Minutes of the Meeting of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees
February 5, 1999
Members Present: E. Thomas Crowson, Sanita Savage Frazier, Robert Gahagan, Anne K. Hall, Watts Huckabee, Mary Anne Lake, Mary Jean Ligon, Jane Shuler, Bob Thompson, Skip Tuttle, David White, Anthony DiGiorgio
Representatives: Tom Moore, Chair of Faculty Conference; Trevor Beauford, President
of the Student Government Association
Members Absent: None
Staff Present: Kathryn Holten, Secretary to the Board
Call to Order
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, February 5, 1999, in the Dunlap-Roddey Room, Johnson
Hall, on the Winthrop campus. David White, Chair of the Board called the meeting
to order at 1:00pm.
Guests included media representatives, faculty, staff and students.
Executive Session was not held.
Approval of Board Minutes of November 6, 1998
Mr. White called for a motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes; Mr. Bob
Thompson moved, seconded by Dr. Skip Tuttle, to adopt the minutes as presented. The
minutes were approved unanimously.
Report of the Executive Committee
Materials were distributed in the Board packets in lieu of a formal report of the
Executive Committee.
Report of the Academic Affairs Committee
A. Resolution to Offer the Master of Education in Middle Level Education
Mr. Thompson offered the resolution in the form of a motion from the committee
and it
passed unanimously.
B. Resolution to Adopt Post-Tenure Review Policies and Procedures for Winthrop University
Mr. Thompson commended the post-tenure review process, noting the cooperation
of all
parties involved in the process — Deans, Academic Council, Faculty Conference,
the
President and the Academic Affairs Committee. There was also a brief discussion
on the
role of student evaluations and how they can be used to strengthen the process.
Dr. DiGiorgio commented that Winthrop University was one of only eighteen higher
education institutions in the country chosen to participate in a study to assess
and evaluate
the model.
Mr. Thompson offered the resolution in the form of a motion from the committee
and it
passed unanimously.
Mr. Thompson noted that in the major in Sociology with an emphasis on Criminology,
majors are up 60%. It has been discovered that the many law enforcement agencies
in the region have continuing education requirements for their officers. Winthrop
has begun dialogue with the local law enforcement agencies to offer some of those
courses at Winthrop at no additional cost to the university.
Mr. Thompson concluded his report with the following updates: the SACS self-study
has begun, with the ambitious goal of achieving 100% compliance with all criteria,
a feat never before achieved by any institution; searches for the positions of Dean
of the College of Education and Dean of Library Services are underway; a task force
on student retention has been established; the strategic plan is ready to go before
the Faculty Conference; the Faculty Manual is ready for legal review; the STEP and LEAP programs are in the process of being
combined.
Report of the Finance Committee
Dr. Tuttle reported that the University was in good financial condition, at this time.
He commented that Winthrop salaries are not competitive with the private sector, which
has an impact on Winthrop employees. Dr. Tuttle noted that Winthrop is largely in
compliance at this time to address the Y2K problem, and should be in full compliance
well before the deadline.
Dr. Tuttle concluded his report with an update on the Life Sciences building and the
renovations to Sims, and by stating that Winthrop has a $26million deficit in the
area of deferred maintenance needs.
Report of the University Relations Committee
Mr. Bob Gahagan reported the Winthrop men's basketball team was having an outstanding
season thus far and urged all Trustees to attend the games. He also briefly outlined
the Capital Campaign timetable, and noted that admissions are up 15% over the previous
year.
Mr. Gahagan concluded his report with an update on Winthrop's web-based applications,
and informed the Board that Winthrop's web pages are now very competitive with other
institutions.
Reports from the Representatives to the Board
A. Report from the Chair of Faculty Conference
Dr. Tom Moore reported that he was optimistic that the Board and the President
were
ready to discuss problematic issues on campus and ready to move forward productively
on
said issues.
B. Report from the President of the Student Government Association
Mr. Trevor Beauford stressed to the Board that the students are, and should
remain, the
center of the Board's attention.
Report from the President
Dr. DiGiorgio presented a brief legislative update.
Old Business
There was no old business.
New Business
Mr. White reported that Dr. Douglas Rucker, who had been appointed by a previous governor
and had already continued past his designated term, had submitted his resignation.
Adjournment
David White adjourned the meeting at 2:35 pm.
