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President's Message on February Board of Trustees Meeting

March 25, 2022

Dear members of the SLU community,

On Friday, February 25, we concluded three days of meetings with the University’s Board of Trustees. This was the third of four Board meetings in this fiscal year.

We began with a full afternoon New Trustee Orientation on Wednesday, designed to engage the new trustees with the academic and organizational life of SLU. The attending trustees said they were impressed with the presentations and work conducted to support our students and patients.

Thursday and the morning of Friday were devoted to 12 separate trustee committee meetings, where groups of trustees are engaged in the various operations of the University: everything from Academic Affairs to Student Development.

The main Board meeting was held Friday afternoon in a hybrid format, and I was encouraged to see that so many of the trustees joined us in person. I would like to summarize some of the discussions that took place at the meeting.

In my report to the trustees, I shared some of the many ways we are publicizing the very positive happenings at SLU. The 2021 President’s Report has been mailed to 135,000 SLU alumni and donors and has now also been sent to the leadership of approximately 400 colleges and universities that vote in the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings. Additionally, the 2021 Research Institute Impact Report will be mailing in March. That report will highlight the great growth of research taking place at SLU.

I recounted for the trustees our decision-making process when we agreed that it would be in our students’ best academic and mental health interests to start our spring semester on campus and in person. We shared the exceptionally good news about the low positivity rate on campus this semester thanks to the commitment by our students, faculty, and staff. I especially thanked SLUCare faculty and healthcare staff for their heroic work in managing the great increases in COVID-positive patients this winter.

And I shared the very positive news that the U.S. Chess Federation will move its headquarters to St. Louis from Tennessee mostly through the work and dedication of SLU Trustee Rex Sinquefield. His support for chess and SLU’s Chess Team has led to the team’s victory at the 2021 Rapid Cup Championship.

Provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D., shared with the trustees the work taking place to develop a new Academic Strategic Plan. Provost Lewis is engaging faculty and other members of the SLU community in creating a three-year plan to guide our academic endeavors and growth.

Provost Lewis also presented the final decisions from the Academic Portfolio Review Committee to close nine academic programs over the next two years. The closings were approved by the Board. They include:

Enrollment Management Vice President Kathleen Davis and Associate Provost Eric Armbrecht discussed enrollment strategic planning and balancing undergraduate and graduate enrollments going forward. Graduate enrollment in targeted areas has grown dramatically over the past two years, bringing in an additional $4 million in new tuition revenue.

The Governance Committee recommended six distinguished people to receive honorary degrees at St. Louis and Madrid commencement ceremonies in May. They are:

St. Louis

Madrid

There were reports from many other trustee committees, including, Business and Administration; Development; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Medical Affairs; and Student Development.

The Board also celebrated the news that Christine Jacobs, M.D., has been appointed as the permanent dean and vice president for medical affairs, after serving in those interim roles since February 2021.

Finally, we invited Monica Eppinger, Ph.D., J.D., to speak to the trustees and vice presidents about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its impact on the Ukrainian people. Eppinger is an associate professor in the SLU School of Law and the Department of Anthropology and Sociology, and she once served as a U.S. diplomat stationed in Ukraine. Eppinger provided a brief recent history of Ukraine, view of the current invasion, and on conversations she has had with her friends and colleagues living in Ukraine. It was an enlightening and informative talk.

Sincerely,
 
Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
President