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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 10, 2021 19:34:14 GMT -5
A president is not recruited in to tell the College what to do. In many cases, the president is told what to do by the BOT and will be judged on it. If he succeeds, he is renewed. If not, he will be let go.
The choice of a lay person reflects the decline of the number of Jesuits willing and able to run a major college. But it is also a sign that the Jesuits' sometime laissez-faire approach to fundraising will be escalated. Boards like HC are probably already preparing for a new capital campaign, and getting it ready within the next four years is likely his chief task right now--for example, a six year, $600 million campaign with a stated goal of adding endowment gifts to reaching the $1B endowment tier. But a quick look at those numbers - $100 million a year, every year - is a daunting task. (See later in this thread for an explanation of annual versus endowment gifts.)
The trustees also see the headwinds in higher education - declining numbers of students in the Northeast for the next two decades, a decline in liberal arts education as a point of interest, and the ever increasing gap between cost of education and ability to pay. Today's Catholic high school student is more likely to be named Rodriguez than O'Leary - is Worcester even on their radar? How does the place change if more kids come from outside Massachusetts, or aren't Catholic, or if enrollment is raised to meet rising costs? What does a 3,500 or 4,000 student campus look like in ten years? Add in the COVID losses and private schools are feeling the heat right now--the issues at LaSalle and St. Joseph's are probably the tip of an iceberg and not everyone is going to make it to 2030 and beyond. A new president has some tough decisions financially right from the start, and he won't make friends doing so.
He'll also have to deal with a college's most consistent voices: the faculty. Faculty view the upper administration as a zero-sum game--whatever isn't theirs is somehow taking away from them. Faculty want more hires, more offices, more input, but will fight any cost containment. They'll also be the first to squawk if the College decides to expand beyond the liberal arts or add a small graduate school to raise revenue like Colgate did. Or does Holy Cross go big on STEM innovation, more international students, or create a specialized Boston campus for pre-med that is a shot across the bow at BC? Everyone has to be on board with big ideas, and that's no easy thing at a college.
Gone are the days of the rector-president. HC now has an energetic 57 year old leader that has to run a $200 million non-profit with the dexterity of a CEO--balancing competing interests, ideals, and board mandates, all the while keeping the ship afloat financially, raise the rankings, keep alumni happy, and steer HC away from scandal or bad press. And there is no on-the-job training.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 10, 2021 20:41:12 GMT -5
HC's endowment is not $400 million, reaching for $1 billion. The endowment is closer to $800 million, with Agnes Williams' recent gift, and depending on matching, and the BoT investment committee not screwing up, ought to be close to $850 million in 2022. There is about $65 million in receivables due in the next five years, so, in itself, that ought to push the endowment to over $900 million.
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Post by matunuck on Feb 10, 2021 21:05:23 GMT -5
HC's endowment is not $400 million, reaching for $1 billion. The endowment is closer to $800 million, with Agnes Williams' recent gift, and depending on matching, and the BoT investment committee not screwing up, ought to be close to $850 million in 2022. There is about $65 million in receivables due in the next five years, so, in itself, that ought to push the endowment to over $900 million. Spot on.
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Post by DFW HOYA on Feb 10, 2021 21:19:59 GMT -5
HC's endowment is not $400 million, reaching for $1 billion. The endowment is closer to $800 million, with Agnes Williams' recent gift, and depending on matching, and the BoT investment committee not screwing up, ought to be close to $850 million in 2022. There is about $65 million in receivables due in the next five years, so, in itself, that ought to push the endowment to over $900 million. I understand that--it was $755.2 million in 2019. However, capital campaigns are a mix of annual use and endowment funds--they count everything received but it doesn't all go to the endowment. Generally speaking, only 25%-30% of a campaign is endowment-eligible. The Williams gift is likely an endowment gift. By contrast, an annual gift would otherwise not go to the endowment. Assuming the 2020 endowment was ~$800M, a campaign of $600 million would be tasked with raising $200M in capital gifts and $400M in annual gifts over a six year period.
