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WINTHROP UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
November 11, 2005 - 1:00 pm
Dunlap-Roddey Room, Johnson Hall
Winthrop University
Rock Hill, South Carolina
Minutes of Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Members present:
Karl Folkens (Chair), Kathy Bigham, Larry Durham, Mary
Jean Martin,
Leland Cox, Janet Smalley, Glenda Owens, Polly Ford,
Sanita Savage,
Susan Smith-Rex, Donna Tinsley, Skip Tuttle, Anthony J.
DiGiorgio
(ex officio).
Members absent:
None
Representatives present: Willie
Lyles, III, Student Representative; Tim Daugherty, Faculty
Representative
Representatives absent:
None.
Others present:
Faculty and staff of Winthrop University, Karen Behr.
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, November 11, 2005 at 1:00
p.m. in the Dunlap-Roddey Room of Johnson Hall on the campus of
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.
Call to Order
Chair Folkens called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. As there
were no requests made for public comments, the meeting began
with the acknowledgement of staff members who are taking on new
assignments and a welcome to our newest employee.
Dr. Wilhelmenia Rembert, Associate Vice President for Graduate
Studies, will be returning to her home department, Social Work,
to assist with the new Masters program.
Ms. Colleen Hodgdon, administrative assistant in the President’s
office, will be transferring to the Office of Human Resources.
Ms. Darlene Ledwell, Ms. Hodgdon’s replacement, was introduced
to the Board and will be assuming her new duties mid-November.
Approval of Board Minutes of June 2 and June 3, 2005
Dr. Sue Smith-Rex moved, seconded by Dr. Polly Ford, that the
Board approve the minutes. This motion was approved unanimously
as presented by voice vote.
Report of the Executive Committee
Chair Folkens reported that the Executive Committee had met on
campus on October 25, 2005. Several matters were reviewed and
discussed. The materials from the meeting have been forwarded to
each of members of the Board. Most of the issues that were
discussed will be or have already been a part of today’s
agendas.
The Executive Committee asked that the Board consider the
following Resolutions:
a. A Resolution to Honor the Meritorious Service of Mary Jean
Martin. The resolution was unanimously approved.
b. A Resolution to Endorse the Agency Head Objectives 2005—06.
The resolution was unanimously approved.
c. A Resolution to Endorse the Vision of Distinction 2005—06.
The resolution was unanimously approved.
The Executive Committee also had an executive session for
discussion of legal, personnel, and contractual matters. No
action was taken in the executive session.
Report of the Academic Affairs Committee
Chair Cox summarized the report from Vice President Tom Moore
beginning with a review of 2005-06 VOD Academic Program
Initiatives and Goals and Objectives for the Division of
Academic Affairs. Satisfactory progress was reported for the
continuation of the General Education program with the
implementation of RTW 101. The English department is carrying a
heavy load because of the introduction of the new General
Education requirements as well as finishing the requirements of
the former program.
Students are enjoying more service opportunities as well as more
are taking advantage of our study abroad programs.
All accreditations are progressing as expected. For those
programs without accrediting bodies, a pilot program is being
developed by the departments of Political Science, History, and
English to develop an internal process which would be subject to
external review in the following year. If this pilot program
proves successful, the program would be expanded in the future
to encompass additional programs that do not have accrediting
bodies.
The report on Academic Leadership Retreat and AAC&U Greater
Expectations Institute summarized the movement toward Deep
Learning on the Winthrop campus. As we move forward with student
engagement and assessment, we will continue to develop the kinds
of learning experiences we want students to have.
The report on personnel searches included the need to
restructure the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
and an update on the searches for VPA Dean and Associate VP of
Graduate Studies.
Chair Cox summarized the Academic Affairs committee meeting by
highlighting the robust number of publications by faculty and
students, the many grants awarded such as the TRIO grant, the
numerous presentations such as the one by Jeffrey Lacker of the
Federal Reserve Board, and the absolute success of the learning
community floors in the residence halls.
