Vince wants to get us from #33 in USN&WR to the top 25. Right there is a change from our last few Jesuit presidents who disdained those rankings. Vince indicated that "reputation enhancement" will likely take 5 years or so. Asked about a model college for that, he said Colby, who he's spoken with already. Colby president is a Worcester native and Vince's wife is friends with some of the faculty there.
4 areas he wants to focus on:
1.governance - eliminate confusion
2. communication - need transparency
3. work force - there had been a hiring freeze and they need to fill 100 positions
4. campus master plan
He did mention "investing" in athletics but no real details.
Regarding admissions and how to become more selective, Vince indicated we need to broaden our applicant pool beyond the Northeast (that's not a new concept) and we "need to get our story out." He also said that there was "new leadership in Admissions" (take that for what it's worth but suspect Ann's retirement was welcomed). Also a partnership formed with Quest Bridge. I need to research that a bit more but believe it is identifying really smart students who get lost in the shuffle.
Rick Patterson talked about campus housing including renovating the hill dorms though they may find better to build new than renovate as each dorm would take 1+ years to do and they'd need to find 250 additional beds during that process. They are working with a consultant but probably earliest would be Fall, 2023 before any activity.
Ciampi has 44 bedrooms and maybe 100 students could live there but that won't happen until they find a place for the Jesuits and they aren't going to chase them out. A question of whether there might be "big dorms" in the future and Rick said no but more likely town houses like senior dorms. Vince said there is a possibility of housing in Worcester. The housing situation is likely a 10-15 year plan but DC semester and students abroad can relieve housing issues. (Earlier he said HC is #1 in the country in long-term study abroad) .
Vince says Hogan is "ripe for re-imagination" and wants an "integrated campus" not a top and bottom of the hill.
85% of admitted students were "need blind."
Will check my notes and the transcript in the next couple of days but probably others were also on and can re-confirm or correct my post.
