Summary of the January 2025 Board of Trustees Meeting

Dear Williams community

I hope you are all well as we come to the end of Winter Study. I write today with my summary of last week’s Board of Trustees meeting.

The Trustees began their visit by hosting an event where seniors were invited to talk about their time at Williams. The far-ranging discussion touched on dining and residential life, among other topics. Seniors, I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as the Trustees did.

Throughout the two-day meeting the Board spent considerable time discussing how Williams is preparing for challenges to higher education from the current federal administration. They also took time to remember and honor the life of Alex Kemp ’28. The Trustees send their thoughts and condolences to everyone touched by Alex’s passing.

In their formal agenda, they focused on four broad topics:

  • First, they received an introduction to our upcoming accreditation process from Eiko Maruko Siniawer ’97, Provost and Charles R. Keller Professor of History,, and Courtney Wade, Associate Provost for Analytics and Institutional Research. The decennial process will begin in 2026 and culminate in the submission of a self-study review by a visiting team and a ruling on the college’s re-accreditation by the New England Commission of Higher Education. To learn more about accreditation, including our work on an updated Williams mission statement, please read Eiko’s December 6, 2024, memo, which was circulated in Daily Messages.
  • Next, Christopher Nugent, John W. Chandler Professor of Chinese, and Edan Dekel, Garfield Professor of Ancient Languages and Chair of Classics and the Jewish Studies Program, gave the Board an introduction to next year’s “On the Log” initiative. Look for information about this project in my start of semester message next week. Board members enjoyed hearing about the initiative, offering feedback and imagining ways that they might participate as fellow community members.
  • The Trustees then discussed the latest, good news on the Williams College Museum of Art project. As I have explained before, the Board has taken a prudent, stepwise approach to project oversight, reviewing our fundraising and cost-management progress at each stage of work before voting to approve the next phase. Based on a positive report from Pam Franks, Class of 1956 Director of the Williams College Museum of Art; Devon Nowlin, Museum Project Director; and Scott Henderson, Senior Project Manager, and accompanying data from Vice President for College Relations Megan Morey, the Board has now voted to grant final approval for the project. Congratulations to everyone who helped us reach this goal!
  • Fourth, the Trustees welcomed an update on strategic work by the ’68 Center for Career Exploration. They considered data presented by Executive Director Don Kjelleren, Director of Career Exploration Janine Oliver and Director of Operations and External Relations Leigh Sylvia, and the team’s efforts to engage students in reflecting on connections between their liberal arts education and their career and life goals.

On Saturday the Board received routine updates from Vice President for Finance and Operations and Treasurer Mike Wagner on FY25 budget projections; Megan Morey on college fundraising; and Chief Investment Officer Abigail Wattley ’05 on endowment performance.

In addition to the WCMA decision referenced above, the Board voted on several other items of broad interest:

  • Approval of the 2025-2026 comprehensive fee. As usual, we will provide details in our spring tuition letter to students.
  • Approval of the promotion of 16 faculty members to associate professor with tenure, effective July 1, 2025. You will find their names and information in the recent announcement on Williams Today. Many congratulations to our colleagues on this major achievement.
  • Authorization of funds for dining renovations as part of our ongoing updates to residential life facilities.
  • Authorization of funds for construction of a temporary parking lot and green space on the site of the former Towne Fieldhouse, allowing time for strategic deliberations about the space’s long-term use.
  • Approval of three-year reappointments for two key members of Senior Staff: Gretchen Long as Dean of the College and Eiko Maruko Siniawer as Provost. Look for a separate message from me later today with details about Gretchen and Eiko’s renewals.

Finally, the Trustees also had the pleasure of dining on Friday night with five faculty members, who shared brief reflections on their teaching and research. Our series of January Board dinners with faculty is becoming a highlight of the Trustees’ mid-winter meeting.

In the wake of our meeting, I again felt grateful for the dedication of our Trustees as alumni and college leaders. I am equally grateful to all of you as colleagues and community members. I wish you all a successful start to the new semester.

Maud