Attendance:
Paul Wang
Anyi Sun
Brandon Lozano Garay
Mundo Ortiz Alvarez
John Donoghue
Abigail Martin
Alejandro Ramos
Angelica Gordon
Camila Eljuri
Elliott Ewell
Cash Reynolds
Sadie New
Chase Lenk
Zahren York
Ollie Tannahil
Timmy Ignacio
Liliana Restrepo
Call to Order
Matt Orlando (Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration)
- Matt Orlando is the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration at Bowdoin
- In his role, he oversees many aspects of the College, including the budget, billing, collection of tuition and fees, HR, facilities, dining, and security
- Matt gave an overview of the endowment at Bowdoin
- The goal of the endowment is to generate a steady, stable stream of support for current operations while preserving the purchasing power of the endowment to support future generations of students
- Bowdoin’s endowment is $2.4 billion. It has grown disproportionately to other revenue sources
- 46% of the endowment goes towards scholarships; 22% towards instruction; 18% towards general support; 6% towards libraries and museums; 8% to all other things
- Bowdoin spends about 5% of its endowment a year
- Matt emphasized how the small residential college business model is expensive
- Q&A
- Elliott: How does Bowdoin’s $122,000 cost of attendance compare to other institutions?
- Matt: About 6 colleges, including Amherst and Williams, are above Bowdoin. We are comparable to Smith, and then other colleges, including Middlebury and Colby, are below.
- Paul: Many students have frustrations about the College not spending more; what would you say to that?
- Matt: Peer institutions have struggled financially after spending ~6.5% rather than 5%. Don’t want to follow that trend.
- Mundo: What keeps you on your toes?
- Matt: Student safety. Hiring is also important to me; I want to put people in positions where they’ll succeed.
- Elliott: How does Bowdoin’s $122,000 cost of attendance compare to other institutions?
Adjournment