Bucknell University


Summary
Board of Trustees Fall Meeting
October 3-5, 2013

Academic Affairs and Campus Life Committee
Development and External Relations Committee
Finance Committee
Investments Committee
Audit, Compliance and Risk Management Committee


Academic Affairs and Campus Life Committee

The Academic Affairs and Campus Life Committee recommended, and the board subsequently approved, the recommendations for changes in instructional appointments.

Provost Smyer updated the committee on the upcoming visit by the Middle States reaccreditation chair, the Kern Family Foundation grant to the College of Engineering, the National Science Foundation grant to build a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) summer program, planning for future construction of Academic East when the necessary donor funding is secured, the success of this year's first-year reading experience program and the assessment of the Writing Program.

Vice President of Enrollment Management Bill Conley reported on the work of the Degree Completion Working Group and noted that while Bucknell's 90% retention rate is quite strong, a retention rate of 95% would be more in keeping with our competitive peer set and is the University's goal. The group's work has already led to a number of changes in University practices, and the group is developing a series of recommendations to boost retention success.

Dean of Students Susan Lantz and Dean of Arts and Sciences George Shields reported on recent successes in student participation in the Residential Colleges, for which first-year student participation rose 41% from 247 to 349. The increased participation resulted from enhanced and expanded marketing to prospective students and parents, along with a personalized faculty advising program for first-year students prior to enrollment. Susan and George stressed that the program's success depends on faculty involvement and that its growth is a powerful sign of the importance of faculty engagement in the colleges.

Vice President for Library and Information Technology Param Bedi and Assistant Director of Instructional Technology Matt Gardzina provided a report on Instructional Technology and Digital Scholarship. Several new developments, including the recent $700,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation and reallocation of staffing to better support academic programs, are continuing to strengthen the faculty's use of information technology as teaching tools.

Provost Smyer noted the successes of faculty on sabbatical in their engagement with leading institutions, obtaining grant support, and including students in their publications and presentations.

The chair of the committee, Dr. David Scadden '75, reported that following discussions President Bravman had requested among the Faculty Honorary Degree Committee and the trustees Honorary Degree Sub-committee, the University will again be actively seeking nominations for recipients of honorary degrees. But instead of awarding them at Commencement, the aim will be to award honorary degrees during the academic year so that the recipients can engage with students and faculty in meaningful discussions. The new nominations process will be announced in the coming months.

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Development and External Relations Committee

The Development and External Relations Committee heard presentations from Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Scott Rosevear, Executive Director of Career Services Pam Keiser, Director of the Annual Fund Loni Kline, and Vice President for Communications and Community Relations Pete Mackey:

  • The WE DO Campaign is nearing the $300 million mark in gifts and pledges, and donor enthusiasm for the campaign is showing great momentum.

  • The four WE DO Campaign events this year have been highly successful, with a special event for the Creative Campus initiative at the Barnes Museum in Philadelphia on October 19, then a big event on November 16 in New York City, followed by two events in January in Florida timed to coordinate with the Board of Trustees meetings there.

  • The University has launched a new mobile app for alumni that facilitates networking and connections and develops from a partnership with a best-in-class alumni app developer.

  • Career Services continues to see positive results for student internships, externships and career placement through its strategic approach to its mission and work with alumni, parents and others to expand the pool of employers participating in recruitment activities, most recently a career fair on campus featuring nearly 100 companies and other employers.

  • The Annual Fund is well on its way to surpassing its goal of $100 million in gifts and pledges through the WE DO Campaign and last year saw alumni and senior participation rates both rise. Multi-faceted analytical analysis of annual fund giving patterns are helping to boost the capacity of the office, and in fact the entire fundraising operation, to connect with donors and plan related strategies, including the recent Day of Giving that was so successful it will be repeated in the spring.

  • Progress continues on developing a new University website, which remains on schedule to launch in the spring. The final phase, ahead in about two weeks, will include sharing it with campus to receive feedback, and throughout the process the website advisory team of faculty, students and staff has been working to inform the site design.

