Photo by Samuel Jackson for The Lafayette

College President Nicole Hurd began her tenure at Lafayette College in 2021.

Lafayette College’s Board of Trustees unanimously declared full confidence in college President Nicole Hurd on Jan. 31, two days after the faculty passed a no-confidence motion against her. Hours later, Hurd released her first public statement on the no-confidence vote.

“Our faith in President Hurd and her dedication, energy, and abilities to lead Lafayette College is unwavering,” reads a statement from the board sent in a community-wide email. “She is, in our estimation, best positioned to lead this College in this most extraordinary time.”

The email, signed by Board of Trustees Chairman Bob Sell ‘84, also contained the board’s resolution of support. Sell declined to comment.

Julie Wollman, a professor of practice for the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, said that while it is common for boards to respond to no-confidence motions against presidents with an expression of confidence, a motion or resolution is less common than just a statement of confidence.

“I am humbled by the statement of support by our Board of Trustees,” Hurd wrote in her own statement, also sent in a community-wide email. She went on to highlight the support she said she had received from various college constituencies.

Hurd also wrote that she disagreed with “many of the assertions” made in the faculty no-confidence motion but did not elaborate on or respond to any specific claims. The majority of her statement was dedicated to praising the Lafayette community and expressing her “optimism” for the future.

Hurd did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The two messages follow the Jan. 28 faculty no-confidence vote, which passed 102-86 with six abstentions. The approved motion, originally proposed by 10 faculty signatories, claimed that Hurd has “harmed the institution of Lafayette College” by sidelining its academic mission and excluding faculty from decision-making.

The motion called on the 35-member Board of Trustees, the college’s ruling body, to “address this leadership crisis.”

In the board’s statement, Sell acknowledged that the faculty spoke “through the College’s system of shared governance.”

“We commit ourselves to work with President Hurd to resolve the impasse and maintain transparency,” he wrote.

Hurd echoed this sentiment in her own statement.

“Despite our disagreements, we share the common bond of caring for Lafayette,” Hurd wrote of the faculty. “I am encouraged that we are formally initiating constructive conversations between faculty, administration, and Trustees.”

Hurd did not provide details on the execution of the “constructive conversations” in her statement. Several faculty members said they had not received further information on this dialogue.

Anthropology & Sociology department head Caroline Lee, one of the motion’s original signatories, wrote in an email that the faculty had exercised its “solemn responsibility to protect the best interests of the college and its students.”

Fellow signatories Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies professor Mary Armstrong and anthropology professor William Bissell said that they were not surprised by the board’s decision to express support for Hurd.

“I hope that, behind the scenes, there are going to be productive conversations and moves to see that we’re achieving all that we can be,” Bissell said.

Bissell said that he found it “striking” that the board’s letter of support in Hurd did not attempt to refute any of the claims of the no-confidence motion.

Mathematics professor Justin Corvino, who voted against the no-confidence motion, had a contrasting opinion on the letter, praising it for not trying to counter or be “combative” to the motion while highlighting the positives of the college and acknowledging the rights of the faculty.

“It shows that the board has been listening, but they’re making it loud and clear the path that they wanted to chart, and hope that everyone can work together to get there,” he said of the letter.

Policy studies chair Mark Crain also voted against the no-confidence motion, though he said that he agreed with some of the motion’s rationale. He expressed concern that the removal or undermining of Hurd would have a high monetary cost for the college and emphasized his confidence in the board.

“I think the faculty now appreciates that it’s going forward, and so let’s make the best of it,” Crain said of the college’s future.

When asked about next steps, Lee, Armstrong and Bissell reiterated that the faculty will continue to prioritize academic excellence and active citizenship of the college.

“I hope she can build confidence,” Bissell said of Hurd. “I hope she can regain our trust. But good rhetoric isn’t going to do it. We need concrete and practical sorts of actions.”

The board’s resolution of confidence in Hurd cites Lafayette’s healthy finances, record applications for the incoming class of 2029 and the college’s relationship with the city of Easton as evidence of Hurd’s effective leadership.

The resolution also praises the completion of the campus-wide strategic plan, a plan that the Board of Trustees unanimously approved days after it was narrowly rejected by the faculty.

The Hurd administration’s alleged “disenfranchisement” of the faculty during the strategic planning process was cited as the impetus for the no-confidence motion by Bissell.

This article was originally published on Jan. 31. It was updated on Feb. 7.