The Board of Visitors finance subcommittee met Wednesday at the Special Collections Library to discuss progress on the University’s six-year financial strategy known as the Cornerstone Plan. The plan was initiated in 2013.
Members of the subcommittee presented their goals for various components of the plan, which is aims at targeting funding so underserved students can attend the University despite its cost. Members also wanted to ensure the plan is fiscally sound moving forward.
The first item on the agenda concerned University research as a potential revenue source to subsidize tuition. Vice President for Research Thomas Skalak, who was tasked with exploring this option, said that although research is vital to the academic reputation of the University, it does not generate net dollars.
“[Research] supports our Cornerstone Plan, but it is not a revenue lever that can go toward subsidizing tuition,” Skalak said.
Merits of research are more typically confined to attracting star faculty and bright students which expands prestige and facilitates future earnings. Skalak said if investment in research is fostered correctly, it would likely add $15 billion in additional endowment to further University research.
Skalak said making research more in tune with market forces would bring in additional revenue.
“It is important to have … some faculty members researching to push the market or explore new market applications for their research,” he said.
Finance Committee Vice Chair John Griffin, a frequent University donor, said he is optimistic about how donor money could be used to support the Cornerstone Plan.
“Research was something we delved into to see what we could get, but philanthropy has always been a key part of the Cornerstone Plan,” Griffin said.
Robert Sweeney, senior vice president for University advancement, also presented this year’s fundraising campaign, which focuses on improving donor outreach and reorganizing the University’s fundraising apparatus. These initiatives would be directed toward needs-based scholarship programs.
So far, the campaign has secured more than $9 million in commitments that will go to various scholarship programs such as the need-based Blue Ridge Scholarship.
Next on the agenda was Director of Admissions Greg Robert’s summary of the Class of 2018. Roberts said the incoming class is not only the largest in history, but it has also defied trends of years past.
“If I had to describe this class, it is extremely diverse in terms of race and socio-economic background,” he said.
Roberts attributed the higher yield rate for low-income applicants, compared to high-income applicants, to the effectiveness of financial aid programs.
Chief Communications Officer David Martel also discussed how new initiatives in advertising and outreach by the Office of University Communications have contributed to increased interest in the University.
“We are now the ninth most influential University on Twitter,” Martel said. “Our following on Instagram has increased nearly 600 percent.”
The Board unanimously agreed these efforts are part of a long process of implementing the Cornerstone Plan.
“The way I see it, we are in the sixth inning of a nine-inning ball game,” Finance Committee member John MacFarlane said.
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