The Board of Trustees was forced to be resourceful after its February 10 to 12 meetings were cancelled due to a nor'easter. The group managed to make some decisions without meeting as a whole. Other votes will wait until May.
The Board next meets from May 12 to 14. Individual committees worked and voted via conference call during the storm. Now the committees are working on strengthening proposals for May's weekend of meetings.
"Even though the Board Meeting is important, the fact is [the cancelled meeting] has no practical consequence," Secretary of the College Richard Mersereau said. Mersereau also manages the operations of the Board of Trustees.
Mersereau noted that most of the decisions the Board makes are within the committees. Nine standing committees and an executive committee, comprising the chairs of each standing committee and a vice and Board chair, make up the Board committees.
The executive committee meets four times a year between the meetings of the other committees.
"The executive committee has almost the same powers legally as the full board," Mersereau said. He added that if there is a major decision that needed to be made before the next board meeting, the executive committee has the power to make this decision, with some exceptions.
The standing committees include academic affairs, admissions, financial planning, audit, committee on trustees, investment, development and college relations, and the campus committees. Each committee meets to develop and finalize the decisions handled in its concentration. The committees then send their proposals to the executive committee, which can recommend it for a vote in the Board meeting.
The Board meets three times a year and only takes about twelve votes annually, in addition to a small number of votes for technical decisions.
"Not many votes planned to be taken [during the February meeting]," Mersereau said. "For as the business of the college is concerned, everything to be going in February [has been taken care of]," Mersereau added.
The Board was going to approve the honorary degree recipients for this May's commencement during the February meeting but this decision has been pushed to May. However, the honors committee has already recommended and shared its nominations with the Board. The only part left is for the board to vote.
"It is not like [the board's vote] is inappropriate," Mersereau said. "But it is the last piece."
He also said the tenure vote for four faculty members was an important vote. After having been discussed through various committees, the results of the decisions were shared with the executive committee in January. The executive committee voted to recommend the list to the Board for a vote.
The Board's network of decision-making among the various committees allows it to avoid many of the complications that can arise from cancelled meetings. However, the cancellation was not totally without cost.
"What was lost was an opportunity for the trustees to meet with students and faculty," Mersereau said. "It is more the connection to the campus and the feel of how things are coming together."
In addition, the members lost an opportunity to discuss the issues on the agenda for May.
"The whole point is by the time the Board votes, you don't want any surprises because [members] were not informed," Mersereau said.
Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer S. Catherine Longley added that board members would have just discussed the budget in February. The Board usually votes on budget items during the May meeting.
Also delayed during the cancellation was the selection of an architect for the planned $15 million construction of a new ice arena.
The meeting was cancelled in anticipation of a storm that hit Brunswick on February 10. That night, the campus lost electrical power for several hours.