Alumni Council Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, June 5, 2004
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Welcome—Alex Wilson ’73 Alex welcomed the members of the audience and introduced President Bro Adams to give his State of the College talk and to answer alumni questions. President Adams shared that he was no longer new, having just completed a full cycle having entered and graduated with the class of 2004. He has spent a significant amount of time during that period looking back at Colby's history and at the changes that are needed as Colby moves forward. Some of the most exciting and visible work has been the extension of the campus from the original plan when we moved to Mayflower Hill. The evolution of the Colby Green is part of a fifteen- to twenty-year plan that is faithful to the original vision for the campus. The new Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center is well underway with the ground breaking held in April 2004. The second building to be built on the green will be the Diamond Building, which will house the Goldfarb Center. The third and fourth buildings on the Colby Green will be a new performing arts center and a social sciences building, both to come later in the long-range plan. The College is expanding facilities and resources but not the size of the student body. We're increasing the quality of the program and Colby's national standing and competitiveness for faculty and students. The academic program is what matters most. The academic program is being looked at with a view to how students interact with the world. Key values of the educational experience are
The student culture at Colby continues to change as the demographics change. The Class of 2008 will include students from thirty-four different countries, more than 50 percent from outside of New England. It is more diverse ethnically and racially, which allows for more opportunities for educational experiences both in and out of the classroom as students interact with each other. The more diverse student body also brings the challenge of expectations about student life. Despite the changes, some things will not change:
President Adams then opened the floor to questions from the audience. Questions: An audience member read in the Boston Globe this week about the Higher Education Act and the concern for funding for financial aid from federal resources. How will this impact Colby? Bro: The funding will affect Colby's work-study program, and it affects Northeast schools in the funding formulas, so we are keeping an eye on it. Are international students finding it more difficult to come here because of INS restrictions? Bro: The general world situation and the world economy are also having an impact, and our students are finding more paperwork obstacles, but we have managed to work around it. Has the world situation affected Colby's study abroad programs? Bro: We have eliminated the CBB programs in London, Quito, Ecuador, and Capetown, South Africa. They were very successful because we could control the quality of teaching but the volatility of student enrollments made it financially impossible to continue as a consortium with Bates and Bowdoin colleges. Students are more adventuresome in their international study choices. They want more immersion in the local culture than with just CBB peers, and although we have eliminated these programs Colby is still committed to offering and encouraging international experiences for our students. Does Colby have outside money managers for its endowment? Bro: Over thirty outside managers work with Colby's endowment, and Doug Reinhardt is the internal person who manages the managers. We pay similar rates to what anyone would pay for the money management. Will Colby move to affinity group housing? Bro: We have looked at the idea of "dialog" housing based upon a common language experience, but it is still in a proposal stage. We may decide to permit students to live in common academic interest groups, e.g., a science dorm, a Spanish dorm. It is one other option for integrating daily life and academic programs. Has there been a change in the Dean of Students Office that has caused some recent turnover? Bro: Janice Kassman is now the VP for student affairs, and the new dean of students will report to her. Two other associate deans are leaving for personal reasons, and it was a coincidence that it happened at the same time. Is there a pattern of decreased study in natural and physical sciences versus social sciences? Bro: This has not been an issue at Colby. Our significant investment in the physical plant for the sciences has encouraged majors in those areas. Chemistry, biology, physics, and neuro-science are all very popular majors. What percent of applicants are accepted at Colby? Bro: Typically 34 percent of a pool of 4,100 applicants will be accepted to get a class of about 500 matriculating students. This year the Class of 2008 had an average SAT score of 1380 in the accepted pool; the matriculated class average is 1360. How does Colby award financial aid? Bro: Colby awards need-based aid, but Colby is not need blind. Most students are admitted on merit first, and only the last few admitted to complete a class are limited based on financial need. Colby would need another $50-$60 million in financial aid endowment for us to be truly need blind and to have enough aid to meet all student needs. The average aid award is about $22,000. Colby tuition and fees for 2005 have gone above $40,000 per year. A lot is driven by competition for quality, and better programs mean more people, which affects price. It really costs over $50,000 per year to educate a student, so everyone gets about an $11,000 discount from endowment and the Annual Fund. The U.S. system of private higher education is unique in the world, and support for higher education is critical to maintain this system. Alex brought the meeting to order by welcoming council members, guests, and the new chairs of the council