This past weekend was a busy one as members of the Drake University Board of Trustees were on campus for their fall meeting. We covered many topics on Friday and Saturday, and concluded with a wonderful celebration of the record-breaking distinctlyDrake campaign Saturday night. Seeing so many of our loyal supporters all in one spot was energizing and inspiring.

Many noteworthy topics were addressed at the board meeting, of which I’d like to share a few highlights. The board received an update regarding the STEM@DRAKE project. Work is being done to finalize costs in alignment with the budget, as well as to complete construction documents that will take our design and renderings into development. The board was briefed that the University will pursue Green Globes certification of the new connector building and the School of Education, Computer Sciences, and Math building. Green Globes is a nationally recognized rating assessment, guidance, and certification program. Right now, we are targeting the rating of two globes, an achievement that will underscore the importance of sustainability on our campus.

Teresa Krejci, chief financial officer, shared budget savings updates with the board. Savings initiatives in the FY16 budget call for a temporary reduction in operational expenses of $509,000 and temporary salary savings of $500,000. Thanks to the efforts of units across campus and the work of our colleagues in the finance office, we have already met the goal for operational savings. Additionally, we have saved $330,000 in salary expenses from the 60-day open position hold practice and nearly $60,000 from position restructuring thus far, and Teresa expects we will meet or exceed our goal for the fiscal year.

We also discussed improvements to our athletics facilities. Drake Stadium underwent a $15 million renovation in 2005, and the time has come to replace the track surface, field turf, video board, and sound system as these features have begun to fail. The cost of the updates is approximately $2.3 million. We have secured gifts and pledges from donors totaling more than $2.45 million for these projects.

Finally, the trustees spent much of their time looking at tuition pricing. As we are all well aware, the cost of higher education and the resulting debt many students leave college with is an important issue in our industry. While no decisions were made, the discussion was productive and informative as we begin the work of both setting next year’s tuition and the University’s operating budget.

Best,

Marty