Report of the Finance Committee
Chair Skip Tuttle began his report with the briefing by External
Auditors on impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act and SAS 99. The
committee has recommended that the Internal Auditor make a
report at the April Committee meeting and present an audit plan
for the upcoming year to the Board during Executive Session for
its approval.
He continued with a review of the presentation of Financial
Statements by External Audit Firm—The External Auditor’s report
shows that our financial statements are free from materials
misstatements. Tests of compliance were certain laws,
regulations, policies, and procedures were performed with no
discrepancies found.
The review of 2005-2006 Allocation Status Report resulted in the
understanding that the 2006 budget is projected to finish in the
black. As a result of the energy performance contract, the
university saves approximately $600,000 per year. However,
increasing energy costs must always be a concern for our future
budgets.
The 2005-2006 Goals and Objectives in the Division of Finance
and Business are well underway with the construction of the new
West Center being the largest project to date. Plans for the
classroom addition and the Thurmond auditorium are also
progressing as planned.
Dr. Tuttle reported on Information Technology Initiatives for
2005-2006 by noting we had received 127,000 fewer dollars in
lottery funds this year as compared to last year. As a result,
some of the equipment scheduled for replacement will not be
replaced until next year. However, there is a concern about the
possible continued decline of lottery money as Winthrop has
built a three year rotating technology plan for replacing and
upgrading IT equipment on the campus.
Report of the University Relations Committee
Chair Glenda Pittman Owens began her report with a discussion on
Intercollegiate Athletics. Ticket sales have seen a steady
increase over the past three years. Two programs, both aimed at
the Winthrop University students, Eagle Empire and the WU Crew
have helped to raise student attendance at the games. The Big
South Conference is considering expanding its membership to
include more teams in the area within the next few years.
Finally, Ms. Owens commended the NCAA Certification Steering
Committee for producing a self-study that resulted in no issues
to be addressed. This is the first time a school has had no
issues to be addressed.
Chair Owens continued her report by discussing the report from
the Division of University Advancement. The Division has
successfully reorganized its priorities as well as it personnel
to better address those priorities. To date, over $2,000,000 has
been raised this year as compared to $1,000,000
last year at this time. Along with the personnel changes, the
Division is also undertaking a infrastructure change by
implementing the Blackbaud Raisers Edge computing system.
The Alumni Association Executive Board welcomed Tim Sease as the
in-coming president at its annual retreat. Voting is planned for
the spring semester with four candidates on the ballot to fill
the two seats on the Board of Trustees designated for Alumni.
The Annual Report was sent to over 40,000 alumni, donors, and
friends of the university. Recipients of the Report have stated
it is the best publication in the history of Winthrop
University.
Chair Owens continued with an overview of the recent endowments
and Organ Campaign. Although the campaign has not met its
targeted amount, it has raised $200,000 for the organ.
Next, Chair Owens began a discussion of the Division of Student
Life. The Admissions recruitment plan for fall 2006 is moving
forward. Our in-house efforts are working in conjunction with
Royall and Noel Levitz companies. Applications are expected to
be on the increase for the upcoming year.
The Dining Services has a new director on campus. Pam Yurkovic
has replaced Grant Avent. Ms. Yurkovic has plans to make changes
to the express and buffet guides, Meeting House, late night
dining, and new menu selections.
The report concluded with a summary of the new Professional
Development Workshops for student staff. As a pilot program of
Career Development, it is training about 400 students with
student life jobs. Eventually, the plan is to expand this
program to all student employees.
Report from Faculty Representative
Dr. Tim Daugherty reported on items in reference to the faculty
at Winthrop University. The Rules committee has continued to
meet in order to make adjustments to the faculty manual. Select
members of the University Task Force on Academic and
Institutional Integrity represented Winthrop University at a
recent conference.
The subcommittee on grading is working on a change to the
grading system to be presented to the entire faculty conference
in its January meeting.
Dr. Daugherty addressed the charge VP Tom Moore has made to the
faculty conference, i.e. to work on a faculty evaluation system
with Deep Learning at it center. Dr. Daugherty reports the
influence of Deep Learning is already making itself felt in the
classroom and he feels faculty will welcome an evaluation system
that will reflect their efforts at Deep Learning.
