The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University met in regular session on June 4, 1997, in Room 510, H.F. Robinson Building. The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Chairman Kenneth F. Wilson.

ATTENDANCE

The following members of the Board were present: Mr. Woody, Mr. Moore, Mr. Bissette, Mr. Haire, Mrs. Blankenship, Mrs. Davis, Mr. Jones, Mr. Monroe, Mr. Mckee, Mr. Pine, Mr. Haire, and Mr. Wilson.

Others present included Chancellor Bardo; Vice Chancellors Carter, Eldridge, Collings, and Jacobs; Dr. Dowell, Mr. Ramsey, Dr. Dooley, Mr. Reed, and Ms. Cook, Assistants to the Chancellor; Dr. Kinnear, Chair of the Faculty; Mr. Messer, President of the Alumni Association; Mr. Kucharski, Legal Counsel; Mr. Travis, Director of Athletics; Dr. Kehrberg, Director of University Planning; Mr. Rowell, Acting Director of Public Information; Mr. Brock, former SGA President; Dr. Prochaska, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; and Ms. Welch, Assistant Secretary to the Board.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Bissette moved that the minutes of the March 4, 1997 meeting be approved. Mr. Jones seconded the motion, and it was approved.

SWEARING-IN OF NEW BOARD MEMBER

Mr. Joe Monroe, new Student Government Association President, was sworn in by Ms. Welch.

REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE

Mr. Moore explained that the Board of Governors has decided that each Board of Trustees have an audit committee to review external audits and to advise the Chancellor and the Board on fiscal matters. Mr. Moore moved that the Administration and Finance committee be assigned this function and recommended that the language in Attachment D-1 be added to the by-laws, deleting the word "additionally". The amendment would be to Article VI, Section II A.4, new "c" and would read as follows:

The Administration and Finance Committee shall serve as the Audit Committee of the Board of Trustees. In this capacity, the Committee shall review external audits of the University and advise the Chancellor and the Board on matters relating to the fiscal integrity of the institution.

Mr. Woody seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Mr. Moore then explained that the current campus telephone system is 20 years old and has reached its capacity. General Telephone Company has made a proposal for a $2 million, 7 year tax-exempt municipal lease. This proposal has been sent to the State, but approval has not been given yet. The Committee would like to go ahead and act on this purchase, hoping approval comes from the State.

Mr. Moore moved that the purchase of a telephone system be approved at a competitive rate. Mr. Pine seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously. (TELEPHONE SYSTEM INFORMATION ON FILE WITH MINUTES MATERIAL).

Mr. Moore reminded the Board that it gave the Chancellor the authority to hire architects and engineers with costs under one-half million dollars. Mr. Moore reported that the Chancellor has used that authority to hire Shreiner Engineers of Charlotte for steam plant improvement.

REPORT OF THE ALUMNI, HONORS, AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Mr. Bissette reported that the Committee has been exploring Western resuming the practice of awarding honorary degrees. Several honorary degrees were awarded in the past in the 1950's. In 1960, the University stopped the practice. The Committee looked at 18 universities; 14 currently award honorary degrees.

The Committee reviewed a proposed policy and procedure for awarding honorary degrees. Two proposals were reviewed, and the committee is recommending the second choice(ATTACHMENT E-3) after the word "OR". Mr. Bissette pointed out some provisions of the proposed policy that specify who is eligible for the honorary degrees. The committee felt that one or two honorary degrees a year would be enough. The Committee also recommends that the Commencement speaker not be eligible in the year that she or he delivers the address.

Mr. Bissette moved that the proposed policies and procedures for awarding honorary degrees at Western Carolina University be adopted as found on Attachment E-3, the second choice after the word"OR". Mr. Haire seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Bissette explained that more specific procedures will be presented in September.

REPORT OF THE STUDENT AND ATHLETIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

Mrs. Davis welcomed Mr. Monroe to the Committee and asked Dr. Prochaska to explain the NCAA Gender Equity and Minority Equity Plan.

