In his monthly report to the faculty, University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx provided a summary of the October Board of Trustees meeting, with the goal of keeping the faculty informed as to what is happening on campus. The 33-member Board meets once a month on campus to hear presentations from a variety of University members, including faculty, administration and students.
At the meeting, the advancement committee reported that despite the recession, $8.9 million was raised in the 2009 fiscal year, compared to $8.8 million in 2008, but donations at the President’s Circle level (donations of $1,000 and more), decreased, resulting in a $400,000 drop in gifts at that level.
The finance committee reported that the endowment had decreased by 21.3 percent during the 2009 fiscal year, a loss that had been anticipated at the end of the 2009 academic year. The committee also reported that the updated utility budgets show that the combined heating and power facility is estimated to create a “$4 million cost avoidance over having to purchase electricity on the open market.”
Also at the meeting, Rama Sudhakar reported to the Marketing and Communications Committee that last year’s goal was to promote the Strategic Plan initiatives and rebranding the University Web site.
Sudhakar said “the focus of the current academic year would be on ‘humanizing’ the branding strategies and activities by promoting individual stories/profiles, implementing Web 2.0 tools to bring the stories to life, and developing integrated ways to leverage events and community engagement activities to enhance Fairfield’s visibility.” A presentation on Fairfield LIVE, a social media site aimed at both prospective and current students was given to show how the marketing department was attempting to meet its goals.
Committee member Patricia Glassford ‘85, a vice president at GE Enterprise Solutions, recommended “that we always use the context of the competitive marketplace top drive the division’s efforts and the committee’s work, particularly in terms of recruitment marketing.”
The advancement committee announced that “plans are underway for the 2010 Fairfield Awards Dinner, which benefits the Multicultural Scholarship fund.” The committee estimated that this year’s dinner will raise more than the record $1.1 million raised in 2008. It will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on April 27, 2010 and feature Fairfield graduate Carmen Wong Ulrich ‘92, the host of CNBC’s On The Money. She will become the first Fairfield graduate to speak at the event. Last year’s speaker was Earl “Butch” Graves Jr., the president and CEO of Black Enterprise Magazine. The Alumni Service Award, Distinguished Faculty/Administrator Award and the Alumni Professional Achievement Award will be given out at the dinner.
The committee also reported that the Center for Academic Excellence received a $200,000 grant from the Davis Educational Foundation. Established in 2003, the Center for Academic Excellence is an “on-campus resource for professors seeking to learn and share information about the newest educational tools and techniques,” according to the University Web site. The grant has allowed the center to host week-long summer seminars for individual departments. The committee said, “the project will continue to realize the implementation of goal one of the University’s strategic plan related to the integration of the core curriculum. This is a significant achievement for Fairfield given that the Davis Foundation made it clear that the competition for funding was very strong.”
Also at the meeting, FUSA President Jeff Seiser brought four students to present on “student engagement,” Athletic Director Gene Doris reported on the state of athletics and nursing professor Sheila Grossman presented on the potential doctorate in nursing program at Fairfield and national trends in the field.
This month, the board elected three new members, Peter Gillen ‘68, Eileen Rominger ‘76 and Joseph Bronson ‘70. Rominger is the global chief investment officer of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg News. Bronson is the CEO of SVTC, a San Jose based Fortune 500 electronics contract manufacturer. Gillen may be the most well-known of the group, having served as head men’s basketball coach at Virginia, Providence and Xavier, before joining CBS Sports as a basketball analyst.
Leave a Reply