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 10, 2021 22:31:38 GMT -5
A president is not recruited in to tell the College what to do. In many cases, the president is told what to do by the BOT and will be judged on it. If he succeeds, he is renewed. If not, he will be let go. The choice of a lay person reflects the decline of the number of Jesuits willing and able to run a major college. But it is also a sign that the Jesuits' sometime laissez-faire approach to fundraising will be escalated. Boards like HC are probably already preparing for a new capital campaign, and getting it ready within the next four years is likely his chief task right now--for example, a six year, $600 million campaign with a stated goal of adding endowment gifts to reaching the $1B endowment tier. But a quick look at those numbers - $100 million a year, every year - is a daunting task. (See later in this thread for an explanation of annual versus endowment gifts.) The trustees also see the headwinds in higher education - declining numbers of students in the Northeast for the next two decades, a decline in liberal arts education as a point of interest, and the ever increasing gap between cost of education and ability to pay. Today's Catholic high school student is more likely to be named Rodriguez than O'Leary - is Worcester even on their radar? How does the place change if more kids come from outside Massachusetts, or aren't Catholic, or if enrollment is raised to meet rising costs? What does a 3,500 or 4,000 student campus look like in ten years? Add in the COVID losses and private schools are feeling the heat right now--the issues at LaSalle and St. Joseph's are probably the tip of an iceberg and not everyone is going to make it to 2030 and beyond. A new president has some tough decisions financially right from the start, and he won't make friends doing so. He'll also have to deal with a college's most consistent voices: the faculty. Faculty view the upper administration as a zero-sum game--whatever isn't theirs is somehow taking away from them. Faculty want more hires, more offices, more input, but will fight any cost containment. They'll also be the first to squawk if the College decides to expand beyond the liberal arts or add a small graduate school to raise revenue like Colgate did. Or does Holy Cross go big on STEM innovation, more international students, or create a specialized Boston campus for pre-med that is a shot across the bow at BC? Everyone has to be on board with big ideas, and that's no easy thing at a college. Gone are the days of the rector-president. HC now has an energetic 57 year old leader that has to run a $200 million non-profit with the dexterity of a CEO--balancing competing interests, ideals, and board mandates, all the while keeping the ship afloat financially, raise the rankings, keep alumni happy, and steer HC away from scandal or bad press. And there is no on-the-job training. I've enjoyed reading all the comments. Yours is the first to mention faculty. I wonder how a PhD in English views this JD? The new President has also probably never taught an undergraduate course. Neither issue is a deal breaker but it will be interesting to read about any concerns the faculty have. The demographics and changing attraction of liberal arts you mention are also interesting. The pandemic could be accelerating a bubble bursting in Higher education even while we're in the midst of it. We don't know how the next few years will play out. Our new President may have to become "Mac the Knife", but he seems well equipped to handle an uncertain future so I feel positive about his hiring.
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Post by beaven302 on Feb 10, 2021 23:18:56 GMT -5
Fort those who were concerned about the new president's commitment to Catholicism, here's an excerpt of an email that I received today from the widow of a classmate.
"I know Vince Rougeau personally! He lives about a mile from us and attends St. Julia Church here in Weston. He is a terrific guy, usually sits behind me at church and helps me stay on tune with a fabulous voice (like he should do voice-overs for radio). He is also a lector and quietly involved in social justice education with parishioners. His wife Robin participated in a Lenten prayer group at our house, and then they both led a couples group the next year. Good, good people……who are involved in so much, without much fanfare."
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Feb 11, 2021 0:07:46 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing that--very happy to hear it. This is yet another real positive for our new president
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Post by longsuffering on Feb 11, 2021 1:57:24 GMT -5
Fort those who were concerned about the new president's commitment to Catholicism, here's an excerpt of an email that I received today from the widow of a classmate. "I know Vince Rougeau personally! He lives about a mile from us and attends St. Julia Church here in Weston. He is a terrific guy, usually sits behind me at church and helps me stay on tune with a fabulous voice (like he should do voice-overs for radio). He is also a lector and quietly involved in social justice education with parishioners. His wife Robin participated in a Lenten prayer group at our house, and then they both led a couples group the next year. Good, good people……who are involved in so much, without much fanfare." If he lives in Weston and HC offers him a house off College St., he may make a decision like Nelson Rockefeller did. Rocky was the first Vice President to be eligible to move into the Vice Presidential Mansion at the Naval Observatory. But he declined and only used it for dinners because he had a better house in Washington.
