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 Friday, two days after the faculty passed a no-confidence motion against her.

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

The board’s statement and resolution of support, which was sent in a community-wide email, was signed by Board of Trustees Chairman Bob Sell ‘84, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“I am humbled by the statement of support by our Board of Trustees,” Hurd wrote in a second community-wide email.

Hurd did not respond to a request for comment.

The board’s resolution follows Tuesday’s faculty no-confidence vote, which passed 102-86 with six abstentions. The motion, 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 “have spoken this week 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.

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

Hurd did not elaborate on the nature of the “constructive conversations.”

Anthropology and 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.”

“The board bears responsibility for choosing the president,” Lee continued. “We will continue to perform our duties with excellence and uphold the mission of the college.”

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 her 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 another of its original signatories, anthropology professor William Bissell.

The Board of Trustees’ resolution praises the hiring of 15 permanent faculty positions, six new-tenure positions and nine new lecturer roles.

“Nicole Farmer Hurd and her Administration have made significant progress in strengthening and improving Faculty consultation,” the resolution reads.

“Now that the faculty have spoken, I trust the Board will listen,” wrote International Affairs Department Chair Angelika von Wahl in an email before the board’s statement was issued. Von Wahl was one of 10 signatories of the no-confidence motion. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.