Feb. 22–23, 2019: Board of Trustees Retreat Recap

March 8, 2019

The Saint Mary’s College of California Board of Trustees and the President’s Cabinet met on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22–23, for their 2018–19 Board retreat at Mont La Salle in Napa. Topics addressed during the retreat included board governance, the College’s strategic direction, SMC in comparison to other U.S. Lasallian and WCC institutions, shared governance in higher education, and understanding higher education sexual harassment issues and the importance of prevention training.

The retreat included afternoon and morning prayer led by Brother Bernard LoCoco, FSC, and VP for Mission Frances Sweeney, as well as presentations by Governance Committee Chair Peter Kelly, Rhodes College President Emeritus William Troutt, Chief Financial Officer Susan Collins, Interim Vice Provost for Enrollment & Communications J. Michael Thompson, Manager for Training & Professional Development Maura Wolf, and Stoel Rives Of-Counsel Attorney Vida Thomas.

Meeting Highlights:

Rhodes College President Emeritus William Troutt led the Board and Cabinet in a discussion about the important topic of shared governance across the landscape of higher education. The participants discussed excerpts of research on the topic, including “Shared Governance: Changing With the Times,” a white paper from the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB). A question-and-answer session followed Troutt’s presentation.
President Donahue and Board Chair Kevin Nagle facilitated a discussion on the Board’s priorities and the College’s strategic directions for the future. Background materials included ideas generated from the previous year’s retreat, as well as the key preliminary recommendations made by the five working groups of the Business and Academic Resource (BAR) Task Force (outlined on the BAR Task Force Open Forums webpage). The discussion explored what ideas the Board was inclined to support, promote, and advance as strategic directions for Saint Mary’s, and if there were additional courses of action that should be pursued.
Manager for Training & Professional Development Maura Wolf and Attorney Vida Thomas led the discussion on Understanding Higher Education Sexual Harassment Issues/Training. This session was part of an overall goal of the College to build awareness of and remind all community members about the need to recognize and prevent harassment and discrimination in all educational and work environments at Saint Mary’s.
President Donahue, CFO Collins, and VP for Enrollment & Communications Thompson presented comparative data, particularly enrollment, admission, and financial, from Lasallian higher education institutions in the nation and SMC’s peer institutions in the West Coast Conference. Among the metrics discussed were student admission quality, such as GPAs and test scores; where admitted students went after choosing not to attend SMC; institutional demographics; tuition costs; and reported earnings of graduates from the comparison institutions.

Resolutions:

During the Feb. 22–23 retreat, the Board passed two resolutions: one approved an amendment to the Audit Committee Charter for an administrative update, which did not alter the substance of the charter; the second approved an update for the College’s pension plan allowing for different contribution strategies.

Saint Mary’s Board of Trustees is the College’s governing body whose fiduciary duties and responsibilities are determined by the College’s bylaws and other governing documents. The board’s responsibilities include advocating for the College locally, nationally, and internationally; exercising appropriate oversight of the academic quality and fiscal health of the College; approving the annual budget; evaluating and advising the president of the College; and providing financial support, as well as leadership in fundraising, to sustain the College’s mission and progress.