The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University met in regular session on March 9, 1994, in the Board Room of the University Administration Building. The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Chairman Stephen W. Woody.

The following members of the Board were present: Mrs. Allen, Mr. Allman, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Haire, Mr. Lindsay, Mr. McKee, Mr. Moore, Mr. Pine, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Woody.

Others present included Chancellor Coulter; Vice Chancellors Carter, Stillion, and Wakeley; Assistants to the Chancellor Dowell, Ramsey, and Wooten; Mr. Grooms, Alumni Representative to the Board; Dr. Wright, Chair of the Faculty; Mr. Kucharski, Legal Counsel; Mr. Reed, Director of Public Information; Mr. Travis, Director of Athletics; and Mrs. Shuler, Administrative Assistant to the Chancellor.

Upon motion by Mr. Allman, seconded by Mr. Pine, the minutes of the November 19 regular meeting and the January 6 special meeting were approved as circulated.

1. Enrollment

Chancellor Coulter called attention to an article on enrollments printed in The Asheville Citizen and reported that Western will have an increase in the fall but that it will be smaller than expected. There may be up to 1300 freshmen but the graduate enrollment is expected to be lower than we thought. At this time housing deposits are 31 percent ahead of last year, the number of applications is up, and the average SAT score is up.

2. International Developments

The MBA program in the Netherlands is doing well, and new programs are being developed in Ireland and France. Commencement exercises will be held in Jamaica in early April for 23 graduates. A delegation from Korea was here last month, and some funds may be donated to the WCU international program fund. Negotiations are also in progress with a Moroccan firm which will benefit North Carolina manufacturers.

3. Athletics Graduation Rates

The annual report to the Board of Governors and to the NCAA on graduation rates of athletes revealed the following statistics: of the 1987-88 entering freshmen, 47 percent graduated at the end of six years; of the 1987-88 entering athletes, 59 percent graduated at the end of six years; of the 1987-88 female entering athletes, 83 percent graduated at the end of six years. During the past semester, 91 athletes achieved a g.p.a. of 3.0 or higher.

4. Wall Street Journal article

On February 15 an article appeared in the Wall Street Journal quoting a Western professor and leaving a negative impression of Western Carolina University. Chancellor Coulter has talked with Mr. Reynolds, and both Mr. Woody and Chancellor Coulter wrote letters to the newspaper. Neither student nor alumni response to the article was happy, and several letters have been written by members of these groups to the Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Moore, reporting for the Committee in Mr. Wilson's absence, summarized the actions of the committee at its meeting on February 9 to interview and choose architects for two capital improvement projects. The Reid Gymnasium renovation project ($2,379,400) received expressions of interest from 19 firms; the short list included six firms; and three were interviewed, resulting in the selection of Cort Associates, of Asheville. Advance Planning for the Hinds University Center renovation project drew 13 responses; the short list included six firms; and again three were interviewed. Calloway, Johnson, and Moore, of Winston-Salem, was chosen for this project because of their experience in student buildings.

Vice Chancellor Carter commended the Property and Buildings Committee for the yeoman job in taking care of these projects expeditiously and advantageously. The projects are on schedule, and Dr. Carter can report to President Spangler that the bond issue projects are moving along as planned.

Mr. Moore then moved that the Board ratify the actions of the Property and Buildings Committee. Mr. Pine seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.

Mr. Kucharski told the trustees that Federal regulations have now been adopted giving employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for a variety of medical reasons. The State Personnel Commission adopted a state-wide policy for employees subject to the State Personnel Act, and each institution is to adopt its own policy for EPA personnel. He presented a resolution for non-faculty EPA personnel and a lengthy policy applying to faculty, both as close to the SPA policy as possible. Upon motion by Mr. Allman, seconded by Mr. Pine, the following resolution was adopted:

WHEREAS, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 requires Western Carolina University to provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons; and

WHEREAS, employees covered by the "Employment Policies for University Employees Exempt from the State Personnel Act" (the "policies") are subject to the same provisions concerning sick leave, maternity leave, civil leave, and military leave as are applicable to employees subject to the State Personnel Act; and

WHEREAS, continued uniformity in this area is appropriate;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

Paragraph VII.C of the Policies is hereby amended by inserting the phrase "family and medical leave" so that the paragraph now reads as follows: Employees in covered positions shall be subject to the same provisions concerning sick leave, maternity leave, family and medical leave, civil leave, and military leave as are applicable to employees subject to the State Personnel Act.

Adopted by the Board of Trustees at its meeting on the ninth day of March, 1994.

A copy of the Policy applicable to faculty is on file with minutes material.

Mr. Kucharski then presented a resolution dealing with political activity of employees. Upon motion by Mr. Pine, seconded by Mr. McKee, the following resolution was adopted unanimously:

WHEREAS, on February 12, 1993, the Board of Governors issued interpretations and instructions designed to improve its administration of its policy on "Political Activity of Employees"; and

WHEREAS, on September 10, 1993, the Board of Governors modified the procedures applicable to employees who wish to accept appointment to a public office; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees believes it is necessary to modify its procedures in response to the Board of Governors' action;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY:

The "Instructions Regarding Procedures to be Followed by University EPA Employees Who Intend to Become Candidates for or Holders of Political Offices," adopted by this Board at its meeting on August 27, 1993, is hereby amended by adding the following as paragraph #7:

Subject to all other requirements controlling political office holding, if circumstances do not permit a prospective appointee to file a required petition on the schedule otherwise prescribed for prospective officeholders, the petition may be submitted to and resolved by the officer or agency responsible for the class of employment of which the petitioner is a member, viz., the President and Board of Governors for senior academic and administrative officers, and the Chancellor for faculty and non-faculty personnel exempt from the State Personnel Act. In such cases, however, it remains University policy that the prospective appointee will lose University employment if he or she assumes the appointive office before receiving an affirmative response from the alternative decision maker. Thus, even under this expedited procedure, in some cases the prospective appointee may have to defer acceptance of the appointment beyond the normal starting date for the public office. When this alternative procedure is used, the Chancellor in each instance shall report the action taken to the Committee on University Governance through the President.

