Highlights of the October Board of Trustees Meeting
During its meeting on October 24 and 25, the Board of Trustees welcomed three new trustees; reviewed progress on the institutional strategic plan; approved tuition, room, and board for the College of Arts and Sciences; and approved the refinancing of long-term debt, among other items of business.
On Thursday morning, after an Investments Committee meeting, the Campus Life Committee heard about current efforts underway to reimagine the undergraduate student experience at Lewis & Clark. Angela Gintz, director of Inclusion and Multicultural Engagement, and Rocky Campbell BA ’00, director of the Career Center, presented along with Vice President of Student Life Robin Holmes-Sullivan. At the Institutional Advancement Committee, trustees heard about and discussed comprehensive campaign progress, which totals more than $58 million to date. The public phase of the campaign is scheduled to launch in fall 2020.
At the Finance meeting, committee members approved staff recommendations for College of Arts and Sciences increases in tuition (4.75%), room (2%), and board (3%), or 4.07% in aggregate. Tuition for the law and graduate schools will be determined in February. To take advantage of a favorable low-interest-rate environment, the trustees approved a process to refinance Lewis & Clark’s long-term debt and issue new debt up to $35 million. The new money, along with matching donor funds, could be used to fund capital projects as outlined in the Campus Master Plan. These resolutions were then approved by the full board on Friday.
On Friday, trustees started the day with Academic Affairs and Buildings and Grounds committee meetings. At the afternoon plenary session, the board reviewed a draft one-year progress report on the institutional strategic plan, “Exploring for the Global Good,” discussing each of the six goals in facilitated break-out groups. The board also passed a resolution granting emeritus status to retired faculty member Boyd Pidcock, associate professor of counseling psychology.
Three new trustees were welcomed to their first meeting: Matthew Bergman JD ’89, Patty Francy BA ’67, and Linda Robertson BA ’80. Bergman founded Bergman Draper Oslund, the Northwest’s premier asbestos litigation firm. He has served on Lewis & Clark Law School’s Board of Visitors since 2007. Francy was the first woman to assume the post of treasurer at Columbia University. She currently is a director of the Old Westbury Funds of the Bessemer Trust Company. Robertson is an independent consultant providing strategic regulatory expertise in international biologic and small-molecule drug development.
