President Glotzbach updates Skidmore community
President Philip A. Glotzbach and members of the faculty and staff recently updated the Skidmore community on the 2019-2020 budget, the campus campaign, employee health care and other important issues.
“There’s a lot of really good news” despite “a difficult higher education environment” overall, Glotzbach told employees gathered May 22 on the second floor of Murray-Aikins Dining Hall. “We’re in a situation that we have to pay attention to what’s happening nationally. We will also want to be prepared so we can weather some of these storms.”
Skidmore’s Board of Trustees recently passed a $168.6 million balanced budget for the upcoming academic year. In addition, the budget includes a $1.6 million one-time surplus, which is not counted as ongoing funds and is supported by $1.2 million from a projected increase in the size of the Class of 2023.
“The Class of 2023 is fully enrolled,” Beth Ann Post, director of financial aid, said to applause. Post, who spoke on behalf of Mary Lou Bates, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid, added that Skidmore was expecting an over-enrollment of 25 to 50 students, but that number would fluctuate during the “summer melt” period.
The president noted that the percentage of students receiving financial aid is on the rise, presenting financial challenges for the coming years. Health care costs also continue to grow. Despite these challenges, the trustees also approved a general salary adjustment of 2.25% for 2019-2020.
“We need to develop a financial strategic plan to address future deficits,” Glotzbach said. “We will make sure our coverage is strong. But we need to make sure it is financially sustainable moving forward.”
Tim Harper, chair of the Department of Management and Business, briefed the Skidmore community on the work of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee’s Subcommittee on Budget and Finance, which has been tasked with developing options to stabilize the rising cost of health insurance.
Harper encouraged Skidmore employees to provide feedback about managing health care costs and described ongoing discussions as “collaborative” rather than “adversarial.” Based on input the subcommittee has received so far, he said, the Skidmore community overwhelmingly supports higher premiums instead of user fees such as coinsurance and deductibles to cover the increase in costs, he said.
More analysis is needed and it is critical that the subcommittee gets more feedback and information over the summer and into the fall, Harper said.
“In the next two to three years, there have to be a lot of hard decisions made on health care,” he added.
Jeff Segrave, professor of health and human physiological sciences, also provided an update on the campus component of Creating Our Future: The Campaign for Skidmore.
“I’m happy to report the campus campaign is not only alive and well, but thriving,” Segrave said, noting 48% of Skidmore employees had given so far and only a small number of gifts were needed to meet the goal of 50% participation by May 31. “The amount of the gift isn’t important. It’s all about participation.”
Overall, Creating Our Future has exceeded its goal of raising $182 million by May 31, receiving $183.4 million in gifts so far. The campaign aims to raise $200 million by 2020.
The president also shared plans for a new North Broadway entrance to Skidmore. Construction is expected to begin this summer and be completed by the fall. The North Broadway entrance will be closed during construction.
“This is entirely a donor-funded project,” Glotzbach added.
