The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University met in regular session on December 2, 1998, in Room 510, H.F. Robinson Building. The meeting was called to order at 2:05 p.m. by Chairman Moore.

The following members of the Board were present: Mr. Crocker, Mr. Moore, Mr. Walker, Mr. Woody, Mr. Wiggins, Mr. Bissette, Mrs. Davis, Ms. Key, Mr. Haire, Mr. Morris.

The following members of the Board were absent: Mr. Jones, Mr. Apodaca, Mrs. Blankenship.

Others present included: Chancellor Bardo; Vice Chancellors Carter and Eldridge; Dr. Dowell, Mr. Reed, Dr. Dooley, and Ms. Cook, Assistants to the Chancellor; Dr. Kinnear, Chair of the Faculty; Mr. Duane Reid, President-Elect of the Alumni Association; Mr. Kucharksi, Legal Counsel; Mr. Travis, Athletic Director; Mr. Rowell, Director of Public Information; Dr. Kehrberg, Director of University Planning; Mr. Wooten, Associate Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs; Dr. Prochaska, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs; Ms. Knowles, Controller; and Ms. Welch, Assistant Secretary to the Board.

Mr. Woody moved that the minutes of the September 2, 1998 meeting be approved as amended. Mr. Crocker seconded the motion, and it was approved. Mr. Crocker moved that the minutes of the October 23, 1998 telephone conference meeting of the Executive Committee be approved as amended. Mr. Walker seconded the motion, and it was approved. Mr. Woody moved that the minutes of the November 5, 1998 meeting be approved. Mr. Crocker seconded the motion, and it was approved.

Mr. O. J. Morris, newly elected President of the Student Government Association, was sworn in by Ms. Welch.

Ms. Key moved that the Board go into closed session to establish or instruct the staff or agent concerning the negotiations of the amount of compensation or other terms of an employment contract and to consider the qualifications, competence, performance, condition of appointment of a public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee. Mr. Bissette seconded the motion, and it carried unanimously. Dr. Bardo asked that Mr. Kucharski stay for the closed session.

Ms. Key moved that the Board return to Open Session. Mr. Woody seconded, and it was approved unanimously.

Mr. Crocker moved that the actions as discussed in the closed session--one administrative appointment, one recommendation for professor emeritus status, one recommendation for adjunct faculty status, one recommendation for affiliate faculty status, and seventeen second-year re-appointments--be approved. Mr. Woody seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Mr. Crocker also moved that the agreement to employ Rodney Hennon, head baseball coach, on a two-year contract be approved. Mr. Haire seconded the motion. Mr. Moore asked Dr. Bardo to comment. Dr. Bardo stated that Mr. Hennon took over the baseball team as an inexperienced head coach. He has done a fine job. He needs employment stability to recruit; he encourages his student-athletes in academics. Mr. Crocker noted that the contract term is until May 31, 2000.

The motion was approved unanimously.

Mr. Crocker also moved that a two-year extension to the contract of Bill Bleil, the football coach, be approved. The extension would be through December 31, 2000. Mr. Haire seconded the motion. Mr. Moore asked Dr. Bardo to comment. Dr. Bardo stated that the University is trying to build a particular type of institution, which includes winning the right way. We are building a University that reflects the high standards that we are trying to work towards. He stated that both of these coaches are doing it right. The winning record is a product of these standards. The students are developing a sense of pride; we had triple the number of seniors. We are giving the students the kind of values that we want to reflect.

The motion was approved unanimously.

Mr. Moore explained that at the previous meeting the Board had expressed its desire to expand the potential of committees to achieve a quorum. The proposed changes to the by-laws would allow the Executive Committee to be counted in the quorum for committees so full committees would always be present. The amendments read as follows:

Amend Article V, Sec. I.D. by adding the following at the end of the paragraph: Ex-officio members shall not be counted in determining a quorum. If a quorum is not present at any meeting, however, an ex-officio member may be counted to reach a quorum.

Amend Article VI, Sec. I.A. by adding the following at the end of the paragraph: Each member of the Executive Committee shall be an ex-officio member of every other standing committee.

