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Dear Friends,
There is always some trepidation before the winter meetings of the Academy Board as to whether weather or the flu season will cause problems. Thankfully, we had a beautiful weekend for our meetings and retreat, and only a few were unable to participate due to illness. As usual, there were many wonderful moments and several important developments.
Education Committee Meeting
The Board is expected to attend this meeting on the Friday morning preceding each full Board meeting. This time every Board member who could attend did so (19 out of 23). The purpose is to inform the Board about the core work of the Academy in the classroom and in all activities involving students. It also provides the opportunity for the Board to show its support for the wonderful things happening at the Academy in these areas. Many Board members comment that this meeting is the highlight of every Board meeting weekend and really recommits them to work hard in support of the Academy. This is why they do what they do!
Esther Yardumian-Smyth, Secondary Schools English Department Head, gave an inspiring presentation about the importance of literature and the written and spoken word. The Academy provides the value-add of teaching these subjects in light of and in concert with the Lord’s Word. She also electronically introduced the Board to the members of the Secondary Schools English Department and boasted about what great contributions each of them makes to the English program.
Stephen Morley, Glencairn Museum Director, gave an excellent presentation about the use of the incredible Glencairn Museum as a classroom – how it is used to depict religious history and art over the ages, and how it has left an impression on many students both inside and outside the Church over many years. This was demonstrated by a series of illustrations presented by those teachers and students directly involved in the programs.
The Board greatly appreciated both sections of the meeting. Both were videotaped and we intend to use them for recruiting purposes. People interested in seeing a copy of the videos should contact the Development Office.
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Rev. Prescott Rogers, Chairman of the Board and President of the Academy, opened the full Board meeting with a reading from True Christian Religion 504 concerning the difference between merely natural rationality and morality and a spiritual-natural rationality and morality. President Rogers touted the value of New Church education at the Academy in this regard, particularly the emphasis in the Secondary Schools on the development of a moral conscience in our students.
Chancellor’s Report
Rt. Rev. Tom Kline was able to attend the meeting for the first few hours. (The General Church Board meeting also was occurring on Saturday.) He spoke about his vision of strategic planning for the General Church. He is committed to planning in collaboration with the Academy. As part of this joint strategic planning, Bishop Kline spoke about the important role to be played by a new and effective marketing effort. He expressed his delight at seeing the good faith effort on the part of the boards and administrations of both the General Church and the Academy to work together for the mutual benefit of both organizations.
President’s Report
Rev. Rogers referred to his written report in which he mentioned the following:
- The Academy’s strategic planning
- The need to manage succession planning for the Academy’s schools
- The nominating process for the Board’s vice chair
- Personal leadership philosophy statements from each of the members of the Academy Leadership Team
- The joint effort between the Theological School and the Bishop’s Office to recruit qualified young men to the ministry
- The need to provide for the Academy’s marketing needs
- The General Church Sexual Abuse Policy Manual which will cover all General Church employees, including the Academy’s employees
- Issues regarding tenure and the announcement that Dr. Neil Simonetti is making application for tenure
- Possible governance developments at Glencairn Museum
- Three new technology committees to improve the use of technology in education and in administration
- The need for help in setting up the Ambassador Program for the Corporation with linkage to the implementation of the Associate Membership for the Corporation
Rev. Rogers added the following at the meetings:
- The Academy’s involvement in the program involving 25 college campuses in Pennsylvania to address the safety needs with regard to chemical storage and other matters. (This is a pilot program that is being praised by both Governor Rendell and the Environmental Protection Agency.)
- The Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom has just received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from Temple University
Heads of Schools Report
Rev. Eric Carswell, Dean of the Theological School, spoke about the recruitment efforts, the role of the Theological School in the strategic planning process, and the commitment of the school to distance learning and other forms of non-traditional delivery of education. These distance learning methods are supporting the theological schools in Ghana and South Africa and are reducing the need for theologs from overseas to come to Bryn Athyn to study.
