President’s Newsletter

Thursday, April 17, 2025

Dear Colleagues,

In last week’s message, I noted my intention to spend some time walking around campus on Friday. While the weather was cold, it turned out to be a good opportunity to connect with a number of individuals. In Hartwell Hall, I was able to speak to the dean and associate dean, who invited me to their leadership meeting, which was a great way to talk with chairs about current concerns and opportunities. I also spoke with a number of faculty and staff in Hartwell. Ian Harper and I travelled to the Commissary to talk with colleagues there, and in addition, I visited Seymour Union, Lathrop, Brockway, and the Fannie Barrier Williams building. I want to thank everyone who invited me into their offices to speak with them about a range of issues. I hope to visit the remaining buildings before the end of the academic year.

Last weekend, we had another successful Accepted Students Day, and it was also Senior Day for men’s lacrosse. This weekend, we have three Senior Days coming up: softball, baseball, and women’s lacrosse, plus Eagle Day on Saturday, an event our students organize and enjoy each year.

This week included a number of regular meetings, including one-to-ones with senior leaders. Cabinet heard from Bill McNamara regarding BASC’s strategic planning. In addition, Amy Shema presented findings from the Presidential Task Force on Food on Campus. Amongst the takeaways (no pun intended), we learned that overall, students are pleased and satisfied with dining on campus, and they recognize the additional efforts that BASC is undertaking under Bill’s leadership. Students’ voices will remain vital as we move forward with additional planning. A number of changes have already been made and communicated to students and to faculty and staff, and Cabinet is grateful for the partnership with BASC on addressing any ongoing issues.

I had another open forum this week, with Administration and Finance. In keeping with the other open forums, we discussed the state budget and the federal landscape, amongst other issues. We also talked about opportunities for investments on campus. I look forward to the final open forum of the semester next week.

Externally, I attended two online forums: one put on by AAC&U and one organized by College Presidents for Civic Preparedness. In both cases we discussed the federal landscape and its effects on individual campuses. In addition, I had an Empire 8 Presidents meeting where we discussed athletics issues.

I met with the JPBC co-chairs for our quarterly update this week, and we started planning for the next year’s charge. I also met with Senate Executive, and I got a chance to meet with my student mentee, discussing her leadership journey. Finally, I had a wonderful opportunity to meet with the new faculty. We spent time discussing how the budget is constructed, as well as the ways that administration can better understand and respond to the myriad demands on employees. We also talked about the federal landscape and its effects on our faculty and students alike. I appreciated the openness and honesty of our conversation.

Today I have a meeting with a member of our Foundation Board, and I will be spending time preparing for our upcoming accreditation visit from the National Association of Schools of Theatre. In addition, I hope to begin working on some of the speeches for the end of year activities, including, of course, our commencement ceremonies.

I am planning to take a vacation day tomorrow, hence my sending this newsletter a day early. I wish you a pleasant and restful weekend.