Prez@Catawba - Update from President Brien Lewis
 February 27, 2015
 
Dear Catawba Community,
I am pleased to provide you with this report on recent activities and progress at Catawba College. As always, if you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or Amy Williams to obtain additional information.
 
SACSCOC
 
As I reported recently, we had an outstanding site visit by colleagues from across the southeast representing the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Final action will be taken by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees at their meeting in Houston in December.

Out of well over 70 requirements and standards, we have received only two recommendations from the site team: One on continuing to use and track data from our newly implemented assessment processes to improve outcomes and the other requiring that we clarify the extent of a program that we offer at the Harris Rd. campus of Central Piedmont Community College. We are addressing these recommendations promptly and thoroughly.

This is an outstanding result and I am deeply grateful to the many individuals and teams across the college community who contributed to this remarkable testament to the qualities and strengths of Catawba.
 
Board of Trustees Actions
 
At their recent meeting, the Board of Trustees received a lot of information and had a lot of discussion, although their list of action items was relatively short. The following is a brief recap of the highlights:

1. Election of Officers: The Board selected a slate of officers for this year, re-electing Darlene Ball as Chair, Bill Graham as Vice-Chair, Sally Whitney as Treasurer, and Deborah Messinger as Secretary.
2. Election of Trustees: The Board approved the following trustees for additional four-year terms: Mike Bauk , Ed Brown, Julian Robertson, Ronnie Smith, and Martha West.
3. Auditor: The Board approved a one-year extension of the audit contract for the firm of Cherry Baekert.
4. President: The Board approved a five-year contract for the President. I am very appreciative of this vote of confidence and I look forward to continuing to work with all members of the College community to build on our collective achievements.
 
Congratulations to Dr. Forrest Anderson and Dr. Eric Hake
 
Hake
Hake
Anderson
Anderson
The Board of Trustees approved the recommendations of the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee to confer tenure on Dr. Forrest Anderson and Dr. Eric Hake. Please join me in congratulating them on these significant milestones in their academic careers!
 
Congratulations to Dr. Forrest Anderson, Dr. Eric Hake, and
Dr. Jim Hand
 
Anderson
Hand
Please also join me in congratulating Dr. Forrest Anderson and Dr. Jim Hand on their promotions to Associate Professor as well as Dr. Eric Hake on his promotion to Professor. I was pleased to approve these well-deserved recognitions as recommended by the Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee.
 
Budget and Financial Updates
 
Overall, the College's financial picture has improved substantially in the past couple of years thanks to enrollment growth, sound fiscal management, and budgetary restraint. As we move toward finalizing plans for next year's budget, there are several key guidelines for us:

- Budget Deficit (including depreciation): We have reduced this from over $2.5 million a few years ago to zero - and we will keep it at zero for the 2015-16 budget.
- Unrestricted Gifts:  We have reduced reliance on the "unrestricted gifts" line in the budget from $3.65 million in 2011-12 to $1.2 million this year. Our ultimate goal needs to be to reduce this line to zero over time both because of anticipated changes in accounting rules and so we can be asking for gifts to move us forward, not just to balance the budget! 

At their meeting this week the Trustees reviewed a preliminary 2015-16 budget in keeping with these guidelines. In June, the Trustees will be asked to approve a balanced budget based on level enrollment.

I will continue to keep the campus advised of any developments as we must do everything possible to maintain a balanced budget so that we can meet these targets in the coming year.
 
Strategic Plan and Annual Plan
 
Each year's Annual Plan sets forth specific action items which are intended to be accomplished within an academic year in furtherance of longer term goals and objectives. The mid-year progress reports have already been shared with the campus and this is the time for units and departments to begin thinking about suggestions for inclusion of their ideas and initiatives in next year's Annual Plan, which will be reviewed at the Cabinet's full day meetings in May.
 
Comprehensive Campaign
 
Our Catawba: The Forward Path
To date the campaign has received over $38 million in gifts and commitments - a wonderful demonstration of support for Catawba! Many of these gifts are for specific purposes, are multi-year gifts, or are part of people's estate plans. In other words, we are not sitting on a $38 million piggy bank to just spend. Nonetheless, many improvements that you are already seeing (or will see soon) to facilities, scholarships, and programs are a direct result of these generous gifts. Please keep an eye out for announcements about specific gifts and their donors - and say thank you to these wonderful supporters when you encounter them.
 
Enrollment Updates
 
The next few months are "crunch time" as admitted students select which institution they will attend and others wait to hear where they have been admitted. Our preliminary numbers are encouraging, as we are tracking ahead of where we were on the same date last year in all key categories (number of deposited students, percentage of admitted students who have made a deposit, academic quality of deposited students, etc.) Major admissions events will be very important, as will hundreds of individual interactions between faculty, staff, students and our prospective students and their families. Thanks in advance for all you will do to help bring in the strongest possible group of entering students!
 
Pardon Our Progress...
 
Quick notes on facilities projects you will see more about soon:

-
Solar Panels
Solar and Water Project:
Work continues on many corners of the campus as we implement the largest such undertaking by any higher education institution in the State of North Carolina. If weather and other factors cooperate, we should be able to complete the installations by May.
-
Gym Campaign
Gym Floor and Bleachers: 
Thanks to several generous gifts for much-needed work to improve Goodman Gymnasium, we will be replacing the current floor with an all-wood floor and making significant improvements to the seating. Work will commence after the Missions of Mercy Dental Clinic in March and must be completed by early June.
 
Fond Farewells
 
We are going to miss some terrific folks who are leaving the College to pursue other opportunities or chapters in their lives:

- Chuck Williams, who has served with great distinction as our Vice President for Finance and Business. Chuck has steered the College through some rough fiscal patches, always with a keen eye on the institution's best interests but with a heart the size of Texas for helping students complete their education. Chuck is heading back to Tennessee to enjoy an overdue but very well deserved retirement. He goes with my deep personal thanks and the gratitude of the College community for all he has done to improve our situation.
- Eric Nianouris, who has served with dedication as our Facilities Director. Always available and always willing to do what he could to make the campus better, we wish Eric well as he takes on new responsibilities for direction of all the facilities of the Rowan-Salisbury School System.
- Doug Stanley, who has provided great insight and assistance to so many departments through his tireless work in Information Technology. Doug has overseen or participated in countless projects to make us more efficient and more effective in our daily work and strategic initiatives. We are excited that he will be able to use his experience and good humor as he takes on a larger role at East Carolina University.
- Dawn Snook, who has done so much to help students and improve processes as our Financial Aid Director. Dawn has been tireless in finding every means possible to make Catawba accessible for our students, impacting literally hundreds of lives. She is moving to Pennsylvania as her husband, Allen, has been offered the role of Athletic Director at Cedar Crest College. This is an exciting time for their family and we wish them all the best for this new adventure.

Please join me in expressing our sincere appreciation to these members of the Catawba family for all they have done for us!
 
In Conclusion
 
I know once again that there are many, many more items that are worthy of reporting to you that I am likely overlooking in the interest of keeping this report as concise as possible. Please check the website regularly to keep up with the latest news and opportunities available on campus.

Yours at Catawba,
Brien Lewis
Brien Lewis

Twitter
@CatawbaPrez



CATAWBA COLLEGE
2300 West Innes Street
Salisbury, NC 28144
1-800-CATAWBA