In December, President McMillan convened the College’s new Strategic Planning Committee with the charge of reviewing and assessing the College’s current strategic plan and building the next iteration of the plan.

President McMillan appointed John Baily ’65, Albright trustee, and Thomas C. Brogan, professor of political science, as co-chairs of a broad-based team of administrators and faculty. The committee is charged with presenting a plan to the Board of Trustees in October. It will also become a standing committee of the College to oversee operationalizing the objectives of the plan.

“There is much that is good in the current plan, and much that has already been accomplished, so this is a time to re-vision,” said McMillan. “We must not just think we are on a path that has been laid out for us, but rather deliberately focus on our core strengths, make the most of them, and then let that guide how we use our resources.”

The committee will provide opportunities for Albright constituencies, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends to comment on key issues. The Strategic Planning Committee is particularly interested in how the College can build on its historic strengths to meet the challenges and needs of today and tomorrow.

As of January 30, 2006, the strategic planning web page www.albright.edu/stratplan will provide an opportunity for alumni and friends to respond to a series of specific questions and to submit comments.

Written comments that you feel would be helpful to the Strategic Planning Committee may also be sent to President McMillan at spc@alb.edu, or President Lex O. McMillan III, Albright College, 13th & Bern Streets, P.O. Box 15234, Reading, PA 19612-5234.

Bishop Marcus Matthews, representing the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church, will serve a three-year term on Albright’s Board of Trustees.

Matthews was installed at the Tindley Temple United Methodist Church as Bishop of the Philadelphia Area Episcopal Office of the Eastern Pennsylvania Council of the United Methodist Church in September 2004. At his installation he was presented with the Drum Award, the highest honor given by the Africa University Development Office to those persons who have given consistent leadership in the area of fundraising.

Bishop Matthews has had a distinguished and diverse career in the ministry, spanning 32 years and holding more than 20 denominational offices. He has also led mission trips to Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

Matthews graduated from South Carolina State College and Wesley Theological Seminary and went on to receive a doctor of ministry degree from the New York Theological Seminary.

Timothy McNichol ’99 has been appointed young alumni trustee and will also serve a three-year term.

McNichol entered Albright as a member of the first class of Shirk Scholars and was the driving force behind the establishment of the Albright Volunteer Center.

For three years he worked to establish the center to create a conduit between Albright College students and the greater Berks County community. He also worked with various faculty members to incorporate volunteer service into their curricula.

Since graduation from Albright, McNichol has worked for State Senator Michael A. O’Pake and former U.S. Representative Joseph M. Hoeffel. Currently, he serves as the senior congressional lobbyist for the Washington, D.C. office of the American Osteopathic Association, a non-profit association that represents the nation’s 54,000 osteopathic physicians.

He received his juris doctor degree in May 2005 from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.

New Officers Elected

Salvatore M. Cutrona Sr. ’73 was elected to another term as chair of the Board of Trustees. Newly elected officers are: John T. Baily ’65, vice chair and chair of the executive committee; and Donald T. Floyd Jr. ’73, secretary.

Frank A. Franco, M.D. and Leslie A. Mardenborough ’68 have been appointed trustees emeriti.

Standing in seemingly endless lines to register for classes will be over in the near future, as the College launched phase one of IQ.Web in late October.

IQ.Web is an Internet-based campus information system that allows students and faculty members to access and view such information as course schedules, grades by academic year and term, and unofficial transcripts.

Currently, faculty and students can view the material on screen but not alter information or register for classes. In April 2006, the first stage of the online registration process will go live.

IQ.Web will also facilitate student-faculty advising, making student information, such as course schedules and rosters, unofficial transcripts and academic records more readily available to instructors. Advisors can even check to see how many Experience Event credits their students have completed as part of their general studies requirement.

Kristel Kemmerer, Ed.D., assistant professor in music and acting dean of undergraduate studies said, “The academic advising portion of IQ.Web will benefit the students because now they can have direct access to their grades, unofficial transcripts, current balances, account and financial aid information, and more. Faculty will benefit because academic advisors have access to their course schedules and class rosters, as well as information concerning advisees, such as unofficial transcripts. The College will benefit by minimizing hardcopy paperwork and legwork, and less time will be wasted tracking students manually.”

In spring 2006, Albright’s Accelerated Degree students will be able to register for classes online.

In fall 2006, traditional undergraduate faculty will be trained on IQ.Web’s course registration feature. And by spring 2007, all students will be able to register online.