The College of William and Mary’s Board of Visitors unanimously approved a resolution to enforce a $300 mid-year tuition increase in a Nov. 20 meeting.

The increase will go into effect for the spring 2010 semester and will affect in-state undergraduates, out-of-state undergraduates, law students and business students. School of Education students, Virginia Marine Institute of Science students and Gateway students will not be affected.

The BOV’s Committee on Financial Affairs generated the resolution.

With no additional budget cuts, the tuition increase, along with faculty reduction and reallocated federal stimulus money, will balance the College’s budget deficit for the remaining fiscal year. Faculty reduction includes a cut of 18 professional and classified staff positions — six through vacancies and attrition, and 12 through layoffs.

“The challenge for higher education and mid-year cuts is that you are all staffed up, the students are already here, the faculty is already here, classes are being taught,” Vice President for Finance Sam Jones ’75 M.B.A. ’80 said. “You have limited flexibility to find mid-year actions. That’s why faculty positions are eliminated on a year-to-year basis. So that puts more pressure on the staff side of it.”

According to Jones, the finance office has already held meetings with those in control of the budgets for various departments to identify the positions that could be cut in the event of layoffs being necessary.

“The decisions have been made,” Jones said.

These cuts come as a response to a 15 percent, or $6.2 million, reduction in state funding during the
current fiscal year. To help combat this cut, the state has reallocated $2.8 million in federal stimulus money originally slated for next year into this fiscal year’s budget. As a result, the College will have only $1 million in stimulus money to cushion any budget shortfalls in 2011.

“[The] next fiscal year will be even more challenging than this fiscal year,” College President Taylor Reveley said.

During it’s meeting, the BOV discussed the necessity for a new financial model for the College. BOV member
Timothy Dunn ’83 discussed moving toward “a private institution with state support.”

Reveley also expressed support for an increase in the percentage of out-of-state students enrolled at the College.

“We have got to have our out-of-state students and we have got to increase in-state tuition if we are going to figure [the College’s financial situation] out,” Reveley said.

Student Assembly Chief of Staff Charles Crimmins J.D. ’10 voiced his displeasure with the mid-year tuition increase.

“[SA President Sarah Rojas ’10] and I have made it clear to leaders of the College that we are against a mid-year tuition increase because of the tremendous burden it places on students,” Crimmins wrote in an e-mail to the Flat Hat. “We understand that the Commonwealth has left the College’s operating budget $17 million short and that students must do their part to keep the College competitive, but we are disappointed that students were not given time to plan for the additional expense and responsibility.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, BOV Rector Henry Wolf ’64 J.D. ’66 pointed out that universities across the country have been dealing with tough financial times.

“With our communications plan and a legislative plan, as we move forward we need to be prepared and organized,” Wolf said. “We are unique, but we are not so unique that we can carry this ball by ourselves. We have to coordinate with other universities. This is not a William and Mary issue but a higher education issue.”

James McGlothin ’62 J.D.’64 has rekindled negotiations to reinstate his donation to the Marshall-Wythe School of Law.

McGlothlin withdrew his $12 million donation after then College of William and Mary President Gene Nichol removed the Wren Chapel Cross from permanent display in spring 2008.

“[The withdrawn donation] was to be made at the time of my death and I haven’t died yet, so there is time to put it back,” McGlothlin said. “There was a principle behind [withdrawing my donation.] Something that was not made clear was that [the donation] was in negotiation, and I am in the process of putting it back, and it may even be bigger now … I have a great love for the College.”

During his time both as an undergraduate and law student at the College, McGlothlin waited tables at the King’s Arms Tavern and drove a bus to make ends meet. After graduating, he practiced law at Street, Street and McGlothlin in Grundy, Va.

He eventually bought a small coal company with several members of his practice. That company became The United Company, now one of the country’s largest coal exporters.

McGlothlin is currently the CEO of The United Company, which manages energy, financial and real estate companies.