Adopted at Cullowhee, North Carolina, this 9th day of March, 1994.

Dr. Judith Stillion gave a comprehensive report on the mission statement, organization chart, and past and future events of the Institute for College and University Teaching (ICUT). The Institute has received $15,000 to conduct a conference for the UNC Faculty Assembly in September in Cullowhee.

Mr. Woody thanked Dr. Stillion for her presentation and for the progress being made by the Institute. (A copy of her report is on file with minutes material.)

Mr. Haire called attention to the document from AGB entitled "Ten Public Policy Issues" which had been mailed to Trustees and recommended that each one read the material and discuss what Western is doing.

Mr. Haire moved that the Board go into Executive Session to discuss personnel and other matters in accordance with the Open Meetings Law.

(Minutes of the Executive Session are not included here because of their confidential nature. They are, however, a part of the official minutes book.)

The Board returned to open session.

Mr. Pine moved that the report of the Personnel Committee as discussed in Executive Session be approved. Mrs. Allen seconded the motion, and the motion carried. Mr. Moore and Mr. Haire requested that they be shown as abstaining from the vote on employment of Sara Martin as Interim Head Volleyball Coach.

Mr. Pine then moved that the Board adopt the recommendation of the Personnel Committee to uphold the Chancellor and the Faculty Hearing Committee on a disciplinary matter involving a faculty member. Mrs. Allen seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.

Mr. Moore moved that the Board authorize other matters as discussed in the Executive Session. Mr. Allman seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.

President C. D. Spangler and Mrs. Rosalind Fuse-Hall, newly appointed Secretary of the University, joined the meeting. Faculty members of the Chancellor Search Committee (Dr. Noelle Kehrberg, Dr. Max Williams, Dr. John Wade, and Dr. Bruce Henderson) also joined the group. Chancellor Coulter welcomed the visitors and asked each person present to introduce himself or herself by name and title. Following the introductions, Chancellor Coulter left the meeting.

President Spangler discussed with the trustees and the search committee members the importance of a chancellor search and the guidelines available, among them the Code and the Board of Governors. He outlined the procedures for the search: the chairman of the Board of Trustees selects a search committee; the committee elects its chairman; the committee provides the names of at least two candidates, unranked, to the President, who interviews the candidates and makes a single recommendation to the Board of Governors. There is no time limit--obtaining the right individual is more important; and there is no emergency in management at Western.

If an interim chancellor is necessary, the President would make that choice; the Board of Governors does not want to be involved with selecting interim chancellors. As to whether the interim would be a candidate, that has been done both ways.

The Code calls for national advertising, and there probably will be 200-300 applications. A great number of people want to be a chancellor, and there are several factors that will be instrumental: a well-run institution with no major problems, a beautiful place, a supportive General Assembly, one of the best higher education systems in the United States, a strong economy.

The salary for the position is set by the Board of Governors, and a home, a car, and other perquisites come with the position.

The search committee members go through each file personally. The files are to kept under lock and key, and security for the office is to be very close. There is to be one spokesperson for the committee, the chairman. The committee is to decide on public hearings: while most meetings are to be in executive session, there should be open sessions for faculty, students, community members to give their viewpoints. The committee is to make sure students are informed about the open meetings, and these meetings should be scheduled for more than one time to give anyone interested an opportunity to attend.

The President and the Chairman will determine the budget for the search, and a bank account is to be opened. The committee is to be fiscally responsible but does not have to confine its activities, i.e., it can meet out of town, interview out of town, etc. At the end of the search all records will be made available to the President's office and eventually will be returned to Western for disposal.

The President suggested that a mailing be done to alumni, that staff be treated same as other constituencies, and that everybody have an opportunity to express themselves about what is needed in a new chancellor. He made it clear that the search committee and trustees submit names to him and that the committee is not to be confined in its meetings or in its creativity.

In response to a question about an interim chancellor, the President said that there has to be an authority figure on the campus and he will take comments from the search committee regarding this person. An interim would not start new initiatives.

The President announced that Chairman Poole, Mr. Joseph Thomas, and Mrs. Lois Britt from the Board of Governors would join the group for lunch and the afternoon committee meeting.

Since Mr. Spangler became President of the University of North Carolina, there have been 13 chancellor searches with more than 30 names being submitted. Every person submitted has been a male; these search committees have excluded half the people in this country. Additionally, there are few female deans and vice chancellors and no female provosts. He is not saying that Western has to have a woman chancellor; he is saying that the committee should have the broader consideration, that women should be considered.

In considering a chairman of the search committee, Dr. Wright nominated Mr. Woody. Mrs. Allen seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.

President Spangler commented on "head hunters" and said the committee may use one if it chooses to do so, with this an appropriate expenditure from committee funds. Half of the campuses have had one, others have not.

President Spangler then introduced Rosalind Fuse-Hall, the new Secretary of the University. She serves as the President's representative to the trustees' meetings and works closely with the Board of Governors. Mrs. Fuse-Hall expressed her pleasure in attending this meeting and offered her help to the search committee.

With no further business to be transacted, Mr. Pine moved that the meeting be adjourned. Mrs. Allen seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously.