Speaking as a friend and a mentor, Marilou Eldred, president of Saint Mary's College, addressed students during an informal discussion on Tuesday night to answer any questions or concerns the typical student might have about student life and the College.

"This discussion is a way for us to get to know a person who cares about Saint Mary's just as much, if not more than we do, and whose everyday job is to make sure that our college is well," student trustee Akmaral Omarova said during her introduction.

Eldred began the talk by speaking about her background, telling students about her college experience, the 10 years she spent as a nun and how she ended up as the president of Saint Mary's.

"I never originally set my goal to be a college president. I never wanted to be involved in fundraising, and I knew that college presidents are often very removed from students," Eldred said. "But it was a great move and I'm really happy I did it. I love Saint Mary's and I love being president."

A main issue of focus during the discussion was the Master Plan. Eldred gave students a briefing of the projects that are in store and spoke about the process it has been to initiate the plan.

"We are really close to having enough money for the student center," Eldred said. "Hopefully the groundbreaking will happen this spring, and it should take less than 18 months to complete."

The student center will include a new dining hall, a copy shop, cyber cafe, lounges, small theater and all of the facilities currently located in Haggar, including the bookstore, bank, travel agency and student government offices.

Following the completion of the student center, work would begin on two student apartment buildings. The buildings will consist of two and three bedroom apartments, each with a private bathroom, kitchen, living room and possibly laundry facilities. The apartments will most likely have different rules than the dormitories.

"They will be open to juniors and seniors as an alternative to moving off campus," Eldred said. "With the way enrollment is going now, we may need one building for the fall of 2003."

Eldred then spoke about the improvement in Saint Mary's enrollment and recruiting strategies.

"In the late '80s and early '90s our enrollment wasn't doing very well," Eldred said. "Now I am really pleased with it. In the last four years we have seen an increase of 35 percent in the incoming classes. You all are a result of that."

This is due in large part to a change in the recruitment procedures of the Admissions Office. Eldred said that in addition to the significant increase in financial aid, Admissions is now thinking more strategically about recruitment.

"We realized how important it is for us to focus on high schools that we have a high turnout from," Eldred said. "So now we go to [fewer] high schools and really focus on the ones that Saint Mary's students have come from. If we have one or two women come from a given school one year, then maybe the next year we will attract two or three."

Eldred also gave credit to the personal attention that Admissions pays to possible students, the VISA program, and the student-endorsed application. Twenty-four percent of the College's current freshman class came from student-endorsed applications.

She gave students a taste of what her job includes, giving them an example of her typical day.

"Seventy percent of my time is spent talking to people about the value of a Saint Mary's education, and ultimately asking people to be helpful to the College," Eldred said. "When I'm asked what I do for a living, I usually say that I meet with people to talk about everything from the sublime to the ridiculous."One of her main goals as president of the College is to visit all 52 active alumni clubs around the nation.

"I give them an update on the college and address current issues," Eldred said. "Frequently they express a concern and a fear that we have lowered our admission standards, but I can happily say that we have not."

After giving an extensive update, Eldred said she usually provides alumni general information regarding the financial needs of the College. She said that many Saint Mary's graduates she meets with are married to Notre Dame graduates.

"I tell them that I would like to see them give the same amount to Saint Mary's as their husbands give to Notre Dame," Eldred said.

The typical response to this statement, according to Eldred, ends with heads hung low in shame as graduates acknowledge that they do tend to give more financial support to Notre Dame.

"Alumni give money to Saint Mary's because it is an institution they love and want to see continue to grow stronger," Eldred said. "They want to carry on their legacy and the wonderful Saint Mary's tradition." Eldred also addressed a question pertaining to why she thinks Saint Mary's has consistently remained one of the nation's premier women's colleges for so many years.

"There used to be over 100 women's colleges across the country, and the number has dwindled down to 19. A lot of this has to do with the schools becoming co-educational, being taken over by larger schools, or having small endowments and low enrollment rates," Eldred said. "We are in the exact opposite position. Our enrollment is increasing and our endowment is 88 million dollars. We have great resources and a beautiful campus."

Another student asked why Saint Mary's no longer has a Masters Degree Program and if students can expect to see one in the future. Sister Madeleva started the program in the late 1940's when Catholic universities would not allow women to enter their programs. The Masters Program was dropped in the early 1960's when institutions such Catholic University let women into their programs.

"We have decided to remain an undergraduate college," Eldred said. "One great thing about Saint Mary's is that we are very clear about who we are. We are a Catholic, women's, liberal arts undergraduate college, and we will stay that way." A student-athlete asked Eldred to speak about the athletic department's budget, making it clear that the program requires more sufficient funding.

"We have come so far in terms of how the college supports athletics in the last four years," Eldred said. "We're making the budget for next year, and the Athletic Department has asked for a lot. We can't do it all, but we can try."

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