The CC Board of Trustees convened for its annual fall meeting Nov. 5-7.
The meeting, which included all 32 board members, was centered on four main goals and priorities: supporting the president’s priorities, institutional strength, shared governance and alumni engagement. Student Trustee Landon Hartman ‘26 was also in attendance for his first board meeting.
Kyle Samuel ‘92, board of trustees chair, announced the creation of a new Advancement and Alumni Engagement Committee of the Board, which he said is intended to “move our alumni from being not only supporters of the college, but actually to be strategic partners for the college.”
Samuel says alumni engagement is usually measured by the percentage of alumni who give back to the college in the annual fund.
“Unfortunately, we are just shy of 10 percent of our alumni giving, which is below our peers,” he said. “Our peers are closer to 15 percent, so this is definitely a gap we want to close.”
The board is also prioritizing maintaining a close relationship with CC’s newly inaugurated President, Manya Whitaker.
Whitaker spoke at a Board of Trustees town hall live stream and detailed recent updates from the president’s cabinet.
Among her office’s main concerns were Colorado College’s new brand refresh, which community members have been invited to learn about and provide feedback on during the Work of the College Miniseries.
The college is currently undergoing an institutional review, which Whitaker says is intended to ensure that the school is allocating its resources—including budget, talents, space and technology—in “mission-aligned” ways.
“The institutional review allows us to really assess how, when, why and where we’re using our resources across this entire institution,” she said. “We don’t want to be in a position in a few years in a crisis mode, trying to react when we can behave proactively now.”
Whitaker emphasized that her office’s priorities were organized around the mission of laying the groundwork for institutional strength and “claiming (CC’s) place” in higher education.
Her office plans to encourage a culture of “shared governance,” which is about collectively contributing to the institution’s work by honoring people’s expertise to inform institutional decisions.
The next Board of Trustees meeting will occur in February 2026. Whitaker says her cabinet plans to present a proposal to the trustees prior to this meeting regarding her strategic plan.
“We want to make sure we’re capturing the specificity and the nuance of the work that’s happening on campus and the goals we have for ourselves,” she said.