Dear Colleagues,
In the last presidential post, I focused on our amazing students we have here at Westminster. Now, I want to boast about our talented and dedicated staff and faculty. One of my favorite occasions of the year is the Employee Appreciation Celebration, which will be this Friday at 3:00 p.m., in the Vieve Gore Concert Hall. We will be honoring 53 employees who have reached years-of-service milestones, including 17 staff & faculty who have been with Westminster for over 20 years. We will also be awarding several community awards. All administrative offices will close early on Friday at 3:00 p.m., so as many as possible can attend. Please RSVP to eszwedko@westminstercollege.edu if you haven't already. Don't miss this fun event!
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees met last Thursday and Friday, and they had a very full agenda. Some of their key discussions and decisions were:
Budget
They approved the 2016–2017 Budget, which you'll hear more about at the All College Meeting on March 17.
New Academic Programs
The redesign of the English and undergraduate business majors were approved. New minors in data science, entrepreneurship, and the education studies major were also approved.
Honorary Degrees
Four people—Commencement speaker Charlayne Hunter-Gault as well as James Lee, Jim Clark, and Bob Graham—were approved to receive honorary degrees at this year's Commencement exercises on April 30.
Gift from the Florence J. Gillmor Foundation
The Board voted to accept a very generous new gift to the college: $3.6 million from the Florence J. Gillmor Foundation that will go toward the construction of the new Florence J. Gillmor School of Music, a new building extension to the current Jewett Center for the Performing Arts. This is the lead gift towards a $10 million project that will benefit all of our visual and performing arts programs, and I couldn't be more thrilled to announce the start of this exciting project. Here are a few preliminary renderings of the exterior of the building as well as a conceptual drawing of the dance and music studio that will be on the ground level.
Faculty Promotions
The Board also approved faculty promotions for next year. Congratulations to Matt Baker, Jared Larkin, Jonathan Amburgey, Frank Black, Russ Costa, Brent Olson, Jennifer Harrison, and Michael Mamo on promotion from assistant to associate professor—and also to Marilee Coles-Ritchie on promotion from associate to full professor.
Diversity
While efforts related to a formal diversity and inclusion statement/plan are still in the discussion and development phase, the Board committed itself to supporting the college's ongoing work in these areas. Please continue to check the diversity and inclusion webpage for ongoing updates. That page now links from the front page of the college website.
Adjunct Faculty Week
Last year, we used the last week of February to spotlight our adjunct faculty members and I would like to continue that tradition this year. Hikmet Loe, adjunct faculty coordinator, has provided some data about our adjunct faculty and the important work they contribute to the Westminster community, and I want to share it with all of you. I hope you'll take a look at the profile below and take a moment to recognize our fantastic adjunct faculty members.
$40K in a Day Campaign
Last week, we accomplished something incredible: 353 faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of Westminster raised $45,785 for The Westminster Fund in a 24-hour period. These funds will be used to support scholarships, and various other academic and co-curricular activities for our students. I am so proud of the way we all pulled together to meet this challenge!
As we move quickly toward the second half of the semester, I invite all of you to find an extra minute in your busy schedules to enjoy this great community we are all part of at Westminster. I feel privileged to work alongside such an interesting, motivated, and inspiring group of people every day. Thank you for all you do.
All the best,
Steve