Fall 2023 Board of Trustee Meeting Summary
October 13, 2023
To Grinnell College Community
From: Meg Jones Bair, Secretary of the College
Subject Summary of October 2023 Board of Trustees Meeting
Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,
The Board of Trustees gathered for their fall meeting on campus October 5-7, 2023. This meeting was dedicated to shared knowledge and institutional action.
Prior to arrival on campus, board leadership met virtually with Executive Council, Staff Council, and Student Government Association leaders. They are very appreciative of the time connecting with these governing bodies.
On Thursday the Board, joined by Executive Council, Student Government Association leaders, Staff Council co-chairs and faculty members who serve on board committees gathered to hear reports from President Harris, Chair Michael Kahn and trustee chairs of board committees. With great joy, the board joined members of the Humanities division for dinner and had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Eiren Shea, associate professor of art history. After dinner, students were invited to join the board for dessert and conversation in the beautiful HSSC atrium.
The board appreciates greatly the time they are able to spend with faculty, staff and students. They were pleased to have a breakfast meeting to kick off Friday morning with the Center for Careers, Life and Service staff. After breakfast, vice president of finance and treasurer of the College, Germaine Gross discussed with the board the proposed fiscal year 2025 comprehensive fee. The comprehensive fee was approved by board vote on Saturday morning and will be announced in a series of communications following Fall Break.
After this session, vice president for enrollment, Joe Bagnoli shared highlights about the entering class including detailed trend analysis on the admission funnel (i.e., from application to deposit). Additional information focused on yield and admit rates, which have benefited considerably from our no-loan program, as well as financial aid policies that meet full demonstrated need, within revenue needs.
Daniel and Patricia Jipp Finkelman dean of Career, Life, and Service, Mark Peltz shared findings from the Class of 2022 Graduate Outcomes Survey. Highlights included a review of these graduates’ first destinations after Grinnell (e.g., employment, graduate school), an overview of their participation in high impact experiential learning activities (e.g., internships, research), and a review of reported salary data.
International students who currently are or were leaders in the International Pre-Orientation Program (IPOP) and other international student groups joined the board for lunch.
In the afternoon, Graham Miller, associate director of strategic research, presented the College’s approach to the Board of Trustees core metrics. This review will inform a conversation about a revised set of metrics based on the Association of Governing Boards’ Principles of Trusteeship and the College’s strategic plan. Following Graham, Myrna Hernández, chief of staff and vice president of administration, and Beronda Montgomery, dean of the college, presented key takeaways from the College’s mid-cycle accreditation review with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and a preview of the Quality Initiative Project that will be launching this year. They were pleased to announce that all criteria for accreditation were deemed “Met,” the highest accreditation given.
During the final general session on Friday the board heard from President Harris about the updates to the strategic plan, and the reshaping of the four themes and their twelve objectives following the Board retreat dedicated to the strategic plan in June. On Saturday morning the Board endorsed the strategic plan entitled Knowledge into Action — and that we can indeed “Go Forth, Grinnellian!”
President Harris welcomed the board to her home Friday evening for a marvelous dinner provided by Chef Scott Turley and the Grinnell College Catering Team.
During the board’s Saturday morning meeting the following votes were taken and passed
- Awarding of Bachelor of Arts degrees for December 2023
- Awarding of endowed chairs
- Approval of FY 23 Financial Audit by CliftonLarsonAllen
- Authorization for Signature Authority on Grants and Agreements
- Approval of Retiree Health Care Annuitization
- Approval of FY25 Comprehensive Fee
- Endorsement of the strategic plan, Knowledge Into Action
With many thanks to all involved in the planning and implementation of the meeting of the board, our community can look forward to its next gathering in early February 2024.
Meg Jones Bair. M.Ed
Director of Board Relations and Secretary of the College
she/her/hers (why I share)
Grinnell College
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