Goal: Share expectations for the next strategic plan and strategic planning process as well as listen for ideas/feedback on areas of focus.
- Do we lose anything if we have a 1B endowment? Important to communicate and explain why we still would need small gifts and broad based support. Keep explaining how a large endowment can impact students.
- Living in community will need to be redefined. The discussion around residential life is important.
- We need to continue to pay attention to our campus entry.
- What does online mean for a liberal arts college? Ignoring the future will be a big mistake.
- Retention is as big a factor in growth as recruiting.
- Can we learn anything from Central Christian College? How do we build relationships with the community so they will support our growth?
- Work to encourage alumni to get students to campus.
- Our alumni would provide lots of support for growing our international population.
- Lots of interest in the alumni board having the opportunity to engage throughout the process.
I have served/consulted with a number of boards of directors of charitable organizations. Some struggle with how much is enough in endowment. It seems we lose so much potential to continue/meet/exceed our mission with $1 billion in endowment (assuming it is restricted). What are we sacrificing by building such a large “store house”.
Improving the campus entry would be a high priority. Hundreds of vehicles travel Kansas Avenue everyday. the city has improved the entry to McPherson via Kansas Ave. it would be great for us to do the same. Excellent way to market the college. Upfront cost is expensive. But, its benefits will last for years.