This Leap Day brings us near the close of a winter season that finally brought cold temperatures and even a little snow on campus. Yet the daffodils are blooming in my yard, over twenty calves have been born on the College Farm (so I’m told by Eliza Sydney, a member of the Farm Crew), and students are starting to wear shorts and T-shirts on warmer days. Spring is close at hand, but here I’ll reflect on a few events of the last month of a winter now ending.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that Jonathan D. Ehrlich has accepted the position of Vice President for Administration and Finance at Warren Wilson College. He will begin July 2008, after the retirement of our current VP, Larry Modlin, who has given the College 19 years of excellent service.

These are both exciting and challenging times for Warren Wilson—indeed, for all private colleges with relatively small endowments. Although our fund-raising success has improved in the last year, we still depend far too much on tuition to meet our operating expenses and have far too little scholarship money. That said, we continue to have an outstanding pool of new students, our faculty and staff openings attract the best applicants in the nation, our Triad mission serves as a beacon for other colleges, and our success in sustainability is much admired by colleges and universities around the country.

I am very sorry to inform you that Assistant Dean of Students Cathy Clark passed away Sunday morning at her home on Daisy Hill.

The campus is strangely quiet today, with most students having left for holiday destinations near and far. Although it’s a good time for me to catch up on paperwork, I already miss the wonderful activity that envelops this campus when it’s full of 800-plus students.

Thanks to all of you—and especially to the members of the search committee—for the hard work invested in the search to fill the position of Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean of the College. Here’s an update on the process.

My last monthly report included a few thoughts about shared governance. If you’d like to take part in a discussion on the topic, you’re invited to an Open Forum on Monday, December 10, from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm in Canon Lounge. You’re welcome to drop by any time during that 90-minute period if the topic interests you.

In June 2007, the College volunteered to participate in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) peer audit program through the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities consortium (NCICU). I’m writing to describe our collective responsibility with respect to the audit.

This month we received more great news about how the world beyond campus views our college. Here I’ll mention several examples, highlight an upcoming meeting about governance, and give my response to a policy recently recommended to me by Staff Forum.

I’m using this monthly report to offer some thoughts about our governance process. My goal is to get us thinking about changes that might give more members of the community the chance to influence the direction of the College. But before I launch into that discussion, I’ll comment briefly about happenings on campus this past month, offer a “communication opportunity” to students, and give you the latest draft of a “vision statement” I’ve been sharing with you.