Mr. Woody moved that the proposed amendments to the by-laws be approved as presented. Mr. Walker seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Mr. Woody reported that the Board needs to consider for approval the increases in student fees for the academic year 99-00. He explained that there is one significant change. The University Center debt service fee will increase by $27.50 to service the debt on Phase II of the University Center. Mr. Woody moved that the Board approve the fee increases as presented. Mr. Haire seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. (FEE INCREASES ON FILE WITH MINUTES MATERIAL).

Mr. Woody reported that the Board needs to consider for approval three capital improvement projects. He asked Dr. Carter to explain these projects. Dr. Carter stated that the first project is a renovation in Buchanan Residence Hall to use for Honors College students and to refresh the appearance of Buchanan. The second project concerns improvements to the entryway to Dodson Cafeteria. The third project is to construct a regulation-size soccer pitch for women's soccer by next fall. All funds for these projects are self-liquidating; no appropriated funds are involved. Mr. Woody moved that the Board approve these three projects as presented. Mr. Crocker seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.

Mr. Crocker asked if the varsity tennis courts would go out of commission when UC-II is built. Dr. Carter explained that as presently conceived UC-II would go off the back of the building and not towards the tennis courts.

Ms. Key reported that the Board needs to consider for approval two nominees for honorary doctorate degrees. They are: Irwin Belk for the Doctor of Humanities and E. J. Whitmire(posthumously) for the Doctor of Education. It is recommended that both degrees be given at Spring Commencement. Ms. Key moved that the Board approve these recommendations as presented. Mr. Crocker seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. Mr. Crocker suggested that Mr. Charles Pine be involved in the presentation to Mr. Belk.

Mr. Haire reported that Student Affairs is still looking for a Housing Director. Mr. Haire welcomed Mr. Morris to the Board. He asked Mr. Travis for an update on women's soccer. Mr. Travis reported that they are taking applications for Head Women's Soccer Coach. There will be a full schedule in the fall of 1999.

Mr. Walker asked if Davidson will play the football schedule in the Southern Conference. Mr. Travis stated that they will not play since they do not fund a I-AA scholarship program. College of Charleston and UNC-Greensboro will also not play football. ETSU and VMI are seriously considering dropping football. The Southern Conference has opened discussions with some Virginia institutions to play football with them.

Dr. Bardo reported that our volleyball team were runners-up in the Southern Conference. The team beat Appalachian both times.

Mr. Bissette reported that the bids for the Southern Conference tournament are going out again, and Asheville has submitted another bid for the tournament. The Civic Center will make improvements that may expedite this process.

Mr. Moore asked Dr. Bardo for a progress report. Dr. Bardo reported that we have had two weeks of radio ads in the Piedmont area. Applications started off slow, but have picked up. We are running ahead of last year. We have over 200 sitting downstairs which have not been processed; we are receiving about 200 applications per week. We are acting on applications quickly and have admitted more this year than last. We are rejecting almost no one, and the applications are higher quality. The average SAT as of this morning for fall is 1011, and the average GPA is 3.4. The weakest area is transfers; we are working with community colleges to see what we can do.

Dr. Bardo further stated that on the retention side, the Retention Task Force is modifying the procedures to deal with accepted students. Each student who has paid a deposit gets a phone call from their advisor. This is a very one-on-one approach. Dr. Prochaska reported that the task Force is meeting every other week. They are working on filling the positions to put the advising system in place. The Enrollment manager ad is ready to go out. The State approved the Pappas contract to focus on retention and marketing.

Mr. Haire asked at what point do the students pay their money. Dr. Bardo stated that they will be encouraged after the first of the year to make a tuition deposit and a housing deposit. That new policy made the difference in knowing how many students were coming last year. Further discussion ensued about what we are doing when students make their first contact.

Mr. Moore reported that he represented the Board at the 20th anniversary of the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. Former President Bill Friday spoke at this event. He also attended the NSFRE awards at which Mr. Jim Cooper (nominated by WCU) won philanthropist of the year.

