7:01 p.m. | Attendance
7:02 | The President introduces special guest Leslie Williams, Vassar’s Education Outreach Coordinator. “This year we’ve been trying to assess Vassar’s strenghts weaknesses, and the opportunities and threats to what we refer to authentic community engagement.” Williams works with the school district of Poughkeepsie and with Vassar After School Tutoring (VAST) and the Exploring College program, among others.
7:03 | Williams: “Most people don’t know this, but the high school graduation rate in the City of Poughkeepsie is below 50 percent.”
7:10 | Williams: “As my title indicates, I’ve been focusing primarily on education, but I also look at the way Vassar can partner with community-based organizations and other institutions so that we can do more with less effort. For example, Marist College has an after-school program at Poughkeepsie Middle School, but they meet two or three times a week and have about thirty kids, and our program [VAST] has 90 kids and we meet five times a week. We want to be synergizing our resources in the same community.”
7:12 | Williams explains that he has been in dialogue with schools such as the Culinary Institute of America, which is located next door to Poughkeepsie in Hyde Park.
7:13 | Williams: “We’ve been building new relationships. Vassar is not a castle on a hill. It’s not a bastion of elitism. So we’re trying to partner with people to get this city through a difficult time.”
7:18 | Williams: “My hope is that Vassar can help to change lives within this community.”
7:25 | Williams invites questions from Council members.
7:38 | In response to a question from Lathrop, Williams notes that there are over 250 Vassar students currently involved with the five Urban Education programs Vassar coordinates.
7:47 | Following further questions for Williams, Council moves to Fund Applications. Finance moves to allocate $664.96 from the Capital Contingency Fund to the Vassar Filmmakers for camera repair costs. Motion passes unanimously.
7:49 | Finance moves to allocate $3000 from the Discretionary Fund to the Ultimate Frisbee Team for their remaining tournaments. Motion passes.
7:55 | Academics announces that there will be a majors fair from 12 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7 in the All Campus Dining Center.
7:59 | Council adjourned.
