Tag: board of trustees

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Campus Stories In Focus

Inside the Board of Trustees

By Rebecca Dailey ('25)

The Houghton University Board of Trustees is a group of volunteers, mostly composed of alumni, who form the chief policy-making government for the university. 

The board is broken up into nine committees: Advancement, Academic Affairs, Audit, Enrollment, Finance, Investment, Student Life, Trustee and the Executive committee, which is composed of the chairs of the other committees, the board chair and the board secretary. 

James Eckert and John Lee, both board members, explained the Board of Trustees’ undertaking as, less reacting, more planning and student focused. 

The board’s role is to support Houghton’s president, and the president works with the university’s administration to keep the school running smoothly. In addition, there is a responsibility for the board to represent the Wesleyan Church, which Houghton University is affiliated with.

Rev. Johanna Rugh, an ex officio board member and the Executive Director Education Clergy Development of the Wesleyan Church, stated, “Giving support to the president, administration, business and building maintenance is a combined effort between the president and board.”  

While the board checks in with President Wayne D. Lewis Jr. on what the administration is doing, they do not have the ability to directly intervene with decisions made by the administration and the president.

President Lewis stated, “One of the phrases that gets used a lot is boards should have their noses in and their fingers out. Which means they should be asking questions, they should be making sure the [p]resident and administration are doing what they’re supposed to do but they should not have their fingers on the actual admission and management of the university.”

However, if the board believes the president is not meeting what needs to be done for the university, they can remove them. 

Many of the concerns arising during board meetings are in relation to building maintenance, the number of professors and the ups and downs of student enrollment. 

Gary Larder, Chairman of the Financial Board, said, “We go over the budget for every year and what is achieved financially. It’s a challenge for a liberal arts university to get students for the meeting of financial targets. We try to look ahead, where we will be in the future in regards to students, professors and facilities.”
The board also looks at and accepts audit reports, and reviews the financial progress in the fall and finish of the spring. 

Rev. Dr. Joseph Jennings, Chair of the Board of Trustees, explained, “We do have open seasons in which we invite resource people to the meetings . . . the vice president, representative from the student council, alumni board, the staff council and the faculty moderator.” 

Terms of board members are also reviewed and renewed during these meetings, along with the president’s term. One of the main decisions for the Board of Trustees’ meetings on Oct. 23-24, was the renewal of President Lewis’ contract for the next five years until 2028. 

Jennings said, “Dr. Lewis has worked tirelessly to help bring in a great incoming class this fall. We have every reason to think that we will continue to experience growth in enrollment . . . he and his team have made some great decisions and communicated the University’s mission with compelling clarity.”
The Board of Trustees’ vote for President Lewis’ contract renewal was unanimous, and they look forward to him continuing to serve Houghton. 

President Lewis notes, “The relationship between the board and the administration, especially the president, is a really important partnership . . . working together in partnership there’s so much you can accomplish together and we are tremendously blessed at Houghton to have that.” ★

Categories
Stories In Focus

Board of Trustees Meeting

By Cody Johnson ('24)

The Houghton University Board of Trustees met on Oct. 23 to Oct.24 under the leadership of Rev. Dr. Joey Jennings, Chair of the Board and District Superintendent of the Western New York District of The Wesleyan Church. The Board heard reports from representatives of key departments and constituents, including Vice President of Finance Dale Wright, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing Jason Towers, Faculty Moderator Dr. Susan Lipscomb, Staff Council President Amanda Zambrano, Student Body President Cody Johnson, and Alumni Board member Judith Rapley. 

The Board began both days of meetings with a time of worship and prayer in gratitude for God’s provision for Houghton University, particularly for increasing enrollment and burgeoning spiritual life. The Board regularly praised Houghton’s crystallized identity as an orthodox Christian institution. Several trustees attended Koinonia on Sunday and recounted their joy seeing students gathered voluntarily in worship. In addition, Johnson, Rapley, and President Wayne D. Lewis, Jr., emphasized the heightened sense of Christian community. 

Lewis reflected on the 2020-2023 strategic plan, “The Arc Towards Our Future,” spanning the end of President Emerita Shirley Mullen’s administration and the beginning of his own. As a result of the plan, Houghton has catalyzed Christian community, improved affordability through the 2021 tuition reset and Founder’s Promise Scholarship, and decided to prioritize the residential undergraduate experience over other delivery methods for Houghton’s distinctive curriculum. 

The 2023-2028 strategic plan, “Pursuing Christ-Centered Excellence,” includes priorities such as engaging students in Christian discipleship opportunities, creating applied learning opportunities across all majors, further integrating spiritual life and academics, and renewing residence halls. Increasing enrollment remains a high priority. The Executive Leadership Council recently finalized key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress towards strategic priorities. 

Academics arose as an area of significant concern in reports by Johnson and Lipscomb. The Board shares concerns about the number of faculty needed to support upper-class students and meet the demands presented by a large first-year class. The university is actively recruiting tenure-track faculty in history, education, and computer science.

Additionally, the Board is seeking to invest more significantly in campus infrastructure and deferred maintenance. A report from Sodexo, Houghton’s facilities management contractor, highlighted the increasing urgency of investment in aging buildings to regulate deferred maintenance costs. In keeping with the strategic plan, the administration anticipates investing several million dollars in residence hall renewal projects within the next five years. These renewal projects will include improvements for accessibility, a priority discussed by Johnson and embraced by the Board. 

Notably, the Board enthusiastically renewed President Lewis’ contract, now extending through 2028, and expressed their deep appreciation for his visionary leadership for Houghton University. 

The Board also honored Ruth Woodworth for ten years of service and welcomed Emily Last, a Houghton alumna, to its ranks. 

The trustees look forward to improving collaborative leadership of the university under the Compact for Shared Governance and seek opportunities such as last Sunday’s ice cream social to gather student perspectives. Additionally, Student Body President Cody Johnson now serves as a resource person for the Student Life Committee of the Board of Trustees. 

The Board of Trustees will meet again virtually on Feb. 9, 2024 and on campus on April 15-16, 2024. ★

Categories
Opinions

LGBQ Inclusion: Community Covenant Amendment

The words “homosexual behavior” need to be taken out of the Community Covenant. Placing “homosexual behavior” within this context equates it to premarital sex and adultery. It is a vague statement which singles out lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students.

Houghton College’s Statement of Community Responsibilities reads: “We believe that Scripture clearly prohibits certain acts, including drinking beverage alcohol to excess, stealing, speaking or writing profanely or slanderously, acting dishonestly, cheating, engaging in occult practice, and engaging in sexual relations outside the bonds of a Biblical understanding of marriage, including premarital sex, adultery and homosexual behavior” (emphasis added).

Luke_QuoteEquating “homosexual behavior” with premarital sex and adultery hyper-sexualizes LGBQ students’ lives. Recent Graduate, Wynn Horton, said, “By condemning homosexual behavior alongside these others we denigrate it in certain ways,” pointing out that it makes it sound only lustful and foolish. Premarital sex and adultery are both explicitly sexual acts, but “homosexual behavior” is not exclusively about sex. There is much more to a “behavior” than sex.

There are straight students kissing, holding hands, and snuggling around campus. Whether these public displays of affection are desirable is besides the point. The point is they are happening and no “rules” are broken. What does this mean for LGBQ students? The vagueness of this brings many questions. What does “homosexual behavior” mean? What about two men dating on campus, a lesbian student with an off campus fiancée, or, perhaps in the future, a married lesbian or gay couple enrolled on campus? Additionally, how will lesbian or gay alumni couples feel about returning for homecoming and reunions? In an attempt to answer some of these questions, Michael Jordan, dean of the chapel, said, “I want to be clear that the Community Covenant by itself does not restrict LGBQ dating behavior that is not explicitly sexual.” The issue, however, is that the language of the Community Covenant does not adequately communicate this and so these questions still raise doubts in the minds of LGBQ students.