McGlothlin was on campus this week to speak with business students in Alan B. Miller Hall, offering business advice to a small group of students in Miller Thursday.

“My faith in where we are going as a country and a people is reinforced by being with you [students],” McGlothlin said.

Class restrictions prevent many students at the College of William and Mary from registering for certain courses, but rarely do those restrictions affect seniors. However, during registration last week, a number of students of the class of 2010 were forced out of Ballroom Dance after they had registered for the upcoming spring semester.

Kinesiology professor Ray McCoy, who handles the scheduling for the kinesiology and health sciences department, said the incident occurred because of an error with registration restrictions.

“It was a simple oversight during the scheduling process of the spring semester courses,” McCoy said.

In an effort to help underclassmen fulfill their general education requirement 6 requirement, many of the upperclassmen enrolled were removed from the class to make room for members of the classes of 2012 and 2013. GER requirements are usually met in students’ first two years at the College, though they are not required to be.

“They shouldn’t force people out of the class who had already signed up,” Leigh Sitler ’10, who had been registered for the course, said. “It takes a lot of time and effort to set up a schedule and make sure all your classes work, time-wise, with each other.”

According to Sitler, the reason behind the roster adjustment was upsetting.

“The explanation was that underclassmen need to get into the class to fulfill their GER 6,” Stitler said. “I am very frustrated by this incident … because I had really been looking forward to taking ballroom.”

Jennifer Bartgis ’10, another student who was removed from the class, said that upperclassmen had earned their higher registration status.

“We have been forced to wait to sign up for this class,” Bartgis said. “When we were underclassmen … the classes were always full with seniors.”

Bartgis suggested that a compromise could be reached between the seniors and the underclassmen in need of fulfilling their GER.

“I believe that the administration should create a new section for those seniors who were enrolled, or should create openings in other classes for those displaced seniors of Ballroom Bancing,” Bartgis said.

Guy Evans ’10 registered for the course on the first day of registration, but was eventually removed from the roster.

“I was disappointed when I was forcibly de-registered a few days afterward,” Evans said. “The fact that we never had the opportunity to take these classes as underclassmen and now do not have the opportunity to take them as seniors seems vaguely unfair to me.”

The College’s kinesiology department currently offers eight Ballroom Dance courses, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are instructed by professor Rebecca Rushforth.

“In the future, the department will provide spots in both Ballroom I and II for seniors, juniors, sophomores and freshmen so students will have the opportunity to satisfy the GER 6 requirement with Ballroom dance.”

A new section of Ballroom Dance I will be opened for the spring semester and disenrolled seniors will have the first choice for the class.

The College of William and Mary Office of Admissions saw a dramatic increase in early decision applications this year, causing administrators to examine the role of early decision at the College.

“Right now the pool stands at 1,094,” Dean of Admissions Henry Broaddus said in an e-mail. “This may shift slightly based on late-completing applications and students who change their minds and ask to be shifted into the regular decision pool.”

The number marks a significant increase from last year, when 951 students applied for early admission.
“Right now we are up 13 percent,” Associate Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger said at Thursday’s Board of Visitors meeting. “We are really excited about that.”

Other four-year institutions reporting an increase in applications for the class of 2014 included Duke University, which saw a 32 percent increase, and Dartmouth College, which saw a three percent increase. Tufts University and Georgetown University saw no significant change, while Davidson College, which uses two rounds of early admissions, had a four percent decrease in the number of applicants.

“When you look at our 10-year history, [our pool of early decision applicants is] a record,” Granger said. “Typically what ends up happening is early decision, at least in the freshman class, represents about 36 percent of the freshman class.”

Granger noted that the College’s enrollment levels for the past few years have paralleled national trends.
“Enrollment has been pretty steady,” Granger said. “We have actually had some slight bumps, which is more reflective of the growing size of the freshman class. Four-year institutions, for the most part, have been pretty steady as it relates to enrollment.”

