Students have voiced their displeasure that Dickinson College held its annual Town Hall meeting, a state-of-the-college address, on Friday, Jan. 19, three days before the spring 2018 semester officially started. At the meeting, college officials discussed a new vision for the college, updates on the new dorm, and an analysis of the College’s financial plans.

Morgan Bates ’18 attended the Town Hall meeting after hearing about it from Maxine Bloom, a Dickinson Dining Services employee. “It sounded interesting,” Bates said. “I wanted to be there as a student representative since there were few students on campus.”

Liz Bodenman ’20 said that while Resident Advisors (RAs) were encouraged to attend, “not many RAs wanted to because we wanted a break between our required sessions.” Both Bodenman and Bates wished the event had been scheduled when more students were on campus.

In an email, President Margee Ensign said the college scheduled the event “at a time when as many staff as possible can attend,” as many are usually involved providing services to the students, and that the College wanted “to be sure that all employees have access to the same kind of information that faculty and students get.” According to the College’s online event calendar, the annual Town Hall meeting has previously been held before the start of the spring semester.

Ensign added that Town Hall meetings have been held for students in the past, and that there is currently a scheduling process underway for another.

During the meeting itself, Ensign announced plans for a new vision for Dickinson and closer cooperation with the neighboring U.S. Army War College. Ensign stated that information about her new vision will be announced shortly.

Brontè Burleigh-Jones, vice president for finance and administration, made several announcements about the financial health of the College. She revealed that the next dormitory renovations will be a new kitchen and railings in McKinney Suites and bathroom improvements in Atwater Hall, with future plans to renovate Drayer Hall. Additionally, she announced that the construction of the new dormitory is proceeding both on time and on budget.

Burleigh-Jones also shared that Dickinson had a budget surplus of $2.7 million in the past year, and that the College has completed $7.2 million of its goal of establishing a financial reserve of $10 million. She also discussed the Financial Task Force, which was established by the Board of Trustees to analyze trends in the College budget. The All-College Committee on Planning and Budget is working with the Task Force on plans to address budget shortfalls and annual salary increases.

Kirk Swenson, vice president for college advancement, also announced that donations to the College increased last year after several years of reduced donation.

However, students questioned how accurately Dickinon was portrayed at the meeting. “The break down of academic affairs, finance and administration updates, admissions, and college advancement were all insightful into the happenings of the college but lacked context in comparison to our competing schools,” stated Elizabeth Marin ’18. “I realized that the presentations and updates, although presented in a celebratory and congratulatory manner, seemed to hide some of the reality of the current condition of Dickinson.”