Faculty Endorse Plan for MHC 2003; Hear Reports on Topics from Admission to Salary Increases
A majority of professors at the May 7 faculty meeting endorsed the final draft of the Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003. No one voted against the plan, though about a dozen professors abstained. The plan was presented to and approved by trustees last weekend. In other business, faculty received reports on admission, College finances, and salary increases.
Director of Admission Anita Smith delivered lots of good news. "This has been a tremendous year; things are rocking in the admission office," she said, citing a 40 percent rise in the Early Decision applicant pool, an overall rise in the applicant pool of 13.5 percent, and a 20 percent growth in the number of campus visitors during Preview. The College's acceptance rate (a measure of academic selectivity) has been reduced to 60 percent from rates of between 65 and 78 percent in recent years. As of May 7, 503 women had decided to join the class of 2001 (only 435 had accepted last year at this time).
Ninety of the 503 are ALANA students, and forty-nine are international students. Rank-in-high-school-class figures are virtually identical to last year's (54 percent in the top 10 percent of their class this year vs. 52 percent last year). Some 320 students have yet to respond to our offer of admission, but Smith says there should be no problem meeting the goal of enrolling 525 women in the class of 2001.
Chief financial officer Mary Jo Maydew credited managers of administrative departments with meeting the cost reduction goal of $2 million for the coming fiscal year, "a big number, especially in an institution that had already been constraining costs for about six years." But she noted that even these reductions were not enough to balance the budget; a $600,000 shortfall is expected.
Despite cost cutting elsewhere, the College was able to provide modest salary increases for employees. They will be reflected in July's paychecks. Staff will receive an across-the-board increase of 2 percent, and about one-quarter of staff will also receive equity increases, in the final stage of implementing the findings of the staff classification system review done last year. All continuing faculty will receive a 3.5 percent salary increase. Maydew noted that our goals for both staff and faculty are to provide salaries that are competitive with relevant peer groups.
Three professors who are retiring at the end of this academic year were given a standing ovation by their colleagues: Richard Robin, professor of philosophy; Eugenia Herbert, E. Nevius Rodman Professor of History; and Robert Herbert, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Art.
The fundraising program is also seeing great success. The Annual Fund has raised $400,000 more than last year at this time, and contributions have come in from about 600 new donors.
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