Third week...

I’ll be home a week from TODAY! Wow, time does really fly by. It’s interesting how one adjusts and what really bothered me the first week doesn’t even matter anymore. A twin bed, bare walls, the unknown of this experience is no longer relevant. The first week seemed to last forever and now I only have 6 more days with these incredible women. I am doing my best to soak up the wisdom and experience around me. I am so thankful for this experience!!! 20/20 hindsight makes me wonder if the organizers of the HERS program “over-saturated” us with information and sessions in the beginning to “break us in”? Remember how hard freshman year was? Now things seem a bit easier and more relaxed, probably because I am no longer wasting energy on the little stuff.

So far, this week has been all about budgets, finance and mapping out our career paths. Oh… the terminology of the finance world! It has been so helpful to gain a deeper understanding of the common language…financial statements (income, balance, statement of cash flows), operating budget identifying revenue sources vs. expenses, unrestricted vs. permanently restricted net assets, incremental budgeting vs. responsibility centered budgeting. ARGH! Don’t ask me for an explanation unless I am in front of my notes. J They stressed the value of endowments for private colleges vs. public institutions. We heard from John Griffith (Treasurer for Bryn Mawr) who came from a state public system (University of New Jersey). He was able to compare and contrast between the public and private sectors. Endowment revenue is a vital component of the operating budget for most private institutions whereas endowments represent a very small portion of the budget for public institutions For example, Bryn Mawr ‘s endowment represents 40% of their operating budget compared to 2% for OSU. Of course, OSU has a lot more revenue generating departments (medical center, research grants, athletics etc.) that most private institutions don’t have.

We shifting topics yesterday back to our own professional development… we spent time with our "career triad". At the end of the first week, we formed groups of three to concentrate on our career paths and offer each other advice... aka a career triad. Yesterday, our career triad actually had a chance to talk in depth with a senior administrator, Joann Mitchell, Vice President for Institutional Affairs at the University of Penn. She was incredible and offered great suggestions for me to consider as I advance in the years to come. One of the most valuable aspects of this institute for me has been the ability to make connections with senior faculty, administrators, provosts and presidents from various colleges. My professional network has exploded but the key will be maintaining these relationships when the “real world” welcomes me back home.

I keep forgetting to share two tidbids of information completely unrelated to the events of the last few days. The Canyon Ranch has been catering all of our food! Yes, that’s right! Canyon Ranch is one of most famous spas in the country and they are hosting a kid’s camp at Bryn Mawr. So, we benefit from all of the meals being catered by the Canyon Ranch chefs which means the food has been delicious and healthy at the same time. I am getting so spoiled. The food definitely makes up for the dorm room and lack of other creature comforts. Secondly, there are 49 attendees at this summer institute which is dramatically smaller than previous years primarily due to the economy. But, almost 20% of the attendees are from the state of Ohio! As you know, 5 are from OSU but 5 other Ohio colleges are represented (Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State, University of Dayton, Ohio University and Wright State). “O-H” always receives an “I-O” in response regardless of the crowd. Very cool!

ANOTHER big thank you for the continuous incoming mail. I received 12 pieces of mail this week so far! You all have far surpassed my wishes and hopes for mail. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!