Wesleyan Student Assembly — Wesleyan University

Minutes: October 8, 2006

WSA Officers

President: Zach Kolodin

Vice President: Brittany Mitchell

Coordinator: Estrella Lopez

Treasurer: Nicole Ippoliti

Meeting Agenda and Business

1. Open Forum
2. Approval of Minutes and New Members
3. Presentation from John Meerts, Wesleyan's Vice President of Finance and Administration.
4. Zach's update from the Trustee's retreat
5. WSA procedures spotlight: What's a resolution?
6. Committee Reports
7. New Business and Announcements

Attached Documents

Opening of Meeting

7:08 pm

Open Forum

Approval of Minutes

Minutes approved unanimously

Presentation from John Meerts

Wesleyan Vice President of Finance and Administration:

Mr. Meerts introduced himself. He worked in the ITS before. He explained about the financial department, dining hall, housing, transportation, etc. And also the physical plant area that maintains the buildings, lawn, etc. ITS is about the academic computing, payroll, financial area, etc. There're HR (Human resource) — payroll, benefits of employees & faculties, about the insurance, hiring people.

Mr. Meerts are worrying about the financial issues — do we have enough money? The boards are worrying about the inefficient money in many projects. One is the long range projection. They turn at least 9% to the Wesleyan University. They also got the increasing gifts to the endowment. They also do the funding the teaching which is about engaging with the world idea, spending more money in admissions, financial aids, professors, etc. Medical cost will increase $3 in new dept service.

From the graph the faculties' salary is dropping. The projected budget annual is assuming to be increasing in the 10 years in the future.

He explained about the budget endowments now and predicted about the annual projected budget in the next 10 years, the Wesleyan dept, the possibility that Wesleyan can borrow more money. Wesleyan already has the dept, the Connecticut Staff also helped us get money. The dept and the endowment maintain and in the ratio as $200M : $600M.

He also explained about the Additional capacity: the relationship among dept, gifts, total, need, and variance in the next 10 years.

We hope that we can find the fundraising to get $74M as we aim.

Stack:

Brittany: She has a question that he was in the ITS before, is he been hiring or anything to make him get the position?

Meerts: Explain how he was qualified for this position.

Meerts: the example is the dinning service. They will do the best possible service as the best possible price. And they are working on that.

Susie: She's glad he came, but are there any variable of the financials things? What happen if the stock market fails? If there's no fund raising anymore?

Meerts: It is about the fundraising. So we have to cut the budget.

Chris: What is the term he can use?

Meerts: take out less and get more money.

Anda: Want to know about the relationship between the endowment and the dept.

Meerts: He explains that we get from the endowments more than spending on the dept.

Susie: How much can they do to control the budget from the endowments, and how they spend, or how they can save money, because sometimes, people don't know how much money they can spend.

Meerts: The budget is on the website. He has not right to spend, but the upper people in the academic or financial departments will be responsible for this. He controls about the way how money should be or supposed to be spent.

Susie: Want to know the exact amount of money in each department spend, not only the faculties' salaries.

Meerts: It is about the academic affairs, not the vice president of financial department like him. But he also makes the stronger points, and the exact amount of money in faculties' and staffs' salaries by showing the table. 
Brit: Wants him to talk about the Science building and the grant about the environmental subject, or any stuff.

Meerts: Said he didn't know that the science buildings have the environmental department there too. He just likes the buildings and the classrooms.

Brit: Is there any part that students who are not science major can get involved?

Meerts: He said the costs of things in building the architectures are very high.

Zach K.: Ask the committees to Close stack

Ben: He asked about the percent in spending money.

Meerts: Explain that we might raise and give back more than 9%.

Ben: Want to know about the medical cost. He wanted to know what exactly that meant, and also the rate of growth.

Meerts: The faculties get sick, seeing doctor. We pay for that in some cases, the bad cases, in cancer, heart operation, etc. The growth rate is 4%

Benz: In increasing faculties' salaries, will that affect the students?

Meerts: Increasing 5% of the intuition. But actually the financial aid is going up. And also the facilities are improving, especially the dormitories, but it is hard to do that with the wood frame house. There's nothing in the plan that change the statistics, not to cut anything, not increasing the facilities.

Chris: What are the opportunities to lower the demanding in accepting students, while the number of the endowments is high per the actual students, although actually it's the lowest number of endowment per students among the top schools.

Nick: Where does the dept come from?

Meerts: Ultimately is from the budget, part of the budget, the rest is the gift.

Annie: Can they give the information in the appropriate place?

Meerts: We are trying to do so.

Mr. Meerts finished his report. Everybody thanked Mr. Meerts. - Moving to the next topic

• Zach's update from the Trustee's Retreat:

Report on the Trustee's meeting to the WSA from Zach Kolodin: 
 
*John Meerts and Tom Kannam reported on Wesleyan financial profile. Our investment returns met the trustees' goal of being in the top quartile of institutions with the same or larger endowments for the last 1, 3 and 5 year periods.  Our total endowment continues to lag behind our academic peer institutions at $625 million.  
  
