Dear members of the Marist College community,

We are pleased to share with you this summary of the February 3-4 Marist College Board of Trustees winter meeting. 

STRATEGIC PLANNING:

On Friday, Trustees gathered for a five-hour strategic planning session. This session built on two previous half-day retreats facilitated by Professor of Public Administration James Melitski (in September) and Professor of Strategy Helen Rothberg (in November). In this session, Strategic Plan Steering Committee co-chairs Emily Saland and James Snyder provided an update on the identification of six themes that had emerged from a robust community engagement process, and Trustees heard presentations from the co-chairs leading each of the six associated working groups, on their preliminary assessments and recommendations. Trustees engaged in break-out sessions to discuss these assessments and provide feedback on their clarity, completeness, and connection to institutional mission. Members of the Board continued their conversations with working group co-chairs over dinner.

We extend our sincere appreciation to the following members of the faculty and staff, for their contributions to this session, and to all members of the campus community for their ongoing engagement with the strategic planning process:

Academic Excellence
Addrain Conyers, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice; Chairperson, Criminal Justice 
Alicia Slater, Dean of the School of Science

Student Support
Eitel Lauria, Professor and Director of Graduate Programs, CS&M 
Matt McMahon, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
Edward Antonio, VP DEI 
John Bartlett, Fashion Program Director

Internationalization
Tony Carrizales, Associate Professor of Public Administration (on behalf of co-chairs John Peters, Vice Provost and Chief International Officer, and Jessica Boscarino, Associate Professor of Political Science; Chairperson, Political Science)

Innovation
Alan Labouseur '90, Professor of Computer Science 
Julin Sharp, Assistant Vice President, Digital Learning Platforms and Technology

Elevating Marist
Sean Kaylor '90, Vice President for Enrollment Management
Daryl Richard '97, Vice President for Communication and Marketing

ACADEMIC UPDATES:

On Saturday, the Board was joined by the 2022-2023 Faculty and Student Representatives to the Board of Trustees, Faculty Affairs Committee Chair Nicholas Marshall and Student Government Association (SGA) President Gabriel Borbon '23, and other members of the administration.

We’re pleased to report that, acting on the recommendation of the Board’s Academic Affairs Committee, the full Board reviewed and unanimously approved the proposal to create a new interdisciplinary degree, the BA in Global Studies, which was previously approved by the full faculty acting in plenary session. Trustees also received an informational update on the work undertaken by Marist’s Fashion Faculty, along with their counterparts at Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute, to make a BS in Fashion Merchandising available at Marist’s branch campus in Florence, Italy. Congratulations to those who contributed to the development of these exciting programs.

The Board also considered and unanimously approved eight faculty promotions. Please join us in thanking those who served on peer-review committees or the Rank & Tenure Committee for the role they played in the promotion process, and in congratulating the following faculty members on their accomplishments:

• Eileen Curley, Professor of English
• Lynn Eckert, Professor of Professor of Political Science
• Julie Fineman, Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
• Brian Gormanly, Senior Professional Lecturer of Computing Technology
• Alan Labouseur, Professor of Computer Science
• Francine Sage-King, Clinical Associate Professor of Physical Therapy
• Brigid Shanley, Senior Professional Lecturer of Medical Technology
• Marilyn Zeppetelli, Senior Professional Lecturer of Computing Technology

Trustees considered and unanimously approved 11 semester- or year-long sabbaticals for the 2023-2024 academic year. Sabbaticals play an important role in the ability of our faculty to grow and develop as scholars and educators, and the Board therefore congratulates the following individuals and wishes them well with their planned research and creative activities:

• Kuangen Cheng, Associate Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management
• Peter del Rosario, Associate Professor of Psychology
• Megan Dennis, Associate Professor of Biology
• John Galbraith, Associate Professor of Chemistry
• Matthew Glomski, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Mathematics
• Qihao Ji, Assistant Professor, Communication and the Arts
• Kimery Levering, Associate Professor of Psychology
• Thomas Madden, Assistant Professor of Business Law
• Duy Nguyen, Associate Professor of Mathematics
• Lisa Nielson, Teaching Associate, English
• Julie Raines, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice

OTHER COMMITTEE UPDATES:

The Buildings and Grounds Committee reported that construction on the Dyson Center remains on time and within budget. Foundations are substantially complete; structural steel installation is underway and will continue through April, at which point architectural precast concrete panel installation will begin. The anticipated completion of this transformative project remains late spring 2024.

The Board received a report from the Admissions & Enrollment Committee on fall 2023 undergraduate admissions, including the Early Action and Early Decision pools, which were roughly consistent with last year’s. The committee also reported on the Regular Decision pool, ongoing application review, and yield activities planned for the Class of 2027. 

The College Advancement Committee reported on continued planning for the College’s next comprehensive campaign and its relationship to the College-wide strategic planning process. Trustees noted that the plan would produce a number of compelling ideas and needs that would likely inspire donor support, and acknowledged the role philanthropy will need to play in an overall resourcing strategy for the strategic plan.

The Board’s Student Life Committee heard from Tim Murray, Athletic Director, and Liz Donohue, Associate Athletic Director and Senior Women Administrator, about changes occurring within the NCAA. Areas of focus included the recent report from the NCAA Transformation Committee; the transfer portal; and name, image and likeness policy with respect to student athlete health, wellness, and experience. The Committee also received an SGA report from Gabriel Borbon '23 about his administration’s priorities for the spring semester.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT:

Finally, the Board received a President’s Report from Kevin Weinman on some of his recent on- and off-campus engagements to celebrate the College; engage with alumni, students, and parents; and bring Marist stories to new audiences. He joined the men’s and women’s basketball teams in London and Dublin; spent two days visiting the Freshman Dublin Experience students, faculty, and staff, including tours of classrooms and the residence hall; and attended events on Long Island for alumni and friends as well as prospective students. President Weinman also reported on his participation in the American Talent Initiative (ATI)’s new president’s cohort. ATI, which Marist first joined in 2017, is a consortium seeking to expand access and opportunity for talented, low- and moderate-income students at institutions with high graduation rates. 

President Weinman also previewed some upcoming engagements, including a trip to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities annual conference to introduce Lee Miringoff’s plenary session on the mid-term elections, several alumni and friends events in North Carolina, and the Florence branch campus’s May Commencement. President Weinman also gave Trustees a sense of the many campus-based events and interactions he’d had in recent months, including the Community Breakfast, student office hours, and other campus activities, such as the programming currently underway in celebration of Black History Month.

The Board’s next meeting will take place in May on the Marist campus, and we look forward to updating members of the campus community on the major outcomes of that meeting. Our thanks again to those who contributed to the success of last weekend’s meetings and events. 

Ross A. Mauri '80 
Chair of the Board of Trustees 
 
Kevin C. Weinman 
President