Board of Trustees hosts annual dinner

The Board of Trustees hosted its annual dinner on Thursday, Feb. 16. The evening commenced with an address by Fr. Michael Graham, S.J., followed by dinner,

a performance by the Xavier Gospel Choir and group discussion sessions. "[Fr. Graham] thanked the students

for coming out because this is the most important night of the year for the trustees," freshman Jenny Mendoza said. "[Trustees] need to know how the students really feel about Xavier issues." The Board of Trustees, which includes many Xavier faculty and alumni, as well as various

businesspeople from across the United States, were divided up and assigned to different groups of students during the dinner portion of the evening. According to Mendoza, the trustees asked each student what he or she liked or disliked about Xavier. Fr. Bill Verbryke, S.J., a two year Board member who also served on the Board for 10 years in the 1990s, met with the freshman group. "[The board is] a wonderful service for the University and

a wonderful group of men and women to be with who really care about the University," Fr. Bill said. After dinner, the students were divided up by class and assigned to different trustees. Mendoza's group, who met with Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Scott Chadwick, discussed

the University Core, AllCard access in certain campus buildings, concerns about McGrath Health Center services and evaluations of academic advisors. "We talked about anything and everything," Mendoza said. "The students spoke very eloquently about what the University does day in and day out," Verbryke said. "It is a great opportunity to

hear from the students about if the mission of the University is working or not." "The staff takes students' concerns very seriously and are constantly trying to accomplish improvements," Verbryke said.