State of the College 2013

State of the College

State of the College Uncertainty about the future can immobilize us, or it can challenge us. We expect setbacks, but if we move forward with determination and belief in each person’s ability to make a positive contribution to our community, we will thrive.

With the above premise, I review the state of the college and outline our next steps. In short, the state of the College is strong and getting stronger. Our next steps will help protect the gains we have made for the immediate future. Then we will lay the foundation for long-term success.

Enrollment With an incoming class of 354, Hanover College will again welcome one of the largest incoming classes in our history, establishing a new record for total enrollment with nearly 1,165 students. In addition to achieving this important milestone, this year’s class will also set new records as the most ethnically and culturally diverse class we have ever admitted. More than 12 percent of incoming students are domestic students of color, while the international cohort has nearly doubled in size to 26 new international students.

That group now makes up seven percent of the total class. Hanover students truly come from all corners of the globe with 16 countries and five continents represented in the first-year cohort. Noteworthy is the fact that12 percent of our entering students have had an immediate family member (sibling, parent or grandparent) attend Hanover in the past. This percentage would no doubt be much higher if we considered aunts, uncles and cousins in the calculation. This is a strong indication that the College remains a recognizable and deeply valued experience for our alumni.

Summer Construction The summer of 2013 marked significant campus improvements through the following projects: • enhancing safety by completing the installation of sprinklers in all dorms; • improving energy conservation through the installation of new furnaces in 11 buildings and new lighting systems in Duggan Library and the Horner Center; • beautification with the renovation of the dining hall and significant grounds work, including major tree trimming and; • improved learning space with the new Ken and Kendal Gladish Center for Teaching and Learning, and education’s technology classroom.

Two major construction projects are underway: the transformation of Lynn Gym into Lynn Residence Hall and the improvement of the outdoor athletic facilities.

Construction equipment on campus is a beautiful sight because it represents progress. But it also causes inconveniences. We are keeping disruption to a minimum while we improve the campus and within a year both projects should be complete.

In short, it has been a busy summer for the physical plant staff, especially Scott Klein, who oversees all of these projects.

Financial Health of the College Our success in the last six years has put us in a more stable financial position. We have decreased our annual drawdown from the endowment to more acceptable levels, and we have completed the transfer of more than 16 positions previously on soft money into the normal operating budget. The outdoor athletic facilities are expected to be completely paid for by private donations. The construction of Lynn Residence Hall will be paid for out of revenue from housing as a result of increased enrollment.

Fiscal year 2012-13 was a good year for Hanover’s endowment with an overall investment return of nearly 12 percent. This return translates into approximately $15.3 million. We also received $1.1 million of actual and pledged gifts committed to the endowment during the year. We drew $6.8 million from the endowment to support scholarships and the annual operations of the College. This means the net growth of our endowment was close to $10.0 million for 2012-13.

With this financial stabilization, going forward we want to identify ways to accomplish the following: 1. ensure we never return to unsustainable financial practices; 2. contain or reduce tuition increases; 3. begin to budget for deferred maintenance; 4. enhance employee benefits and salaries each year, and; 5. support faculty and staff in their own personal development.

We have spent the last six years getting us back to sustainable budgeting practices. Now we need to create reserves for unexpected events like the $100,000 in urgent repairs to a leaking basement in the admissions building. And we must be able to continue to invest in people, our most important asset.

At the same time we need to carefully manage our resources, look for efficiencies and make prudent decisions in order to make sure that a Hanover education remains an affordable education. Jon Riester has analyzed in detail how an admitted student’s out-of-pocket cost (total cost minus all grants) is a strong predictor of whether or not that student eventually enrolls. With that data in hand, we can better estimate the likely impact — on enrollment and on the operating budget — of any future increases in tuition and fees.

The C a m pa ig n f or H a nov e r Col l e g e

At the end of July, $21.8 million dollars was committed to the Live Our Loyalty Campaign. Fortunately, a significant percentage of the commitments — $15 million of the $21.8 million, or 68 percent — are cash pledges and not deferred gifts.