Dr. Prochaska explained that the SACS and NCAA self-study reviews ended successfully with academic programs being re-accredited and the athletic program being certified. One piece of unfinished business which was a part of the certification process was a plan for promoting gender and minority equity. The documents were submitted to the NCAA in October and were approved. The plans now need to be adopted formally. Dr. Prochaska explained that an open forum was held on campus and that faculty, staff, and students had reviewed the plans. No suggestions for improvements were made in the University-wide review. The Chancellor accepted the plan and has now forwarded them to the Board for approval.

Mrs. Davis moved that the NCAA Gender Equity Plan and Minority Equity Plan be approved as submitted. Mr. Haire seconded the motion and thanked Dr. Prochaska for his hard work. The motion was carried unanimously.

Mrs. Davis asked Dr. Jacobs to report on Student Development's progress. Dr. Jacobs reported that the SGA election has been clear with no controversy and welcomed Mr. Monroe. She stated that Mr. Monroe is involved heavily in campus activities.

Mrs. Davis asked Mr. Travis to update the Board on the Athletic Department. Mr. Travis reported on the new women's basketball coach, Maria Fantanarosa, and her two new assistants. He also reported on the new cheerleading coach, Charity Irvin, a former professional cheerleader. The cheerleading squad next year will be all female. The search for a women's volleyball coach is almost completed. The baseball team went to the NCAA baseball tournament and did well. Mr. Wilson asked why there were no male cheerleaders, and Mr. Travis informed him that no males tried out.

COMMENTS FROM CHAIRMAN WILSON

Mr. Wilson said that he wanted to take this opportunity to comment on his last two years as Chairman and his last eight as a Board member. He said that serving has indeed been a pleasure. He read a personal letter that expressed his feelings about the past eight years.

COMMENTS FROM CHANCELLOR BARDO

Dr. Bardo welcomed Dr. Eldridge. Her role as Vice Chancellor for Advancement and External Affairs is a very important one. One of the first projects that Claire will face is to try to build the west stands of the football field. Dr. Bardo reported that many alumni and others feel it is an incomplete edifice. A mini-campaign of $1 million will be held to raise this money.

Dr. Bardo stated that it has been a great end of year. Dr. Kinnear has completed his first year as chair of the faculty and has made a real difference. Dr. Bardo thanked Dr. Kinnear for his work on governance and values clarification.

Dr. Bardo reported on a tremendous visit from the new President of the System, Molly Broad. The word back from Chapel Hill is that she likes the direction of this University.

He stated that a third professorship has been received from Mr. Spangler and named for Jay Robinson. It will be a rotating professorship in the area of technology applied to teaching and learning, for one year at a time.

The Endowment continues to grow. It is right now at approximately $15 million. The Catamount Club is doing great with over 2,400 members. The Phone-A-Thon was very successful. Dr. Bardo reported that June 21 is the Catamount Club auction at Ericsson stadium. There are numerous items for the auction.

Dr. Bardo reported on the progress of the Fine Arts Center. The building has been eliminated from the House budget. If we don't get the money this year,we will go back next year.

Dr. Bardo announced that Dr. Hickey has resigned as Graduate Dean. We will be looking for a candidate who understands the mission of AASCU institutions, with off and on-campus graduate programs. We are re-billing this University as "Asheville's graduate university."

Dr. Bardo explained that legislatively-mandated program reviews are going on right now.

The enrollment for Fall--the number of accepted students has increased by over 300. The number of campus visits has increased by 50%. We are up slightly in enrollment compared to last year. We will have a large freshman class, 1250-1500. Academic suspensions were for well over 5% of the student body. The faculty is definitely responding to raising the bar.

Dr. Bardo stated that we have about 120 scholarship students with a 1200 SAT average. Three national merit scholars are registered and six valedictorians.

He reported that the women's indoor track and outdoor track teams won their championships and finished fourth in the Pan Relay nationally.

Dr. Bardo stated that the search for the new Vice Chancellor for Student Development in proceeding. We hope to name someone in September. A search firm will help us complete this search. Dr. Jacobs will continue on in the interim role until the search is complete.

He stated that there were two issues that he wanted the Board to know about. We have been pushing for support services that help our students (shopping, places to socialize, eat, etc). Since not much has been done, we will need to deal with the possibilities of BYOB parties on campus.

President Molly Broad suggested requiring all students who enter to document that they have personal access to a computer. Dr. Bardo stated that the Board will need to deal with this issue in the future.

