Shawn Fisher – News reporter.

It was warm and sunny in McMinnville last weekend, but the Board of Trustees was too busy to soak up the rays.
The trustees spent the weekend indoors at several meetings and presentations. On Feb. 20, the board discussed topics such as the school budget, tuition and ways that Linfield can be improved.
The renovation of Northup Hall is one of these improvements, according to Brian Winkenweder, associate professor of art history and visual culture. Winkenweder was elected to the board last spring.
“Northup Hall was one of the major topics at the meetings,” he said. “They’re making strides in the renovation, and you can see the change taking place. Everything currently stored in there is in the process of being moved elsewhere.”
But the renovation does spur some difficulties.
“It’s an expensive process; they have to move out the asbestos before they can do anything else,” he said.
Along with discussions about the cost of renovations, the board discussed annual tuition increases and the budget for the 2010 school year. The college will announce its tuition increases to students later this spring.
“The budget is probably one of the most important things that the trustees do,” Winkenweder said. “We talked about generating revenue and how it’s going to be used.”
Along with the board meetings Feb. 20, student committees gave feedback to trustees during the meetings Feb. 19. The committees contained students representing several different departments on campus.
“The goal of the meeting was to get some student insight of the various departments and to allow trustees to ask students questions,” Lynn Robinson, a sophomore representing the music department, said. “It was really informal. I was glad to be able to partake in the meeting.”
The trustees also
evaluated a June 2009 college report titled “The College of 2020: Students,” published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, a weekly newspaper.
“It talks about what college students of 2020 will be like, and we discussed what Linfield will need to do to prepare for the change,” Winkenweder said. “Colleges are always in flux, so we have to be strategic.
“The board is trying to evaluate what Linfield is doing well and what it needs to work on,” he continued. “That was the nature of the conversation last weekend.”
This was the second of three weekends selected for trustees meetings this year, ASLC Vice President Chris Norman said. The board’s final meeting will be in April during an off-campus retreat.