Feb. 3 staff meeting recap

At the first staff meeting of 2023, President Marc Conner updated the Skidmore community on important initiatives and events, three cabinet-level searches, and a brighter than anticipated fiscal outlook. Skidmore staff also participated in conversations about Skidmore’s Visions and Values project. 

Director of Human Resources Julie Delay welcomed nine new staff members who have joined Skidmore since the last staff meeting in December. She encouraged staff to review HR’s Professional Development and Training webpage for upcoming opportunities, such as a session on “Addressing Microbehaviors” on Feb. 22 and another on “Compassionate Leadership during Turbulent Times” on April 4.  

President Conner opened by expressing excitement for the upcoming Winter Celebration on Friday, Feb. 10, which will be held for the first time since 2019. He highlighted a number of important events happening on campus, including a national symposium on speech and expression on college campuses that will take place in April. Keynote speakers for the forum are Danielle Allen of Harvard University, Wesleyan University President Michael Roth, and New York Times columnist David Brooks. More details are forthcoming.  

“It's going to be a national event and really a model of how we talk about and engage difference on a college campus, and I'm proud that Skidmore is on the forefront of that,” President Conner said.  

Searches for three vice presidents are currently underway. A search committee is currently reviewing finalists for Skidmore’s next vice president for finance and administration/treasurer, and another committee is considering semifinalist candidates for vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid. Skidmore has also resumed its search for a vice president for communications and marketing.  

The president also shared that Skidmore continues to enjoy a better than anticipated fiscal outlook. Boosted by higher-than-expected enrollment and tuition revenue, as well as operational savings, the College anticipates a budget surplus again this year. 

“What do you do when you have repeated surpluses? What do you do when year after year, we exceed our targets for enrollment?” the president asked. “For about the last 20 years, we've exceeded our projected enrollments, and in most years we have had surpluses, although we continue to budget otherwise.” 

He said College leaders, including Cabinet, the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC), and Board of Trustees were now evaluating assumptions about Skidmore’s budget and how to move forward.   

“We're going to keep studying this. We’re going to keep looking at this. I think at the end of this year we're going have good news to share, though it’s unclear yet how good that news can be,” he said. 

The second half of the meeting was dedicated to small group discussions about Skidmore’s Visions and Values project, a year-long community-wide engagement with what makes Skidmore a special place. In particular, the groups considered: 

What distinguishes Skidmore from other small, liberal arts colleges? What are some characteristics of Skidmore that, if taken away, would mean we are no longer Skidmore College? 

What are the defining values of Skidmore? In what do we believe? 

The meeting took place in person at the Tang Teaching Museum, with a Zoom option as well. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, March. 3.