Meredith Launches Focus on Mission

In honor of 135 years of educating women and in preparation for the launch of a new strategic plan in the fall, Meredith College will celebrate its mission from January through September 2026. 

This communication and engagement campaign will highlight members of the Meredith community demonstrating Meredith’s mission in action. 

Meredith College President Aimee Sapp said the way the Meredith community executes the College’s mission is unique and worthy of celebration as the institution develops its next strategic plan.

“Many institutions talk about being mission-focused and using their mission statements to guide decision-making,” President Aimee Sapp said. “I’ve witnessed how the Meredith community truly lives our mission on a day-in, day-out basis. With the new strategic plan launching later this year, the timing is right for us to celebrate the myriad creative and engaging ways our community fulfills Meredith’s mission.”

Each month, the campaign will feature news stories, social media posts, and other campus activities centered on a theme drawn from Meredith’s mission statement. 

The theme for January 2026 is “Grounded in the Liberal Arts,” which is the first phrase in Meredith’s mission statement. 

Provost Anita Thomas said it is appropriate that these are the mission’s opening words because the liberal arts are foundational to Meredith’s work to prepare students for careers.

“For example, our graduates with teaching licenses have great disciplinary knowledge from liberal arts majors and important thinking skills that aid in classroom teaching,” Thomas said. “Our nursing graduates will have metacognitive skills from liberal arts courses that will help with decision-making in diagnosing patients and enhance bedside manner.”

Professor of Education and Director of Meredith’s Honors and Teaching Scholars Program Cece Toole said a liberal arts grounding is why Meredith’s honors program requires a blend of liberal arts and discipline-specific courses. 

“When I advise students, I emphasize the importance of being exposed to a variety of disciplines and talk with them about the skills that will be gained as they participate in the broad curriculum courses,” Toole said. “Many of the skills learned will assist them as they move forward after graduation.”

In addition to highlighting the mission, the campaign will also reflect on a significant moment in the College’s history each month.

President Sapp said the focus on significant historical milestones is as important as celebrating the College’s mission.

“One of the reasons Meredith has endured since opening its doors in 1899 has been the college community’s ability to preserve traditions while adapting to present-day challenges and preparing for future opportunities,” Sapp said. “As we build the plan that will guide us for the next several years, reflecting on the milestones reminds us of how evolving and becoming stronger is part of our community’s DNA.”

The pivotal moment in Meredith’s history that the College community is reflecting on this month is the 100th anniversary of the institution’s move from Blount Street in downtown Raleigh to its present location on Hillsborough Street. 

The College’s 225-acre campus on Hillsborough Street is now one of its biggest selling points. However, at the time, the move to a site that had been a farm three miles outside the Raleigh city limits was controversial. 

“The decision was not a sudden one, nor had it been easily reached,” Mary Lynch Johnson wrote in A History of Meredith College.

For more information about the Meredith Mission in Action initiative and strategic planning updates, visit meredith.edu/merediths-mission-in-action.