SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Room 510, H.F. Robinson Building October 28, 2010
The Board of Trustees of Western Carolina University met in special session on October 28, 2010 in Room 510 of the H.F. Robinson Building. The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m. by Chairman Warren.
ATTENDANCE
The following members of the Board were present: Mr. Warren, Mr. Worley, Mrs. Williams,
Mrs. Wyche, Mr. Metcalf, Mrs. MacNeill, Mr. Broadwell, Mr. Kiser, Mr. Dorsey, Mr.
Little, Ms. Saunooke, and Mr. Forsyth.
The following members of the Board were absent: Dr. Siegel.
Others present: Mrs. Lynch, Chief of Staff; Mr. Frady, Staff Senate Chair; Mr. Studenc, Senior Director of News Services; Ms. Lemmon, Associate Vice President for Human Resources at UNC; Ms. Lochner, General Counsel; Mr. Metcalf, Vice Chancellor for Advancement and External Affairs; Ms. McNelis, Faculty Senate Chair; Dr. A. J. Grube; and Ms. Welch, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees.
ETHICS STATEMENT
Mr. Warren read the following: “As Chair of the Board of Trustees, it is my responsibility
to remind all members of the Board of their duty under the State Government Ethics
Act to avoid conflicts of interest and appearances of conflict of interest as required
by this Act. Each member has received the agenda and related information for this
Board of Trustees’ meeting. If any Board member knows of any conflict of interest
or appearance of conflict with respect to any matter coming before the Board of Trustees
at this meeting, the conflict or appearance of conflict should be identified at this
time.”
There were no conflicts disclosed.
NEW TRUSTEE ORIENTATION
Mr. Warren asked Mrs. MacNeill to report on the New Trustee Orientation Handbook.
She stated that the hope had been to have a mock orientation at this meeting but,
due to the Chancellor’s retirement, priorities for this meeting have changed. She
asked everyone to look at the book. She stated that the committee tried to be as
comprehensive as possible with this information. She stated that she hopes this handbook
will give new trustees the opportunity to feel more comfortable right out of the box.
She asked everyone to look at the handbook and determine “how would you feel about
this if you were a new trustee”. She asked that everyone send an email to her, to
Mr. Warren, or to Ms. Welch with any comments. She informed the Board that there
are a few things in the legal area that have changed. Ms. Mary Ann Lochner will inform
the Board of these changes. The Board will study the by-laws in the orientation next
year. Mrs. MacNeill thanked Ms. Welch for all of her help with this project. Mr.
Warren said he hopes this will become a part of our institution. This is a valuable
tool.
BRIEFING ON CHANCELLOR SEARCH PROCESS
Mr. Warren introduced Ms. Ann Lemmon, the Associate Vice President for Human Resources
at General Administration. She has helped with fourteen chancellor searches in the
system. She briefed the Board on the process for searches in the system. It is important
that Western’s brand comes through. The process is governed by The Code and The
Policy Manual.
CHANCELLOR’S HOUSE
Mr. Warren explained that he has asked Mrs. McNeill and Ms. Lynch to take the lead
in assessing the condition of the Chancellor’s House. This is a recruitment issue
for a new chancellor. The Board also needs to talk about outdated systems, etc. in
the house. Mr. Warren stated that we owe it to ourselves to think about long range
issues with the Chancellor’s House. The group discussed other campuses that have
homes for their chancellors. Ms. Lemmon stated that a chancellor is required to be
a resident of the campus. Mr. Warren stated that the group will not adjourn, but
will board the bus to continue the meeting at the Chancellor’s House for a tour.