May 24, 2021: Spring 2021 Board of Trustees Meeting Summary

Dear Colleagues,

I write to share this summary report of the spring 2021 Board of Trustees meeting, which took place from Wednesday, April 28, through Friday, April 30. Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, sessions were again held via Zoom. The theme of our meeting was "Planning for a Post-pandemic Bucknell," with sessions focused on envisioning what lies ahead, and ensuring that we are preparing the University to thrive in the future.

I am grateful to everyone who planned and participated in these essential discussions. My thanks to Professor Coralynn Davis, faculty chair; Professor Jan Knoedler, faculty secretary; and Professors Claire Campbell, Alan Cheville, Paula Davis, Peter Jansson, Amal Kabalan, Dave Kelley, Sally Koutsoliotas, Emily Martin, Chris Martine, Ghislaine McDayter, Thiago Serra, Linda Smolka, Joe Tranquillo and Kat Wakabayashi for their participation in various committee meetings.

I will begin this report with an important announcement that was first shared with the trustees in attendance. As you know, our new home for the Freeman College of Management and the Department of Art & Art History is nearing completion and will open this summer. I am pleased to announce that the building will be named Holmes Hall in honor of the generosity of Bucknell Trustee Steve Holmes '79, P'06, P'08, P'12, and his wife, Bonnie Bencsko Holmes '79, P'06, P'08, P'12. We are deeply grateful to Steve and Bonnie for their longtime leadership and support of the University. I encourage you to read more about their extraordinary legacy in this story, in which Steve discusses the impact of his broad liberal arts education — the inspiration for this wonderful gift, which will support interdisciplinary education at Bucknell for generations to come.

Thursday's executive sessions began with significant news, as the full Board received an update on preparations for our forthcoming comprehensive campaign, which is set to begin by fall 2022, per the strategic plan. To help us assess and plan, we have partnered with the firm Graham-Pelton, who presented their recommendations. The trustees agreed that the University will begin the campaign's quiet phase on July 1, 2021. Vice President for University Advancement Scott Rosevear and Graham-Pelton representatives further discussed campaign planning with the Advancement Committee.

Provost Elisabeth Mermann-Jozwiak presented an executive session on academic visioning, which explored what it means to be a "student-ready" college. She discussed how students entering college have evolved over the years to become less ready for college, and noted that the pandemic has offered us a better understanding of students' personal lives and needs. Beyond academic excellence, we need to provide them with an inclusive, student-centered environment that focuses on whole-person growth. To enhance retention and advising and increase student success, Bucknell recently created a new position, associate provost for transformative learning & teaching.

Vice President for Finance & Administration Eileen Petula and I presented the trustees with an update on planning for the FY22 budget. The hard work of ensuring a sustainable endowment continues, as we phase in a lower payout rate over four years at the same time as we significantly increase our financial aid program. We described three motions to be presented in the Finance Committee meeting, all of which were subsequently passed: the revised endowment spending policy to take effect by FY26; the transfer of unrestricted variance for FY21 to quasi-endowment; and approval of the FY22 budget. As the University remains focused on good stewardship of the endowment to create intergenerational equity, we must continue the campus-wide work required to manage our budget and control costs. These combined efforts, along with our focus on the future, will ensure our ability to preserve University finances in perpetuity.

I joined Vice President of Enrollment Management Lisa Keegan to provide the Board with an update on enrollment in the Class of 2025. As of this writing, we had enrolled 1,048 students, surpassing our goal of 1,000.

We anticipate a lower acceptance rate this year, 34%, due to having the largest application pool in University history. Much of our successful enrollment cycle during this challenging time can be attributed to the fact that we were able to keep campus open throughout the academic year as the pandemic has continued — a factor that is important to incoming first-year students, who seek an in-person experience rather than virtual.

The Board had an opportunity to meet with a panel of student representatives — Bucknell Student Government President Madison Scopano '22, Helen Fish '21 and Mordecai Obeng-Appiah '21 — to learn their perspectives on student life. The trustees are committed to continued engagement with students and plan to include them as part of their meetings on an annual basis, similar to their engagement at the winter meeting with the Faculty Chair and Faculty Council.

Karl Voss, the Douglas K. Candland Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, updated the Board on the college's recently approved strategic plan and its commitments to community, transformative education, encouraging and advising students, and scholarship. He presented information on the college's mentoring efforts, including the new Mentor Collective partnership, a peer-to-peer program that pairs the college's incoming students with current students. This new mentoring community is designed to build a sense of belonging and support, share resources and improve retention. The increasing importance of the college as the University's center of academic intersectionality was also discussed.

On Friday, the Board viewed a presentation on technology visioning led by Vice President for Library & Information Technology Param Bedi along with Professors Ghislaine McDayter and Joe Tranquillo; Jackie Cetera, director of residential education; Ken Flerlage, assistant director of data analytics; and David Lundy '21. The group explained how staff, faculty and students have used technology to manage during the pandemic and how we might make use of that technology in the future. Examples include the technology behind the COVID-19 dashboard, quarantine and isolation housing management, and our ability to deliver class instruction in all modes, from in-person to remote and hybrid. A major factor in our success was our ability to turn existing campus relationships into productive partnerships that responded to pandemic challenges and collaborated on creating solutions.

