¿ìè¶ÌÊÓƵ

 

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m.

 

President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held May 14, 2014. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

President Glotzbach welcomed everyone back to the new academic year remarking that the start of a new academic year is always a moment of great energy and anticipation. We also have welcomed our new students and welcomed back our returning ones. We are pleased to welcome so many new members of the faculty and several new administrators and staff members as well. He thanked Professor Janet Casey and her staff in the First-Year Experience as well as everyone who is teaching a First-Year Seminar. He also thanked Rochelle Calhoun and everyone involved in our New Student Orientation. Once again, we have succeeded in helping our new students and their parents have a smooth entry into our community.

 

Thereafter, President Glotzbach introduced Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, who gave a report on this year's incoming class. VP Bates reported that the Class of 2018, along with 24 transfer students, is here. They arrived in three waves: 39 students in our London program arrived the third week in August followed by 360 first year students who participated in our pre-orientation program with the final 330 arriving last week. The total class is 728, with 689 on campus and 39 in London. These students have lived in 35 different states and 27 foreign countries and were selected from a record 8,700 applications. Statistics on the Class of 2018 include:

• 60 percent attended public or charter schools; 40 percent attended private or parochial schools
• 60 percent are women; 40 percent are men
• 39 percent were accepted and enrolled early decision
• 22 percent self-identified as students of color
• 10 percent are international, which is a new record
• 5 percent hold dual passports, many of whom have never lived in the United States
• 10 percent come with former family ties to the college
• 46 percent are receiving Skidmore institutional aid
• the median SAT of the enrolled students is 1,250 compared with 1,240 for the last two years
• increased percentage of the students falling in the top two academic bands

Dean Bates indicated that these new students are involved in lots of community service and volunteerism, both domestically and internationally. They come from culturally rich and diverse backgrounds, with 22 percent speaking a language other than English at home. They have worked all over the globe in all kinds of professions, have interned and done research, have an amazing amount of involvement in all areas of the arts, have all kinds of hobbies, have been politically active at the local, state and national levels, and have won numerous awards and recognitions in science. They are an amazing group and she wished the faculty the best of luck with the class. A round of applause was given to VP Bates on bringing in such an extraordinary class.

 

Following Dean Bates' report, President Glotzbach invited Kim Verstandig, Associate Vice President for Advancement and Campaign Director, to provide an update on the Campaign. Ms. Verstandig reported that we officially kicked off the "silent" phase of our Campaign last year. The focus for this campaign is the new Center for Integrated Sciences, Financial Aid, Transitions and Transformations, endowment for the Tang, the Annual Fund and a new Admissions building. The Campaign will last six years, concluding May 31, 2019. We had a very successful first year, receiving $65 million in cash and pledges, of which $31 million was raised for the Center for Integrated Sciences. Our goal for this coming year is to reach $100 million. The Campaign is now fully operational, and we are finalizing our communications. Ms. Verstandig concluded by thanking everyone for all their support.

 

Thereafter, President Glotzbach acknowledged Board Chair Linda Toohey, who is in attendance at today's meeting.

 

In addition, President Glotzbach thanked Associate Professor Tillman Nechtman for serving as Parliamentarian for the past few years. He announced that Associate Professor Chris Kopec, Department of Management and Business, has agreed to take over the role of Parliamentarian with the assistance of Professor Barbara Black, Department of English, and Associate Professor Natalie Taylor, Department of Government.