JUDITH A. CALOGERO December 3,2017 Sister Mary Anne Heenan, CS) First Vice Chairperson, The College of Saint Rose, Board of Trustees Jeffrey 0. Stone Secretary, The College of Saint Rose, Board of Trustees ‘The College of Saint Rose Board of Trustees Dear Sister Mary Anne, Jeff and Trustees: | am writing to resign as chair of the board of trustees of The College of aint Rose, und as trustee, to take effect immediately. As an alumna witha long and nearly continuous family connection to the College dating back to 1950, | take this action with deep regret and only after careful thought, deliberation and conversation with many of you. | will continue to support my. ‘alma mater which I care about so deeply, but can no longer serve an a board that does not support the change that isso visibly needed ‘The board of trustees is deeply divided in our governance and our charge and supervision of management. We've committed an enormous amount of tine wid effort over the last few years to help improve the leadership and management effectiveness, but with no success, and ‘the trustees are divided overtaking any corrective action Operating under a shared governance model, the faculty have a direc role in the governance of the College, yet most ofthe faculty have no confidence in the administrative team, and the administrative team has no plan to correct that or improve the relationship with the academic team. The turnover in academic leadership Is unprecedented, the greatest in the provost, position with four serving in the last two years. Currently the College has an interim provost, Who doubles as a dean, and the remaining three dean positions are filled with interim appointments because their predecessors all eft the College. ‘The turnover at the College for employees who serve in the administration, the faculty and on. staffis also extraordinary. Between 2015 and 2016 over 130 employees left the institution. This includes 28 from enrollment, 4 from academic affairs, 19 faculty, and 12 from institutional advancement. Many who left had been appointees, and when no information was shared with the board of trustees about the grounds for their departures, we asked that ext interviews be conducted witha trustee present, but this was rejected. ‘Thousands of dollars have been spent on architectural fees to plan the second renovation of ‘the administrative building in the last ten years, while three other College owned buildings fell into such a severe state of disrepair that the City of Albany has required they be demolished,JUDITH A. CALOGERO ‘The College's inability to properly fund deferred malntenance projects today will burden the College and future budgets for years to come. {tls so common these days for leaders to blame ther failures on the people who came before them, but inthis instance the math and the facts tell the true story, The deficit at the College last year was approximately $3.6 milion, and for ths fiscal year which began in July, it has soared to $12.1 milion. Astonishingly this could go higher without immediate corrective action, Enrollment is down, student retention is down, the discount rate is at a historical high, student housing occupancy s down, new programs that were expected to bring new students have failed or stalled, and the strategic plan is flling ~all occurring within the last three years under the current leadership team, ‘As your board leader, | asked the president to temporarily hold off further external commitments, including a board appointment to an international organization, asking her Instead to maintain her professional time, attention and energies at Saint Rose where they are needed the most, | asked that instead she focus her attention to the growing budget deficit, enrollment decline, the unhealthy campus climate, and the administration's troubled relationship with the faculty. My request was disregarded, and in replace a campaign was initiated to have me change my position, with repeated requests by phone and email. When ‘that didn’t work, my authority as chair ofthe board of trustees was further undermined by lobbying other trustees, causing much disruption and divisiveness. The chair-elect joined the ‘campaign, who together withthe president brought the tople forward te te full board, © attempt to overturn my decision and further undermine my authority to act. Ths resulted in the most unprofessional display I've ever witnessed at our October board meeting. When the president requested additional compensation from us, atthe very time faculty and staff were laid off and the College was forced to discontinue some employee benefits due to ‘he fiscal condition of the College, we stood together as a board to oppose these compensation requests, But now that may be reversed, which I cannot support. The president no longer enjoys my confidence and | can no longer support her presidency. "hope the facts presented in this letter provide you as trustees with a greater understanding of the severity ofthe problems and motivation to take collective action. hope and pray that you 2s trustees find a way to move the College forward and through these troubling times. I will support you from afar and remain available should you ever need me, With deep regret,