President's Advisory Team Meeting Summary

President’s Advisory Team Meeting was held Thursday, May 9 with the following agenda items:

  • Welcome – Highlights from President Lepre 

  • Blackwell Hall Project – Parking & Access Impact
  • Change in State Ethics Law
  • Commencement Update
  • Budget Update
  • Enrollment Update

Below, please find summary information regarding each topic item of the agenda. When appropriate, additional supporting information is linked.


Highlights from President Lepre:

Making PAT more effective –

  • Want to ensure that these meetings are an effective use of time for members of PAT, and that participants are receiving the information they, and their departments, need to feel supported in their work.
  • It is also important that the decisions we make are made with the appropriate amount of input. Each person on PAT is the expert in their respective area, and hearing their perspectives is invaluable.
  • Want to explore how we can make these meetings more effective. To do so, each member of PAT will receive a survey asking for feedback on how we can better communicate, not just across the University, but specifically within these meetings.


Performing Arts Center –

  • SU presented its proposal to the Wicomico County Council for the construction of a new Performing Arts Center downtown.
  • The proposal was well received by the council and the many community members in attendance, which included many SU faculty, staff, and students.
  • The County Council will hear additional public comments and vote on the proposal on May 21st.


Vice President for Inclusion, Access & Belonging –

  • Grateful to everyone who helped support the VP of IAB interview process.
  • The search committee brought three excellent finalists to campus, and we hope to have an announcement about this position soon.
  • No matter who the selection is – we believe our community will be in good hands.
  • This is not the work of just one person. We have a shared responsibility to create a more inclusive community where everyone feels they belong.


Acknowledgements –

  • We are joined by Dr. Joerg Tuske, incoming Faculty Senate President, Abbey Isaacson, newely elected Graduate Student Council President, and Olivia Ingrao, newly elected Student Government Association President, and are grateful to have them become a part of this team.
  • Want to share my immense thanks to Deneen Long-White, Joe Benyish, Nick Plummer, Wyatt Parks, and Tim Robinson for their service this past year to shared governance. Thank you for giving your time to help make SU the great place it is.
  • We are also saying goodbye to Dr. Bea Hardy today, who joins us in this setting for the last time as she prepares to retire from SU at the end of the semester. Bea has been an incredible servant to this University and our students over the years and she will truly be missed.

Blackwell Hall Project – Parking & Access Impact
The Blackwell Hall renovation project will begin this summer and run through the summer of 2026. Starting in June, full scale demolition of the interior of Blackwell Hall will begin. Through this summer, construction fencing will be installed on the east and west sides of the building. Additionally, the eastern half of Parking Lot F will be restricted to contractor use only. Just before students return for the fall semester, construction fencing will be extended to include the Holloway Hall lawn, which will be removed during the spring semester (2025). There will also be an approximately two week closure of the entrance driveway to Holloway Hall sometime during the middle of the fall semester (2024) – tentatively October 22 – November 5. During the project, walkways will remain open around the perimeter of the site with temporary mulch pathways added for convenience. 

Presented by: Eric Berkheimer, Associate Vice President of Facilities & Capital Management (ejberkheimer@salisbury.edu)


Change in State Ethics Law:

There was a recent change in Maryland’s State Ethics laws that members of the President’s Advisory Team should be aware of. Many people on this team serve on boards for other organizations and with the changes to the Ethics Law, we need to be careful when it comes to making funding or support requests to SU for the organizations that you serve. This is important to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

This is not saying that as an institution, SU doesn’t want to continue to support these organizations. But, as both a SU employee and representative of the organization you support through your board service, these requests – especially the approval of any funding – should not be funneled through the person with the board involvement.

You may make connections to others at the institution. Meaning, as a board member you can direct the non-profit to contact and work through another individual on campus towards an objective.

Questions on this should be directed to Eli Modlin, Chief of Staff (ejmodlin@salisbury.edu).


Commencement Update:

There will be three ceremonies this May at the Wicomico Civic Center. The graduate ceremony is Wednesday, May 22 at 6:00pm and the undergraduate ceremonies will be on Thursday May 23. The 10:00am ceremony will be for students graduating from Fulton and Perdue and the 2:30pm ceremony will be for CHHS, Henson, and Seidel graduates. The graduating class consists of 1,044 bachelors, 221 masters, and 9 doctoral students.

