President

Fall Board of Trustees Meeting

Dear all,

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of Fall Break. I am writing to update you on the recent Fall Board of Trustees Meeting. I am happy we are back to having our regular in-person Board meetings on campus, as it is a joy to see our Trustees interacting with various members of our campus community.


 

A group of people stand on a stone patio near some low stone steps. Behind them is what appears to be the walls of a room.

 
 

Six people are in a room with a hardwood floor and pictures on the walls. Three are sitting at a round kitchen table with food on it. All are smiling at the camera.

 
 

It was a busy weekend for the Board, but I thought I would highlight a few of their key activities below:

  1. We welcomed our new Trustees (Delia Cheung Hom ’00, Alain Sylvain ’98, and Jennifer Haas ’94) to the Board and they participated in a full-day New Trustee Orientation that included one-on-one meetings with members of the Senior Team and Olivia Gross and Natalie Frank in their roles as Student and Faculty Observer to the Board of Trustees.
  2. Board members had dinner with students and House Fellows living in Jewett, Strong, and Davison. Thank you very much to House Fellows Jaime Del Razo, Lori Newman, and Rebecca Pollet for hosting these dinners and providing opportunities for our students to interact directly with our Trustees.
  3. Board members spent time touring exciting projects around campus such as the new Richard L. Cretella Tennis Center and the Silver Linings Exhibition at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center.
  4. The Board received a report from Vice President of Admission and Student Financial Services, Sonya Smith, on the first-year Class of 2027, and needless to say they were very impressed by the academic quality and range of unique experiences and skills represented in this first-year class.
  5. The Board heard a presentation from Vice President of Finance and Administration Bryan Swarthout about some important considerations for Vassar’s long-term financial planning and budgeting.
  6. The Board heard a presentation from Dean of Strategic Planning and Academic Resources Marianne Begemann about Vassar’s Carbon Neutrality plans.
  7. The Board had lunches with a group of Assistant Professors and the VSA Executive Board.
  8. The Board had dinner with Professors Hadley Bergstrom and Bojama Zupan, and learned about their recently awarded National Science Foundation grant that, among other things, will allow Vassar to acquire a new state of the art confocal microscope for use in research and teaching.

Thank you to the many different groups on campus that played a role in making the Board meetings successful (especially Facilities Operations, Media Resources, Alumnae House, and Campus Activities) If you ever have any questions (or ideas) related to the Board, please do not hesitate to contact me or Wesley Dixon, Secretary of the Board of Trustees, at wdixon@vassar.edu.

Thanks and have a great break,

Elizabeth H. Bradley, President
Vassar College
Poughkeepsie, NY 12604
@EHBVassar