop the mind and character of each student. That mission is our foundation. It is the promise we make to students and families, and it is the work that has animated this College for generations. 

A mission, though, is not the same thing as a vision. And neither is it the same as a strategic plan. 

Our mission communicates our core purpose and the reason we exist. A vision helps us imagine what we are called to become and aspire to achieve together long-term. A strategic plan gives us the shared priorities, choices, and actions that will help us get there. 

This is the work now underway at Randolph-Macon. 

In my inaugural address this spring, I shared an emerging vision for RMC: a liberal arts institution on the rise, committed to excellence and shaping citizens for a world we do not yet know. I asked us to imagine a college that remains deeply personal, distinctively rigorous, and boldly future ready; a place where students are known, challenged, supported, and launched into lives of purpose and consequence. That vision is still taking shape, and it will be sharpened by the voices, insights, and aspirations of this community. 

To help guide this important work, we have engaged Bernuth & Williamson, a consulting partner with deep expertise in nonprofit strategic planning. I have worked with them before and know firsthand the clarity, discipline, and thoughtful process they bring to organizations at important moments of growth and opportunity. 

Over the past several months, their principals have spent significant time with our Cabinet, members of the Board of Trustees, and me, working to understand the strategic questions before us. This summer, we will expand that conversation through targeted surveys and focus groups designed to gather additional data, test emerging themes, and invite feedback on early ideas. Those conversations will help ensure that our planning is grounded not only in aspiration but also in the lived experience and wisdom of our community. 

In late August, our full faculty and staff body will come together for a President’s Convocation in which we begin thinking together about execution — how our goals become action, and how each part of the College helps move Randolph-Macon forward. 

No matter your relationship to the College, I hope you will participate if called upon through this process. I invite your candid feedback, and I encourage you to think deeply not just about your relationship with Randolph-Macon, but about our relationship to future graduates and the world.   

RMC is entering this strategic work from a position of strength. We are welcoming record-setting classes, investing in student success, launching new initiatives, and telling the RMC story with renewed confidence. But our greatest strength has always been the people who make up this community and who believe deeply in what this College can do. 

Together, we have the opportunity to define a vision worthy of our mission and a plan strong enough to help us realize it. 

I look forward to the work ahead. 

All my best, 

Dr. Michael E. Hill 
President 
Randolph-Macon College