Annual Report 2003-2004 - The Council of Independent Colleges

I N D E P E N D E N T H I G H E R E D U C A T I O N■■■■Student Learning and Life—faculty-student interaction,rigor and engagement in class, prevalence of extra- and cocurricularlearning, communities that support learning andemphasize values and ethics.Student Success—degree completion, acquisition of broadlife and career skills, acquisition of values and ethics, completionof graduate degrees, income, role of faculty references,value of institution’s academic reputation.Satisfaction with Education—satisfaction with educationand preparation for life after college, financial and volunteersupport for undergraduate institutions, belief that privateeducation was a worthwhile investment.Contribution to the Public Good by private colleges, theirstudents, and graduates—volunteering and communityservice, personal values and priorities, employment inand/or financial support for nonprofit and educationalorganizations, financial and personal involvement withchurches.The data collection and analysis is being converted intomaterials that will serve as resources for CIC memberpresidents as they communicate with a wide range of audiences;provide tools that can help CIC to speak on behalf ofprivate colleges and universities to philanthropic and businessleaders; and establish CIC as a reliable source of informationabout higher education in general and private colleges anduniversities in particular.A variety of other programs and services offered by CIC inthe past year also promotes the distinctive features of educationoffered by small to mid-sized, teaching-oriented, privatecolleges and universities.Liberal Arts and Business Careers Symposium—Ten CICmember presidents and ten business executives met atElmhurst College (IL) in November 2003 to explore howleaders in both the corporate community and at independentinstitutions of higher education can benefit from a betterunderstanding of the connections between the liberal arts andbusiness.During the day-long meeting, participants spent time focusingon barriers to the appreciation of the liberal arts. Theydiscussed specific steps that business and educational leaderscould take to work together more effectively to preparetomorrow’s leaders, especially in business, and recommendedways to advocate more effectively for the value of liberal artseducation.A grant from the James S. Kemper Foundation supportedthe Symposium. The project co-moderaters were ProfessorHarry L. Davis of the University of Chicago Graduate Schoolof Business and CIC Senior Advisor Thomas F. Flynn, whodirected the project. In July 2004, CIC published a Report of aSymposium on the Liberal Arts and Business, which includes asummary of the day’s discussion as well as a collection of individualstatements. Participants included:College Presidents—Charles J. Beirne, S.J., Le MoyneCollege (NY); Richard J. Cook, Allegheny College (PA);Bryant L. Cureton, Elmhurst College (IL); Jonathan P.DeFelice, OSB, Saint Anselm College (NH); Andrew T. Ford,Wabash College (IN); William V. Frame, Augsburg College(MN); Karen I. Halbersleben, Northland College (WI); ToddS. Hutton, Utica College (NY); Michael Lomax, then presidentof Dillard University (LA), now president of the UnitedNegro College Fund; and Michael A. MacDowell, CollegeMisericordia (PA).ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE, NY2003-2004 ANNUAL R EPORT 5