April 15, 2011
Gold Room, DiGiorgio Campus Center
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
Members present: Kathy Bigham (Chair), Frances Davenport, Janet Smalley, Jane LaRoche, Susan Smith-Rex,
Dalton Floyd, Don Long, Glenn McCall, Bob Thompson, Tim Hopkins, Karl Folkens, Donna
Tinsley-Holley, Anthony J. DiGiorgio (ex officio).
Members absent: Tim Sease, Scott Talley
Representatives present: Sydney Evans, Student Representative; Marsha Bollinger, Faculty Representative
Representatives absent: None.
Others present: Faculty and staff of Winthrop University, Kambrell Garvin, Kaitlyn Sapp, Jonathon
McFadden of The Johnsonian and Diane Gallagher of CN2.
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, April 15, 2011 on the campus of Winthrop University,
Rock Hill, SC.
Call to Order
Chair Bigham called the meeting to order at 1:01 p.m. and welcomed the Board and guests
to the meeting.
Approval of Board Minutes of February 18-20, 2011
Bob Thompson made a motion to approve the minutes from the Board retreat and meeting
of February 18 through the 20th. The motion seconded by Glenn McCall. The minutes
were approved unanimously as presented.
Report of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Board
Chair Bigham reported that the Executive Committee had met on campus on March 30,
2011. Several matters were reviewed and discussed. The materials from the meeting
have been forwarded to each of members of the Board.
As per Article III, Section B, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees shall appoint
from among the voting members of the Board the members of a Committee on Nominations,
subject to the consent of the Board of Trustees. Chair Bigham appointed Ms. Janet
Smalley as chair of the committee, with Mr. Tim Sease and Mr. Karl Folkens as the
remaining two members. The Board had no objections to the selection of these three
members. As noted in the bylaws, the committee will notify the full Board of their
slate of nominees for chair and vice-chair within 30 days of the next meeting.
Chair Bigham then asked that the Board consider a number of resolutions:
a. Resolution to endorse the Winthrop Capital Campaign. Glenn McCall moved, with a
second from Jane LaRoche, to endorse the upcoming public phase of a capital fundraising
campaign to begin Fall 2011 in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of the founding
of Winthrop. The resolution to endorse the $50 million campaign, Distinction: The
Campaign for Winthrop, was unanimously passed.
b. Resolution to approve International Exchange Agreements. Don Long moved, with a
second from Bob Thompson, to endorse the international exchange agreements with the
State of Rhineland-Palatinate/Rhineland Pfalz in Germany, the State of Thuringen in
Germany, the State of Brandenburg in Germany, the State of Queensland in Australia,
and the Province of Taiwan in Republic of China to encourage educational opportunities
as well as support Winthrop's Global Learning Initiative. The resolution passed unanimously.
Report of the Committee on Academic Affairs
Chair Smalley reported on the meeting held earlier in the day. The committee was briefed
on the status of the Readiness Winthrop academic initiatives including the planned
launch of a new department of interdisciplinary studies to be led by Marsha Bollinger;
the development of Sustainability Studies and a sustainability minor along with a
concentration in Sustainable Business to be offered by the College of Business Administration;
the five-year master's programs, such as Master of Social Work and Master of Business
Administration; music theater as a new concentration for theater majors; and continued
work on the development of undergraduate degrees to be completed in three years.
Other updates from the committee meeting included review of the Students in Free Enterprise
(SIFE) regional wins leading to attendance at the national competition; the restructuring
of the Masters of Education in literacy; the planned relocation of 8 million items
to be moved from the Dacus Archives to the former Bookworm building; the growth of
the summer session enrollments; a review of the West Forum schedule; and plans for
the Global Learning Initiative.
Report of the Committee on Finance
Chair Folkens brought forth a Resolution to Approve Master Lease for $2,000,000 for
Scientific Equipment, no second needed. The lease resulting from this resolution is
to be paid in full over the next seven years with existing revenue streams therefore
it will not lead to an increase in tuition or fees. The scientific equipment is for
the chemistry and biology departments to help in fulfilling the INBRE II grants for
biochemistry research. The resolution passed unanimously.
The second resolution brought forth was the Resolution on Auxiliary Student Fees,
again, no second needed. Based on increased food costs, the committee recommended
an increase in meal plans at 8.6 percent during the next school year from $1,225 to
$1,330. To help offset that, residential room rates will be held to an increase of
1.9 percent for traditional and suite-style residence hall rooms. The resolution passed
unanimously.
Chair Folkens reported the committee reviewed the 2010-2011 Allocation Status Report;
capital project initiatives for this academic year, the Macfeat Lab School tuition
for 2012; and the update on the Human Resources Banner implementation and changes
including the plan to move to paperless payroll on July 1, 2011.