sub-committees. He then thanked the outgoing chairs, Linda Mitchell Potter '66 (admissions and financial aid), Becky Birrell Smith '92 (academic affairs), Todd Halloran '84 (alumni fund), and Frank Finizio '66 (career services), for their past service to the council. Alex presented the Alumni Council by-laws change proposal that was previously mailed to council members. Basically the changes eliminate the three sub-committees no longer needed and reflect slight changes to various parts related to those committees. Byrd Allen '75 moved we accept the changes as mailed and Peter Merrill '57 seconded. The changes were accepted unanimously. Wilson then asked for reports from committee chair. Committee Reports/Updates Admissions and Financial Aid—Janice Wood Parsons ’65 Linda Mitchell Potter '66 reported for Janice Wood Parsons. Linda reported that Bro had already shared some of the statistics regarding the incoming class of 2008. Parker Beverage reported that 38 students would be entering at mid-year. The committee, the Alumni Office, and the Admissions Office sponsored eight retention events around the country in April to aid in the final decision process for our newly admitted students. One hundred eighty-three potential incoming students and their families attended the events and, of those, eighty-three enrolled. Alumni involvement is critical to the process, as students and their families want to know what it is like to attend from a certain area of the country, and they like to learn from alumni what happens after they graduate. Last year there were over 560 alumni interviews for applicants. The committee also works on legacy events for alumni families who have college age children interested in the admissions process. Alumni Fund—Todd W. Halloran '84 Todd Halloran reported that there were still four weeks until the end of the fiscal year with a $3.5 million cash-in goal and 51.5 percent participation goal. Fifty percent is the milestone we set four years ago and continue to strive for each year. Todd reminded everyone that the Annual Fund is critical to the health of the institution and private education in general. He thanked those who had already made their gifts and urged those who had not to consider a gift before June 30, 2004. Athletics—Art Brennan ’68 Art Brennan reflected on the past year's C Club 100th anniversary events. In the fall the group honored the Alfond and Levine families as the Family of the Century, in the winter a special event in Massachusetts celebrated the 100th anniversary, and a spring event honored seven senior student athletes as well as Boyd Sands '59 as the Carl Nelson award winner for 2004. The focus for next year is on supporting the balance of athletics and academics. The fall C Club Colby Night dinner will be held Oct. 1 and will honor retired track coach Jim Wescott as the C Club Person of the Year. Awards—Byrd Allen ’75 Boyd Allen began his report by highlighting the Alumni Awards Banquet held the previous evening. The event is the culmination of the previous 18 months of work for his committee and is always a rewarding experience for both the committee and the award winners. Colby Brick honorees were Giovanni Apicella, James '64 and Linda Johnson Crawford '64, Karl Dornish '54, Todd W. Halloran '84, and Colleen A. Khoury '64. The Outstanding Educator Award was presented to Rae Jean Braunmuller Goodman '69. The Marriner Distinguished Service Award was presented to Victor F. Scalise '54. Boyd's committee has already begun deliberations on the candidates nominated for 2005 awards and will report on the results at the meeting in January. Career Services—Frank Finizio ’66 Frank Finizio reported that 13 members of his committee attended the meeting that morning. The committee works closely with and receives support from the Office of Career Services through the director, Cindy Parker, and assistant director, John Kappes. They reported some preliminary statistics about the class of 2004: 21 percent had full-time jobs (in an average year 19-33 percent will report they have jobs), 17 percent will go immediately to graduate school, and the rest were not sure at the time of graduation. Career Service Initiatives for 2004-05: The second week in September they will offer seniors a "jump-start" program to get them thinking about a post-Colby job search and the graduate school process very early in their senior year. Then during Family Homecoming Weekend in October they will offer some sort of professional networking panel involving alumni. They have also started to coordinate telephone mock interviews for students with alumni, which is a typical pre-screening process that job candidates often must master before they are invited for a face-to-face interview. They also hope to offer a more formal student/alumni mentoring program, pairing alumni and students starting in their first year. This will be a pilot program with the Alumni Council. Nominating—Barry Potter ’60 Barry Potter reported for the Alumni Council Nominating Committee that Robert Rudnick '69 began his term at commencement as a new alumni trustee. Barry then asked for approval for the following nominations: James Scott-Harris '98 for a second term as Alumni Council member at large. Emily Taxon '98 and Andrew Weber '97 for three-year terms as members at large. (Alex Wilson moved to accept the nominations, Byrd Allen '75 seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.) Barry reported that the following class representatives were appointed to fill unexpired terms for their respective classes: Ann Dunlap LeBourdais '76, Betsy Morrell '80, Bryan Chase '92, David Famiglietti '00, and Lindsey Scott '01. Combined Information Committee—Susan Maxwell Reisert ’86 Susan Reisert invited everyone to attend the council information session that afternoon that would feature a panel of newly tenured faculty explaining the tenure process and their experiences before and since receiving tenure at Colby. The panel was scheduled for 2 p.m. in Lovejoy 100. |