1. Arts and Sciences—in March Winthrop University hosted the South Carolina Academy of Sciences and the South Carolina Junior Academy of Sciences.
2. Business Administration—held a successful faculty retreat in which faculty discussed ways to focus on field service for their students. Also reported was the success of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) competition that netted Winthrop University an invitation to participate in the national competition in May.
3. Education—Students in the MED in Middle School Education gave a presentation to the Committee. As the only such program in South Carolina, the students praised the cohort structure as well as the rigor of the coursework. Committee members felt more effort should be made for this program to reach out to independent school teachers.
4. Library—the Library was happy to announce an additional year of PASCAL funding. The Committee strongly suggests that PASCAL be funded permanently.
5. University College—has decided upon the Common Book for AY 2005-06. “A Hope in the Unseen” has been adopted and is being included in opening events for Convocation week as well as with local book clubs. The Teaching and Learning Center is doing very well as it continues to expand its public service offerings.
6. Visual and Performing Arts—has added an international committee to focus on and encourage more student exchanges. Student art has been placed in the public areas of campus as well in the galleries in preparation of the 17th Annual Juried Undergraduate Art Show. Finally, 15 students are currently enrolled in the Master’s program.

Report of the Finance Committee
Chair Skip Tuttle reported on the following items:

The 2004-2005 Allocation Status Report shows that Winthrop University will end the fiscal year “in the black.” With current bonds, debt, and revenue streams we are able to issue new bonds.

Resolution to Approve the Issuance of $17 million in State Institutional bonds for the Construction of the Lois Rhame West Health and Physical Education Center—as this was a motion from a standing committee, it did not need to be seconded. Discussion included the fact that this bond will not result in additional fees for students. The resolution was passed unanimously.

Update on Information Technology Funding—the technology fee previously instituted continues to serve Winthrop University very well. We now replace all computers every three years. Used computers are recycled on campus. Those computers that are deemed obsolete become state surplus.

The computer system used for records management in the Office of Development is scheduled to be replaced. The new system will permit more efficient management strategies to be implemented.

Report of the University Relations Committee
Chair Glenda Owens began her report with a discussion of items from the Division of University Advancement. Homecoming Weekend proved to be quite successful. Attendance was good as was the weather. The talent show had 550 attendees. The show “Kiss Me Kate” received rave reviews. And, the Society of 1886 was honored with a reception during Homecoming Weekend. Next year’s homecoming is scheduled for the weekend of February 11, 2006.

Alumni Reunion Weekend – April 22 – 24, 2005 plans are progressing on schedule. Due to an overwhelming positive response, the ring ceremony will be moved from the Little Chapel to the Tillman auditorium. The awards for top students will also be given in conjunction with the ring ceremony.

Announcement of Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Award—Our “Quest for Equality” entry to this annual competition has won an Award of Merit.
The Organ Restoration Campaign is currently underway. As this is the 50th anniversary of the DB Johnson Memorial Organ, a series of concerts by Shirley Fishburne are being held in various venues in the Carolinas and Georgia.

Although fundraising via telephone is proving to be increasingly difficult due to various phone security devices available, the Loyalty Fund Phonathon has been successful. The goal of $200,000 has been reached. This year 60 of our callers were trained with the help of a web-based system. The general feedback from constituents has been positive in regard to the comportment of the callers.

Chair Owens continued her report with a discussion of Intercollegiate Athletics. The theme of this year’s Scholarship Auction, scheduled for May 14 will be a Beach Blast. The upper concourse will be the site of the silent auction with a dance floor planned for the lower area. Ticket prices are $50 and it is hoped that approximately 500 people will attend.

The NCAA Academic Progress Rate Report includes a new measure of success which covers progress and retention rates. Students are given points if they maintain eligibility and remain in school. Unfortunately, the measure penalizes those students who maintain eligibility yet leave school to join the ranks of a major league team such as some of our baseball players have done. We hope this issue will be addressed in the near future by the NCAA. The measure also requires that student progress toward a major rather than taking a series of unrelated courses.

The Big South Conference Compliance Review has recently been completed. We did quite well. At the time of the review, our compliance manual was still in the process of being completed. We have implemented new procedures to ensure that our athletes remain eligible and compliant.
The NCAA Certification Self-Study has been completed and the report is now being written. It will be available for on-line review by the campus community. The final report will be submitted by July 15. We will have a site visit in November 2005.

Chair Owens ended her report with a discussion of Student Life. We have received a record number of applications—over 4100. We are uncertain how many of these students will enroll in the fall because over 1100 of the applications are the “fast apps” on-line application process designed by Royall. This is the first year of this type of application and we do not know what level of acceptance to expect. The open houses have been quite successful as is our campaign to reach high school sophomores.

We have been permitted to negotiate a 10 year contract with Follett bookstores. A part of the agreement, they have gifted $140,000 to the campus center, $530,000 for the bookstore space, and as per the agreement, we receive 10% of all sales at the bookstore.

The meal plans for the upcoming year have been revised. Students will chose from five different meal plans that focus on number of meals and Café cash.

Lastly, the division of Student Life will use the Texas A & M university model of professional staff development to educate and engage student affairs personnel. These training sessions will not be required but attendance will be strongly encouraged.