Mr. Moore passed out Dr. Bardo's e-mail response concerning Senator Dole's visit.

Mr. Moore reported that he attended the Board of Governors University Award Dinner which honored Dean Smith.

Dr. Bardo reported that the Appalachian game was wonderful. He mentioned the excellent coverage on Sports South.

Dr. Bardo mentioned the Advisory Budget Commission luncheon. He stated that the number of trustees in attendance got their attention. He received offers of support and requests for follow-up information from several of the legislators. We have asked for three bills to support the University's ability to economically develop: 1)permission to incubate businesses which can contribute to the economic base; 2)ability to help develop this University using public/private partnerships without running afoul of the Umstead Act; 3) high speed data transmission lines west of the Balsams.

The Bob Dole evening brought attention to the campus. The spring speakers will be Craig Venter, the world's leading specialist on human genetics and Art Caplan, the nation's best bioethicist on April 16.

He stated that it is an exciting time to be at WCU.

Dr. Bardo distributed a press release from Orkand Company, a major national data management company. They will employ about 200 people in Jackson County. The University was one of the reasons they located here.

Dr. Bardo reported that he has met with all the community college presidents from this region about developing a region-wide approach to data transmission, data sharing and program sharing.

(Mrs. Davis left at 4:10 p.m.)

Dr. Kinnear reported that Vice Chancellor Collings had spent time at the retreat talking about the proposal for a University governance system. As an update, he stated that the Senate will be acting on the proposal for Senate governance. It will be a wonderful opportunity to reinvent itself and make itself more effective than it already is. Dr. Kinnear wanted to give the Board a sense of direction of the curriculum process. Some new majors have been approved or are waiting to be approved by the General Administration. The Senate has approved a dance minor and a minor in film studies.

Dr. Kinnear has heard from a significant number of faculty this morning concerning Senator Dole. Most of the comments have been favorable. Many comments concerned how significant his visit was to the institution. He spent an hour and twenty minutes with students, and the faculty is grateful for that.

Mr. Reid reported that Mr. Messer is in Europe. He stated that he is excited about the membership on the rise. The Alumni Board participation is up; there was record attendance in September. Their tour of the outreach center was the highlight. It was an opportunity to see the academic side, not just the athletic side. He has heard feedback from alumni; they have asked that we do more of those kinds of things for Alumni Board meetings in the future. He is proud of the reputation that we share in the academic arena. He is also proud of our winning season and that we beat Appalachian. All of this has caused renewed alumni interest. The Association is committed to aligning themselves with the University's goals to make WCU the best it can be.

Mr. Reid reported that the vanity license tag sales are still not up to the required totals.

Mr. Reid reported on the Holiday Luncheon at the Grove Park Inn. There were 165 in attendance. Dr. Bruce Frazier and ten students performed and did a marvelous job.

Mr. Morris reported that the SGA now has a full staff. He stated that one of his main goals as President is to decrease student apathy and to increase involvement and awareness. A student newsletter went out two weeks ago. This newsletter will try to keep students aware of what is going on. The SGA will hold a retreat in January, and he will deliver a State of the Association address also in January.

Dr. Carter reported that the Supply Store Audit was clean. He stated that assets of the store are approximately $1.6 million; sales are approximately $1.6 million. He reported that the net income was reduced. The retail business is down, but it has been financially successful. He reported that by statute the profits of University bookstores may be used only for student financial aid. Mr. Crocker asked if all computers were used that were purchased . Dr. Carter reported that all of the units ordered have not been sold. NEC said they could be returned; they are now balking at that. We have 58 units left.

Mr. Wooten reported on the FY 98 Financial Report. He first introduced Jeanine Knowles, the controller. We received a clean audit opinion.

Mr. Moore, on the occasion of Mr. Haire's last Board meeting, thanked Mr. Haire for all his contributions. Mr. Haire stated that seventeen and a half years of his life have been dedicated to higher education and that they have been some of the best years of his life. He will continue to serve the people of the State of North Carolina and will raise the bar.

Mr. Moore wished Mr. Haire great success.

There being no further business to be transacted, the meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m.