Changes in other universities have also affected the College’s applicant pool in recent years.
“Two years ago, [the University of Virginia] did away with early decision, and so clearly we have a number of students in our applicant pool who are what I call ‘phantom app-ers,’” Granger said, referring to those applicants who would have otherwise applied to U.Va., and will still go to the institution pending acceptance, but in the meantime apply to the College for lack of alternatives.

Granger also said that the College’s student population is growing more and more diverse with every passing year.

“[International students are] one of the populations that has increased over the past three or four years, and we definitely want to continue doing that,” Granger said. “Up until this point, we very much have engaged in arm-chair recruitment — that is, sitting in our office, hoping that they’ll come — but that will change.”
There has also been growth in regard to the number of Hispanic students.

“This is one of the fastest growing populations, relative to students coming through the pipeline, finishing high school, looking at four year opportunities,” Granger said.

Granger also noted that, over the past few years, there has been an increasing number of students who have chosen to not report their racial or ethnic backgrounds.

“Back [in] 2005, it’s 8 percent of the class, and … as of last year it’s 23 percent, and this year it’s 21 percent,” he said. “Moving forward, I think it’s going to be really interesting, how we even look at how we report underrepresented populations for students and people of color.”

Challenges remain despite growth in the number of applications. Granger said more competitive financial aid packages have been a factor.

“While we have experienced applicant increases across the university, this does not always equate to increased enrollment to some of our programs, even if that is, in fact, our intent,” Granger said.
Another issue is maintaining the ratio of male to female students.

“Ideally, we want to end up somewhere [near] 55 percent females,” Granger said. “Sometimes it ends up being around 58 percent. We want to be respectful of the applicant pool, but also manage to make sure we can ensure our own goals in terms of what kinds of experience we want our students to have here.”

Applications from legacy students, students whose parents or grandparents also attended the College, have been low when compared to other universities, according to Granger.

“[In] the freshman class, [it] is 7 percent, and the [early decision] pool is actually 6 or 7 percent,” Granger said. “We’ve been pretty consistent. When the overall pool is in place, legacy children tend to only represent 2 to 3 percent on average.”

Introduced last year, the Legacy Program invites families of alumni to visit campus during Homecoming weekend and participate in special programs held just for them. Granger said the intention was to foster life-long connections with the College.

“For the first time, we have really begun to think about this strategically along a continuum, meaning from prospective to alumni,” Granger said, “I think we really are trying to be strategic about how we approach it, really looking at it from a student experience.”

In its final work session of the year Wednesday, the Williamsburg Planning Commission recommended a proposal to the Williamsburg City Council that would allow an increase to four unrelated residents per housing unit in the B-3 zoning district.

The proposal, called “Option Three,” limits the proposed increase to multi-family dwellings. Option Three only refers specifically to apartment buildings with a city-approved special use permit. Additionally, any multi-family dwelling would be required to have management control of the building to be eligible for Option Three.

The commission’s decision serves as a compromise between keeping the three-person rule intact and altering it to four people in all circumstances. The B-3 zoning district extends along Richmond Road from Brooks Street to Ironbound Road.

“I am going to rely on option three to be successful,” planning commission member Jim Joseph said. “It is not only going to be an experiment in going from three to four, but it will allow for management control.”
By allowing rentals that are defined as multi-family units to have four people living together, the College of William and Mary will be able to create more diverse student housing options like the proposed “Wawa project.”

“If we did not accept option three, it would stymie the project on Richmond Road, and I would not want to do that,” planning commission chairman Doug Pons said.

Although Option Three does not change the three-person rule to four persons in all circumstances, Student Assembly Undersecretary for Williamsburg Emily Gottschalk-Marconi ’12 believes that its recommendation is an improvement.

“We are pleased to see that they didn’t just stick with Option One, which would be to stick with three people,” Gottschalk-Marconi said. “But I think we are still looking for some more progress.”

