Dear Members of the Scripps College Community,
The Board of Trustees concluded its March retreat and meeting on Sunday, March 5, and I would like to inform you about the following key actions and discussions.
Budget
The trustees approved an operating budget for fiscal year 2017–18. Key elements include:
- Enrollment of 1,000 students, in line with the current number of students on and off campus;
- Tuition, room, and board increase of 3.9%, with an increase of more than $400,000 in the financial aid budget over 2016–17;
- A 3% increase in staff and faculty salary pools; and
- A decrease in the endowment spending rate from 5% to 4.9%.
I would like to thank the student, staff, and faculty members of the President’s Budget Advisory Committee, chaired by Vice President for Business Affairs and Treasurer Dean Calvo and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Any Marcus-Newhall, for their hard work in proposing a budget that meets the College’s strategic and financial priorities.
Board Chair Appointment
The Board of Trustees appointed Lynne Thompson ’72 as chair, effective July 1, 2018. Lynne will succeed the current Board Chair, Mark Herron. Lynne brings a track record of active service to the College, a passion for the arts and education, and extensive expertise as an attorney. She received her BA in social psychology from Scripps, where, as a student, she was elected student council president. Lynne has served as president of the Alumnae Association, was the 2003 Lois Langland Alumna in Residence, and, most recently, served on the Presidential Search Committee.
Lynne obtained her JD from Southwestern University School of Law and was formerly the director of employee and labor relations at UCLA. An active member of the Los Angeles literary scene and a Pushcart Prize nominee, she is the author of an award-winning book, and her poetry has been widely published and anthologized. We are grateful for Lynne’s ongoing contributions to the life of Scripps College, and we look forward to her continued service and leadership.
New Trustees
The Board approved two new regular trustees to begin their official service on July 1, 2017.
Christophe H. Jungels-Winkler is the son of Scripps trustee and alumna Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler ’72 and the founder and managing director of Eisvogel Group AG, a private industrial holding company that invests in companies in the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. He was previously a partner and cofounder of Swarraton Partners for eight years, where he managed industrial and clean technology investments. Throughout his career, Christophe has also worked with and advised his own industrial family business in Switzerland, in both operational and financial roles.
Christophe sits on the board of Brahms Oil Refineries Ltd. and previously served as a trustee of the Jungels-Winkler Charitable Foundation and on the boards of other startup companies. Christophe has an EMBA from Columbia University and the London School of Business and a master’s degree in economics and history from Edinburgh University. Christophe lives in London with his wife, Dr. Valerie Jurgens Jungels-Winkler, and his two daughters.
Libby Greig DeMeo ’95 has served Scripps in many capacities. She is currently a non-trustee member of the Institutional Advancement Committee (IAC) and chair of the Leadership Development Committee of Alumnae Leadership Council (ALC). As president of ALC from 2014–16, Libby also served as a trustee, during which time she served as vice chair of the Audit Committee and a member of IAC. As a student at Scripps, she was student body president and senior class representative from 1994–95 and Dorsey Hall president. After graduation, she served as a recent graduate trustee from 1995–97.
Libby is COO of Benz Communications, a boutique consulting firm in San Francisco that specializes in benefits and strategic HR communication for Fortune 500 companies. She was previously a founding partner at SolutionSet LLC (2005–10), a digital marketing agency that she and six of her former colleagues founded. Other places of employment include Form Studios, 3Com, US Web/CKS, and McKenna Group and Regis McKenna Inc. Libby previously ran a consulting firm, The DeMeo Group, that specializes in business operations for small to midsize organizations, and she continues to be involved as a senior business consultant.
Libby is very involved with Central Middle School and also served on the board of White Oaks Elementary School, where she started an award-winning curriculum-based outdoor classroom for 3rd grade that incorporated science, math, and art. She cares deeply about children’s education and is committed to empowering children and youth. Libby lives in San Carlos with her husband, Jonathan “Jon” DeMeo, and two children.
Please join me in congratulating our new board chair and new trustees. I look forward to seeing many of you at events in the coming weeks, and I wish you a productive end to the semester.
Sincerely,
Lara Tiedens
President