The college’s Same-Sex Attraction: Our Community Voice document outlines community beliefs, acknowledges differing views, and says how people should be treated. It states “… we ask for [LGBQ] students to respect our perspective for the sake of our communal life together. This would mean being especially sensitive to public displays of affection.” While this document is progress, this passage further perpetuates the view that LGBQ students must hide in the “closet,” while their straight peers do not.

LukeWhile the intention may not be to single out LGBQ students, it nonetheless does. By saying “homosexual behavior” and not mentioning heterosexual “behaviors,” the Community Covenant alienates LGBQ students from their peers. Jordan pointed out, “Statements about celibacy and chastity are of course problematic for all 18- to 22-year-olds, no matter their sexual orientation.” Yes, this is true, if the statement were about only chastity or celibacy. However, within their context, these two documents seem to be prohibiting more than just sexual relations, even if that may not be the intent.

The passage in the Community Covenant should be rewritten. Horton said the “passage could easily be rewritten to serve the college’s purpose while maintaining its loyalty to a Christian heritage.” He suggests changing the last part to “‘…and engaging in sexual relations outside of the bonds of marriage.’” This simpler, condensed version still maintains the essential meaning, but does not single anyone out.

According to Kim Cockle, student life administrative assistant, to make such change to the

Community Covenant, requires it to be brought to the Student Life Council as a policy change, then taken to the faculty, and ultimately to the Board of Trustees. To stand in solidarity with their LGBQ peers, students should bring this amendment proposition to the Student Life Council, in the form of a petition or in person at a council meeting. It would still condemn illicit sexual relations for Houghton Students, but diminish the hyper-sexualization, clear up the vague language surrounding the issue, and improve the climate for LGBQ students on campus.

Categories
News

February Board of Trustees Meeting

The February meeting of Houghton College’s Board of Trustees took place last weekend, February 8-9, during which the key issues facing the college were addressed.

Courtesy of topchristiancolleges.com
Courtesy of topchristiancolleges.com

Among the subjects covered were the sale of the Willard J. Houghton foundation’s old property of Star Lake, the renovation of the Alumni House, a facilities audit, and most notably, the Kerr-Pegula project.

The Board also honored Professor Ron Oakerson, political science, for his work in Sierra Leone—recognizing his leadership of the Houghton partnership on the mango outdoors project there.

The finalized sale of Star Lake, previously owned by the Willard J. Houghton foundation, and formerly the site of Houghton’s now discontinued Adirondacks semester, was another topic approached. The property’s new owners have looked at the possibility of using the property for a Christian camp.

The sale of the property is, in a way, indicative of a larger move on the part of the foundation. The foundation was formed “to work with properties, and now the Willard J. Houghton foundation is moving away from community development toward building funds for endowment,” said President Mullen about the focus shift. “A lot of colleges have foundations that raise funds for the college, that have more flexibility in the kinds of gifts they can receive than a non-profit does…the focus is toward building the endowment for the college.”

An interesting effect of this old community development focus of the foundation is the fact many of the buildings along the Houghton main street, Route 19, are properties purchased at one time by the foundation.

Foundation focuses aside, the Board also addressed the renovations of the Alumni House, which will hopefully serve as “A place where people can connect with alumni and network,” President Mullen said.

The financial resources for the extensive renovations of the house are the not result of funds being extracted from students’ tuition, but instead from fund-raising specifically for the house, and in part, from undesignated estate gifts.

In addition, an audit of the Houghton College facilities is underway; Sodexo has been working with the chief business officer to develop a plan “[to help] us systematically plan for short-term and long-term care of our facilities,” Mullen explained. This way, when the facilities require repair and maintenance, the budget to take care of the facilities’ needs is already in place.

Courtesy of topchristiancolleges.com
Courtesy of topchristiancolleges.com

Perhaps the topic most interesting to students is the status of the Kerr-Pegula project.
“The board authorized the administration to seek contractor bids for the project, and to complete a funding plan that would include a fundraising component as well as financing component,”
Mullen said. “[This plan] will be presented on or around May 1st,” when further decisions about proceeding with the project will be made.