Although the SA has lobbied for more extensive changes to the city’s zoning policy, many members of the planning commission do not recognize a need to change the three-person rule.

“There are no homeless students,” Pons said. “Everyone has a place, although it might not be the most optimum. If we create more supply then we will have a demand issue, and that will affect rental rates and the amount the College can charge, which will create a burden on the College. I don’t think that is something we want to see happen.”

According to Gottschalk-Marconi, the demand for off-campus housing may be understated because of the prevalence of three-person violations.

“Essentially, they keep saying that there isn’t a need for extra housing, that we don’t need four students to a house, which I believe to some extent there are beds available,” Gottschalk-Marconi said. “But at the same time, how many kids got bumped last year? How many people do you know that are living within the law?”
SA Undersecretary for Public Affairs David Witkowsky ’11 agreed that the housing situation cannot be remedied by limiting the proposed four-person rule to one zoning district.

“Finding a place to live isn’t the only issue,” Witkowsky said. “It’s also wanting to live in these neighborhoods and these houses that fit more than three people. For a lot of students, it’s not being able to find a place to live that meets their needs, and that’s not really going to change with this proposal.”

Planning commission members said a shift to four persons in all rental units could cause a supply-and-demand issue with students and renters, creating too many housing units for insufficient demand.

“If the students needs are met around the College and we go and create more space available, then we will be attracting a different type of tenant,” Pons said. “I’m not sure that’s the tenant we want to see.”

Some planning commission members favored option one, which would have kept the three-person rule in its original place. However, many recognized the need for compromise, and said Option Three was a prospect for experimentation and creativity.

“Option Three, to me, is an option with a lot of oversight,” planning commission member Elaine McBeth said. “They are still looking at four people in an apartment with requirements. Option three is providing an opportunity to the marketplace that may be used or may not.”

The planning commission will submit the recommendation of Option Three to the city council. The city council’s public hearing will be held Dec. 10 at 2 p.m. in the Stryker Building.

The Planning Commission with meet December 16.

*W&M named top public institution for study abroad*

With 46.3 percent of the College of William and Mary’s undergraduate population participating in study abroad programs, the College now boasts one of the highest percentage of undergraduates who participate in study abroad programs.

According to the Institute of International Education, the College ranks 17th among the 40 doctorate institutions in the United States, a ranking that puts it above all other public and private Virginia institutions in the report.

The College offers study abroad opportunities through the Reves Center, which provides pamphlets, study abroad workshops and discussions with peer advisors among other things. Last year, the Reves Center provided $172,000 in study abroad scholarships.

*Tennis teams take part in Run and Roll Challenge*

The College of William and Mary’s varsity tennis teams took part in the 2009 Run and Roll Tennis Challenge Oct. 30 to kick off the USTA Virginia Wheelchair Open sponsored by Truong Rehabilitation Center. The purpose of the event was to help raise awareness of wheelchair tennis and tennis in general.

“The fun part of the night was when we tried to play in wheelchairs. We were so bad,” Adrian Vodislav ’13, a member of the men’s tennis team, said of his experience. “It was also at that moment we realized how strong those people are. Overall, it was a great experience and I hope I get the chance to do this again.”

Wheelchair tennis is one of the fastest growing and most challenging of all wheelchair sports. It allows persons with disabilities to engage in activities with their peers and family.

The Virginia Wheelchair Open at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center was the first of many of its kind to come, as the USTA works to continue the spread of wheelchair tennis throughout the state.

The first 400 students and 74 faculty members commenced studies at the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia in September.

The $10 billion campus represents King Abdullah’s desire for a research-center and university on par with global standards.

However, several issues have hit home in the creation of the university in a country that is often known for its poor performance in education.

The creation of a progressive, liberal arts university in a country that prides itself on tradition has created a considerable amount of controversy within Saudi Arabia.

The campus will eventually house 20,000 individuals. There will be a golf course, yacht club, the only movie theater permitted in the kingdom and a town center with restaurants and shops.