Provost Mermann-Jozwiak and I briefed the Board about planning for academic year 2021-22. The University will face numerous issues in the weeks and months ahead as we prepare for fall semester, including vaccination requirements, return-to-office policies, the anticipated return to in-person classes, challenges facing international students, the academic calendar and transitioning back to a more "normal" campus life. We will continue these important conversations and provide updates as decisions are reached.

Bucknell's diversity, equity and inclusion efforts were the focus of the Joint Academic Affairs-Student Life Committee meeting. Provost Mermann-Jozwiak updated the committee, who also heard from Denelle Brown, associate dean of students, diversity & inclusion; Angèle Kingué, special adviser to the provost; and Nikki Young, associate provost for equity & inclusive excellence. It was agreed that, while we are making progress, much work remains to be done, and must take place in a systematic way.

The Academic Affairs Committee heard presentations on retention, a strategic priority; as well as presentations by faculty and students who talked about the importance of the teacher-scholar model and showcased their collaborative efforts. We thank James Andradas '23, Sivanne Bachrach '23, Claire Marino '23 and their faculty mentors for sharing their experiences with us.

Fritz Family Dean of Students Amy Badal updated the Student Life Committee on management of residential life during the pandemic, and the planned fall semester focus on health, wellness and student conduct. The committee also heard from Director of Athletics & Recreation Jermaine Truax with a panel of student-athletes, Alex Bolinger '21, Leah Fogelsanger '21 and Kali Peeples '21, who shared their insight.

The annual business meeting concluded the Board's sessions. In addition to a vote to confer degrees for the Class of 2021, the trustees formally approved the promotion of 16 faculty colleagues who either received tenure or achieved the rank of full professor effective with the start of the fall semester of academic year 2021-22.

Congratulations to the following individuals for earning tenure:

  • Chun-Miin (Jimmy) Chen, assistant professor of analytics & operations management
  • Christopher L. Dancy, assistant professor of Computer Science
  • Dabrina D. Dutcher, assistant professor of chemical engineering and chemistry
  • Nicholas R. Jones, assistant professor of Spanish
  • Amal Kabalan, assistant professor of electrical & computer engineering
  • Shu-Ming (Carl) Lin, assistant professor of economics
  • Emily Martin, assistant professor of music
  • Jasmine A. Mena, assistant professor of psychology
  • Christine Ngoc Ngo, assistant professor of economics
  • John David Penniman, assistant professor of religious studies
  • Joseph Scapellato, assistant professor of English

And to the following colleagues, who have earned promotion to full professor:

  • JiaJia Dong, associate professor of physics & astronomy
  • Eric S. Faden, associate professor of English
  • Amy Frances Golightly, associate professor of education
  • Charles J. Kim, associate professor of mechanical engineering
  • Marie C. Pizzorno, associate professor of biology

The Board of Trustees is pleased to welcome an accomplished group of six alumni to join the Board for five-year terms as trustees effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2026:

  • Carolyn Neely Ainslie '80, chief financial officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle)
  • J. Frank Brown '78, chief risk officer, General Atlantic (New York)
  • Michael Dominguez '91, chief investment officer, Providence Equity Partners LLC (Providence, R.I.)
  • Carolyn Speer Miles '83, former chief executive officer and president, Save the Children (Southport, Conn.)
  • Kathryn Boselli Vizas '79, general counsel (retired), Peregrine Systems Inc. (Berkeley, Calif.)
  • Audra Wilson '94, president and chief executive officer, Shriver Center on Poverty Law (Chicago)

The Board also recognized Trustee Marlene Hurd '79, P'10, who will complete her 15 years of trustee service on June 30, 2021.

The Board elected the following trustees as officers effective July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024: Christopher O'Brien '80, P'18, P'20, chair; Annie Seibold Drapeau '88 and Steven Kohn '81, vice chairs; Garry Thaniel '04, secretary; and Laureen Leptinsky Costa '90, assistant secretary.

As I write, we have just successfully hosted three Commencement ceremonies, which enabled the Class of 2021 to safely celebrate in person with their guests. I commend and thank you for the extraordinary effort that made this special day possible for our graduates. This academic year, with the continuing pandemic, has challenged us in extraordinary ways as individuals and as a university. I will not minimize the toll this effort has taken on our faculty and staff as we have strived to provide the best possible education and campus experience for our students. Equally concerning, the Bucknell community has been recently tested by those who threatened the security of members of Fran's House, our affinity group for LGBTQ students and their allies. As we seek to enact changes to prevent such incidents from happening in the future, I call upon all Bucknellians to stand firmly against any transgressions toward historically marginalized groups, especially on our own campus.

Together, we will continue to forge ahead, in the tradition of those Bucknellians before us who faced daunting challenges. I am grateful for the contributions of so many individuals, who have ensured our ability to succeed as a whole, to carry out our educational mission and to remain steadfastly focused on the future.

Sincerely,

John C. Bravman
President