*Large projects for the future, including the construction of a new molecular life sciences building to replace Hall-Atwater, a University Museum, a renovated Davenport, as well as the future of wood frame houses were discussed, including strategies for raising the money for the science center.  
 
*Wesleyan's institutional position, particularly its place in the U.S. News and Report rankings, was debated. Wesleyan placed 10th this year and was 6th in academic reputation.  Jim Dresser, chair of the board, quoted the executive editor of USN&WR, who said this fall: "The difference between Number 1 and Number 10 is miniscule."  Wesleyan placed a satisfying 3rd in the Washington Monthly rankings.  
 
*Wesleyan's competitiveness in the Academic marketplace was discussed; generally speaking, the Trustees recognize Wesleyan's superb faculty and outstanding students and are puzzled why we do not rank even higher relative to our peer schools.  
 
*The committees, Campus Affairs, University Relations, and Finance, each discussed their agendas for the year. Campus Affairs has a number of tenure cases to review this year, and will also review the progress of new Dean's Office programming. 

• WSA procedures spotlight: What's a resolution?:

Zach explains it is the statement of what we think, someone brings the resolution in, then if it's approved, it become the collective amendments. Doing by the majority vote.

Stack:

Brittany: explained that the resolution cannot be brought to people who are outside WSA before being approved.

Eric: Where can we find the resolution, is it published?

Brit: Published on the website

Estrella: said we will reform the website.

Zach K: said that there are the articles in the Argus.

Susie: Is it possible that the resolution will be known by us that who had & be sent to?

XiaoXi: Who actually we sent the resolution to?

Zach K: explained.

Ben: Shoul the resolution be included in the minutes so we can vote or agree or disagree

Annie: Who decides the resolution should be passed?

Zach: answers it's Zach K & Estrella

• Committee Reports

All committees are reported and attached.

The FiFac reported in the meeting.

Brit: Said that she would do more work with the ITS, meeting with Dean Maria about the information in the WSA Binders, and will put more information on WSA Website.

Stack:

Susie: Information

Brit: put on the WSA Website to be more resourceful

Nishita: about the EPC, how can she find the information?

Ben: It's still part of the agenda.

Nishita: Ask Annie to send out the information.

Nishita: asking people, please encourage the group to update the information.

Annie: She is hurt by the information she put was not put on, about the student groups.

Ben: President Benedict will go to the lounge to see the students? Is it appropriate?

Nishita: suggest that WSA members should go to there to be the buffers, make sure he's not going there alone.

Brit: the middle east study thing — can be done.

Iwan: the question on IPC about the new minor program. Do they think we have enough classes for that?

Ben: It's not about the inefficient in classes but it's in the faculties.

Iwan: Is it possible to look into the curriculum in major requirements to make it less tough? Or be more acceptable?

Anda: Asking about the breaking about the party.

Jorge: Explain that it was not the Public Safety, but the Middletown Police, that's why it was the big problem.

Zach K: He said about the course cluster about the Middleeast study that it was almost nothing, so it can be done easily.

Ben: Explain about the course cluster.

Annie: Support the Middle East study major, but didn't think that this is for EPCs job.

Halim: The committee report for the SAC about the diversity.

Whitney: Sending the information

Nicole: Clarified that there were 2 assaults last night, that's why the public safety came.

Anda: Want to see more varieties in policies, and political parties, by inviting more speakers to speak in Wesleyan.

Brit: If we want to see many parties, we should find the organizations to organizes. And back to the Middle East study.

Jorge: The middle east study program, if it won't affect the students in the campus, this might not be on the top of the priority.

Annie: Disagree with Jorge, because she thinks anybody can study about this,

No matter who.

Chris: Contact is important.

Susie: Security is important.

Nishita: Nice idea about the Speakers.

Estrella: For the diversity conversation. Talking about the party, the insecurity.

Zach K: We only focus on the Students Priority, encourage to focus on the international priority too — related to the Middle East Study. We can also build the relationship.

Brit: Security issue. The environment, the properties, and the party problem, we should take our own responsibility.

Esther: It might be the good way to take the Middle East Study to be minor.

Close Stack

• New Business and Announcements

- Annie announced about the EC: Endowment Committee: Work about the things how school invest money, make students aware of the financial body, get participate in the company, and anything about the financial stuff. It's supposed to be voted

- Brittany announced about if there's anyone who is interested in the ITS, CRC, Athletes committees, should contact directly to her.

- Zach K would like to meet the freshmen, Ben, Zach B, and Mark after the meeting.

Adjournment: 9:15 pm

   Respectfully submitted,

Sawitree Fon Kongmuang,

       WSA Secretary