Recap of the February 2023 Board of Trustees Meeting

We are pleased to share some of the topics, highlights, and action items discussed at the St. John’s University Board of Trustees meeting held on Wednesday, February 15, 2023. We will continue to share with you additional information on these and other initiatives in the months ahead. 

Office of Equity and Inclusion Update

Rachel Pereira, Ed.D., J.D., Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, delivered a presentation, “Diversity Demographic Data,” which included a five-year comparative analysis of data on students’ gender and race, as well as similar information related to St. John’s faculty, administrators, and staff relative to St. John’s peer institutions and regional schools. Dr. Pereira continues to collect and analyze demographic data at St. John’s to engage departments in meaningful conversations about strategic Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts.

Office of the Provost Update

Simon G. Møller, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University Distinguished Professor, and Provost Endowed Chair, gave a presentation on “Increasing Faculty Diversity.” Dr. Møller discussed the importance of faculty diversity and described ongoing efforts to have a faculty that more closely reflects the student body at St. John’s. With a focus on making improvements to the search process, including both internal and external initiatives, he described the University’s plans to further diversify the faculty. In addition, he shared data on doctoral student enrollment and outlined efforts to increase the doctoral student pipeline of adjunct faculty.

Nursing Program Update

Anne Y. F. Lin ’84P, ’86Pharm.D., FNAP, Dean and Professor, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, offered a presentation on the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at St. John’s. She shared a summary of the recruitment, acceptance, and enrollment efforts for the Fall 2022 first-year class, as well as projections for Fall 2023 and beyond. In addition, Dr. Lin provided data on faculty and staff recruitment as the nursing program develops. She also gave updates on potential partnerships with external health-care providers and discussed other plans to broaden and implement learning opportunities in the health sciences.

Addition to the Board of Governors

The Board of Governors offers advice and counsel concerning plans, programs, and activities at St. John’s and serves as a forum for communications among the University community, alumni, and friends. The Board of Trustees elected Michael E. Roemer ’84CBA, Executive Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief Compliance Officer, Discover Financial Services, to the Board of Governors effective April 2023.

Additions to the Board of Trustees

In addition, the Board of Trustees elected two new members. Jeanmarie Grisi ’80CBA, Head, Global Pensions, and President, Nokia Investment Management Corporation, and Mark P. Kritzman ’73CBA, Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer, Windham Capital Management, LLC, were each elected to the Board of Trustees for three-year terms.

Board Committees

The Board of Trustees voted to restructure its standing committees and to add two new committees. The existing Resource, Management, and Partnerships Committee will be separated into individual committees for Finance, Institutional Advancement, and Investment. The existing Mission and Student Success Committee will be separated into individual committees for Mission as well as Academic Affairs and Student Success. These new committees will have their first meetings before the October 2023 full Board meeting.

Recognizing the importance of the University’s commitment to equity and inclusion efforts, and the establishment of the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Board voted to establish a stand-alone Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Board. In addition, recognizing the importance of intercollegiate athletics to the student experience, the Board voted to re-establish a stand-alone Athletics Committee. These committees will have their first meetings before the May 2023 full Board meeting.

Next Meeting

The next meeting of the St. John’s Board of Trustees will be held on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.