“Every Dollar Counts”: A Chat with Jim Berrien

Jim Berrien '74. Photo courtesy of Conn College.

Few students known Jim Berrien ’74. He’s a tall man with steely blue eyes and a head of hair that struggles between blondes and grays. The sleeves of his gray suit are tailored perfectly, just short enough to show off his French cuffs and links. His presence carries an air of celebrity. The former publisher of Forbes Publishing Company and current chairman of the Connecticut College Board of Trustees sat with legs crossed last Friday in Blaustein, taking in an a cappella performance and sipping lightly on an amber drink. It’s easy to see that Mr. Berrien has worked a room before, and as I sat patiently, trying my best to conduct a thorough interview, Mr. Berrien finished his drink, uncrossed his legs and fixed his eyes three inches above my head.

For many students the arrival of the board of trustees seems an invasion from the corporate world, a swarm of suit-wearing, Blackberry-wielding alumni, sent in to remind us what our school hopes we will someday become: generous givers. The board meets on campus three times annually, ushered from Shain to Ernst to Crozier Williams to their hotel rooms, while each of the nine individual committees confer on a more regular basis. Berrien is in the second of his three-year term as chairman, and he seemed to combine a developed money sense with a fair understanding of what students want to know: that this institution is still ours.

Mr. Berrien was in the first wave of men to graduate from Connecticut College. Although a successful businessman, Mr. Berrien told the Connecticut College Magazine in 2004 that he was “a very average student,” scoring more C’s than A’s. His time at Connecticut College combined with a commanding personality earned him many years as president and publisher at Forbes Magazine, a position he stepped down from three years ago. Since his time at Forbes, Berrien has helped to create the green news website “Mother Nature Network” and took on the position of Chief Revenue Officer of Aircell in-flight broadband this past December.

Berrien understands the importance of a dollar, and for a man who few students can identify, he greatly influences where our dollars go. As a school that recently ranked seventh on CNBC’s list of most expensive American colleges, it is irrefutable that Berrien is in the right place; there is plenty of budgeting to be done.

“I want to keep the money going,” said Berrien when discussing one of his key goals for his three-year term: reaching two hundred million dollars in the Capital Campaign. Yet for most students the Capital Campaign is an afterthought; tuition and room-and-board weigh most heavily on our minds. I pressed Berrien on our tuition price, and what such rankings mean for our college. He took a moment, excused himself and sought the help of Director of College Relations, Patricia Carey.

“We are a residential school and the way we allocate costs makes us stand out,” said Carey slowly, to which Berrien added, “there is an undeserved negative connotation.”

They cited the high tuition as a result of how the list is compiled: colleges are compared based on their simple tuition fee, as opposed to their combined tuition and room & board comprehensive fee. As a residential school, Connecticut College spends more money on academics (e.g. professors’ salaries and instructional resources), which falls under “tuition,” than on room & board. So although our comprehensive fee is comparable to other small private colleges, our high tuition rate puts us at the top of the list.

“We are in the middle of the pack of our competitors in terms of comprehensive fee. Even so, it doesn’t cover the full cost of education. Every student at Connecticut College is being subsidized by income from the endowment and our fundraising. As a student here you get world-class faculty, small classes, a low student-faculty ratio and an incredible level of personal attention.”

This allocation of costs has come under review by the board.

“Yes, it’s expensive to provide this type of education,” said Berrien, “but it’s worth every penny.”

Berrien is indeed a moneyman, and Connecticut College, just like so many other liberal arts schools, is a money institution. He answered nearly all of my questions that night in capital terms: when asked why he stays on as chairman, Berrien replied, “I’ve felt that Conn doesn’t get the props it deserves.”

We chatted about athletics at school, an issue he feels quite strongly about. “Athletics need to be at the level of our academics,” he said, “Athletes tend to be really good donors.”

Berrien was clear in his feeling that Conn seldom gets the credit it deserves. “The assets haven’t been equal to the stock price,” he said, and proceeding to explain how the image of Connecticut College is often one of exorbitant prices with less of the prestige often associated with our NESCAC counterparts. “Within NESCAC, our endowment is relatively small and that can be a competitive disadvantage,” said Berrien, “but we offset that disadvantage with very careful planning and spending. We make sure every dollar counts.”

A student in white gloves passed and offered him a small baked item off of a silver tray. “I find it rewarding to be with the products of the institution,” Berrien said, just moments before one of those products offered him an hors d’œuvre.

Berrien was very clear and deliberate in his belief that Conn is a world-class institution and that the “product is getting better.” He cited more selective admissions standards, increased P.R, more successful athletics, better diversity and greater scholarship opportunities as a few key examples of the College’s improvement. “I’m especially proud that while some other schools have been cutting back, we’ve been able to continue investing in the educational experience.”

Whether you believe Berrien on these things is up to you. So is your opinion for or against the value of education at Conn compared to the price tag. But the tangible improvements – the new athletic center, the outdoor classroom on Tempel Green and the eventual Science center, to name a few – are irrefutable. “Next year, we will be investing in more campus improvements: a new science center and the new café in Harkness.” said Berrien, “These achievements are your tuition dollars at work, plus successful fundraising through the Campaign for Connecticut College. Every student benefits from these investments.”

The board’s most recent trip to campus focused predominantly on the Honor Code and social violations. They are carefully assessing the Honor Code and working closely with J-Board to put “more focus on what the Honor Code is all about,” playing with the idea “of de-linking the Honor Code from social violations.” When asked about underage drinking, Berrien gave a careful response: “our goal is to ensure the health of the institution.”

The board of trustees influences many decisions carried out on campus, and all of them go through Berrien. He was the only representative from the board allowed to speak of last week’s otherwise confidential meetings to the Voice. Yes, it’s odd to watch wealthy alumni wined and dined by a college with a tiny endowment. Yes, many students complain of inadequate representation when changes on campus are made. But Berrien is the voice of the board and to the board, a powerful factor in what decisions are made. Few of us know Berrien, but perhaps more of us should.

I finally got around to asking Berrien how one of his newest projects, a website titled Mother Nature Network, was going. He smiled, winked and replied “It’s still making money.” •