Resolution to Endorse the Agency Head Objectives 2004—05 for President Anthony J. DiGiorgio

Chair Martin read the Resolution. She offered this Resolution in the form of a Motion from the Executive Committee. Bob Thompson then moved, seconded by Karl Folkens, that the Board approve this Resolution. It was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Chair Martin also reported that the Executive Committee had taken action at its October meeting to recommend adoption of a Resolution to Endorse a Bonus Plan for Meritorious Performance for Selected Faculty and Staff.

Resolution to Endorse a Bonus Plan for Meritorious Performance for Selected Faculty and Staff.

Chair Martin read the Resolution. She offered this Resolution in the form of a Motion from the Executive Committee. There was some discussion on the use of “customer service” within the resolution, but that phrase was found to be standard documentation provided by the SC Code. Skip Tuttle then moved, seconded by Janet Smalley, that the Board approve this Resolution. It was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Chair Martin also brought forward for consideration a Resolution to Endorse the Vision of Distinction 2004—05. Each year the leadership of Winthrop University updates and revises the Vision of Distinction as a way of implementing the strategic plan for the university. The Executive Committee had taken action at the October 27 meeting to recommend the adoption of this Resolution.

Chair Martin read the Resolution. She offered this Resolution in the form of a Motion from the Executive Committee. Bob Thompson then moved, seconded by Larry Durham, that the Board approve this Resolution. It was approved unanimously by voice vote.

Report of the Academic Affairs Committee

Resolution to Offer Master of Social Work Degree.

Bob Thompson offered this Resolution in the form of a Motion from the Academic Affairs Committee. The Resolution passed unanimously by voice vote.

Bob Thompson reported that the Committee had reviewed the annual Vision of Distinction goals and supported these objectives which include a review of the roles, responsibilities, and rewards for faculty as well as a review of the transitioning experience of students as they prepare to leave Winthrop University and begin full-time employment or graduate school.

Bob Thompson also reported that the Committee had received a report on the General Education program with 46 sections of GNED staffed by newly trained faculty for the Spring semester. The Common Book project has been met with enthusiasm and has been well integrated into campus. As an example, he discussed the art work by Graduate Student, Adam Walls who used “Into the Wild” as an inspiration. The sculpture resides under a tree between Bancroft and Kinard Halls for the remainder of the school year.

Bob Thompson reported on the internal review of graduate programs. All graduate programs are being studied in order to ensure we offer the programs in the most appropriate ways and that our programs are meeting the needs in greater Rock Hill/Charlotte area.

Bob Thompson then reported on the status of the recent accreditations of various programs. The programs in Athletic Training and Chemistry have received new accreditations. The Sport Management program has had its accreditation continued. The Macfeat School and the Computer Science programs have completed their on-site reviews and have received positive feedback with final accreditation expected in the near future.

Bob Thompson reported that the Committee had reviewed the report from Sponsored Programs and Research and commended the work done in this area. He noted that Winthrop currently has $17 million dollars in grant proposals under review with $17 million received to date. Additionally, 18 students have received funding to travel to professional meetings to present research findings.

Bob Thompson reported that the Committee had received updates from each of the Academic Units. He reported that the PASCAL project has resulted in significant savings for the Dacus Library. Furthermore, the library staff has begun an oral history project working with veterans in the area. The College of Business Administration discussed its market study of the need for a computer programming degree. Based on findings, the Master’s degree in computer science will be redesigned to match the perceived need in the area. Other highlights of the updates included the College of Visual and Performing Arts exploration of the suitability of developing an International Art Studies major.

The College of Business Administration’s Small Business Development Center gave a presentation entitled “Pathway from classroom to service to career.” The presentation highlighted the work of the Small Business Development Center in which they discussed the 47 seminars that were attended by over 550 people, the 400 clients that were served, and the $12.5 million worth of businesses that were assisted by the Center.

Report of the Finance Committee
Skip Tuttle reported that the Committee had received a briefing from Mr. Wayde Dawson of Cline, Brandt, Kochenower, & Co. The firm issued an unqualified (clean) opinion on Winthrop’s 2003-04 financial statements. Mr. Dawson noted that within the Federal report they had one finding which was in the Financial Aid regulations and the return of Title IV funds to the federal government when students leave the institution. The federal government allows 30 days to return funds but the audit did find instances when the funds were returned after the 30 day period had lapsed. This is a common occurrence with many colleges and universities.

Skip Tuttle continued his report by discussing the Resolution to issue student housing revenue bonds of $2.7 million for residence hall renovations to finish Lee Wicker, Phelps and Margaret Nance. After a thorough discussion, Karl Folkens made a motion to that the resolution be submitted to the full Board for approval and Larry Durham seconded.

Next, Mr. Tuttle briefed the Board members on the “Energy Performance Contract.” He summarized Mr. Walter Hardin’s presentation detailing the work that had been completed to date and the work still in progress. Overall, this project was pronounced as extremely successful and beneficial to Winthrop University.

Skip Tuttle then commented on the committee’s review of the Allocation Status Report of 2004-05. Little has changed since the previous report with $400,000 budgeted in vacancy savings this year in order to balance. Midyear budget reductions are not anticipated at this time because the BEA has updated their revised estimates up by $109M.

Next, Skip Tuttle discussed the update on Information Technology for 2004-2005. Last year saw the completion of a major PC lab refreshment. This year will be concentrated on the McIntosh’s labs because there were many departments on campus that have a need—Mass Communications has two labs; Theater and Dance has a lab; Music has a lab, and the Art and Design Department has two labs. Additionally, the Library doc server is being replaced and the Athletics lab has been relocated to a larger room because of increased demand which increased its seating capacity. The IT division has increased the number of statistical packages licenses as well as implemented graphic design labs. An on-going project would be the continuation of the Smartclassrooms.