There will not be rules against men and women working, studying and socializing together.

On campus, women are not required to wear the abaya, the black gown mandatory elsewhere in Saudi Arabia.

Criticism has already been aimed at the university as Sheik Saad al-Shathry of the Saudi Council for Senior Scholars called for the creation of a religious committee to ensure that the university’s curriculum was consistent with Islam. However, the king responded by firing Shathry from the council.

“We have a leader who is willing to take the furthest step, but is it a policy of the country or just the leader?” Awadh al-Badi, a Saudi political scientist, said.

The king is 85-years-old with the next in line being the interior minister, Prince Naif, whose political base is Saudi Arabia’s conservative religious community.

“Those voices calling for opening up are strange voices that do not represent public opinion,” Saudi preacher Soliman al-Duwaish told the New York Times.

According to the newspaper, the university has opened in an environment that has proven hostile to its goals and policies.

In accordance with the King’s wishes, Saudi Arabia as a country has made a clear effort to become much more like the west. However, efforts have often met a “brick wall” of sorts as traditionalists oppose those actions.

The New York Times also reports that the university itself is facing a problem as the country’s source of pride and revenue has turned into a debate of tradition and science.

The Student Assembly at the College of William and Mary implemented the recently passed Administration, College and Town Act for the first time Tuesday as guest speakers were invited to lead 10-minute discussions at the beginning of the meeting.

Each week, the SA will host different speakers from the City of Williamsburg, the College’s administration and student organizations.

Josh Karp ’11 and Michael Douglas ’11 of Students for a Better Williamsburg, a political action committee founded in June of 2008, were the first speakers.

“We had just come off of about four months of … helping Matt Beato ’09 lose [the election for city council],” Karp said.

He explained that SBW was designed to keep the campaign’s momentum going until the next city council election in 2010.

“Throughout next semester we’re going to be incredibly active getting people out to vote,” Karp said. “All we need is the energy of [the SA] and a few other people.”

Karp hopes to get 2,500 students registered in order that, with the expected 30 percent voter turn out, 900 students would vote to the polls in the 2010 city council election.

The SA also passed a bill to provide transportation for students to the Newport News Williamsburg International Airport before Thanksgiving break.

“This would be a great shift for the airport ride system we have going each year,” Sen. Ben Brown ’11 said.

The system was previously based on student-driven vans.

“The problem with vans in the past is that we rely on volunteers. We didn’t have any volunteers [last time,]” Brown said.

The Necessary Airport Shuttle Funding Act allocates up to $2,000 from the SA’s consolidated reserve to pay for Williamsburg Area Transport shuttles to drive students to the airport.

“[The past volunteer system] has not worked,” Sen. Betty Jeanne Manning ’12 said. “It has been so last minute. I think this is a really good solution.”

The bill passed unanimously. Brown said the SA’s executive branch hopes this system will by institutionalized in the future.

The Exam Taxi Service Act III was also passed during Tuesday’s meeting. This bill provides $2,600 to fund taxis for students who are out late during the final exams period.

“I think this is going to work well with Houser’s bill … to keep [Earl Gregg Swem] Library open 24 hours,” Sen. Brittany Fallon ’11 said. “People are going to be studying even later.”

The Keep Swem Open During Finals Act aims to keep Swem open all night before every test day during finals.

“They actually did figure out a way to get this done so that we won’t even have to pay for Swem staff,” Sen. Erik Houser ’10 said.

The bill will be discussed during the Dec. 2 meeting after the costs of extra security staff and housekeeping hours are determined.

A bill to reimburse students the $15 fee required to become certified to drive College vans was also discussed Tuesday.

“This is a necessary service that students need and rely on,” Sen. Jill Olszewski ’12 said.

The Van Training Subsidy Act would make the training free, and would refund those who paid for training earlier in the semester.

Though some senators hoped to pass the bill before the training that will be held this Saturday, the majority voted to move it back to the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget to be discussed at a later date.

