REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Room 510, H.F. Robinson Building March 5, 2003
The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University met in regular session on March 5, 2003, in Room 510, H.F. Robinson Building. The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by Chairman Crocker.
ATTENDANCE
The following members of the Board were present: Mr. Crocker, Mrs. Burda, Mr. Walker,
Mr. Jones, Mr. Phillips, Mrs. Hyde, Mr. Plexico, Mr. Carlisle, Mrs. MacNeill, Mr.
Bissette, Mr. Story, and Mr. Davis.
The following members of the Board were absent: Mr. Beddingfield.
Others present included: Chancellor Bardo; Vice Chancellors Wooten, Collings, Caruso, and Metcalf; Ms. Lynch, Dr. Grube, and Dr. Carter, Assistants to the Chancellor; Dr. Smith, Chair of the Faculty; Dr. Franke, Chief Information Officer; Mr. Rowell, Director of Public Information; Mr. Kucharski, Legal Counsel; Mr. Stiles, Chair of the Staff Forum; Mrs. Dillard, Chair of the University Advisory Council; Ms. Leatherwood, President of the Alumni Association; Dr. Kehrberg, Dean of Applied Sciences; Mrs. Newman, Associate Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance; Ms. Beck, Director of Health Services; and Ms. Welch, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees.
SWEARING-IN OF NEW BOARD MEMBER
Mrs. Joan MacNeill, newly appointed member of the Board, was sworn in by Ms. Welch.
Mrs. MacNeill was appointed to fill Mr. Tom Apodaca’s unexpired term. Mr. Apodaca
was elected to the North Carolina Senate.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Mr. Crocker stated that a new Secretary needs to be elected to fill Mr. Apodaca’s
vacant position. Mrs. Burda nominated Mr. Bissette as Secretary to the Board of Trustees;
Mrs. Hyde seconded the motion. Mr. Jones moved to close the nominations and elect
Mr. Bissette by acclimation. Mr. Carlisle seconded the motion, and it was approved
unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Mr. Crocker explained that due to the unusual circumstances of the last Board meeting
that the Executive Committee needed to approve the minutes of that meeting. The actions
taken at that meeting then needed to be ratified by the full Board. Mr. Walker moved
that the minutes of the December 6, 2002 regular meeting be approved as mailed. Mr.
Jones seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously by the Executive Committee.
Mr. Carlisle then moved that the actions of the Executive Committee taken at the meeting
of December 6, 2002 and reported to the Board of Trustees in the form of minutes at
Tab B of today’s agenda, be hereby ratified by the Board and adopted as its own actions.
Mr. Bissette seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously.
Mr. Walker moved that the minutes of the January 16, 2003 and the February 5, 2003 Executive Committee meetings be approved as mailed. Mr. Jones seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously
CLOSED SESSION
Mr. Jones 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. Walker seconded the motion, and it
was approved unanimously. Dr. Bardo asked that Dr. Collings and Mr. Metcalf stay
for the closed session.
RETURN TO OPEN SESSION
Mr. Walker moved that the Board return to open session. Mr. Jones seconded the motion,
and it was approved.
REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE
Mr. Jones moved that the actions as discussed in the closed session—nine administrative
appointments, eight faculty appointments, two staff appointments, one recommendation
for leave of absence, two recommendations for adjunct faculty status, 27 recommendations
for first-year reappointments, 38 recommendations for 3-5 year reappointments, eleven
recommendations for tenure, twenty recommendations for promotion, and a contract extension
for the Athletic Director—be approved. Mr. Story seconded the motion, and it was
approved.
Mr. Carlisle and Mr. Plexico left the meeting at 11:00 a.m.
REPORT OF THE ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE
Mr. Walker asked Mr. Wooten to discuss the WCU Financial Report. Mr. Wooten asked
Mrs. Newman to present this report. The State audit report is also complete. The
State Auditor did not have any material findings. Mrs. Newman did a short presentation
on these reports. Mr. Wooten stated that they will explain these reports further
at the June meeting. Mr. Wooten commended Mrs. Newman and her staff and staff for
this report. This has been a major effort. The State auditor’s office was well pleased.
Mr. Wooten reported that the Bookstore Audit had no findings.
Mr. Walker stated that Dr. Franke will be working through the Administration and Finance Committee for any Information Technology issues.
Mr. Walker asked Mr. Wooten to discuss the process for selecting architects for the Graham Health Center renovation. Mr. Wooten explained that a request for architectural services related to the renovation of the Graham Health Center was advertised and 18 firms submitted proposals. This number was reduced to a short list of three firms and at the direction of the A&F committee, the staff was asked to conduct interviews. This project has a total budget of approximately $1.8 million and will renovate the existing space into a service learning center. The renovated building will contain residential space for 25 to 30 students, staff offices and classrooms. Interviews were conducted on February 28th and a prioritized list of designers was submitted to the A&F committee.
