Update from the March 2022 Board of Trustees Meeting

We are pleased to share some of the topics, highlights, and action items discussed at the Board of Trustees meeting held on Monday, March 7, 2022, at the Rome, Italy, campus. We will continue to share with you additional and timely information on these and other initiatives in the months ahead.

Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University Distinguished Professor, and Provost Endowed Chair, provided updates on the following topics:

Enrollment

Revitalized, strategic marketing and recruitment initiatives have created modest but promising increases in completed applications, admitted students, and deposits for incoming first-time, full-time student enrollment. While a long way from completion, the prospects for a strong first-year class in Fall 2022 are coming together.

Summer at St. John’s

The recently announced “Summer at St. John’s: Explore and More” initiative has been designed to create and implement exciting, engaging, and enjoyable opportunities for students to build connections with the University community; to increase yield; and to reduce the number of students who decide over the summer not to attend St. John’s in the fall. Plans are underway for programs and activities for admitted and deposited students to discover, explore, and learn more about St. John’s. Through participation in these events and experiences, we anticipate that accepted students will develop meaningful relationships with St. John’s faculty, alumni, administrators, staff, and peers.

Core Curriculum Update

The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a new, 39-credit University core curriculum for undergraduate students. The work of the University Core Curriculum Council (UCCC) has created the framework for the curriculum, which will be implemented in Fall 2023. The UCCC will continue to meet regularly with University stakeholders to ensure appropriate communication and relationship building as the core curriculum continues to evolve.

Strategic Planning

Christian P. Vaupel, Ed.D., Vice President for Advancement and University Relations, provided an update on behalf of the Strategic Planning Committee. To date, the five pillars of the plan and working goals for each pillar have been developed.

The Strategic Planning Committee is now working to finalize action items for each of the working goals of the plan. Results from surveys and feedback from focus groups conducted in February have helped to guide the formulation of action items.

In the summer and fall of 2021, the Strategic Planning Committee met with a cross-section of the University community, including members of the senior management group, students, faculty, and employees, as the plan developed. Additionally, the Strategic Planning Committee was guided by data and feedback provided by various offices, units, and departments. Early next month, the Strategic Planning Committee will deliver a full draft of the plan to the President for review and consideration; in May, the plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees.

Membership on the Board of Governors

In an effort to expand and further diversify the University’s Board of Governors, the Board of Trustees elected five new members. The Board of Governors offers advice and counsel concerning plans, programs, and activities at St. John’s, and provides a forum for communication among St. John’s alumni and friends. The Board of Governors welcomes the following individuals to its membership:

Stephon Barnes—Chief Operating Officer, CFI Partners, LLC

Donna Drummond ’82CBA—Senior Vice President and Chief Expense Officer, Northwell Health

Steven Gartner ’84L—Retired Cochair, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

Luis Felipe López ’98SVC—Ambassador, NBA Cares

Regina Piscazzi ’97CBA, ’02MBA—Global Head of Internal Audit, Apollo Global Management, Inc.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the St. John’s University Board of Trustees will be held on May 11, 2022.