October 24, 2003: Volume 59, Number 7

Board chairman: redouble efforts in academics, endowment, image

Stephen J. Ciesinski '70, chairman of the College's Board of Trustees announced at the meeting on Homecoming weekend that the College would "redouble our efforts in several key areas" – academics, endowment and image -- to "move to the next level of excellence."

"Academics at Union is already strong - we just need to make it stronger as compared to the best liberal arts colleges in the country," he said in his report. "Academic excellence must be our number one priority, and this topic covers quite a range - the reputation of our school; our student/faculty ratio; fresh and innovative programs; student selectivity; intellectual atmosphere on campus; grants for both faculty and students; faculty compensation; student awards; student retention and graduation rates; and alumni careers.

On the endowment: "Our endowment of $240 million is much better than most colleges. But if we're going to have such things as a top-tier student-faculty ratio, and the ability to attract the best faculty to our college, our endowment needs to be at least twice that amount. That means that our percentage of alumni giving needs to go up, and that the number of major gifts must also increase."

Of strengthening the College's image, he said, "We need to continually make sure that our message is consistent and that it is being received clearly by our various audiences and constituencies. In particular, we are working very hard to ensure that our alumni relations are improved, since you are the absolute best messengers of what Union stands for."

To read the chairman's full report, visit: http://www.union.edu/Board/Archive/2003_10/

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