Budget approval highlights February Board of Trustees meeting
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The Board of Trustees approved the budget for 2012-13, providing funds for faculty and administrative staff compensation increases and more money for student financial aid.
Meeting February 22-24, the trustees also welcomed a new member to the board and approved the election of another, engaged with two panels of students and professors, toured the new residence hall and new tennis facility, attended the women’s basketball playoff victory over Whitman, and passed a resolution honoring the late Fred Fields.
The newly approved budget for 2012-13 includes a 2 percent increase in the salary pools for faculty and administrative staff in the undergraduate school (CAS), graduate school (GSEC), and common services, and a 3 percent increase for faculty and administrative staff in the law school. The increases are contingent on net-tuition revenue targets being met.
The 2012-13 budget establishes the following tuition increases: 4.8 percent for CAS, 5 percent for the law school, and 4.8 percent for GSEC. These are coupled with an overall 18.5 percent increase in financial aid, including a 21.4 percent increase in undergraduate financial aid. The budget is based on projected FTE enrollments of 2,016 in CAS, 597 in GSEC, and 643 in the law school.
The budget funds several significant capital projects, including renovations of the Evans Music Center, Platt Hall, and Griswold Stadium; a seismic upgrade for Boley Law Library; and a new parking lot on the graduate campus.
In addition to reviewing and approving the budget, the trustees heard presentations from two panels, one examining student and faculty collaborations in international settings, the other focusing on student experiences on the undergraduate campus. The trustees also got firsthand introductions to the newest campus facilities, touring the tennis bubble and Edna Holmes Hall, the residence facility under construction on the undergraduate campus.
Taking the immersion experience a step further, the trustees joined students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and members of the public at Pamplin Sports Center to watch the Pioneers women’s basketball team defeat Whitman, 69-64, in the Northwest Conference playoffs.
New trustee Judi Beck was welcomed to her first meeting. A member of the Lewis & Clark Parents Council, the Seattle-based Beck is a philanthropist, community volunteer, and former business executive. A new board member was elected as well, Scott Dubchansky. A member of the Parents Council along with his wife, Laurie, Dubchansky is partner at a San Juan Capistrano, California, capital management firm and is active in leadership roles with the UCLA Foundation, Ronald McDonald House, and his synagogue.
The passing of two of Lewis & Clark’s life trustees was also marked at the meeting. The late Fred Fields, a former board chair and life trustee and the source of the recently announced $10 million bequest to Lewis & Clark, was honored with a resolution recognizing “his extraordinary leadership and philanthropy. …His legacy is that of a good man who has done great good.” The trustees also honored the late John “Jack” Kemp, who passed away in January. Kemp served on the board from 1997 to 2004, and as a life trustee until his passing, and was recognized for his life of community involvement.
The board next meets in May.