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 11, 2021 7:08:57 GMT -5
Thanks, Beaven, for putting meat on the bones of my prior post. The initial communications made clear that our new president was an expert on Catholicism having studied and written on the subject. The concern that I and some others had was that the communications lacked clarification that his knowledge was more than academic.
While many posters think his faith practice has no bearing on his new office, speaking for myself, I think when you lead a Catholic school, particularly Holy Cross, you should be a Catholic.
I am pleased to hear he knows Catholicism not just in his head but heart and “gut” and has internalized it.
I think this is a great choice and he will have my full support. Not that the lack if it would have kept him up at night.
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Post by alum on Feb 11, 2021 8:53:50 GMT -5
Fort those who were concerned about the new president's commitment to Catholicism, here's an excerpt of an email that I received today from the widow of a classmate. "I know Vince Rougeau personally! He lives about a mile from us and attends St. Julia Church here in Weston. He is a terrific guy, usually sits behind me at church and helps me stay on tune with a fabulous voice (like he should do voice-overs for radio). He is also a lector and quietly involved in social justice education with parishioners. His wife Robin participated in a Lenten prayer group at our house, and then they both led a couples group the next year. Good, good people……who are involved in so much, without much fanfare." If he lives in Weston and HC offers him a house off College St., he may make a decision like Nelson Rockefeller did. Rocky was the first Vice President to be eligible to move into the Vice Presidential Mansion at the Naval Observatory. But he declined and only used it for dinners because he had a better house in Washington. I think that it is absolutely imperative that the college president live on or very near the campus. A residential liberal arts college is supposed to be a close knit community where one sees administrators (and in an ideal world, faculty) out and about. As I am sure everyone knows, many/most colleges have a house for the president on or adjoining the campus. If I am correct, an employer provided home on the employer's premises and for the convenience of the employer is a tax free benefit to the employee. (Some tax guru can weigh in here.)
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Post by hc6774 on Feb 11, 2021 8:53:55 GMT -5
HC's endowment is not $400 million, reaching for $1 billion. The endowment is closer to $800 million, with Agnes Williams' recent gift, and depending on matching, and the BoT investment committee not screwing up, ought to be close to $850 million in 2022. There is about $65 million in receivables due in the next five years, so, in itself, that ought to push the endowment to over $900 million. I understand that--it was $755.2 million in 2019. However, capital campaigns are a mix of annual use and endowment funds--they count everything received but it doesn't all go to the endowment. Generally speaking, only 25%-30% of a campaign is endowment-eligible. The Williams gift is likely an endowment gift. By contrast, an annual gift would otherwise not go to the endowment. Assuming the 2020 endowment was ~$800M, a campaign of $600 million would be tasked with raising $200M in capital gifts and $400M in annual gifts over a six year period. a year ago the VP Advancement said to HCAA that next campaign would not reach the $1B endowment; it might take another generation to reach that.
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Post by hc6774 on Feb 11, 2021 9:00:40 GMT -5
Fort those who were concerned about the new president's commitment to Catholicism, here's an excerpt of an email that I received today from the widow of a classmate. "I know Vince Rougeau personally! He lives about a mile from us and attends St. Julia Church here in Weston. He is a terrific guy, usually sits behind me at church and helps me stay on tune with a fabulous voice (like he should do voice-overs for radio). He is also a lector and quietly involved in social justice education with parishioners. His wife Robin participated in a Lenten prayer group at our house, and then they both led a couples group the next year. Good, good people……who are involved in so much, without much fanfare." If he lives in Weston and HC offers him a house off College St., he may make a decision like Nelson Rockefeller did. Rocky was the first Vice President to be eligible to move into the Vice Presidential Mansion at the Naval Observatory. But he declined and only used it for dinners because he had a better house in Washington. It will be interesting to see how this has been worked out... Jesuit presidents were not only on campus with a strong presence they also had a strong presence in the Worcester community. Many of the staff at HC related to their presidents as priests as well... this has changed, but not necessarily for the worst.