Dr. Charles Lindsay, Dean of Bryn Athyn College of the New Church, spoke about the College’s marketing efforts (identity, branding, niche, targets, etc.), its recruiting efforts, its new professional relationship with Colonial Williamsburg (to complement the relationship with the Massachusetts Historical Society), and the proposed business program as part of an Interdisciplinary Major.
Mr. Scott Daum, Principal of the Boys School, presented his reasons for why he is leaving his office at the end of the 2005-06 school year. He did this to inform, but also to confront rumors about his decision.
Vice Chair Report
Vice Chair Dick Brickman spoke of the process to select his successor as Vice Chair. Dick is retiring from the Board when his term expires in May. The process, which began in September, has worked satisfactorily and some improvements are being considered. In Executive Session the Board voted for Maj. Gen. Fred Fiedler as the Vice Chair-elect, effective immediately. It is expected that he will become the Vice Chair in May.
Treasurer’s Report
Vice President and Treasurer Dan Allen reported on current year progress against budget. Once again, enrollments and tuition income are up and contributions are trending ahead of budget. While there are some areas of concern in expenses, such as energy costs, by and large Dan is optimistic that we will close the year with another surplus. Budgeting is progressing for 2006. We will be preparing next year’s budget with only a modest increase to payout from endowment income, since the payout rate remains high as a result of market declines in 2002 and 2003.
Other items in Dan’s report:
- A new committee was formed in December to establish operating guidelines for the Richard R. Gladish Tennis Complex. The courts will be secured with persons permitted to use the court by means of a key card. We will ask members for an annual contribution. More information on these developments will be published soon.
- The Academy is participating with the Bryn Athyn Church in a scholarship organization, established to receive contributions from businesses that can be claimed as an earned income tax credit against their Pennsylvania corporate income taxes under certain circumstances. We will be preparing a public announcement for businesses to get behind this program for the 2005-2006 school year.
Committee Reports:
The Development Committee chair, Clark Pitcairn, announced good results from the following fund-raising initiatives:
- The Jungé match program, fostering increased donor participation to the Academy, has helped push participation above 44% of alumni.
- Telethons with Secondary Schools, College, and alumni involvement have been very successful. We received contributions from more than 100 new donors. Students have had a great time and it has been a real learning experience for them.
- The most recent Charter Day was extremely successful for fund-raising activities. They included the silent auction which supported scholarships and the new tennis courts, the Beach Boys concerts which supported the Nishan Yardumian Arts Funds, the golf tournament and class gifts.
The Fund for the Academy, as noted, is trending ahead of budget, but contribution amounts for calendar year 2004 came in somewhat lower than contributions for 2003. The Development Office is following up to try to restore giving to previous levels for 2005.
The Marketing & Recruiting Committee chair, Andrew Sullivan, gave an uplifting vision of a combined Marketing Department for the Academy and the Church for next fiscal year, assuming budgetary resources are available. He noted that the Marketing & Recruiting Committee has a great deal of energy and ideas, but it does not have a administrative department to make them happen. Representatives from the Academy, the General Church and the Bryn Athyn Church are meeting soon to establish goals for this effort and to determine appropriate funding. The Board affirmed that this effort should have a high priority with a plan to be brought back for its consideration in a future meeting.
The Human Resource Committee chair, Karen Stoeller, reported that her committee affirmed the salary scales to be considered as part of the 2006 budget process. These scales are increased by inflation and include the third and final phase-in of the recommended increase to steps 4-10 of the scales from the 2002 Compensation Study. Joint Benefits Committee chair, Jamie Uber, described trends in medical insurance for next year, recent increases to retiree medical insurance and anticipated savings that may occur as a result of the new Medicare drug program in 2006.
The Investment Committee chair, Dirk Jungé, explained that the NCIF has recently reduced its fixed income asset allocation from 30% to 25%. Our total assets yielded 11% in calendar year 2004. This performance exceeded our primary benchmark, adjusted for the change to the fixed income allocation, on a one-, three- and five-year basis. We recently participated in the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) annual endowment study. Our performance among 670 endowments across the country is approximately at the 50th percentile.
