Since the Breakthrough Plan was launched in 2015 and renewed in 2019 as the Breakthrough Plan 2024, Peabody has enjoyed robust growth touching virtually every area of the institution.

Measures of our growth include:

• Conservatory enrollment has increased more than 40% in seven years from 570 to more than 800 students today, our highest ever, while net tuition has increased 85%.
• Peabody has moved its discount rate from the low end of its peer set to the midpoint, and garnered resources to meet full-need with no loans for qualifying undergraduates and fully fund tuition for 2-year DMA residency, which is projected to now increase Peabody’s discount rate to the high end among its peers.
• The Conservatory has launched new programs in Dance and Music for New Media, and more than doubled enrollment in key programs at the intersection of technology and the arts.
• The launch of the Breakthrough Curriculum and creation of LAUNCHPad have positioned Peabody as a leader in rethinking the training of artists in the 21st century.
• The percentage of underrepresented faculty and students has grown since 2015, from 5% of faculty to 14%, and from 10% of students to 18%, with 25% of the incoming fall 2024 student cohort identifying as underrepresented as compared with 18% one year ago.
• In collaboration with Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Hospital, we have launched key initiatives and expanded our programming footprint at the intersection of performing arts and health, including the appointment of Peabody’s first Bloomberg Distinguished Professor and the establishment of a Department of Performing Arts & Health.
• Generational change in Conservatory faculty has included 70 new hires, reimagined governance, and the implementation of rank and promotion.
• Peabody has led the field in convening conversations around issues critical to the performing arts through symposiums like The Next Normal.
• Peabody performances have expanded to include a concert series and other events at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C.
• Average annual fundraising has grown from $6M in FY18-FY20 to $9.5M in FY21-FY24 while Peabody’s endowment has doubled to $150M excluding central-held endowment funds.
• Peabody’s finances have stabilized, over several years reducing deficits, which historically ranged from $2M to $3M annually, reduced to a total $1.5M over FY22 and FY23, and then achieving a balanced budget in FY24, one year ahead of plan. Sustainability continues to be an underlying linchpin going forward.