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RFH 2010, Cover Stories, Colgate News

Borfitz Adds Summer to Portfolio of Duties

Wed, Oct 13, 2010

The woman who has been Colgate's "Ms Outside" to the village, town and beyond has been named to oversee efforts to make Colgate even busier in the summer.

Joanne Brofitz has been put in charge of the university's plans to  expand and enhance summer activities on campus, something Colgate's new president mentioned in his inaugural speech earlier this month.

A memo from President Jeffrey Herbst and Vice President for Finance & AdministrationDavid Hale to the campus community last Friday said: 

"We are pleased to announce a new administrative structure - and an important initiative - that will result in the more effective use of Colgate's campus during the summer months.  In the coming weeks Joanne Borfitz, Colgate's associate vice president for community affairs & auxiliary services, will become responsible for development, enhancement and coordination of the university's summer activities.  Since joining Colgate in early 2008, Joanne has been very effective leading the renewed efforts of the Hamilton Initiative, representing Colgate in the local and regional communities and overseeing many important university auxiliary functions including the bookstore. 

"As we all know, Colgate is a very busy and beautiful place during the summer months.  Most administrative functions continue, more than 200 students remain to work on campus or in the community, and faculty pursue research in their offices, labs and libraries. The campus hosts youth camps ranging from sports to music, alumni weddings take place almost every weekend, and the vast majority of facility renovation projects are accomplished. Moreover, the Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) holds its Summer Institute and, of course, thousands of prospective students and their families tour our campus.  With all of this activity, it seems clear that university-wide coordination would result in more efficient and coherent use of resources. A strategic approach will also help maximize both our alumni connections and academic reputation. 

"Although Joanne will be leading this endeavor, it will require a collective effort across many university offices.  The Office of Summer Programs, capably led by its Director Matt Leone, will now report to Joanne and will play a key role in this important initiative. Joanne will begin by taking a full inventory of summer activities, and assessing the benefits and resources associated with all that occurs.  Using that information, she will lead a strategic planning effort to define attainable objectives for the university during the summer and to develop strategies to achieve those goals. As part of this process, we envision that Joanne's office will become involved in planning and coordinating both the summer calendar as well as the scheduling of the use, renovation, and maintenance of our summer facilities.

"This is a very exciting administrative change as it signals both the complexity and increasing importance of the summer months for the university.  We are very fortunate to have someone of Joanne's capability to help lead this charge.  Please provide any assistance you can as she begins this important work.

Since joining Colgate, Borfitz, whose husband Tim is director of administrative systems in the university's IT department, has been its liaison to the village and the broader community. She has been especially involved with the Hamilton Business Alliance, the Hamilton Rotary and Partnership for Community Development (PCD), and has been involved with much of Colgate's charitable giving.

Borfitz is a resident of Norwich.



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