Yes, the location will be the same – the beautiful lakeside setting – and so will the buildings in all their warm red-brick splendor. And the emphasis on small classes, personal attention, critical thinking, and academic excellence will continue.

But other things will look very different.

Buildings will be renovated so that all spaces where students, faculty, and employees live and work will be comfortable and safe. Infrastructure will be modernized so that Wells is effectively and efficiently connected to the outside world.

We will return to a core liberal-arts curriculum, ensuring that students are exposed to a broad range of knowledge that will prepare them to engage with the world once they leave the classroom behind.

We also envision a new plan of administrative management for the college. We believe that a hierarchical model where decisions are made at the administrative level and then handed down, with little input or influence from those that such decisions affect, is not a model for an institution’s success. Wells is a community, and should be governed by and for the entire community’s success. All community members should have the opportunity to participate in the running of the college. Shared responsibility is equitable and fair, fosters greater engagement and investment by all parties, and will serve as an effective antidote to the often insular thinking that can afflict small groups of powerful decision makers.

Finally, we will expand the concept of community by greater outreach and involvement with the Village of Aurora and its institutions. And we hope to strengthen the college and its offerings further by taking full advantage of the wealth of natural and historic resources in the greater Finger Lakes area.

These are but a few of the highlights of our plan for a re-envisioned Wells College. We have created a booklet outlining our full plan. Please click the OUR PLAN button to see the exciting future that we hope to create!