Trustees approve 2014-15 budget, discuss fund-raising strategy

Undergraduate tuition will increase by 3.5 percent, the smallest percentage in a decade, and there will be a 2 percent addition to the pool designated for compensation increases in CAS under the newly approved budget for 2014-15. Approved by the Board of Trustees at their February 21 meeting, the new budget includes compensation raises for graduate school faculty and staff and for staff members in the law school and common services.

Also at the February meeting, the trustees focused on fund-raising, approved honorary degrees for this spring’s commencements, and heard reports on student-recruitment strategies at all three schools. Additionally the trustees heard a presentation by two professors and two students working on new science curricula and other science-education resources with support from a four-year grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Presenting were Associate Professor of Biology Greta Binford, Associate Professor of Education Liza Finkel, Ian Lake ’13 (currently studying in the Graduate School), and Abby Grewe ’15.

In the 2014-15 budget, compensation goes up 4 percent and 3 percent for support-staff union members and Teamsters, respectively, as a result of previously negotiated contracts. The law school faculty, in response to the difficult enrollment context nationally, opted to forego a salary increase for next year. Law school tuition will increase by 2 percent and graduate school tuition by 3 percent in the new budget. As announced two years ago, the College will delay notification of salary increases for faculty and administrative staff until later in the summer, when the Office of Business and Finance has a clearer understanding of what net tuition revenue levels will be. 

At the Institutional Advancement Committee meeting, trustees heard from President Glassner on recent progress in fundraising and on long-term vision for the college. “Our vision is for Lewis & Clark to be recognized as one of the top colleges in the country,” Glassner said, “an institution that comes to mind when people think about the Northwest, and where the best students in the country—and, indeed, around the world—dream of attending.”

At the Academic Affairs Committee meeting, the trustees had discussions with the admissions leaders from each of the three schools on their challenges and strategies. In addition, they heard a presentation by Ryan Bubriski ’12, co-founder of the Portland Mushroom Company, a winner of the 2013 Lewis & Clark Venture Competition.

With an eye toward this spring’s commencements, the trustees approved an honorary degree for Marian Wright Edelman, who will be the CAS commencement speaker this spring. Honorary degrees were also approved for former Board Chair Jim Richardson ’70 JD ’76; Associate Professor and Director of the Northwest Writing Institute Kim Stafford, who will be the graduate school commencement speaker; and Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court Goodwin Liu, who will be honored at Law School commencement. In addition, the board passed resolutions granting faculty emeritus status to Vern Jones ’68, who is retiring from the Graduate School’s teacher education faculty, and James Duncan, professor of chemistry, who is also retiring.

In other developments at the meeting,

• Trustees elected Paula Hayes ’92 to membership on the board. Hayes, a former member of the Board of Alumni, is President and CEO of Hue Noir, a makeup company specializing in cosmetics for women of color. (Read more about Paula Hayes in the current issue of the Chronicle magazine.)
• Scott Fletcher briefed trustees on the new master’s program for higher-education student affairs professionals being launched next year in the Graduate School, which the Board unanimously approved.
• Vice President and Treasurer Carl Vance briefed the Finance Committee on the endowment, which reached an all-time high of $224 million at the end of 2013.
• President Glassner reported on his efforts to make Lewis & Clark better known on the national stage, including his hosting a national conference on the future of higher education, which will bring presidents, deans, and other sector leaders to campus this April.
• Dean Lisa Meyer discussed how tuition and discount rates affect the ability of the CAS to shape undergraduate classes.

This story was updated on August 7 to clarify that the total compensation pool will receive a 2 percent increase; individual increases may vary.