February 2023 Board of Trustees Meeting Recap

March, 3, 2023

Dear members of the SLU community,

I write to update you on our February meetings with the University’s Board of Trustees, including the main Board meeting on February 24. This was the third of four Board meetings in this fiscal year.

The Board meeting began with my report to the Trustees, summarizing the great work happening at SLU and how we continue to advance our four key priorities for the year: Academic Excellence, Sound Financial Planning and Budgeting that Supports our Mission, Advancing our Values-Driven Culture and Climate, and Holistic Student Well-being and Success. 

With these priorities in mind, I reiterated the many ways we are effectively advancing our vision to be a global Jesuit university — one that is mission-focused, student and patient-centered, and research-driven, working with the people of St. Louis to reimagine, transform, and unify our city.

• We are continuing to create an exceptional undergraduate experience, including launching our new undergraduate Core, reorganizing our schools and colleges, continuing our focus on career-integrated learning opportunities, and optimizing student success resources.
• We are providing our students opportunities to deepen their understanding of the University’s Catholic, Jesuit mission and identity.
• We are building our research capacity and each new development creates more possibilities for advancing academic excellence at SLU.
• We are taking steps to ensure that our compensation for staff is competitive, supporting our efforts to recruit and retain talent in a very challenging labor market.
• We are working to balance and diversify our revenue sources with strategic initiatives to increase global and graduate enrollment in key programs.

During my report, I shared several specific updates with the Board, including:

• The Taylor Geospatial Institute recently received a $1M grant from the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development to form the TGI Academy, which will be focused on education.
• Human Resources has partnered with AON Consulting to revamp our staff salary structure and to establish salary comparisons to market.
• SLU held a Vocation Week last month that allowed students to apply principles of Ignatian discernment and decision-making to their life and career journeys.
• Last month, Provost Michael Lewis, Ph.D., and I attended the annual meetings of the AJCU and ACCU in Washington D.C. Among other things, the AJCU discussed an initiative to develop a collaborative campaign for marketing the value of Jesuit higher education.
• Provost Lewis and I also have been meeting with the faculty and staff of each school and college to report on the state of the University, and to hear their questions and concerns. These meetings have been positive and constructive.
• Our Development Division recently held alumni events in Florida, where Fran and I joined our Development colleagues in meeting with current and prospective donors.

I ended my report on a lighter note, screening the video we created to welcome students back to campus this semester. If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch the video on SLU’s YouTube channel.

After my report, the Board received updates from several areas, including:

• Provost Lewis provided an overview of the Academic Strategic Plan, which sets priorities that guide our continued pursuit of excellence in academics and student success.
• Provost Lewis also spoke about the Global Graduate Initiative, which focuses on the long-term goal of re-balancing graduate and undergraduate enrollment. He shared that the Initiative has resulted in an exponential increase in graduate student enrollment this year.
• Student Development VP Sarah Cunningham, Ed.D., noted that more than 700 faculty, staff and students have received Mental Health First-Aid Training this academic year. Her team has done exemplary work around student well-being.

In addition to these reports, we continued our practice of spotlighting academics and research at Board of Trustees meetings, inviting faculty and students to deliver presentations during the meeting.

Matthew Baugh, S.J., Academic Program Director of Catholic Studies, offered insights into our Catholic Studies Program and its role at SLU. Undergraduate students Paul Gillman and Mady Thompson reflected on how the program has been personally transformative for them.

Chemistry Chair Alexei Demchenko, Ph.D., outlined his department’s recent research successes, the growth they have been able to achieve and their goals for the future, while graduate student Ashley Dent described her experience at SLU so far as a Ph.D. candidate in Chemistry.

Our Trustees are always energized when they hear from members of our University community and are especially inspired by our students’ stories. February’s meeting was no exception. In concluding this Board update, I would like to share a quote from our Ph.D. candidate that speaks directly to our shared purpose here at SLU.

“The best part about my experience so far is I have made friends that will genuinely last a lifetime…We're genuinely making the world a better place, and I think that's pretty awesome.”

Well said, Ashley. Well said.

Sincerely,

Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D.
President