RRR Funding Prioritization (with guest Andrew Hernandez)

• The ILG takes part in a regular cycle of reviewing and sharing prioritization input on requests for RRR (Repair, Renewal, Replacement) Funding, which is used for capital projects over $5,000. The Institute RRR budget for the fiscal year is usually around $500,000.
• The ILG reviewed the status of projects from FY19 and gave prioritization input on projects proposed for FY20.
• RRR projects can span several years of funding, but some of the projects that are either complete/near completion from the FY19 cycle include making classroom improvements in CF434, replacing the carpet in selected McGowan locations, making improvements to the 400 Pacific/Admissions building, expanding McCone 238 and replacing the furniture, refurbishing the Samson Center furniture, ordering new dual stream trash/recycling receptacles, and adding more carpeting to the Holland Center.
• The ILG reviewed project proposals for FY20 to discuss priorities. The emerging priorities centered on classroom improvements, specifically improving the interpreting booth lab spaces, increasing capacity in CF434, and replacing classroom furniture in the Morse building. There is also increasing need to improve the HVAC system in the McGowan building, as well as other facility improvements around campus. These priorities will be taken into consideration as facilities begins to assess costs and determine the feasibility of each project.
• The ILG will revisit RRR project prioritization once initial cost estimates are in place.

September Board Meeting Updates

• The September board meeting in Vermont took place on Friday, September 28th, and Saturday, September 29th.
• An overview of the board is available here: Board of Trustees, Boards of Overseers, Standing Committees
• There were several in-person participants from the Institute – Jeff Dayton-Johnson, Devin Lueddeke (Staff Constituent Representative), Erin Kelly-Weber (Student Constituent Representative), and several other ILG members present over Zoom.
• There was a half day retreat preceding the board meetings, following by a meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Boards of Overseers, and the Board Committees.
• Some key themes of the board meeting were taking a student-centric approach to higher education and financial sustainability.
• The Institute Board of Overseers will be meeting on campus in Monterey on November 15 & 16. We will be planning some opportunities for the board to engage with various groups around campus with a specific focus on engaging the student experience.

Returned Peace Corps Volunteers at MIIS

• With the discontinuation of the Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program we have noticed a shift in our Peace Corps Volunteer enrollment, and are considering how we might create new opportunities for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs) at MIIS.
• One potential direction is to consider whether the Peace Corps experience might fulfill certain program requirements, and thus be able to contribute to an accelerated program at MIIS.
• We need to have some foundational conversations about how we determine flexibility in degree requirements before we can more fully engage this particular challenge.