Mr. Walker moved that the Board approve the following prioritized list of designers for the renovation of the Graham Health Center: Bowers, Ellis & Watson; Matthews Design; and PBC&L. Mrs. Burda seconded the motion. Mr. Bissette requested that he abstain from voting since he represents one of the firms on the list. The motion was approved unanimously, with one abstention.
REPORT OF THE ALUMNI, HONORS, AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Mr. Bissette reported that various members of the staff had presented good reports
to the committee. There is much activity going on in this area. There were no action
items.
REPORT OF THE STUDENT AND ATHLETIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Mr. Story presented Mr. Compher’s report. He stated that the new logo has been finished
and athletics is very proud of the logo. We are doing a great job of complying with
Title IX. The women’s basketball team is doing well.
Mr. Story asked Dr. Caruso to give his report. Dr. Caruso stated that Tim Jacobs is retiring. The new person will manage the UC expansion and the Old Student Union. Mr. Story stated that our child care center received a four-star rating. We did not receive a five-star rating because our staff is not experienced enough yet.
Mr. Story asked Mr. Kucharski to explain the resolution on HIPAA that is presented for approval. We need to document the fact that the University at the highest levels is aware of this law. HIPAA is a federal law that brings the medical profession to the electronic age. Western has several health care delivery points, and our Speech and Hearing Center engages in electronic activity. Therefore, we are subject to this law. Mr. Story moved that the Board pass the Resolution Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996(“HIPAA”). Mrs. Hyde seconded the motion, and it was approved unanimously. (HIPAA RESOLUTION IN TAB G).
Mr. Story stated that the proposal for an expanded 24-hour visitation policy was being presented to the Board again. He stated that the policy has been successful in Scott and Reynolds. The proposal would expand this visitation to Robertson and Madison. Mr. Story moved that the Board approve the expanded 24-hour visitation policy. Mrs. Burda seconded the motion. The motion was approved with two opposing votes. (EXPANDED POLICY ON FILE WITH MINUTES MATERIALS)
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR OF THE FACULTY SENATE
Dr. Smith stated that the Senate has been working on issues in response to Dr. Bataille’s
letter. It has been a very productive year so far. A teaching evaluation system
is being worked on. They have looked at major, minor, and program requirements.
The re-structuring of the Senate is still ongoing. They will be revising the faculty
handbook. He stated that engagement is a process. It will take some time for faculty
to get on board but they will eventually. Mr. Wooten will explain the funding stream
at the next Senate meeting.
STRATEGIC VISION STATEMENT
Dr. Bardo stated that the proposed statement is an update of our vision statement
with some modest changes. Discussion of the revised statement followed. Dr. Bardo
asked Dr. Kehrberg to facilitate this discussion. Dr. Kehrberg stated that we have
to review our statement every few years for SACS accreditation, and we had to revise
our statement to add doctoral work. Some new goals have also been added. Mr. Walker
moved that the Board approve the Strategic Vision Statement as presented. Mrs. MacNeill
seconded the motion, and it was approved. (VISION STATEMENT IN TAB H)
COMMENTS FROM CHAIRMAN CROCKER
Mr. Crocker stated that he wanted to stress the need for commitment by this Board
to serve Western. That includes making every effort to be present at the Board meetings.
He also thanked all the members of the Board who have contacted people in their spheres
of influence about the engineering program to better Western.
Mr. Crocker read a note from Dr. Judy Dowell expressing her appreciation for the Trustees’ Award. (NOTE ON FILE WITH MINUTES MATERIALS)
PROGRESS REPORT ON ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION AND COMMENTS FROM CHANCELLOR BARDO
Dr. Bardo stated that enrollment is running about 90 persons ahead with freshman deposits.
It looks like the freshman class may be between 1300 and 1350. We broke 4,000 applications
today. Dr. Bardo did a Powerpoint presentation that he has been presenting to legislators.
REPORT FROM THE CHAIR OF THE STAFF FORUM
Mr. Stiles stated that the Forum has established a scholarship and is building the
framework for awarding the scholarship. Plans for a service project are being worked
on. A committee has been formed to discuss the implementation of the adopt-a-student
program. Work on staff mentoring is coming along.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
Ms. Leatherwood reported that the Alumni Finder has just located 8,000 names and addresses
of alumni that had been lost. Fundraising efforts are growing. The Alumni Association
will ask for a 100% commitment in giving from the Alumni Board. License plate sales
are up to 532. The statewide Council of Alumni Presidents will be meeting on our campus
in June.
REPORT FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
Mr. Crocker stated that Mr. Davis had not been recognized in the Student and Athletic
Committee report. Mr. Davis stated that SGA is getting ready for the Service North
Carolina project.
Dr. Bardo reported on the death of a former trustee, Charles Hipps, who recently died unexpectedly. Mr. Hipps served on the Board from 1981-1982.
Mr. Crocker mentioned the possibility of changing the dates of the June Board meeting to coincide with the Artsfest. Communication about this possible change will be sent to the Board members.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:30 p.m.