The Board of Trustees addressed its reorganization and settled financial matters during its first Fall 2003 meeting on Oct. 2.
The board approved a pay raise for College President R. Barbara Gitenstein based on a satisfactory evaluation of her performance. A 4.5 percent merit increase and a 5.8245 percent equity adjustment, will bring her total salary to $220,000.
Chair Walter Chambers presided over his last meeting of the board.
Chambers, who resigned voluntarily, was a Trustee from 1989-1992 and 1997-2003.
Chambers said, "This has truly been a labor, but one of great love."
Annelise Catanzaro was sworn in to her position as alternate student trustee. This position is a two year term - next year, Catanzaro will become Student Trustee and have voting privileges on the board.
Pat Rado, who had served previously as Vice Chair will now preside as Chair. Robert Gladstone and Bob Kaye will serve as Vice Chair and Secretary, respectively.
The board also approved the Capital Budget Request for the 2005 fiscal year. The total is $45,626,000, with $112,256,000 projected for the seven year term from 2005-2011.
Gitenstein stressed the importance of garnering funds from private donations to cope with cuts in state funding. She hopes the upcoming Sesquicentennial
will help start "durable projects ... which will grow out of the year's success."
The College seeks federal funds, private funds and partnerships to generate revenue.
Bruce Hasbrouk said in the past three years, the College's funding from research grants has increased by 400 percent - from approximately $200,000 to over 1.2 million.
The College is pursuing a partnership with Katzenbach School for the Deaf.
It is conducting an eight-month study to determine whether this partnership is financially feasible.
The amount of money the College has received in research grants is the result of its increasingly positive public image.
Gitenstein announced U.S. News and World Report has cited the College as the No. 1 public institution in the northeastern United States.
The College rose from No. 6 to No. 5 in the northeast for both public and private schools.
The board passed resolutions to appoint new faculty members, change the status of faculty and staff members and appoint graduate assistants.
It also approved salary increases for non-unit employees.
The average salary increase for the workers was 2.08 percent. These increases were merit based.
The board honored Chambers and Patrice Coleman-Boatwright to thank them for their service to the board.
Coleman-Boatwright served as the Secretary to the Board of Trustees from January 2002 to June 2003. She recently became Director of College and Community Relations.
The board presented a resolution to Kevin McHugh, director of athletics, in honor of the achievements of the College's varsity athletic teams.
The accomplishments included national rankings of teams and individuals, exceptional scholarship of student athletes, volunteerism and award-winning coaches.
