President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

October 2023 Board Meeting and Family Weekend Update

October 12, 2023

Tags Board Meeting Updates

Dear Members of the Hamilton Community,

This year the annual fall meeting of the Hamilton Board of Trustees coincided with Fallcoming & Family Weekend, bringing more than 1,000 guests to campus for an enjoyable although rainy weekend for concerts and sporting events, an all-campus picnic, and meetings of the Alumni Council, among other activities. Thank you to all those in the community who played a role in welcoming our many guests.

The trustee activities commenced on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 5, with orientation for our three new alumni trustees: Edvige Jean-François ’90, Kevin O’Donnell ’89, P’22,’25, and William Schmoker ’89.

On Friday, Oct. 6, Vice President for Enrollment Monica Inzer spoke on enrollment trends, including the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action in college admission processes. Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach presented a financial update and reviewed the upcoming FY25 budget planning process. Kennedy & Violich Architecture (KVA), the architects for the Center for Innovative Technologies, shared design renderings and a 3-D model for the proposed center. Trustees had lunch with small groups of students who are Wellin Museum docents, Admission Office tour guides, and senior fellows.

That afternoon, Sasaki shared the “big ideas” and priorities that surfaced from the quantitative and qualitative research with campus community members for work on the Campus Master Plan. The committees on Investments, Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs also met on campus. The Advancement Committee met in advance, earlier last week. A small group of trustees met with the chairs of Academic Council, the Committee on Academic Policy (CAP), and the Committee on Appointments (COA).

The formal business meeting of the board took place on Saturday, Oct. 7. I discussed the post-pandemic environment on campus and our efforts to work with students to address concerns about social life. I also addressed recent legislative and judicial decisions affecting higher education and my predictions about more that may come.

The board approved resolutions electing Carol Travis Friscia K’77 as a life trustee and Mark T. Fedorcik ’95 as a charter trustee, and re-electing three charter trustees effective immediately: Julia K. Cowles ’84, Daniel Fielding ’07, and Daniel T.H. Nye ’88, P’24. Trustees also approved funding for the Sage Rink Phase 2 Renovation, an elevator for McEwen Dining Hall, and the full design and construction administration for the Center for Innovative Technologies (partial funding was approved in June). The College has secured lead funding and continues to seek donations to bring this transformational capital project to life.

The next meeting will be held on Friday, Dec. 1, in conjunction with the annual 1812 Leadership Circle Weekend in New York City.

David