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Finance Committee

Vice President Dave Surgala, Associate Vice President Dennis Swank and Treasurer and Controller Mike Cover discussed the following topics with the committee:

  • The FY13 operating budget ended with a $1.9 million unrestricted surplus. The administration recommended and the board subsequently approved moving these funds to quasi-endowment. At this point, approximately one third of our entire endowment (currently valued at about $667 million) carries the quasi-endowment designation.

  • Based on an analysis of comprehensive fees, Bucknell remains near the top of its identified peer schools and near the middle of the top 50 liberal arts colleges as ranked by U.S. News & World Report. Several schools surpassed $60,000 in FY14 and more will in FY15. A range of about $7,000 separates comprehensive fees across the top 40 schools.

  • The committee discussed the fact that our ability to generate additional revenue through comprehensive fees increases is limited and few options remain for reallocation of resources. The committee expressed its view that further strategic policy discussions will be critical to the University's ability to adapt and maintain its strength amid a rapidly changing climate for private residential higher education.

  • Academic West opened as planned this summer, on time and under budget.

  • The committee reviewed and confirmed the board's discipline of assigning operations and management expenses and renewal and replacement reserves for depreciation, technology and capital equipment to new construction projects. 

  • The University is reviewing the bids for the student housing and student commons project to open in fall 2015. The contract will be awarded within a few days, and we will break ground for the project within three weeks.

  • Bucknell's vision for human resources management is taking shape, and promises to include the following elements:

    • Innovative health-care offerings that include expanded wellness and employee education programs, which have been demonstrated to increase employee health and reduce claims.
    • Strategic planning for the significant turnover of Bucknell employees that lies ahead across the next 10-20 years, since 28% of faculty and staff are age 55 or older and 43% are age 50 or older.
    • Carefully aligning Bucknell's organizational structures with strategic long-term priorities to ensure the University's continued financial sustainability.

  • The University's recent faculty total compensation study with an outside consultant attracted 23 other schools to participate, eight of them being our historic peers. This study provides a credible, replicable basis of information on faculty compensation to inform related planning and discussions. While the data shows Bucknell is competitive in general, variances among disciplines will undergo additional analysis that we will discuss with related governance and trustee committees in the months ahead.

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Investments Committee

Chief Investment Officer Chris Brown '81 reported that staffing changes to the office, including the recent addition of Christina Chang as Associate Director of Investments, will enable us to terminate our contract with an external consultant, saving $210,000 annually effective in 2014. As of July 1, 2013, Bucknell's endowment was $660 million. The one-year return was 11.8%, which we believe ranks in the 2nd quartile relative to University endowments and foundations. The five-year return was 4.6%, which includes the financial collapse that precipitated the Great Recession, and which we believe ranks in the 2nd quartile. The 10-year return was 7.7%, which we also estimate ranks in the 2nd quartile. The committee continues to work with the Investment Office and the University's investment advisors to adjust the portfolio to balance risk and growth objectives. By the end of this month, we expect to publish our semi-annual endowment report, which will be placed at http://www.bucknell.edu/x57576.xml

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Audit, Compliance and Risk Management Committee

The committee reviewed the June 30, 2013, audited financial statements and discussed the audit results with the University's independent auditors, KPMG LLP. The auditors reported that the financial statements prepared by management were fairly presented and there were no audit findings or deficiencies. At June 30, 2013, the University had over $1 billion in total assets and less than $200 million in total liabilities.

The committee was pleased by the University report about progress on the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) initiative previously endorsed by the board, and encouraged the University to continue providing ERM training and reporting guidance to the remainder of departments across campus. The ERM initiative is helping to assure that the University has in place the necessary plans, procedures and staff training to adapt to foreseeable risks to all aspects of Bucknell operations.

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Bucknell University
Lewisburg, PA 17837
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