Getting my "sea legs" a bit.

Wow... Every day builds on the next and there is such wisdom and strength among the women here. I am getting my “sea legs” and starting to feel like I belong now. My thinking shifted today as I found commonalities among us and more genuine conversations. I am starting to feel more like myself and I can tell that I am opening up more and sharing more of who I am. Yesterday was amazing! We spent the entire morning listening to a panel discussion of 3 women leaders. The panel consisted of Roberta Gitenstein (President, The College of New Jersey), Joann Mitchell (Vice President for Institutional Affairs, University of Pennsylvania), and Karen Stout (President of Montgomery County Community College) It was incredible to hear their stories, their rise to leadership and complexities of their vastly different institutions. Much of the discussion was centered on the “possibilities for renewal” in a down economy. Or better stated , how can a college continue positive momentum while still making the hard financial decisions. I learned all about academic freedom and the purpose of tenure. If you don’t know…ask me. Later in the day, we heard from HERS alumnae who participated in the Bryn Mawr summer institute last year. They were filled with insight and stressed that we should be open to different points of view and to surrender our normal thought process and natural preferences. For example, one woman pointed out that she read all the assignments primarily to nurture her introverted self and wished that she would have been more social and pushed herself to interact more intentionally. Hmm…for the extrovert (me), that would mean read more and socialize less. I don’t know if I can do that. J But, this blog is certainly forcing me to be quiet and reflect more than I would normally. I actually turned down a walk to town tonight so I could write this and go to bed before 10pm. So, I guess I am embracing their advice.

Today was all about budget and finance. As non-interested as I am in numbers, it was absolutely fascinating to hear from two chief financial officers. Bronte Jones, CFO for St. John’s College, was giving us a teaser for a much richer conversation about budgets, investments and how to read our institution’s fiscal report later in the summer institute. Then we heard from Annette Parker, CFO for Dickinson College, who shared their strategic plan and how they have been able to realign their budget to the college’s mission. I had no idea that small private liberal arts institutions offered such significant “discount rates” to attract high quality diverse students. For example, Dickinson College, was offering close to 50% reduction in tuition to help students afford the $50,000/year tuition in the mid-1990’s but this also caused them financial strain. Bottom line, I am completely motivated to dig into OSU’s financial reports now and learn more about our budget model. I also realized how blessed OSU is in terms of our solid academic plan, incredible rainy day fund and profit making units like the medical center and athletics. Our conservative spending values have certainly enabled us to remain stable in these uncertain times unlike many of the smaller colleges. Being big has its advantages. J

I received 4 pieces of mail today. YEAH!!! I am so happy you all took me seriously and sending mail. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me. Truly!!! THANK YOU Renee, Katie H., Camille and Lisa! Keep it coming. I want to decorate my walls with all of the letters and mail that I receive so I need A LOT to make that happen. I will send pictures of the wall art once I get more.