We have been working with the Civic Center and SUPD for safety preparedness. In addition, we will continue to follow Civic Center policy whereby attendees must store prohibited items at the information kiosk or leave them in their vehicles. The Civic Center has requested that we implement metal detectors and bag checks as part of our admission process into the ceremonies.

We did a survey of the Class of 2020 about whether or not they want a commencement event. The response rate was very low. We also surveyed employees to determine whether or not they wanted some kind of acknowledgement. Of the employees who are either a graduate themselves or have family who is graduating, they expressed interest in a wearable accessory, to be acknowledged in the program, and to be recognized during the ceremony. Additionally, the Civic Center will undergo renovation later this year that will impact our December ceremony. In surveying students, it was determined that the number of guests they could have was their top priority. The Commencement Committee will continue to review and discuss the survey outcomes and determine what can be done for future ceremonies.

With the Centennial celebrations culminating with the 2026 commencement, the Commencement Committee is considering ways to make commencement a memorable one for SU’s 100th graduating class.

Presented by: Michelle Stokes, Senior Advisor to the President (mlstokes@salisbury.edu).


Budget Update:

Fiscal Year 2024 Recap –

  • We have done very well to stay on budget this year. With current estimates, SU will spend down its budget to about $400,000. There may still be more indirect money to come in, but we won’t know until closer to the end of the fiscal year.
  • The State’s Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has held about $5 million of our active working budget and has yet to release these funds to SU. If DBM gives us any portion of this $5 million, it will likely be in June. This means it will be so late in the fiscal year it will be very challenging for us to spend it so quickly. As a result, we are prepared to try and move these funds into our “plant funds” or front-load some budget items already in process.


Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Process –

  • Information has already been shared with campus from Administration & Finance on this.
  • We developed the initial FY25 request by using an incremental forecasting process based on historical trends to “request our budget allowance” for the following year. Our forecast for revenue is determined by a number of factors (identified in the PPT).
  • Types of Budgets: The transition away from divisional budget allotments allowed us to focus on the unique differences between budget types and ensures a fresh evaluation of expenses occurs during the budgeting cycle. The three budget types are: Academic Schools, Administrative Departments, and Auxiliary Services.
  • Regarding the budget model: SU doesn’t have a say in the overall budget model. That is set by the state. However, we can do the best with what we are given, which led us to the three budget types.
  • Moving away from divisional budgeting lets us better address the fluid nature of annual budgeting. Our needs as a University ebb and flow over time. Percentage-based budgeting doesn’t adequately address the shifting needs of departments. What was needed and prioritized one year, may cease to be a priority later on.


Fiscal Year 2025 Notes –

  • Maryland’s budget passed at the same amount as last year. ($63 billion)
  • Union and collective bargaining negotiations are not ratified yet.
  • The USM has proposed major structural changes to our classification and compensation program. We aren’t sure exactly what this will ultimately mean for SU and what we may be required to do as a result.
  • We believe COLA increases will be 3% and merit increases are likely for FY25.


Presented by: Aurora Edenhart-Pepe, Vice President of Administration & Finance (aredenhart-pepe@salisbury.edu)


Enrollment Update

Enrollment for the fall 2024 semester continues to look positive as we near the end of the spring semester. Returning student numbers remain relatively flat on the undergraduate side (+1.0%), and while we are lagging a bit on the Master’s side (-9.3%), we are up on the Doctoral side (+12 students) for an overall increase in full-time enrollment (FTE) by 0.5 percent. The Graduate School is working closely with the graduate programs to project where they believe their numbers will land and as of the beginning of May, the data is showing a 7% increase in overall graduate enrollment.

On the undergraduate side, admitted students are up 6.2% as a result of aggressive recruitment actions taken by the Admissions Office, while maintaining the same admissions criteria as the previous year. While the committed numbers for our new students do remain down slightly (-9.7%), the deposit deadline has been pushed back to May 15 due to the complications with the FAFSA this recruitment cycle. In fact, the first-year number is currently tracking towards 1,500, an increase of 9% over fall 2023. The entire Enrollment Management team remains optimistic about strong retention and recruitment numbers heading into the fall 2024 semester and anticipates overall enrollment growth when faculty, staff, and students return in August.

Presented by: Allen Koehler, Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management (amkoehler@salisbury.edu).