President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Board of Trustees Meeting

October 6, 2020

Tags Board Meeting Updates

Dear Members the Hamilton Community,

I am writing to provide the campus with a summary of the quarterly Board of Trustees meeting that was held over Zoom on Friday, Oct. 2. The meeting was shorter than usual because of the Zoom format.

Trustees heard a regular enrollment update from Vice President for Enrollment Management Monica Inzer, who noted positive long-term trends but also identified challenges raised by the uncertainties created by the pandemic. Vice President for Administration and Finance Karen Leach presented a report on the College’s finances, and noted that, although Hamilton is in a better position than most of its peers, the College is projecting an operating loss for the 2020-21 fiscal year. The College projects roughly $12 million in COVID-related expenses this year, which will be partly but not entirely offset by ongoing cost-saving measures.

These presentations were followed by a panel of three students – one studying remotely, one a fall athlete, and the third a first-year student – who discussed with trustees their experiences this semester in light of changes caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

At the formal board meeting Friday afternoon, Chairman Emeritus Kevin Kennedy ’70 offered remarks in memory of Life Trustee Bob Howard ’46, the Audit and Investment committees provided encouraging updates despite financial challenges, and the Advancement Committee reported on the success of last week’s Hamilton at Heart give day and progress toward the Because Hamilton campaign’s $400 million goal. The trustees also met with representatives from Student Assembly, who discussed the assembly’s resolution to appoint students to the board and answered questions from trustees. The board considered ways to increase student input in board deliberations. Board Chair Steve Sadove ’73 P ’07, ’10, ’13 acknowledged the importance of greater student-trustee interaction and identified several possible means for enhancing student-trustee interaction short of appointing students to the board in a letter to the assembly on Monday.

In my remarks to the board, I provided, among other things, a summary of activities on campus this fall, including the measures taken to open safely and protect against COVID-19, and discussed our results thus far; reminded the board about changes to the academic calendar, both in the fall and in the spring; and discussed campus activities and preparation in light of the fall general election.

The board elected Bob Delaney ’78 and Linda Johnson ’80 as vice chairs, effective immediately, and thanked Susan Skerritt K’77, P’11 for her service in that role. Four new charter trustees were elected to the board: Mason Ashe ’85, Manal Ataya ’01, Peter Coffin ’84, P’14, and Sharon Madison ’84. They joined recently elected alumni trustees Betsy Bacot ’84, Aditya Bhasin ’94, and Dan Rifkin ’88, P’23 in an on-boarding session on Thursday that included their trustee mentors and members of senior staff.

The board expressed congratulations and gratitude to students, faculty, and staff for the sacrifices being made to help ensure the health and safety of all members of our community.

The next board meeting will take place Friday, Dec. 4.

David