The faculty convened last Friday to discuss changes in the University Board of Trustees’ organization and governance and voted to rename Columbus Day to “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”

Faculty representative to the Board Prof. Daniel Bergstresser (IBS) gave the faculty a rundown of the major topics discussed in the Board’s Sept. 13 and 14 meetings. Notably, the Board has begun to discuss and implement changes to governance, committee structure and composition, Bergstresser explained. The overall message is that “the Board is thinking hard about how they can be a more effective board for this University,” he said.

The Board is trying to be thoughtful about what their role on campus is and better get a sense of their relationship with faculty and administrators, Bergstresser asserted, though he noted that he was speaking for himself.

Prof. Sabine von Mering (GRALL) asked Bergstresser whether the Board had considered downsizing and increasing its diversity.

The Board of Trustees is “creating what’s known as a matrix of various characteristics,” University President Ron Liebowitz responded. “It’s at least now discussing what are the characteristics of the Board. … That’s important in terms of diversity, of course, but also in terms of expertise: how can the Board really be of value to the institution?”

The Board has also been working with educational marketing professional Mark Neustadt, who has advised the University on the best way to market itself as an educational institution. Neustadt has advised the University to emphasize its nonsectarian founding, according to Bergstresser.

Bergstresser also took the opportunity to touch on the University’s financial situation, which has been discussed in depth over the last few weeks through a series of open meetings. Financial analyst Kermit Daniel gave a presentation to the Board and to the campus community, asserting that the University’s spending habits are unsustainable.

Essentially, the University has been taking more out of its endowment than is sustainable, and its tuition is higher than average for similarly sized institutions, Liebowitz explained to the faculty. While the administration will be scaling up its fundraising efforts, Liebowitz noted that fundraising income will not be able to fully sustain the University’s current spending habits. “The bottom line is that we have great aspirations, and all that we do exceeds the amount of resources that we have,” he said. “The problem is size. We really don’t have enough students or size to spread the total costs to make this a going venture forever in terms of what we can do.”

The University’s financial health is not a short term crisis, but rather a long term “urgency,” Bergstresser asserted, which comes down to “being thoughtful about where we’re headed in the medium and long term.”

Liebowitz added that the University will be discussing how to address this issue in the long term and will also be composing an executive summary of Daniel’s presentation for faculty members.

The University is also continuing negotiations with contract faculty and SEIU Local 509, University Provost Lisa Lynch noted in her remarks. She explained that while the negotiations have been a lengthy process, “I have really appreciated the depth and strength of convictions of our faculty representatives in the bargaining sessions.”

Lynch added that the University will be establishing a committee to look at academic freedom and freedom of speech on campus, with committee members being appointed in the coming months.

As the meeting came to a close, the faculty discussed and voted on the faculty senate’s recommendation to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.” The student-led movement began with a Student Union resolution, which was passed in March of 2016. The University Advisory Council — a board within the Office of the Provost that advises the provost and deans — voted on Sept. 22 to send the resolution to a full faculty vote, according to a Sept. 27 Justice article.

In addressing the faculty, Faculty Senate Chair Prof. Susan Curnan (Heller) drew upon a quote from Wilma Mankiller, the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation: “The secret of our success is that we never, never give up.” Curnan added that the Senate has received several suggestions on how to structure curricula and dialogue around the name change.

As Liebowitz called the vote, the faculty voted unanimously in favor of the renaming.