The Board of Trustees held its annual retreat on May 8 and 9, 2019. The following is a summary of the Board’s actions:

Strategic Planning: The Board welcomed members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and engaged in nearly six hours of discussion around the strategic planning process and the future of the university.

Academic Program Approval: The Board approved three new academic programs: 3+ 3 Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Juris Doctorate; 4+ 1 Bachelor and Master of Arts in Criminal Justice; and Master of Science in Movement Science.

FY 20 Budget Approval: The Board approved the FY20 operating budget.

Strategic Finance Subcommittee: The Board appointed a Strategic Finance Subcommittee of the Finance Committee to focus on the development of a three-year financial plan in support of, and in alignment with, the University’s strategic plan.

Quasi- Endowment: The Board adopted resolutions approving requests from the Matteo Ricci Institute and the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering to move funds into the quasi-endowment so that those funds will benefit from the endowment’s earning power and generate income for student scholarships or support.

Investment Policy Statement: The Board amended the Investment Policy Statement to reflect that Board’s September 2018 decision to divest the endowment of companies owning interests in fossil fuel reserves.

State of the Undergraduate Student Survey: The Board welcomed Azrael Howell, SGSU President, Marrakech Maxwell, SGSU First Year Class Representative, along with Michelle Kowalczyk, Advisor to SGSU and listened to the results of the State of the Undergraduate Student Survey. The Board enjoyed lunch with the student representatives.

Engagement with Academic Assembly President: The Board welcomed Academic Assembly President Dr. Frank Shih and engaged with him around the role of the Academic Assembly in shared governance along with issues relevant to faculty affairs.

Event Center Feasibility Study: The Board authorized the Event Center Study Group to continue to explore an on-campus event center as a strategic initiative and requested the Strategic Planning Steering Committee to consider the possibility of an event center among its deliberations.

Revenue Generation Task Force: The Board heard a report from the Board’s Revenue Generation Task Force that was charged by the Board with exploring ideas for revenue generation beyond traditional tuition revenue. The Board appointed a Revenue Generation Real Estate Working Group to explore more deeply opportunities for maximizing SU real estate assets to produce revenue.

Data Security Incident: The Board was updated on the data security incident involving a lost laptop and the University’s response to that incident.

Board Self-Assessment: The Board discussed the results of its biennial self-assessment of the Board’s satisfaction with key elements of its performance in fulfilling governance responsibilities

Board Goals: The Board discussed its goals for 2019-2020.

Annual Assessment of the President: The Board and President Sundborg engaged in the Board’s annual evaluation of President Sundborg in relation to his goals for 2018-2019.

The next meeting of the Board of Trustees is September 12, 2019.