Report of the Committee on Student Life
Chair Floyd reported on presentations and reports made at their committee meeting.
Tom Hickman presented a summary from the Division of Athletics including the status
of the hiring process of the new women's lacrosse coach; the Fall 2010 GPA reports
that matched an all time high with women's tennis as the highest women's team GPA
at 3.70 and men's tennis as the highest men's team GPA at 3.47. The NCAA Academic
Progress Rate (APR) report is satisfactory as no Winthrop teams are below the NCAA
benchmark; Campbell University has been added to the Big South Conference which will
necessitate adjusting of the schedule and number of conference matches.
Frank Ardaiolo briefed the committee on the active return of ROTC to campus. Previously,
Winthrop students who were interested in ROTC classes had to travel to University
of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) to take those classes. Now, ROTC faculty travel
from UNCC to Winthrop's campus to deliver the classes here. If interest in ROTC continues
to grow, we may develop a full program on campus. Also reported on was the Council
of Student Leaders amended Constitution and the new campus wide voting process that
led to the election of Kambrell Garvin as president and Kaitlyn Sapp as vice president;
the Violence Against Women Act federal grant recently received, and the introduction
of Kim Keel as the new Director of the SC Campus Compact.
Report of the Committee on Institutional Advancement and Development
Chair Thompson detailed the report of Kathryn Holten pertaining to an update on recruitment
and enrollment including the increased emphasis on recruiting Palmetto scholars, international
students, and out of state students. The committee enjoyed a presentation from University
Advancement and Admissions staff entitled "Twitter Me This: Using Social Media for
Publicity and Recruitment."
Brien Lewis briefed the committee on the latest updates pertaining to Alumni Relations
planned events, the latest in development gifts, and the plans for the public phase
of the new capital campaign. Chair Thompson praised the development staff under the
leadership of VP Brien Lewis for amassing $27 million raised in the private phase
of the campaign especially as the difficult economy has caused a downturn in philanthropy
across the board.
Report of the Chair of Faculty Conference
Dr. Marsha Bollinger reported on the recent meeting of the Faculty Conference by summarizing
the routine curricular actions taken to create new or modify existing programs. Although
the new governance structure of Faculty Conference has created a few bumps along the
way, on the whole, the system is working well. The report from the ad hoc Roles and
Rewards committee has created three separate documents from their original report.
It was necessary to do this because the recommendations could be construed as employment
conditions and therefore needed to be presented separately from the faculty governed
roles.
Dr. Bollinger praised the faculty for their continued collaboration and cooperation
with the recent Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) visit and the
development and implementation of the Global Learning Initiative.
Report of the Chair of the Council of Student Leaders
Ms. Sydney Evans began her report by thanking the Board for permitting her to work
with them over the past two years. As Ms. Evans stated, this will be her final Board
meeting as student representative. Mr. Kambrell Garvin, recently elected to the position
of president of the Council of Student Leaders, with 71% of the vote, will take office
in time for the June Board meeting.
Ms. Evans continued her report by updating the Board on the customer service survey
completed by the Council of Student Leaders as well as the revised Dedication to Excellence.
The dedication provides the foundation for individual student and group behavior and
is a way to affirm the values underlying the Winthrop Experience.
Report of the President
President DiGiorgio began his report by updating the Board on the status of the Readiness
Winthrop initiative. The work to date includes a cross-campus global learning emphasis,
new approaches to academic programs, development of options for quicker completion
of degrees and a more interdisciplinary approach across the academic departments.
The president reviewed strategies for not only increasing enrollment but for retaining
current students.
Realizing the planned changes will require investment and some of that investment
will come from continuing efficiency improvements as well as managing vacancy savings
by holding selected positions vacant until personnel needs of new programs are fully
determined.
The president next briefed the Board on the current status of the budget and projected
state appropriations for academic year 2011-12. At the federal level we do expect
the funding for the Academic Success Center to be cut for next year. Originally funded
by a FIPSE grant (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) Winthrop is
reviewing the cost of assuming the funding as the Center has met with great success
under the direction of Michelle Wolf and Gloria Jones. Pell grant funding seems to
be safe at the moment and we will continue to monitor it closely as a large number
of our students do receive Pell grants. At the state level, we expect to lose 6% of
our appropriations and staff are working to create a budget with this reduction in
mind.
In summary, the president thanked the faculty and staff for the extra efforts that
they have undertaken this past year in regard the SACS reaffirmation. Karen Jones
and Pat Graham were given special thanks for their leadership of the reaffirmation
process.
Old Business
None.
New Business
None
Adjournment
Hearing no objections, Chair Bigham adjourned the meeting at 2:03 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board
