April 9, 2007
President Wilson convened the tenth SPBC meeting of 2006-07 at 2:30 p.m. He began by asking the group to reflect on, without any intention of revising yet, the draft list of potential campaign priorities that had been recently introduced at an all-campus forum and at a faculty meeting. Professor Gardner noted that many of the comments she had heard or received focused on process: How will priorities be set? How will faculty, staff, and students be involved in the campaign? What fundraising methods are most successful elsewhere? She and several other Committee members noted that specific variations on or clarifications of items already on the draft list had also been suggested, and that all these suggestions would be carefully considered when the SPBC meets again in late April to revise the draft based on the collective results of campus discussions.
The group noted a question that had been raised by both faculty and staff members after the open forum: How are the needs for increased salaries and workload reduction reflected in the list of priorities? The President stated that, while these important objectives are not specifically listed in the draft, they can be addressed if a substantial portion of the funds raised in the campaign are for unrestricted endowment--that is, contributions that are not earmarked for specific programs or facilities. Earnings on these additions to the endowment, plus normal endowment growth and yearly additions to the annual fund, should allow for increases in operating budgets in the future. Thus, the campaign needs to be a judicious mix of fundraising for particular, focused objectives and fundraising to enhance the general resource base of the University.
The group then talked about a particularly important point for the campus community to understand--that the campaign is not the only method through which strategic planning goals will be achieved. Some aspects of the plan (e.g., the Identity goal) are barely mentioned in the draft list of campaign priorities because they are being tackled as part of the ongoing work of offices and committees. The list of campaign priorities is intended to address strategies that will be particularly attractive to donors and bring in substantial new external resources. Vice President for Advancement Marty Smith, who was attending the meeting at the invitation of the President, commented that donors are likely to be particularly attracted to initiatives that, in his words, "transform lives," particularly the lives of students. The President added that a major phase of formulating the campaign will be to express campaign priorities in ways that build excitement among potential donors and make the priorities seem compelling. That does not mean that other needs as identified in the Strategic Plan are not very important; it simply means that not every need in the Plan can be the focus of external fundraising efforts.
Turning to other agenda items, the President asked the Provost to report on steps she has taken to address concerns about the May Term and Gateway programs. Provost Cunningham indicated that she and the President are developing a specific budget for May Term so that departments can plan future offerings better. In addition, she has developed a staffing plan for Gateways, effective for 2008-09 and beyond. Implementation of this plan, after further refinement with department chairs and school directors, should pave the way for faculty discussions of the curricular aspects of the program. The President emphasized that he is very supportive of the Provost's actions.
Finally, Vice President Klotzbach reported that there is still a small deficit in the 2007-08 budget but that it will be eliminated by the time the tentative budget is presented to the Trustees in May. He and the President feel that the overall financial picture is looking good. The final budget for 2007-08 will be presented and approved by the Trustees in October 2007.
Distributed to all faculty and staff: April 30, 2007