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Post by Tom on Feb 11, 2021 9:10:44 GMT -5
If he lives in Weston and HC offers him a house off College St., he may make a decision like Nelson Rockefeller did. Rocky was the first Vice President to be eligible to move into the Vice Presidential Mansion at the Naval Observatory. But he declined and only used it for dinners because he had a better house in Washington. I think that it is absolutely imperative that the college president live on or very near the campus. A residential liberal arts college is supposed to be a close knit community where one sees administrators (and in an ideal world, faculty) out and about. As I am sure everyone knows, many/most colleges have a house for the president on or adjoining the campus. If I am correct, an employer provided home on the employer's premises and for the convenience of the employer is a tax free benefit to the employee. (Some tax guru can weigh in here.) Approx 10 seconds of internet stalking tells me that Dr (Mrs) Rougeau's practice is in Haverhill. Not a commute that I would enjoy. I don't think a new home inside the city limits is a guarantee
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Post by alum on Feb 11, 2021 9:13:42 GMT -5
I understand that--it was $755.2 million in 2019. However, capital campaigns are a mix of annual use and endowment funds--they count everything received but it doesn't all go to the endowment. Generally speaking, only 25%-30% of a campaign is endowment-eligible. The Williams gift is likely an endowment gift. By contrast, an annual gift would otherwise not go to the endowment. Assuming the 2020 endowment was ~$800M, a campaign of $600 million would be tasked with raising $200M in capital gifts and $400M in annual gifts over a six year period. a year ago the VP Advancement said to HCAA that next campaign would not reach the $1B endowment; it might take another generation to reach that. She should be more optimistic. All it would take is a large gift and a better return on investment. In considering the endowment size, it is important to also consider it vis a vis long term debt. If schools pay cash from large gifts for new facilities, they will have a smaller endowment but less debt than schools with other strategies. The other important thing to remember is that endowment per student is of as much importance as the total size.
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Post by hcpride on Feb 11, 2021 9:16:09 GMT -5
I think that it is absolutely imperative that the college president live on or very near the campus. A residential liberal arts college is supposed to be a close knit community where one sees administrators (and in an ideal world, faculty) out and about. As I am sure everyone knows, many/most colleges have a house for the president on or adjoining the campus. If I am correct, an employer provided home on the employer's premises and for the convenience of the employer is a tax free benefit to the employee. (Some tax guru can weigh in here.) Approx 10 seconds of internet stalking tells me that Dr (Mrs) Rougeau's practice is in Haverhill. Not a commute that I would enjoy. I don't think a new home inside the city limits is a guarantee Agreed. Both Clark and WPI’s presidents live in college-provided and nearby residences. I’d guess nearby housing arrangements -of some sort - are accounted for in HC’s compensation package.
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Post by newfieguy74 on Feb 11, 2021 9:16:51 GMT -5
How to get to 1B? Buy Bitcoin. I'm not kidding. When companies like Mass Mutual and Fidelity and Tesla are getting into Bitcoin it's going mainstream. Cryptocurrency is here to stay. I'm guessing there is no cryptocurrency in HC's portfolio at the moment.
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Post by alum on Feb 11, 2021 9:18:58 GMT -5
I think that it is absolutely imperative that the college president live on or very near the campus. A residential liberal arts college is supposed to be a close knit community where one sees administrators (and in an ideal world, faculty) out and about. As I am sure everyone knows, many/most colleges have a house for the president on or adjoining the campus. If I am correct, an employer provided home on the employer's premises and for the convenience of the employer is a tax free benefit to the employee. (Some tax guru can weigh in here.) Approx 10 seconds of internet stalking tells me that Dr (Mrs) Rougeau's practice is in Haverhill. Not a commute that I would enjoy. I don't think a new home inside the city limits is a guarantee I am sure that the College and Dean Rougeau reached an agreement on this up front. They would not have left this issue hanging.
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Post by Tom on Feb 11, 2021 9:48:16 GMT -5
Absolutely.
For reasons I do not understand, I was not invited into the contract negotiation. but I am sure residency was discussed. There would be egg on everyone's face if, after the announcement, the school said he had to live on college hill and he said he wasn't leaving Weston. I would bet 38 cents there is some mutually agreeable language about residency. Speaking for myself and everyone else who wasn't invited into the negotiation, we don't know for certain whether or not our new president will be relocating to Worcester
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Post by princetoncrusader on Feb 11, 2021 10:28:11 GMT -5
Re the question of an English professor's view of a JD in the president's seat, Princeton's president has a career path and academic background quite similar to Vince's. Chris Eisgruber earned a degree in physics from Princeton in 1983 and then a JD from the Univ. of Chicago. He spent 11 years as a professor at NYU's law school. He joined Princeton's faculty in 2001 and become provost in 2004. In July 2013, he became PU's president. Among my small group of PU alums and faculty friends, I have never heard anyone say anything negative about him with the exception of one young alum who complained about his decision to drop the lightweight football program. He seems to be leading the University to new heights in fundraising, faculty recruitment and academic prestige. One can only hope that Vince has similar success. I wish him well and like the selection. I look forward to the livestream this evening. Go Cross!