We are aware of approximately another $2 million to be received soon and believe that by the end of September the campaign total commitments will exceed $24 million. Those gifts include a million dollar estate gift, nearly $577,000 from a trustee and $250,000 from a foundation.

As we seek the final $10 million in campaign commitments, we recognize that a high percentage of new commitments will be in deferred gifts, like trusts, wills and annuities that will build a pipeline for the future.

One year from now the solicitation period for the campaign will end, and at Homecoming 2014, we will celebrate a successful closing of the campaign.

Academics We will continue to look for ways to enhance our curriculum and academic programs in order to attract, retain and prepare our students for meaningful futures. The development of HBSP (Health and Biomedical Science Program) proceeds with the help of start-up funds from a trustee, Dr. Brenda Townes ’67. Under the leadership of Luke Starnes, HBSP has established an on-campus advisory committee, strengthened LEAP advising for students interested in health and biomedical careers, and planned a speaker series to commence this fall. A pilot externship program was offered this past winter term in collaboration with the local King’s Daughters’ Hospital. A slightly larger and more competitive program is set for the coming fall and winter terms, with 17 KDH/KDHHS physicians participating.

Two McManaman trusts have been established: The McManaman Quest Grant in Political Science and The McManaman Fellow Program. Each will — in its own way and to differing extents — enhance student opportunities. The political science department has directed this year’s funds to two initiatives: enrollment in the Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellows Program, which will bring notable figures to campus for week-long stays, and for the refurbishment and improvement of technology in the FOB classroom space.

A new focus on instructional technology has been accomplished by hiring Matt Wilson as instructional technologist and by opening the new Ken and Kendal Gladish Center for Teaching and Learning in Duggan Library. The campaign pledge by the Pettigrew family has allowed us to establish a fund for an internal grant process managed by the Committee on Learning and Teaching. These grants will be awarded for innovative uses of technology in the classroom. In addition, refurnished and upgraded classrooms in the Science Center (courtesy of BSP gift funds) and in Newby Hall (courtesy of donor Don Mount ’50) significantly extend the opportunities for the creative use of instructional technology.

Student Affairs - Withrow Center The Withrow Center, which officially opened in spring term, has already been enhanced by two new pool tables, new furniture in the student conference room, break room and technology room, and expanded equipment in the student organizations’ craft room.

Some of the events being planned include: • Sept. 6 — Grand Opening concert featuring The Lonely Biscuits • Sept. 20 — live comedian • Gala Prep Night — with ballroom dance lessons • Weekly tournaments and game nights • Monthly pre-release movie night, featuring films that are not yet released on DVD The Student Life office has also assumed responsibility for the institution’s connection to parents. They will do this through the Parents’ Board, under the direction of Ashley Clifford. In addition, a specific connection with the parents of our first-generation students will be managed by Casey Heckler. We have learned that for this generation of students the parents are an especially important partner in their well-being and success.

Athletics Our new women’s Lacrosse program is starting under the direction of C.J. Durham, who spent the summer recruiting in Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Illinois. She will now focus her attention on the Midwest with occasional trips east. C.J. will assess the lacrosse talent already on campus and look to bring in a large recruiting class next fall in anticipation of having the first season in the spring of 2015.

This past year Hanover finished third in the Commissioner’s Cup race behind Franklin and Rose-Hulman. The women’s teams finished first in the Women’s All Sports Competition, beating our closest competitors Franklin and Transylvania. The men’s teams finished in third place behind Rose-Hulman and Franklin. The highlights of the year were the women’s track & field team winning both the indoor and outdoor conference championships and the women’s basketball team winning the HCAC tournament and advancing to the NCAA tournament. All but three of our 18 teams finished in the top half of the conference standings.

Women’s golf, women’s cross country, football, men’s basketball and men’s golf all had second-place finishes in the conference.