Dr. Daugherty concluded his report by highlighting the hard work
and extra efforts of the faculty to make the General Education
classes as well as the theme floors a great success.
Report from the Student Representative
Chair of the Council of Student Leaders, Willie Lyles, reported
his group is active and engaged on with campus life. They have
organized into various committees and each committee is working
to fulfill the Council’s motto of Empower. Engage. Enlighten.
Excite.
Currently, the CSL is working on the following projects:
The Homecoming will include block party, talent show,
tailgating, concert, and a step show.
Movie Night Series is being offered to clubs for sponsorship and
to use as fundraiser.
CSL partnered with the Office of Community Service to raise
money for victims of Hurricane Katrina through “Bead for Needs,”
a program to sell Mardi Gras beads.
A new initiative, “Meet the Administrators Series,” has begun in
order to permit student leaders to meet with various
administrators at Winthrop.
Finally, Mr. Lyles foreshadowed the upcoming forum on race in
our society. The program is set to feature a panel of
professionals and will be moderated by Dr. Kelly James of the
Sociology Department.
Report from the President
President DiGiorgio began his report with a discussion on the
likelihood of a tuition cap for the 2006-07 academic year. The
South Carolina legislature has already begun to debate this
issue and we are sure to hear more about it in the near future.
The question of equality in school funding is fueling the
legislative discussions about a tax reform. If tax reforms are
passed by the legislature, including the change in sales tax, we
could pay an additional $230,000 a year on top of the $700,000
in sales taxes we already pay. While revenue estimates are
steady at present, the state expects to have to absorb a large
increase in Medicaid costs that will mitigate the increased
revenue.
The outlook for a bond bill this year is poor. We have continued
to speak to legislators about the need for capital funds for a
new library. The CHE has ranked our library need as high (14th
on a list of all requested projects) and we hope to parlay that
into a strong argument for the need for a new library.
Based on the belief that a bond bill is not forthcoming, we have
already funded the building plan that is currently underway as
to not be dependent on state funding. The Lois Rhame West Center
construction progress has been slightly delayed due to weather
conditions. The expectation is that the facility will have
partial use for Fall 2006 with classes there in Spring 2007.
Immediately thereafter, Peabody will be razed and the
groundbreaking for the new Campus Center will begin. The new
academic building adjacent to Bancroft is in the process of
having it underground utilities constructed and we expect the
bidding process to begin in February.
The President then alerted the Board to the Shrink Down York
County upcoming press conference scheduled for November 16,
2005. Winthrop University, along with the Upper Palmetto YMCA,
and Piedmont Hospital have partnered to sponsor the first annual
Shrink Down York County, a health and wellness program to run
from January through early March 2006. Together we plan to
address the growing trend in obesity in this area.
President DiGiorgio concluded his report by discussing a recent
article in the Johnsonian that has generated a great deal of
interest. Recently, a student wrote a column conveying a
personal opinion that was controversial. The student-run staff
printed that column, even knowing the views would be unpopular
and controversy might result.
The subsequent edition of the Johnsonian printed a full range of
mostly dissenting views, so that other ideas could be heard and
everyone had an opportunity to voice his/her concerns.
While the author of the original column has withdrawn from the
University for this semester, faculty who have contacted her
report that her decision to leave was reflective of the entire
semester and not specifically tied to this issue. We believe she
will return to Winthrop next semester, where she can continue to
learn from and contribute to our constant conversation about the
issues of our times.
Old Business
There was no old business.
New Business
There was no new business.
Executive Session
Lee Cox , moved, seconded by Skip Tuttle, that the Board move
into Executive Session for discussion of personnel matters. The
motion was passed unanimously by voice vote. The Executive
Session was conducted and no actions were taken. Mary Jean
Martin then moved, seconded by Janet Smalley, that the Board go
back into Public Session. The motion passed unanimously by voice
vote.
Adjournment
Polly Ford moved, seconded by Donna Tinsley, that the Board
adjourn. The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote and the
Board adjourned at 5:10 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board for
2005-06
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