Report from the Board of Trustees
Increases in financial aid, tuition and fees, and employee wages are included in the 2017-18 fiscal year operating budget of $145,065,000 approved by the Kenyon College Board of Trustees last week in Washington, D.C.
President Sean Decatur began the meeting with updates on recent initiatives, including the opening of the new Wright Center in Mount Vernon this semester and ongoing plans to implement the recommendations from the recent review of Title IX policies and procedures.
Results of the 2015-16 National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) CommonFund Study of Endowments were shared with the Investment Committee and the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee. Data gathered from 805 U.S. colleges and universities show that participating institutions’ endowments returned an average of -1.9 percent for the 2016 fiscal year (July 1, 2015 – June 30, 2016). Amid a difficult year for endowments at colleges and universities nationwide, Kenyon's investment return of -0.1 percent represents a strong performance compared to our peer schools. Among all survey respondents, Kenyon ranked in the top quartile.
On Thursday evening, members of the Board joined 130 Kenyon alumni, friends and family at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for a reception and panel discussion titled “Future Policy Directions for the Trump Administration,” hosted by Kenyon’s Center for the Study of American Democracy. Panelists included Mike Green '83, senior vice president of CSIS; Eliana Johnson of Politico; Cully Stimson '86 of the Heritage Foundation and Ben Wittes of the Brookings Institution. Tom Karako, director of the Center for the Study of American Democracy, moderated the event.
The board also welcomed Cathy Trower, president of Trower & Trower Inc. An expert in board governance, Trower led a discussion about strategies and best practices for nonprofit boards.
Points of interest in the budget include:
— Approval of an operating budget for fiscal year 2017-18 of $145,065,000. The budget reflects a 3.95 percent increase in tuition and fees, which will rise to $65,840 for the next academic year.
— The commitment to student financial aid was increased to $34.9 million — up by 11.8 percent from the 2016-17 fiscal year.
— An increase in the pool of money for salary and wage increases for exempt and non-exempt administrative staff was set at 2 percent. Additional money was set aside to target salaries lagging the marketplace. The pool for faculty raises also was increased by 2 percent, with additional money set aside to cover merit increases associated with faculty evaluations. Pay increases for union members are dictated by contract.
— Included in the budget were increases in health insurance premiums. Increases are based on the plan chosen by the employee (Premium or Basic plans and Single, Single+1 or Family coverage) and are further determined by annual salary tiers (under $42,999; $43,000-$71,999 and more than $72,000).
Increases in the employee portion of the health insurance premium for the Basic Plan will range from a low of $14 per month (Single Plan, low-salary tier) to $69 per month (Family Plan, high-salary tier). Increases in the employee portion for the Premium Plan will range from $22 per month (Single Plan, low-salary tier) to $107 per month (Family Plan, high-salary tier).
The 2017-18 Fringe Benefit Cost Sheet will be posted on the Human Resources webpage later in the semester. Employees may contact the Human Resources staff at any time with questions regarding health insurance and other benefits.