February 2026 Board of Trustees Meeting Summary
Dear Grinnell Community,
The Board of Trustees gathered for their winter retreat on Friday, February 6th, at the Newton Arboretum & Botanical Center and spent Saturday on campus in JRC 101. Board Leadership, Chair Christina Cutlip and Vice Chair Kristin Stout, arrived early to meet in person with Executive Council, Staff Council, and Student Government Association leadership. Connecting with these groups shapes Board discussions. Additionally, trustees whose travel arrangements allowed, participated in “Coffee with the College” in the Weingart Civic Pavillion with Trustees Keith Jantzen ’80 and Nancy Radermecher ’83 serving on the panel. Later that morning, many trustees were able to attend the Scholars’ Convocation with one of Russia’s leading democratic opposition figures, Vladimir Kara-Murza. In the late afternoon, trustees had the honor of attending the Endowed Chair Ceremony in Herrick Chapel where Angela Onwuachi-Willig ’94 represented the Board of Trustees. If you were able to attend the ceremony, I hope that you felt a sense of pride in Grinnell and gratitude for what our esteemed professors bring to Grinnell every day – Karla Erickson, David Harrison, Vida Praitis and John Thabiti Willis. The Board ended their Thursday evening dining with faculty members of the Social Studies Division, including a brief presentation made by Professor Elizabeth Prevost regarding her research on the mystery author, Agatha Christie. Thank you so very much, Professor Prevost!
Friday morning the trustees boarded shuttles (thank you colleagues in Facilities Management) and headed to Newton. The retreat was designed and I quote from the letter sent to trustees by President Harris and Chair Cutlip, “to delve deeply into five topics and to take the time to do so from the perspective and calling of our mission to serve the common good, for what it meant at our College’s founding, what it means in this moment, and what – through the fulfillment of our strategic plan and our fiduciary care and stewardship of the College and its constituents — it will mean in the future.”
President Harris and Dean Feingold led a discussion centered upon the Board’s role in safeguarding Academic Freedom and Free Expression and focused on Chapter 10 of Terms of Respect; How Colleges Get Free Speech Right by Christopher Eisgruber (2025). The Board participated in scenario planning involving academic freedom and free speech; the work will continue within the Academic Affairs committee in partnership with faculty.
The next session, Generative Artificial Intelligence was led by Professor Peter-Michael Osera and Candice Lu ’26. This session was designed for trustees to consider their role in best positioning Grinnell College and its students, faculty, and staff in the age of AI. This topic, too, will continue to be discussed and informed by our faculty and staff AI task forces. In the afternoon, Vice President of Enrollment, Dean of Admission & Financial Aid, Joe Bagnoli, reviewed recent admission cycles and engaged the Board in a discussion of several strategic responses that best position Grinnell College to weather disruptions to domestic and international student enrollment.
The final Friday sessions were dedicated to our philanthropic campaign and to the College’s brand refresh. Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, Bernadine Douglas, unveiled the theme for our upcoming campaign: “The Work Worth Doing,” and reviewed the four pillars of the campaign - preserving and expanding college access, championing the liberal arts, creating transformative experiences, and building spaces of belonging and community. (Many thanks to all campus community members who participated in the multiple discovery and discernment sessions that led to the articulation of our campaign). With assistance from Dean Feingold, Marc Reed, Mark Peltz, JC Lopez and Joe Bagnoli, board members worked in small groups to develop personal campaign pitches for the pillars and offered those pitches to those present. Representatives from Simpson Scarborough then led the Board in a creative discovery exercise intended to shape the look and feel (aesthetics) of the brand refresh.
Saturday, the Board met in executive session. President Harris offered her report, trustees voted on the Consent Agenda (approving minutes and the 2026 Honorary Degree recipients), received an update on current legislation that our administrative and legal teams are monitoring from Associate Vice President of Institutional Initiatives and Enrollment, Brad Lindberg and ended their time in session with presidential assessment consultants Lynn Pasquerellahttps://www.aacu.org/people/lynn-pasquerella and Mary Davis. My thanks to the members of our college and town community who participated in the over 40 interviews conducted as part of the president’s comprehensive (360 degrees) review, as well as the trustees who engaged in surveys and interviews. President Harris emerges from the process with the confidence and support of the Board, and deepened resolve for the work ahead that, in partnership, champions the academic mission and well-being of our community, as both foster the pursuit of knowledge and its enduring power to achieve positive change.
Each time I write this summary for campus, I search for new ways to express my gratitude to our partners all over campus who come together to create a wonderful experience for the board members when they are in Grinnell. I can’t begin to name all the people it takes to make these events run well, so please accept this general, yet heart-felt expression of gratitude.
My best,
Meg Jones Bair
Office of the President
Secretary of the College
Director of Board Relations
641-821-5679