By Bella Angel and Shiane Boyer
angeli@findlay.edu
boyers@findlay.edu
In a sea of smartly dressed professionals, Dr. Katherine Fell, President of the University of Findlay, entered the dining area of the College of Business and Student Life Center looking confident in the future of the University. Fell had just left the February Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 10.
“The board is highly engaged, very successful,” said President Fell. The Board of Trustees is composed of 33 individuals, some of whom are alumni, but some of whom simply believe in the message of the University.
“A number of them are alumni, not all of them are alumni,” Fell said. “But they are all dedicated to (the students of UF).”
President Fell, who has been the President of UF since July of 2010, says that the Trustees are “ll dedicated to the mission of the University.
“We’re trying to be sure that we meet the needs not only of students today, but prepare them for leading in the future,” said President Fell.
According to President Fell, the Trustees have a deep passion for helping the students of UF be successful in all that they do, both during their college years and in the future.
“(The Trustees) love being on campus, they love spending time with our students,” said President Fell. “They want us to succeed, they want our students to thrive.”
The Board has many functions for the University.
“They not only donate from their financial resources, but also try to introduce me to business leaders and other philanthropists that they know who might be interested in giving support to the University,” Fell said. “But they also will visit with students, they’ll offer internships, they’ll make introductions with students, so they’re very engaged in ways that you may not even realize.”
President Fell reiterated the principles that have guided her through her last thirteen years of service to the University.
“We want to be a university that is adaptive yet grounded in the principles that guide us. The first of those five principles is grounded in Christian faith,” Fell said. “We welcome all, and we try to live by that. We don’t require everyone to agree but we require everyone to be respectful and honest with one another in a respectful, open way.”