January 29-30, 2016
Members present: Kathy Bigham, Karl Folkens, Glenn McCall, Jane LaRoche, Susan Smith-Rex,
Janet Smalley, Tim Hopkins, Don Long, Randy Imler, Donna Glenn Holley, Ashlye Wilkerson,
Tim Sease, and Dan Mahony (ex officio).
Members absent: Scott Talley, Julie Fowler
Representatives present: Ray McKetty, Student Representative; John Bird, Faculty Representative
Representatives absent: None
Others present: Carolyn Rennix, The Johnsonian; members of Winthrop faculty and staff
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, January 29 and 30, 2016 on the campus of Winthrop
University, Rock Hill, SC.
Public Comment
There were no requests for public comment.
Call to Order
Chair Bigham called the meeting to order at 2:09 p.m. She welcomed all present.
Approval of Minutes
Don Long moved to accept the minutes from the meetings of October 16, 2015. Glenn
McCall seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor of the minutes as submitted.
Report of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Board
Chair Bigham reported on the Executive Committee's meeting in December 2015. Per the
duties of the Executive Committee as described in the bylaws, the Executive Committee
met to perform an informal personnel evaluation of President Mahony. As the evaluation
is a personnel matter, details will be shared later in the meeting during the Executive
Session but the general outcome of the evaluation is satisfactory.
Report from the Committee on Finance
On behalf of the Committee, Mr. McCall brought forth the Resolution to Refund/Refinance
Higher Education Bonds. The issuance of new bonds is for paying off interest in previous
old bonds resulting in approximately $80,000 a year savings in payments for principal
and interest over current rates. The total estimated savings over the life of the
bonds is estimated at $1.2 million.
As the resolution was from a Committee, no second was needed. Chair Bigham called
for the vote. The resolution passed unanimously.
Report from the President
President Mahony reported on the proposed roles and duties of the Board committees.
In order to ensure the Board has oversight of the University's long-term planning
while being aware of intermediate steps, it is important to codify the roles and roles
and responsibilities of the Board's committees. The suggested duties were developed
based on the roles and responsibilities performed by public university Boards. The
goal is to streamline the responsibilities of the Committees yet at the same time
give a greater focus to the critical duties they perform.
Executive Session
Donna Glenn Holley moved with a second from Janet Smalley that the Board meet in executive
session for the purposes of discussion of employment and compensation matters involving
certain current university employees and contractual matters related to the possible
sale of University property. The vote was unanimous. Kimberly Faust, John Bird, and
Ray McKetty were invited to remain for the executive session. Tim Hopkins moved the
Board end executive session, Sue Rex seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously
by voice vote. No actions were taken in executive session.
Recess
Chair Bigham recessed the meeting with plans to resume at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, January
30, 2016
The meeting resumed at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 30, 2016 with Chair Kathy Bigham
presiding. As the first order of business, the Trustees discussed the following questions.
a.What makes Winthrop University distinct?
b.If you had one word to describe Winthrop University, what would it be?
c.What do you consider to be Winthrop's strengths?
d.How can we best capitalize on those strengths?
e.What, in your opinion, are the key challenges facing Winthrop over the next five
years?
f.What key areas should we prioritize for improvement over the next ten years?
President Mahony then gave an update on the strategic planning process that faculty
and staff have used to help identify the priorities moving forward and how best to
allocate resources in order to achieve them. The Strategic Planning Committee and
the six working groups are now creating their reports. Those reports in addition to
the feedback from the academic department meetings, the online surveys, and the staff
meetings to be held in the next few weeks, will be used by the Strategic Planning
Committee.
The remainder of the retreat was spent in discussing immediate as well as longer term
challenges facing the University and the Board's role in meeting those challenges.
Adjournment
Don Long moved to adjourn the meeting with a second from Karl Folkens. The vote was
unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kimberly A. Faust, Secretary to the Board