The Choate Rosemary Hall Board of Trustees convened on campus from Wednesday, October 7, 2015 to Friday, October 9, 2015 for one of three Board meetings throughout 2015-2016. The Board of Trustees convenes three times throughout the school year — once every term — to examine the overall well-being of the school and set priorities for the development of the institution.
The focus of the trustees is in improving the strategic vision and ensuring that the current administration is exercising to the fullest extent the central values and mission of Choate. Improvements and proposals are included in the Strategic Plan, which outlines broadly Choate’s values in cohesion and culture, teaching and learning, enrollment and student outcomes, and communication and outreach. Main themes, as discussed by the trustees during their meeting, include the ability of Choate students to think independently and critically, the spirit to respect their environment, and the ways to improve the world students will soon inherit.
The Board of Trustees consists of alumni, parents, parents of alumni and other Choate-affiliated people. Their visit this term began with a campus orientation for the newest members of the Board. Three new members joined the Board this year — Tal H. Nazer P ’17 and P ’19, Kenneth G. Bartels ’60 P ’04, and Anne Sa’adah, whose father taught philosophy and Arabic at Choate in the 1960s.
Throughout their visit, the trustees attended committee meetings with those involved in Finances, Admission, College Counseling, Buildings and Grounds Development, Student Life and Athletics, Alumni and Parent Relations, Investment, Trusteeship, and Audit. The topics which trustees examined in these committees ranged from professional development of faculty to diversity and student life on campus. The committees consisted of trustees, administrative staff, faculty and student representatives, and each committee provided preliminary discussion as a basis for discussion in an executive committee for Choate’s long-term development. In addition, the Board of Trustees, with Headmaster Dr. Alex Curtis, attended a groundbreaking ceremony for the new St. John Hall on Friday, October 9.
A highlight of the Board’s visit was the Student Life and Athletics Committee meeting, in which the Student Council and student representatives from student organizations such as Sexual Minorities and Straight Supporters (SMASS) and Choate Diversity Student Association (CDSA) communicated with the trustees concerning social issues of concern on campus. Rosetta Lee, Choate’s feature speaker at the 2014 Choate Diversity Day, joined the conversation and focused on a survey which Choate students, faculty and staff completed this past spring that asks about the diversity culture and social justice issues on campus. The session focused on the importance for academic institutions such as Choate to consider cultural competency as a major conversation in the administration. Student Body President Tomi Lawal ’16 commented, “The school is looking to foster well-roundedness in being socially aware.”
The Board of Trustees ended the week with a general meeting in the Andrew Mellon Library Reading Room, which was attended by senior administrative staff, Lawal, and Judicial Committee Chair Singhei Yeung ’16. Topics included a curriculum review aimed at improving Choate’s academic curriculum. The discussion was based on a survey last spring that asked for the opinions of the student body on Choate’s curriculum as of now. The curriculum review coincides with Choate’s first year of fully administering the culminating experience program, which replaces trimester exams at the end of each term and provides an opportunity for cumulative projects and more collaborative work. Based on the curriculum survey, focus committees such as the Committee for Health, Wellness, and Readiness for Adult Life, The Scheduling Committee, and the Committee on Diversity Inclusion and Social Justice were made to examine and propose revisions to the current Choate curriculum. The Trustees demonstrated an emphasis on skills such as being able to think outside the box, the ability to communicate clearly, willingness to collaborate. In addition, the meeting also included conversation about Choate’s endowment and discussion about the annually increasing tuition and its impact on Choate’s application pool. “I was really pleased to hear that [the increasing tuition] was a conversation they’re having,” Lawal said.
“The board members are very committed to the future growth of Choate,” Mr. John Cobb, faculty member and member of the Alumni and Parent Relations committee, noted. Ms. Megan Shea, another faculty member and member of the Alumni and Parent Relations committee, said, “We are in a pretty good place as a school. I am confident that the different priorities that the board sets will align with the values of the school and we will see improvements.”
