 | Board of Visitors minutes June 10, 2005 |  |
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
The President began his customary remarks with a report on AccessUVA
The program, he said, has been a tremendous success in its first full year of implementation. The current number of admitted students who qualify for full grants under AccessUVA is 193, and the number continues to grow. A year ago, by comparison, 70 students were fully funded. He noted that the value of a fully funded year of education is
As a result of AccessUVA, 7% of the incoming class will be from low-income backgrounds. That figure is lower than we would like, he said, and the newly organized AccessUVA steering committee is developing strategies to increase that number.
The President thanked the steering committee: Ms. Yvonne Hubbard (Student Financial Services), Mr. Blackburn (Admissions), Mr. Kimata (University Comptroller) and Ms. Wood (University Relations) for their work. He introduced Mesdames Hubbard and Wood and Mr. Kimata to the Board; Mr. Blackburn was out of town.
The President also mentioned the Saturday Scholars Program, which had been very successful before it was discontinued in the early 1990s; it is planned to restart the Program in the Office of African American Affairs. The program was an effort to prepare students for college by engaging them beginning in middle school; an important component of the Program will be involvement by the parents, family or guardians of the participants.
The previous version of the Program, he said, was highly successful with very high college graduation rates among its participants.
The President reported that the University will present a life-size bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson to The University of Virginia's College at Wise. The statue, funded with private gifts, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the College and Mr. Ern's service as Chancellor; it will be dedicated in the fall.
The President noted that he and Mrs. Casteen have traveled across the country and abroad this spring to meet with alumni, parents and friends of the University. Since January 1st, events have been held in some 27 cities.
The Class of 1955, which had its 50th reunion several weeks ago, broke all records with 40% of the class in attendance. There was an increase of more than 300% in the number of alumni attending Black Alumni Weekend. In the general reunions last weekend, four classes set records for reunion giving with the Class of 1985 making the largest
GIFTS AND GRANTS REPORT
The President reported that private giving to the University and its related foundations, in the period July 1, 2004 - April 30, 2005, came to $155.8million, an increase of 4% above the same period last year (but not including the reunion gifts of $27million).
Among the significant gifts received since he last reported to the Board, the President mentioned $5million to the College of Arts & Sciences from Mrs. Hamilton Clay of Charleston, West Virginia and Vero Beach, Florida. There was an anonymous $1million charitable remainder trust toward the Medical Education Building at the School of Medicine. The John H. Birdsall Trust made a $500,000 pledge payment to the College Foundation for its unrestricted use, and Jeffrey C. Walker of Wilton, Connecticut made a $333,000 pledge payment to the McIntire School of Commerce Foundation for McIntire's building campaign.
The President mentioned several new pledges made since his last report to the Board: an anonymous $5million pledge to the McIntire School of Commerce Foundation for its building campaign; a $5million pledge to the Medical School for the Beirne B. Carter Center for Immunology Research from the Beirne Carter Foundation of Richmond; $400,000 from Mr. Fralin to the Virginia Athletics Foundation for its unrestricted use; and $300,000 to the Virginia Athletics Foundation from Chase Investment Counsel of Charlottesville.
| Board of Visitors minutes June 10, 2005 | |