Specialized Resources
Dear Connecticut College Community:
This past weekend, the Board of Trustees gathered on campus for our annual February meeting. During this meeting, we conduct our governance work for the College. We adjusted our schedule to provide the entire Board of Trustees with deeper and more meaningful opportunities to hear from a broader cross-section of staff, DIEI team members, students, and faculty.
These in-person discussions built upon the recent video meetings with Trustees and campus leaders of the staff, faculty, and students, which created immediate and accessible ways for us to learn directly from people on campus about their experiences and concerns, while we also continue to receive input from many in the extended Connecticut College community.
Among the common themes we have heard across all these conversations are a desire for actions that will ensure mission-focused leadership, enhance our shared governance, execute our DIEI Action Plan for the benefit of our entire community, improve campus-wide communications and transparency, and make the campus experience stronger.
We learned a lot from our meetings, and there were many constructive suggestions about how the College can improve, invest in student success, ensure stability, and enhance the campus experience for all in both the short- and long-terms.
We appreciate the desire for urgent answers. As Trustees we have a duty to reflect upon what we have heard, determine where we are best situated to make a difference, reconcile the reality of some strongly competing views, be thorough in our assessments, and, above all, be deliberate in the actions we take in the best interests of the College. We also must complete the various aspects of our current but ongoing review with fairness to all involved. As we discussed in our meetings, the Board plays a vital leadership and governance role for Connecticut College, but it is the work of the president, senior administration, and entire community of faculty, staff, and students that drives the effective and successful day-to-day operations of the College.
Together we are going to make some changes, and you will be hearing about them from the Board and administration as soon as possible after our assessment is complete. We share the imperative of acting expeditiously and prudently as well as your motivation to be guided by Conn’s mission and commitments.
We will have more to share soon. With you, we will ensure that Conn College emerges as a stronger and better connected community of learning, personal growth, and achievement.
Cordially,
Debo P. Adegbile
Chair, Board of Trustees