Report from Faculty Representative
Dr. Marilyn Smith reported on the following items in reference to the faculty at Winthrop University. The faculty conference has met three times since the November 12 Board of Trustees meeting. In the spirit of continuous improvement, Academic Council and Faculty Conference have approved revisions to three minors and nine programs (majors). They also approved a new definition for a cultural event. In addition, Academic Council also approved a revision to the Guidelines for Sponsors for Cultural Events, which documented some things that were being done by the committee and added clarity to other points.

Dr. Jo Koster led a study of the ethics and legalities related to faculty selling review copies of textbooks, which they had received free from publishers. We recognize many complexities involved in implementing and enforcing a policy, but we did pass a set of “Recommended Practices for Winthrop Faculty Regarding the Disposal of Examination Copies of Textbooks” at our January meeting.

Dr. Alice Burmeister and the Task Force on Academic and Institutional Integrity have completed the survey phase of their work and are currently sponsoring some panel discussions “to begin a campus-wide exploratory conversation on a variety of important issues related to academic integrity, both here at Winthrop and at colleges nationwide.”

The Faculty Concerns Committee has met with Dr. DiGiorgio about dual and outside employment policies, salary compression, and classes on Labor Day. The Committee took advantage of Winthrop’s open door policy and cooperative atmosphere and dealt directly with Facilities to correct a lack of hot water in some buildings.

In addition to the election of Dr. Tim Daugherty being elected a the next Chair of Faculty Conference and Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees, a strong slate of well qualified committee members were elected for next year, and committees are currently electing chairs.


Report from the Student Representative
Mr. Richard Fowler began his report with a summary of student life in the last two weeks of class. Students are busy finishing their class assignments and preparing for final exams.

Rich continued his report with a summary of student related events that have occurred on campus. The Rely for Life was quite successful. Although we have only been involved with this project for a few years, the campus community raised over $24,000 this year.

The Academic Integrity project is progressing well. Students and faculty joined together for a panel discussion. After some hesitancy, the students began to speak freely about their ideas of integrity as did the faculty. The panel discussion will be followed by a guest speaker, Dr. Dan Wueste, Director of the Robert J. Rutland Center for Ethics, who will present a lecture on how to create a culture of academic integrity through campus-wide dialogue and discussion. This is designated as a cultural event and student attendance is expected to be high.

The Council of Student Leaders continues to monitor the Space Use Policy as well as the procedures for reserving space. The Council is working with student groups to facilitate the process.

Rich Fowler ended his report with a discussion on Homecoming 2005. The students enjoyed their activities and a great deal of positive feedback was reported.

Report from the President
President DiGiorgio began his report by thanking everyone for their participation in the Lois Rhame West cornerstone dedication ceremony. He then extended a welcome to Dr. Tim Daugherty, the new Faculty representative the Board and Willie Lyles, the new Student Representative to the Board. Both will assume their positions with the November meeting.

Dr. DiGiorgio continued his presentation with a discussion of the State Budget. The Senate Finance committee completed its work in record time. Vetoes on some of the items are expected, but overall, the budget is thought to be near its final form. Unfortunately, there will be no new monies for general operating funds.

However, PASCAL will be funded for an additional year. This is very good news not only for our library, but for all of the libraries across the state. Also in the current version of the budget is $1 million earmarked for the construction of an auditorium for College of Business Administration. This auditorium will be built as an addition to Thurmond and will include some classroom space.

The budget, as it now stands, calls for a 4% increase in state worker salaries. This increase may be across the board or it may be distributed on a merit basis depending on the final version of the budget. Although the state mandates a 4% pay increase, they do not increase our budget accordingly. We must contribute $800,000 of our own money to help fund the state mandate.

Technology funds will be slightly lower due to about a $100,000 decline in lottery funds. Speculation is that a lottery in North Carolina would reduce that amount even more for the future.

Whereas the state is experiencing an increase in revenues, higher education budgets have not been increased. We will continue to face difficulties as we balance our tuition with our costs.

The President next discussed the Modified Work Schedule. Non-public offices will be staffed from 8 am to 5:30 on Mondays through Thursday s and 8 am to 11:30 on Fridays. Offices that commonly serve the public such as Admissions, Police Department, President’s Office, Financial Aid, and University Development will remain open during the normal business hours of 8:30 to 5:00 Monday through Friday.

Mayor Echols and the City Council have declared the week of August 19 to be Common Book Week for Rock Hill. All area book clubs as well as the public library will showcase the book “ A Hope in the Unseen.”

President DiGiorgio concluded his remarks with a summary of the most recent awards and accolades won by Winthrop University in the past 8 weeks. The awards ranged from athletics to chemistry to student life. As the President noted, our students, faculty, staff, and programs are high achieving across the board. In other words, we are pervasively good in all that we do.

Old Business
Lee Cox raised the question of dual GPA as old business. The former Life Sciences Act before the South Carolina Legislature had included a call for a GPA to be calculated for all colleges classes completed as well as a GPA per individual school. Although the Life Sciences Act was declared unconstitutional, the dual GPA has been re-introduced as a separate bill and will most likely receive approval next year.

New Business
There was no new business.

Executive Session
Larry Durham, 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. Karl Folkensthen moved, seconded by Skip Tuttle, that the Board go back into Public Session. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.

Adjournment
Glenda Owens moved, seconded by Sanita Savage, that the Board adjourn. The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote and the Board adjourned at 3:48 p.m.

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

 

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