elmsnews

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear Colleagues,

It was great to see, laugh with, and chat with so many of you (and your families) at the Elms Faculty and Staff Family Barbecue on Wednesday, July 27. Thank you for attending!

This is the last issue of the Newsletter this summer, before students start returning to campus and we embark on the start of a new academic year. I continue to encourage all of you to take time away from the office: enjoy the (hot) summer weather, take a trip to the beach, pick up that book you have been wanting to read, spend time with family and friends, or time with just yourself to reflect, relax, and reinvigorate for the year ahead. It will be here before we know it!

Many of the projects noted in last month’s newsletter are progressing. Thank you once again to everyone who contributes to make them possible:

• The final candidates for the Vice President of Student Affairs will be visiting the campus the week of August 1. I encourage you to attend the Faculty and Staff Open Sessions taking place at 11:15 a.m. on those days.

• The Finance Office continues to work on closing the books on Fiscal Year 2022. All indications are that we will close the year on solid ground. Finance is also making progress in closing the remaining gap for a positive Fiscal Year 2023 Budget.

• The President’s Cabinet and the Deans met for the annual summer Cabinet Retreat on July 20. It was an invigorating and productive day! Exercises included assessing ourselves, how we work together at a Cabinet level, how we manage our teams, and where we can improve. A large portion of the day was dedicated to setting common campus-wide priorities for next year, using as input elements the United for Elms’ Future Action Plan, the objectives for year-three of the Strategic Plan, and Trustees' guidance in the past two BOT meetings.

• These draft campus-wide priorities will be shared with Trustees at the Board of Trustee Retreat taking place on August 12. With the facilitation of Donna Carroll, President Emerita of Dominican University, Trustees will have an opportunity to reflect on strategic challenges for institutions like Elms College and on the role of Trustees in advancing Elms College's Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts

• I look forward to updating everyone on our agreed-upon college-wide priorities at a Town Hall which will be scheduled for the beginning of the Academic Year. Please keep a look out for this communication in the coming weeks.

I am very much looking forward to welcoming our new and returning students to campus next month. They remind us why we chose to be a part of the Elms community – to educate a diverse group of students in a supportive, vibrant learning community rooted in faith, educated in mind, compassionate in heart, and committed to social justice. This remains our true north and will guide us through another successful year!

Harry E. Dumay, Ph.D., MBA

President