Club Sports One of our club sports has taken off under the volunteer coaching of Craig Philipp. Last season, the men’s rugby team ended the season with a 2-6-1 record, but showed great signs of improvement as the season progressed. This year they have their first recruit who said he came to Hanover College because of rugby.

The real highlight of last season was the women’s rugby team. After five consecutive seasons without a win, the women’s club went 7-0 in the season, with most matches not even close. The women’s team went to Earlham Oct. 24 and won their first match by a score of 43-0. A proposal to play Indiana University was met with, “You will need to beat someone good like Ball State before we play you.” Hanover traveled to Muncie April 13 where it dismantled Division I Ball State with scores of 52-10 and 46-10, capping off a perfect season. More importantly, it opened the eyes of some other Division I schools.

The women’s schedule includes the First Annual Ides of March Tournament, tentatively scheduled for Saturday. March 15 at Hanover College, and there are verbal commitments (pending conference schedules) from Indiana University, The University of Kentucky, The University of Cincinnati and Division I powerhouse Notre Dame. See Craig Philipp for the schedule.

The Next Strategic Plan Although our first strategic plan was designed to cover the years 2009-2015, it seems the right time to begin conversations on the next one. Our 2009-2015 Strategic Plan identified 49 projects directly tied to enrollment and retention. Thirty-five are complete and in place, another five are in progress and nine were not accomplished or were dropped from consideration. That success was accomplished through the hard work of every person on this campus. We never gave that plan a title so I would like to anoint it “Leveling the Playing Field.” The positive results of this plan are obvious.

So, the question now is, what do we do next?

We must build on our strengths to meet the many challenges of the future. Many of those challenges will involve how well we respond to what are the real changes — social, economic, technological — in the landscape of higher education. That task begins with sorting out the signal from the noise in the steady barrage of news and opinions about the costs and value of a traditional college education, about student loan indebtedness and about post-graduation employment prospects. We must find the right combination of innovative ideas, since we want to be Hanover, not anyone and everyone else.

We are a strong, small, liberal arts college that attracts very good students, gives them extraordinary experiences and graduates exceptional alumni. We have a close-knit community known for its friendliness and concern for each other.

Our goal for our graduates is that they find their passion and that they are given exposure to a career through internships, study abroad, special research programs and apprenticeships. We want our alumni to be successful professionally, socially, financially and physically, and acquire a sense of general well being in their community and in the world.

Our strengths include dedicated faculty and staff who form strong relationships with students, extraordinary opportunities to study off campus during our spring term, grants for internships and research projects, and living on one of the most beautiful campuses in the country. We want to get as many high school students on this campus as possible to experience the impact this community can have on students. The summer seminars run by the Rivers Institute have provided that opportunity for hundreds of high school students and their teachers.

That is how we answer the question, “Is a private liberal arts college degree worth the cost?

Our next strategic plan will identify ways to reduce the cost of instruction without diminishing the special relationship with faculty, to be more creative about accomplishing operating tasks, to identify programs that attract today’s students, to provide more opportunities for special experiences like the spring term off-campus courses and much more. We are only limited by our imagination and the practicality of our creativity.

A strategic planning committee has been formed and will reach out to you for your input. This group will team up with the planning committee of the Board of Trustees, meeting with them at the fall trustee board meeting. This will be an open conversation that will hopefully engage each of you in the process.

Please join me in celebrating the results of our hard work and participate in a campus-wide conversation about the next decade in the life of Hanover College. What an exciting time to be part of this endeavor.

Sue DeWine, President Fall 2013 All cabinet members contributed to this report. It is through their leadership that we enjoy the success outlined within. My deepest thanks go to: Mike Bruce - Vice President for Business Affairs Lynn Hall - Director of Athletics Dennis Hunt - Vice President for College Advancement Steve Jobe - Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Jon Riester - Vice President for Enrollment Management David Yeager - Vice President and Dean of Student Life

Post Office Box 108 Hanover, Indiana 47243 hanover.edu

Hanover College provides equal opportunity in education and employment.