Dan also reminded the Board that the qualified pension assets have been recently rolled into a pension trust, managed separately from the NCIF. The Academy Investment Committee will be added as an investment fiduciary for the trust, along with the General Church Investment Committee. The General Church Investment Committee has recently studied and agreed upon an appropriate asset allocation for these funds.
The Facilities and Grounds Committee chair, Carl Asplundh, and Fred Fiedler, chair of the Accessibility Committee, reviewed the list of capital budget items for the upcoming 2005-2006 fiscal year. These include:
- Additional steam line and electrical upgrades on the Academy campus
- Two new apartments in Stuart Hall for faculty housing and upgraded housing units in Glenn Hall
- Repointing of the archway between Benade Hall and the Fine Arts Building
- Renovation of Childs Hall bathrooms, new exterior lighting and other building improvements and repairs
- Grant Hall lounge renovation
- Stuart Hall bathroom renovations
- Swedenborg Library skylight replacement to reduce humidity in upstairs stacks
- A limited access, limited use elevator in Pendleton Hall and an accessible restroom
- An accessible restroom in Glenn Hall
- Various improvements at Glencairn, Cairnwood and the John Pitcairn Archives
These items were later approved as part of the capital budget submitted by the Finance Committee.
The Finance Committee chair, Reade Genzlinger, sought and received Board approval for the following items:
- The Academy’s 2004 audit statements, with a clean opinion from its auditors Wheeler, Wolfenden & Dwares. These reports will be printed in the Academy Journal.
- Tuition rates for 2005-2006. Tuition after the New Church grant will be increasing to approximately $6,500 in the Secondary Schools and $8,600 in Bryn Athyn College. Room and board will be increasing by only 1% in the Secondary Schools and 4% in Bryn Athyn College. We are also examining further changes to aid formulas next year, particularly to ensure that need-based aid is increased for parents of boarding students at the Academy Secondary Schools.
The Resource Committee chair, Alan Elder, spoke about the following:
- Conflict of Interest questionnaires for 2005 for several Corporation members still need to be received. All Board members have completed their questionnaire to date. The administration is following up.
- A few amendments to the Nominating Committee guidelines are still pending, mainly to ensure participation by the Resource Committee chair or vice chair. A new proposal was made to set up a mechanism for the president and the Executive Committee to provide appropriate input to the Nominating Committee on Board needs, as Board positions turn over. For example, Board members Karen Stoeller and Dick Brickman will have their terms come to an end after the May meeting. They currently fill vital needs that need to be considered as new Board appointments are made.
The Board held its retreat on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The focus of the Saturday session was strategic planning. The Board heard about the preliminary recommendations of the Secondary Schools and College Program Subcommittees, examining issues of growth in the schools, including facilities, faculty, administrative support and other issues. Some of the financial aspects of our planning were presented. The involvement of the Bryn Athyn Church and the General Church in this planning was described, and the excellent work of our master planning consultant, Sasaki Associates, was demonstrated. The Board had an opportunity to reflect on the presentations and summarize the things they feel they need to see before the final strategic plan is approved. The Strategic Planning Committee expects to give the Board another report in May and to present a final plan for approval in September 2005.
On Sunday morning, the Board spent time reflecting on how it can improve its effectiveness. Prescott presented several ideas from various nationally-recognized non-profit board resource groups, particularly looking for ways to make committees work more effectively together. This included sharing of agendas and establishing a master plan when multiple committees need to work on projects together. The Board also reviewed its recent self-assessment report from the spring of 2003, administered by BoardSource, and came up with a number of ideas for improvement. It is anticipated that Board assessment reports and these ideas for improvement will be presented to a future Corporation meeting. Finally, the recent Donor Survey was reviewed and issues were summarized. The Academy and General Church are forming a joint steering committee to develop responses and action items to the survey. This steering committee and its progress will be reported at upcoming Corporation meetings of the Academy and General Church.
Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Prescott A. Rogers, President
prescott.rogers@anc-gc.org
215-938-2579
Daniel T. Allen, Vice President/Treasurer
daniel.allen@anc-gc.org
215-938-2636
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