September 18, 2020
Dear Colleagues:
Earlier this afternoon, the Board of Trustees conducted its first on-campus meeting since the advent of the pandemic. The meeting was held in the Student Center in a manner consistent with our safety protocols for such gatherings on our campus.
During the meeting, Paula Luff, our new vice president for enrollment planning and management, provided an enrollment report for the Fall semester. Total student enrollment declined modestly for the Fall 2020 semester, because we enrolled a smaller freshman class than we have in our recent, record-breaking years. That decline, which we projected, was primarily caused by the two largest public universities in Indiana enrolling a larger number of Hoosiers this year in order to offset their anticipated declines in international and non-resident students.
I am pleased to report, though, that enrollment for returning undergraduate students increased compared to Fall 2019. Ro-Anne Royer Engle, our vice president for student affairs, told the Board that this outcome was driven by the increase in the retention rate for the Fall 2019 freshman cohort. Paula advised the Board that total graduate student enrollment and returning graduate student enrollment also increased this Fall semester.
Given the uncertainty and anxiety caused by the pandemic, our recruitment and retention efforts were successful.
As a result of our stable enrollment, we were able to prepare – and the Board approved – a balanced budget for this fiscal year. But last Spring, in order to absorb a significant reduction in our state appropriation for this fiscal year, we had to develop comprehensive expense reduction plans. During the meeting, Ms. Renae Conley, the chair of our Board, echoed my sentiments: we are grateful to every member of the University community for your service and your commitment during these challenging times.
The Board also received a report from Alan Finn and Jim Lowe about ongoing enhancements to our campus facilities. These construction projects, which include the anticipated renovation of the Cooper Science Complex, are tangible evidence that we are making progress towards a brighter future.
During the meeting, the Board approved a recommendation presented by Provost Susana Rivera-Mills to adjust the Spring 2021 academic calendar. Specifically, the Board approved changing the starting date of classes from Monday, January 11, 2021, to Tuesday, January 19, 2021, and the Board approved eliminating the Spring break. This recommendation, which was developed by an academic planning group that the provost convened, is intended to mitigate the ongoing risks posed by the coronavirus. During her presentation, the provost explained that she and her colleagues in Academic Affairs are presently evaluating other potential adjustments to both online and on-campus course delivery.
The provost and Dean Stephen Ferris also shared with the Board that faculty in the Miller College of Business (MCOB) have received generous funding to support two new institutes: the Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute, which will focus on helping learners become innovators and leaders, and the Institute for the Study of Political Economy, which will research the role of economic and political institutions in promoting prosperity. To support these two academic institutes, MCOB faculty will receive $5 million in grant funding from the Menard family and $1.55 million from the Charles Koch Foundation.
During the afternoon meeting, the Board received a report on the progress of our University’s partnership with the Muncie Community Schools (MCS). In just two years, the new MCS board and administration, in collaboration with MCS teachers and staff, have made remarkable progress in stabilizing our local public school system. And now, with a new Academic Innovation Plan, MCS continues on a path to fulfill the fundamental promise that guides our innovative partnership: to provide an excellent public education to every child in Muncie.
At the conclusion of the Board meeting, I made a few remarks. I commented briefly on our recent progress in response to the pandemic. I told the Board that this progress is the product of the collective effort of our students, our faculty, and our staff. And I shared just a few examples of the extraordinary contributions of the members of our campus community. I encourage you to read my brief remarks.
Thank you for your service and your support. I am fortunate to serve as the president of this outstanding University.