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 11, 2021 12:15:46 GMT -5
a year ago the VP Advancement said to HCAA that next campaign would not reach the $1B endowment; it might take another generation to reach that. She should be more optimistic. All it would take is a large gift and a better return on investment. In considering the endowment size, it is important to also consider it vis a vis long term debt. If schools pay cash from large gifts for new facilities, they will have a smaller endowment but less debt than schools with other strategies. The other important thing to remember is that endowment per student is of as much importance as the total size. I have a recollection that it was perhaps the chair of the BoT who said that HC could not be 'competitive' on financial aid (compared to the wealthiest of the colleges and universities) until the endowment reached $1.3-1.4 billion (constant $) and that might take a generation. Annual contributions to the endowment are relatively small, generally under $8M a year. In fact, I strongly suspect that HC transfers its annual operating surplus over to the endowment. The operating surplus generally runs $5-6 million, though not last year, nor this. As for capital campaigns, including HC's most recent, the bulk of the monies received have gone toward facilities. This indirectly helps the endowment long-term, because if HC bonded for the entirety of this construction, interest payments on the debt would be substantial -- e.g., this year, BC will be paying about $75 million in principal and interest on its $1.3 billion in long term debt. BC's interest payments in 2020 were $43.6 million. HC's long-term debt was $211 million last June 30th, with annual interest expense of $7.4 million. In 2011, HC's long term debt was $163 million -- this was before Joyce, Luth, the Jo, and PPAC, which I think total about $275 million of construction.
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Post by Tom on Feb 11, 2021 12:51:13 GMT -5
Annual contributions to the endowment are relatively small, generally under $8M a year. In fact, I strongly suspect that HC transfers its annual operating surplus over to the endowment. The operating surplus generally runs $5-6 million, though not last year, nor this. As I understand it, about half of the endowments earnings, based on a five year rolling average, get transferred into the operating budget
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Feb 11, 2021 13:46:58 GMT -5
Annual contributions to the endowment are relatively small, generally under $8M a year. In fact, I strongly suspect that HC transfers its annual operating surplus over to the endowment. The operating surplus generally runs $5-6 million, though not last year, nor this. As I understand it, about half of the endowments earnings, based on a five year rolling average, get transferred into the operating budget No. The annual distribution of the endowment to help fund the operating budget is 4.5 / 5 percent of the average three year value of the endowment with a one year lag. Using an illustrative endowment value of $600M in 2016 $700M in 2017 $800 M in 2018, and factoring a one year lag of the average of $700M, the 2019 distribution would be 5 percent of $700M, or $35M. In the remote past, IIRC, the percentage was less, but MA law changed that, and I believe the percentage now is required to be at least 4.5 percent.
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Post by sader1970 on Feb 11, 2021 15:10:38 GMT -5
Sounds like my RMD.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Feb 11, 2021 15:28:25 GMT -5
Rougeau sounds like a great guy and great addition to the HC community.
On the positive side, the bar has been set very low by our last two presidents who typically gave off the impression of sleep walking through the assignment -- just having a pulse gives VR an immediate leg up.
But I do have to say that his response to the "What do you do outside of work?" question from the interview linked at the top of this thread is a bit concerning as it relates to HC athletics. VR gave a pretty extensive answer, but didn't even toss a bone in the direction of sports. If being at Notre Dame and BC weren't enough to have "attending football games" added to the likes of hiking, kayaking, opera, and cooking (no offense), I'm nervous that his interest in pL sports will be minimal. I hope I'm wrong!
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Post by hcpride on Feb 11, 2021 15:37:15 GMT -5
/\ The HC administration has assiduously worked to create a brand known for progressivism, the study of the liberal arts, participatory athletics, and Catholicism. Of course there are exceptions here and there (there always are in life) -- but I don't see that essential brand changing with this hire.
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