President Wippman’s Writings & Remarks

Board of Trustees Meeting

October 11, 2022

Tags Board Meeting Updates

Dear Hamilton Community Members,

On October 6-8 the Board of Trustees met on campus for its annual fall meeting. The session kicked off with an orientation for Hamilton’s new alumni trustees, Kathy Corsi ’82, Monique Holloway ’87, and Marc Randolph ’81, and charter trustee, Dan Fielding ’07.

On Friday, Oct. 7, Vice President of Enrollment Monica Inzer and Vice President of Advancement Lori Dennison ‘87 gave updates on enrollment trends and fundraising, respectively. Board Vice Chair Linda Johnson ’80 facilitated a panel conversation with new vice presidents and deans Ngoni Munemo, Chris Card, and Sean Bennett about their first impressions of campus life and Hamilton. Trustees dined with various student leaders at lunch and faculty members at dinner.

The Committee on Budget reviewed the FY22 budget results and received an overview of FY23 early projections. Vice President of Finance and Administration Karen Leach explained how restricted funds and one-time gifts affect our ability to spend budget surplus dollars, and how on-campus enrollment fluctuations and higher operating expenses are accounted for in budget planning. The FY24 budget planning process is currently underway.

Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Munemo reported on this year’s faculty searches and the hiring market. The Committee on Buildings, Grounds & Equipment heard from Mike Klapmeyer, our new associate vice president for Facilities and Planning. Among other things, he shared a plan to address campus accessibility priorities and discussed the idea of developing a campus facilities master plan. Later that afternoon trustees toured a number of campus facilities, including athletics buildings, food service areas, and residence halls. The Wellin Museum, celebrating its 10th anniversary, hosted docent tours and a reception.

On Saturday, Oct. 8, Board Vice Chair Robert Delaney ‘79 opened the formal board meeting, and Trustee Sharon Walker ’90 offered a prayer. A resolution passed to approve board meeting dates for 2023-24 and 2024-25, and I then addressed several topics, including progress in addressing student mental health issues, student social life, and the impact of changes in campus COVID policies. I also talked about the higher education landscape, including the proliferation of state and federal legislative proposals in areas ranging from admissions to endowment taxes and the potential impact of the affirmative action cases currently pending in the Supreme Court.

After the board committee reports, Student Assembly President Emily Jiang ’25 and Vice President Marvin Lopez ’23 had the opportunity to speak about Student Assembly priorities.

The next meeting will be held on Friday, Dec. 2, in conjunction with the annual 1812 Leadership Circle Weekend in New York City.

David