Mr. Haire said that he would like to mention the 1400 hours of volunteer time given by students. He just wanted to mention that this shows the caliber of our student body.

REPORT FROM THE CHAIR OF THE FACULTY

Dr. Kinnear reported that a considerable amount of time was spent by faculty offering input to the leadership statement committee and the selection of President Broad. There was considerable information gathering about post-tenure review.

The Honors College was unanimously supported by the Faculty Senate. A significant day in the Senate came when support of the resolution on community behaviors was offered. This resolution supports work by Student Development, the Chancellor, and other administration around community behaviors. The resolution acknowledged the importance of faculty modeling appropriate behaviors.

Dr. Kinnear reported that a program was created for awarding of scholarships. Faculty support is campus wide for new programs. Faculty advisement was addressed. Guidelines for the scheduling of classes were developed. A great deal of time was spent on the Mission Statement. The Senate supported and approved this statement.

Mr. Wilson asked about class schedules. Dr. Kinnear stated that the Senate will look into scheduling classes across five days and across more hours.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Mr. Wilson introduced Mr. Messer, the new president of the Alumni Association. He stated what an exciting time it is to be a student here. This past week new officers were elected and new members elected to the Alumni board. He thanked Phil Walker for his outstanding work and also Dave Fowler. He thanked Dr. Bardo for his commitment.

Mr. Messer stated that it is paramount that the Alumni Board reach out to young alumni. We need to keep the connection strong right after they graduate. He reported that the new President- Elect is Duane Reid. The pilot stages of the mentoring program are complete. Twelve students and eleven alumni are involved in the program at this time. The program will find its appropriate place within the University.

Mr. Messer reported that the capital campaign is going well. Several thousand dollars have been raised thus far. He is asking Board members to be a part of this campaign.

The Manteo trip will occur this fall. The WCU ferry will be commissioned on the weekend of September 6.

REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION

Mr. Monroe introduced himself and told the Board a little bit about himself. His goals for this year include bringing the prestige back to SGA. SGA has already decreased the number of senators to make it more competitive. He wants SGA to be the main organization that encourages school spirit and promotes anything positive. He wants SGA to be leaders in everything. They have already worked on the governance process to have a more defined system.

Another goal is to become a strong voice in the Association of Student Governments in the UNC system. By the end of the year, hopefully, we will have representatives on the ASG executive board. He wants to establish good rapport with other campus entities. He wants to encourage future leaders.

MISSION STATEMENT

Dr. Bardo explained that at the beginning of the last academic year, a thorough review of the mission statement was begun. He asked Dr. Kehrberg to head this process. We have adopted the Shirley/NACUBO model of strategic planning. Additionally, SACS requires a review of the mission statement every five years. There was a broad campus-based analysis of the mission statement. When this analysis was complete, the Faculty Senate approved the mission statement. Dr. Bardo now is asking the Board to approve for transmittal to the Board of Governors for its approval as WCU's official mission statement.

This statement is different from the previous statement in several ways: 1)it clarifies what the University is about; 2)it articulates a mission (teaching and learning); 3)it commits to a set of aspirations which define where the University intends to go. Dr. Bardo explained that this statement did evolve from the campus community.

Mr. Moore moved the Board adopt the Western Carolina University Mission Statement as presented. Mr. Pine seconded the motion, and it was carried unanimously.(MISSION STATEMENT ON FILE WITH MINUTES MATERIAL).

CLOSED SESSION  Open Meeting Act

Mr. Moore moved that the Board go into closed session to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, condition of appointment of a public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee. Mr. Pine seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Dr. Bardo asked that Dr. Collings stay for the closed session.

RETURN TO OPEN SESSION

Mr. Moore moved that the Board return to Open Session. Mr. Woody seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously.

REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

Mr. Pine moved that the actions as discussed in the closed session--three administrative appointments, ten faculty appointments, one recommendation for faculty affiliate status, one recommendation for tenure, one recommendation for professor emeritus status, one recommendation for first year probationary terminal notice, five recommendations for reappointment with terminal notice, and the Head Women's Basketball Coach Maria Fantanarosa's contract--be approved. Mr. Haire seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business to be transacted, the meeting was adjourned at 4:00 p.m.