Monmouth College Trustee Newsletter
  . . . from the President's Office

Issue 4, March 1, 2001

All of us here at Monmouth College send our warmest regards, and I want to
share with you some of the exciting things that are currently happening on
campus.

 * The curriculum review, endorsed by the Board and funded by
the Teagle Foundation of New York City, is gaining impetus.  In April,
George Dehne, a nationally known marketing consultant, will be on campus to
meet with the Curriculum Planning Committee and make a presentation to the
entire faculty.    My hope is that he will sensitize all of us to the market
needs that are out there and focus our curriculum review.  Mr. Dehne will
also meet with the Admissions staff as a follow-up to our discussion at the
Trustee retreat regarding the enhancement of our college marketing efforts.

 * Also, plans are in the works for a two-day faculty planning
retreat following commencement.  We will be using Dr. Ron Purser, the
consultant who worked with us at the Trustee retreat in Indian Wells, to
facilitate our discussions.  We hope to begin to build some consensus for
needed curricular changes based on some of the marketing forces identified
in Dehne's visit.

 * This past weekend, a student written and produced play,
"Lincoln's Lagoon," by senior Matt Fotis was performed in Wells Theatre.
Matt's play received excellent reviews in the campus Courier and the local
Monmouth Review Atlas, and many positive comments from the community.

 * The Nominations Committee will be presenting the following
individuals for election to our Board at our spring Trustees' meeting:

   * Mrs. Elizabeth Hiel, a former president of
our Parent's Association and mother of two Monmouth College graduates.  The
Hiels own and operate Hiel Trucking Company, Hiel Enterprises Inc., and
Prairie Equipment Inc. They reside in Prairie City, Illinois.
   * Attorney Mark Taylor, Class of 1978, a
resident of Houston, Texas.  He is Assistant General Counsel for Enron
Capital Trade Resources. Mark has also served MC in the past as a member of
the Alumni Board.
   * The Hon. Daniel S. Weber, Class of 1974, a
felony trial judge in Cook County Circuit Court. Dan will serve as an Alumni
Board representative.  He resides in Westchester, Illinois.

 * The Whiteman Lecture will be held on Thursday, April 19 at
11:00 AM.  This is the day before the spring Board meeting begins, and all
are encouraged to attend what I am sure will be a very interesting address.
The speaker is Walter Huff '56, our Board Vice Chair, and founder of HBO &
Company.  Walter joins a long list of distinguished Whiteman lecturers,
which includes Jim Pate '63, Pennzoil Company; Red Poling '49, Ford Motor
Company; Lee Morgan, Caterpillar Inc.; Leonard Hadley, Maytag Corp.; and
Jerry Porras, Stanford University, among others.

 * We are in the midst of completing a number of faculty
searches.  We already have signed contracts for new faculty in Philosophy
and Religious Studies, Psychology, Sociology, and Plant Biology.  We are
still in the interview phase for hires in Marketing, Molecular Biology, and
Physical Education/Coaching.  We are pleased to have rich pools in these
searches, and we have been able to attract top candidates.

 * Construction/renovation plans for the library, the athletic
and recreation center, the auditorium, and the main dining room in the
Stockdale Center continue.  We want to be able to move quickly as funding
becomes available.  We hope to begin the library renovation this summer, as
well as the remodeling of our food service and the renovation of the locker
rooms and training rooms in Wade Gymnasium in anticipation of the new
construction.

 * The new residence hall construction is progressing nicely,
and plans to open in the fall are on schedule.  I can't wait for you to see
this outstanding facility at the spring meeting.

 * Eleven houses are scheduled to be demolished this spring on
the north and west boundaries of the campus.  Plans are also underway to
construct six competition tennis courts west of the new track facility.

 * The silent phase of the capital campaign is moving forward.
The Trustee Steering Committee has been active and will soon be making
arrangements for solicitation of the Board.  A number of very generous
commitments have already been made, and a progress report will be given at
the April meeting.

 * Admissions is moving along at an encouraging pace. The
following is a comparison of visits, applications, accepteds, and deposits
(as of February 26), for 1999, 2000, and 2001.  If we attain a class of 350,
with our projected retention, we should be nearing 1,100 for opening
enrollment next fall.

 Visits Applications Accepted Deposits Class Size

2001 766 1059 780 150   ?
2000 711 1057 785 136 350
1999 702 1060 748 118 337

 * And, just to keep you up-to-date with a couple of our
distinguished emeritus faculty, Dr. Bernice Fox, Classics Department,
celebrated her 90th Birthday February 19; and Gracie Peterson, Theatre
Department, will celebrate her 99th Birthday on March 2.

 * Important dates for your calendar:

Event Date Location
The Whiteman Lecture April 19, 2001, 11:00am MC Auditorium
Spring Trustee Meeting April 20-21, 2001 MC Campus
Commencement 2001 May 13, 2001, Noon MC Campus
Summer Executive Committee August 9-10, 2001 MC Campus
Fall Trustee Meeting October 18-20, 2001 MC Campus
Homecoming Weekend October 19-21, 2001 MC Campus
Winter Planning Retreat Jan. 31 - Feb 2, 2002 Indian Wells, CA