Centre College trustees meeting highlights advancements in retention, campus construction

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College continues to make remarkable progress in student retention and advancement of campus construction projects, according to reports delivered to the Board of Trustees at its annual winter meeting Jan. 31 at Louisville's Seelbach Hotel.

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

Stephanie Fabritius, vice president of academic affairs and dean of the College, reported that retention at Centre continues to grow stronger. First-year student retention figures have increased since this time last year and continue to average above 90 percent. This improved retention has led to an increase in overall enrollment.

In addition, Fabritius reported that the College successfully applied for and received an ACS/Mellon-funded Environmental Post-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship for the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years. This will allow the College to have a post-doctoral fellow in the area of environmental ethics or environmental policy teach three courses each year for the next two years. The College looks forward to this position enhancing its environmental studies minor.

ADMISSION

Carey Thompson, vice president of enrollment and student planning services, reported that early action applications were up 13 percent. In addition, campus visits by prospective students are up 20 percent for the year.

The College extended its Regular Decision deadline until Feb. 9 as a result of the ice storm that occurred immediately before the Feb. 1 deadline.  

The College looks forward to enrolling a first-year student class of 310 in the coming fall term.

FUNDRAISING

Richard Trollinger, vice president for college relations, reported that gifts and grants received in the first half of the fiscal year total $26.6 million, a new record for Centre. Also, at mid-year, alumni participation in annual giving is only slightly behind where it was at this time last year, which was a record high at mid-year. Alumni participation is just over 40 percent, and parent participation in annual giving is just under 44 percent.
 
"Despite the economic recession, Centre's alumni, parents and friends have been unwavering in their support of the College and its educational mission," Trollinger said.

In addition, the following endowed scholarships were approved by the Board: The Alfred M. and Mary Swain Wood Scholarship, established by a gift from Mr. and Mrs. Wood's estate, awarded to fulltime Centre students on the basis of need, scholarship and character; The Carl E. and Sue R. Gingles Scholarship, established in memory of Dr. Gingles and in honor of Mrs. Gingles by the Centre College Board of Trustees from the proceeds of a gift annuity, awarded to worthy fulltime Centre students; and The Centre College Alumni Association Scholarship, established by gifts from the Alumni Association Board of Directors, other Board members and alumni, awarded to worthy, fulltime Centre students.

The 2009 Centre Associate of the Year award was presented to The Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation. Wayne Meisel, president of the foundation, accepted the award. The 2009 Young Associate of the Year award was presented to Stephen A. Hodges '99.

CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION

Work on the Campus Center continues full speed, despite some weather-related delays, and is scheduled to be completed by October 2009.

The Science Building addition and the renovation of Young Hall are moving ahead as planned, with the bidding process under way and drawings of the new Science Building complete. March 2009 is the scheduled start date for construction, and the road behind Young Hall will be closed and the parking lot behind Crounse will become the staging area for construction. Building of temporary entryways into Young Hall has been completed in preparation for the installation of a construction fence to enclose the site in March. Completion of the Science Building and renovation of Young Hall is scheduled for fall 2010.

Work on the College's Norton Center for the Arts will begin before the current school year is finished, though the College will be able to hold commencement exercises in Newlin Hall, as usual. The bidding process is under way for this work. Weisiger Theatre will be completed by the time Governor's Scholars return to campus at the end of June; Newlin Hall will be completed by early October, in time for the Norton Center's 2009-2010 season.

PLANNING

Clarence Wyatt, Claude D. Pottinger Professor of History, special assistant to the president and chief planning officer, reported recent activity on a number of planning initiatives. Several ad hoc committees are working on issues regarding global citizenship, technology, space use and faculty workload. In addition, the Curriculum Committee and the Division Chairs have been looking at other curricular initiatives in the plan. The Board heard about many of these initiatives including, in the area of global citizenship, several proposals for new minor programs in global commerce, global law and governance, global sustainability and regional studies. The committee also began exploring campus and faculty development initiatives to support global citizenship at Centre. Also, the ad hoc subcommittee on technology is looking at ways in which the College can support specific ways to use information technology to gain access to teaching and learning resources beyond the campus, as well as providing such resources as appropriate.

In addition to the above report, Anita M. Britton '76 was inducted and attended her first meeting as a Centre trustee. Britton, of Versailles, Ky., is a member in the Lexington office of the law firm Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC. A Kentucky native, Britton is a frequent lecturer to new lawyers on the ethics of litigation. The 2007 Centre Associate of the Year, Britton also is past president of the Centre National Alumni Association Board; member of the Kentucky Bar Association Board of Governors, Bluegrass Alliance for Women Steering Committee, Woodford County Theatrical Arts Association Board of Directors, YMCA Board of Managers, and Masterson Station Park Advisory Board. Britton also has been named among Super Lawyers Top 25 Women Lawyers in Kentucky.

The next scheduled meeting of the Centre Board of Trustees will be on the College's campus April 9 and 10.

- end -

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.