Finally, Mr. Tuttle summarized the review of 2004-2005 Goals and Objectives in the Division of Finance and Business.

Report of the University Relations Committee
Glenda Owens reported that the University Relations Committee received a briefing from the Advancement division. She noted that a restructuring plan to get alumni back to campus via their major area of study or athletic team/club membership rather than year of graduation is now underway. The status of “A Lasting Achievement: The Campaign for Winthrop” continues to be positive. Twenty eight million dollars were raised in outright gifts including $11 million in planned gifts. A planned giving newsletter is a new initiative created for those alumni interested in planned gifts. The first edition was distributed in August 2004 and received quite well.

Glenda Owens reported that the Committee received updates from the division of Athletics. She noted dramatic changes due to changes in legislation by the NCAA. The emphasis is now to recruit strong students and keep them in school rather than recruiting academically marginal students expected them to fail. The NCAA self-study is well underway with regular meetings of the steering committee as well as the various subcommittees.

Ms. Owens then discussed the Spring GPA reports for our student athletes. The overall cumulative GPA for athletes was 2.91, with the semester GPA at 2.85. Women’s soccer, tennis, and volleyball all had semester averages above 3.0 thus lifting the overall semester GPA to 2.98 for women while the men’s overall semester GPA is 2.72.

Next, Glenda Owens reported that the Committee received updates from the division of Student Life including a discussion of the Academic Theme Housing Initiatives. The “Learning for Life” and the Honors floors currently have 90 students housed. She also reported that the Committee had been updated on the new Admissions initiative with the Royall company. Overall, applications have increased due in part to the new “FastApp” which is an on-line application system developed for us by Royall. The Student Life division will continue to monitor the progress of Royall as they assist with our marketing and recruitment program. As a result of the potential for increased admissions, the Office of Financial Aid is reorganizing in order to address the greater demand.

Report from Faculty Representative
Marilyn Smith was not present at the meeting. As a result, her written report was distributed to the Board in her absence. It stated that at the August 20 meeting, Faculty Conference passed a proposal for a change to the merit pay policy. The administration has reviewed the proposal and responded back to Faculty Conference that they will continue to use the policy that was in place, and noted several reasons, including the flexibility of the existing policy, as well as its emphasis on meritorious performance. Along this line, Dr. Moore and Dr. Smith are working on refining the processes for information from Faculty Conference to flow upward through the administration, as well as how administrative actions are deployed back down to Faculty Conference.

The Rules Committee has been working on editing and updating the Faculty Manual. Changes regarding committee structures were passed in August, and next week we will vote on the process for setting the Faculty Conference agenda. This edit describes how the agenda has been determined for at least 15 years, set by the Chair of Faculty Conference.

Academic Council has passed one small revision to the general education program, that the technology requirement must be completed within 75 hours instead of 54.

Report from the Student Representative
Council of Student Leaders (CSL) Vice-Chair Sydney Shealy reported on the outcome of the CSL fall retreat in which they identified five key items to be addressed this year: academic integrity, voter registration and education, space use and condition, campus awareness, and CSL outreach. In terms of academic integrity, they are reviewing the student and faculty survey data in order to develop a lesson suitable for ACAD 101 and to understand the campus-wide views on integrity. Voter registration was successful with over 300 students now registered to vote. In an on-line mock election, over 500 students voted. A CSL sub-committee is working with campus space-use managers to understand and improve spaces available to student groups. The Council held a forum on tuition in October as a way of increasing campus awareness with additional forums planned for the future. Finally, the outreach committee continues to publicize activities and initiatives of the CSL.

Report from the President
President DiGiorgio noted the final fall enrollment figures showed a level number of students. The President assured the Board that student enrollments would not increase beyond the current capacity of our campus buildings. Full-time graduate students have increased at the same time the number of part-time graduate students have decreased resulting in no significant overall changes. In terms of financial aid, the President reported that a recent analysis has shown that 97% of our freshmen students are recipients of state scholarships.

President DiGiorgio reported on the status of the Wetlands at the farm. This project has provided excellent results for the campus as well as the local school district and Rock Hill Community. The next step is to construct the platform for the outdoor classroom.

The President reported on his continuing work with various campus groups such as Faculty Concerns Committee and the Board of Visitors as well as community groups such as Community Leaders Advisory Group. Discussions have proven fruitful and the President has every reason to believe they will continue to do so.

President DiGiorgio continued his report with a discussion of the success of the Winthrop University Athletics program. Our freshmen and sophomore dominated teams are doing quite well. The Women’s volleyball team is currently on a 15 game winning streak. Two of this year’s starters are on the national ballot for the All-Academic, All-American team—Sarah Mae Billingsley and Mark Hock.

The President ended his report with the announcement that he had been chosen for the NCAA Board of Directors which is comprised of 18 CEOs from National Universities.

Old Business
There was no old business.

New Business
There was no new business.

Executive Session
Karl Folkens moved, seconded by Bob Thompson, that the Board move into Executive Session for discussion of legal matters. The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote. The Executive Session was conducted and no actions were taken. Skip Tuttle then moved, seconded by Glenda Owens, that the Board go back into Public Session. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

Adjournment
Leland Cox moved, seconded by Larry Durham, that the Board adjourn. The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote and the Board adjourned at 4:30 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board for 2004-05

Rock Hill, South Carolina   29733
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