To the Williams community,
Last week the Board of Trustees held their April 2025 meeting. Given the Board’s fiduciary role, the agenda was focused on Williams’ financial position for the year ahead and beyond. Throughout various sessions of the meeting the Trustees also engaged in significant discussions of the current political and regulatory climate and its implications for Williams.
Following is a summary of the formal agenda:
- The Board welcomed representatives from Lewis Burke Associates (LBA), a Washington-based lobbying group, for a discussion about how Williams can make an effective case for our mission and work to public officials. LBA is working with Williams and several peer liberal arts colleges in support of these efforts.
- In the context of significant challenges to the college’s financial model, stemming from historic uncertainty in higher education financing as well as severe economic and market volatility, the Trustees received an update on college finances from Provost and Charles R. Keller Professor of History Eiko Maruko Siniawer ’97 and Vice President for Finance and Operations and Treasurer Mike Wagner. As part of the session, Eiko and Mike reviewed key aspects of Williams’ financial model and spending decisions; the proposed operating budget for fiscal year 2026; long-term financial planning; and efforts to prepare for the budgetary consequences of various federal policy proposals, including a substantial increase to the endowment tax. Later in the meeting the Board voted to approve the FY2026 budget.
- Chief Investment Officer Abigail Wattley ’05 provided Trustees with an update on the endowment, including a review of the college’s current investment approach and discussions about endowment taxes and portfolio liquidity. Abigail and the Board also discussed potential challenges facing the endowment in the current environment.
- Finally, Eiko presented the Board with a proposed college mission statement developed with feedback from faculty, staff and students on the core and enduring purposes of a Williams education. A revised mission statement will guide Williams’ continued educational work and put the college in good stead for our decennial accreditation review in the fall of 2027. The Board voted to approve the statement, which is now published on the College Mission page of the Williams website.
- On Saturday the Board received regular updates from Mike Wagner on FY25 budget projections; from Vice President for College Relations Megan Morey on college fundraising; and from Abigail on endowment performance.
As part of their ongoing interest in faculty and staff affairs and campus life, on Friday afternoon, the Board’s Student Experience Committee met with international students who were on campus during Spring Break, to learn more about how they’re being affected by national policies. Later, on Friday evening, the Board’s Executive Committee met for dinner with members of the Faculty Steering Committee, while a second group of Trustees dined at the Davis Center with a group of student-facing staff, to hear more about their work and experiences.
During the weekend many Board members also braved the rain to participate in tours of Hopkins Memorial Forest and view progress at the construction sites for the Multipurpose Recreation Center and the new Williams College Museum of Art.
I appreciate the Board’s steady fiduciary and strategic leadership as we navigate the challenges of our times. My thanks go out to all of you, too, for your focus on the wellbeing of Williams and our community.
Maud