The Meeting Brevity Act, which would limit speakers to two minutes of speaking per bill, was also discussed, though it did not pass.

“I just think it makes a lot of sense. It basically just sets the baseline from infinity to two,” Sen. Jim Dunleavey ’10 said.

Other senators felt the bill would accomplish little.

“In the end, we really didn’t think it would affect anything,” Brown said.

Future building plans, increased early decision admission and faculty budget woes were some of the topics discussed by the College of William and Mary’s Board of Visitors at its Thursday meeting.

During the BOV’s Committee on Buildings and Grounds, Vice President for Administration Anna Martin unveiled the proposed construction of a new chilling plant behind the current power plant, located near the Campus Center.

“We hope that with the funds we are given, that we will be able to achieve all of these objectives,” Martin said. “So eventually all of these buildings will be attached to the central heating-cooling plant.”

The construction, which would also replace pipes under Old Campus from the 1940s and 1950s, would provide for the construction of four cooling units that would use cold night temperatures to chill water. This construction would ultimately bring air conditioning to the Jefferson Hall and Barrett Halls, as well as improve heating and cooling environments in most of the Old Campus academic halls.

“When we renovated Barrett in 2001, we prepared that building for air conditioning, but we couldn’t because it wasn’t ready,” Martin said.

Martin also said that Chandler Hall, which is one of the residence halls on the list for renovations, will eventually be included in this cooling system.

“Chandler is not yet prepared because we have not renovated Chandler yet,” Martin said. “That will get it in phase one.”

Jamestown North and South Halls will also be linked to the new cooling system. The current cooling system for the two dorms lies on the site of a proposed expansion of the Integrated Science Center. Martin said she expects these changes to be completed.

Martin also talked about the College’s efforts to demolish the Thiemes House, which currently rests on the site of a proposed future residential-retail building. Thiemes, which houses the College’s Human Resources Department, was reported by Martin to be in extremely poor condition, as recent rainstorms flooded the basement with several inches of water.

The BOV’s Committee on Administration also discussed a change in the College’s appointment and terminations policy for professional faculty.

The policy change stems from Virginia’s Restructured Higher Education Financial and Administrative Operations Act of 2005, in which the College agreed to create its own Human Resources department to reconfigure the procedures necessary for the College to hire a new professional.

Later in the day, College Provost Michael R. Halleran’s presentation to the BOV began with the rhetorical question of how to determine if the College was doing a good job.

“If the quality of your students is very strong, you would know at least one thing,” Halleran said. “You’re doing something right. It’s an important measure of not just the quality of the students, but indirectly, the quality of the education.”

Associate Provost for Enrollment Earl Granger then reported that the College received 1,065 early decision applications — a record number. Granger estimated a third of these applicants would actually be accepted into the College.

Afterwards, the issue and realities of budget cuts were presented by two faculty speakers.

“There is this theme at William and Mary that we can always do more with less, and even more with even less,” Biology Department Chair Lizabeth Allison said. “We always feel that we are right at the edge, and if you put one more thing up there, it’s all going to come down.”

Allison said that more and more teachers in her department were relying upon their own individual research grants to fund teaching and carry out basic research needs. She also voiced concern that if cuts continued, departments would have to maintain the practice of hiring one-year professors who would ultimately be unable to help students with advising or mentorships.

History Department Chair Phil Daileader also discussed the effects of budget cuts on his department. He spoke of one of his students from Romania who could not finish her honors thesis because each professor she studied under held one-year contracts and had refused to mentor her.

“When I arrived at William and Mary, I marveled that I had stumbled upon the only college in the country that was both a place where I wanted to teach and a place where I wanted to send my children to,” Daileader said. “If you ask me that question now, I might say it’s up in the air, and I’m very fearful of what answer I might give five years from now. My great fear is that William and Mary has become the unique college that I neither want to teach at nor do I want to send my children to.”