On Oct. 2-4, the board of trustees met for the first time for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The committee meetings covered investments, advancement, academic affairs, buildings and grounds, Quaker life and diversity.Considering the financial crisis that America is in at the moment, the one question on everyone’s mind is the state of the endowment portfolio.
“Well, we lost three million dollars just at the beginning of this week, but it will go back up. The funds are all in long term stuff and well diversified,” said Joe Bryan Jr., chair of the board of trustees.
The endowment is held in many different funds and is managed by a comprehensive long-term plan, so it is expected to rise and fall with the markets. The diversification is a strategy to protect against any specific industry loss that could happen. If the funds were all invested in only one industry, such as the financial industry, then there would be a significant problem.
Though the long range plan is secure, the short term financial pinch is reflected in the new budget. The operating budget that was approved in February for 2008-2009 was cut, revised, and re-approved.
“The guiding principles for the cut decisions were that they should not affect the students or the educational quality,” said Rita Serotkin, dean for continuing education. “Building projects and maintenance got cut and admissions won’t be able to hire someone new – that sort of thing.”
There was a lot of talk about the college’s image at the meetings as well. The capital campaign is calling for a comprehensive marketing and branding effort of the school.
“We are trying to sell our strengths, what makes us special, and what was good on the (prospective student) tours,” said Serotkin
“The school hasn’t had a comprehensive interdepartmental integrated marketing campaign in the past,” said Ty Buckner, senior director of communications and marketing. “Marketing has mainly been focused through the enrollment department for recruitment.”
Buckner has been working closely with the capital campaign that is aimed at growing outside contributions to the college. The campaign is still in its quiet phase, so it’s not being publicized to the larger community. It has already generated gifts that have met a third of the $75 million target in the past two years. Currently, there is not a date for going public with the fundraiser. However, the target date for completion is 2012.
“The financial outlook is strong and the people on the board are protecting all the investments for Guilford,” said junior Victor Vincent, a CCE Student Government Association (SGA) member who attended the investments committee meeting.
Vincent admitted going into the meeting being unsure of what to expect, but he left feeling confident about the way the investments are being handled.
“They are taking into account the social and environmental impacts of the companies that we invest in,” Vincent said.
Putnam Investments, Wellington Management, and NEPC are the investment firms that presented their strategies for Guilford’s portfolio in the investments meeting, though the trustees did not approve any new plans.
“They did not make a commitment. It’s not a decision to make without investigating everything,” Vincent said.
Other students from the Community Senate and CCE/SGA attended the meetings, and like Vincent, reported positive experiences.
“It’s easy as a student to think of the board of trustees as this big nameless, faceless entity. It was so enlightening to see how passionate they all were at making things work in a time of national turmoil that we are in,” said Community Senate Secretary Hannah Kennedy, a sophomore.
The board will meet again in February 2009 to review the ongoing research into the endowment funds’ growths and declines, and then approve the new portfolio management plan.
“Overall it was a lot more positive and productive meeting than expected,” Serotkin said.