November 4, 2011
Gold Room, DiGiorgio Campus Center
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
Members present: Dalton Floyd (Chair), Frances Davenport, Janet Smalley, Jane LaRoche, Susan Smith-Rex,
Karl Folkens, Kathy Bigham, Bob Thompson, Tim Hopkins, Don Long, Glenn McCall, Anthony
J. DiGiorgio (ex officio).
Members absent: Donna Tinsley-Holley, Tim Sease, Scott Talley
Representatives present: Kambrell Garvin, Student Representative; Cliff Calloway, Faculty Representative
Representatives absent: None.
Others present: Faculty and staff of Winthrop University, Kaitlyn Shelhorne of the Johnsonian.
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, November 4, 2011 on the campus of Winthrop University,
Rock Hill, SC.
Call to Order
Chair Floyd called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. After a welcome to the first Board meeting of the 2011-12 academic year, he introduced to the committee a visiting scholar from Shanghai Normal University, Chen ˜Caddie' Xiaohong, who is doing a 3 week residency with Student Life. Caddie is the Vice Director of Student Affairs at her university in China.
Approval of Board Minutes of June 11-12, 2010
Bob Thompson moved, with a second from Glenn McCall, to approve the minutes from the meeting of June 9-10 and August 22, 2011. The minutes were approved unanimously as presented.
Report of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Board
Chair Floyd reported that the Executive Committee had met on campus on October 13,
2011. Several matters were reviewed and discussed. The materials from the meeting
have been forwarded to each of members of the Board.
Chair Floyd then asked that the Board consider a number of resolutions.
a. The first resolution concerned the annual vision of distinction document. As
this resolution is from the Executive Committee, a second is not required. After a
short discussion noting the document continues to serve the university as a process
and a product of strategic planning and how the Vision was disseminated electronically
this year, the Resolution to Endorse the Vision of Distinction 2011-12 was passed
unanimously.
b. The second resolution to endorse the Agency Head Objectives 2011-12 was put
forth. Each year the Executive Committee sets forth a set of goals and objectives
by which to evaluate the President's performance. While the format and focus areas
of these goals are set by the South Carolina Agency Head Salary Commission, the specific
parameters and criteria of those goals are at the discretion of the Trustees. After
a short discussion the resolution was passed unanimously.
Report of the Committee on Academic Affairs
Chair Smalley began her report with the good news that the Institutional Response
to the Southern Association of Schools and Colleges Visiting Committee Report was
submitted on September 9, 2011. We should expect a final ruling on our reaccreditation
status in January 2012. All feedback indicates the reaccreditation will be successful.
The Pettus Archives have moved to their new home on Cherry Road in the former Bookworm
building. The process of moving over six million items was time and labor intensive
and the staff is happy to be finished; we send our regards for the good work they
did with the move.
The Winthrop Poll has been a great success. The September 2011 poll appeared in over
150 media outlets and has often been noted for its insight into the upcoming presidential
primaries.
The staff of University College and the AAAS (Accreditation, Accountability, and Academic
Services) Office have been busy creating the new mid-semester grade reporting system.
Gathering mid-semester grades will allow early intervention for students who may need
extra help thereby increasing our retention rates.
We send our congratulations to the Department of Fine Arts and Winthrop University
Galleries for being named "Best Cultural Institution" by Creative Loafing Charlotte.
The Charlotte, N.C., weekly newsmagazine chose the department, chaired by Tom Stanley,
and the Galleries, directed by Karen Derksen, for their "strong programs, leadership
and, moreover, a constant involvement in the community that appears natural to the
way they work."
Also, good news from the College of Education as they have completed their National
Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) review. The visiting team
concluded their visit on October 11, 2011 with very positive reviews of our programs.
We expect to hear a positive result in the near future.
Finally, the College of Business reported the Accreditation Board for Engineering
and Technology (ABET) visited our BS in Computer Science program in September. As
a result, its accreditation is extended through 2013.
Report of the Committee on Finance
Chair Folkens began his report by summarizing the presentation of the financial statement
submitted by the external audit firm of Cline, Brandt and Kochenower. The University
received an unqualified opinion with no control deficiencies or material weaknesses
reported. Mr. Kochenower reviewed with the committee the Statement of Auditing Standards
(SAS) letter in which the Auditor provides to the Audit Committee certain required
information related to the Audit. There was a full discussion on the audit process
and the responsibilities of all parties including the Board's Audit Committee, University
Management, and the Audit firm.
Copies of the 2011-12 Allocation Status Report (ASR) reflecting updates as of October
2011 were provided to the committee members. The updated ASR reflected the current
year budget plan.
Finally, Chair Folkens reviewed the 2011-2012 goals and objectives in the Division
of Finance and Business.
Report of the Committee on Student Life
Chair Bigham began her report by summarizing the changes in the Department of Athletics.
Joanna Harris began work in mid-September as the new director of academic student
services. She holds certification from the National Association of Academic Advisors
for Athletics. Additionally, Athletics has launched a new online photo store with
2,762 total photos to view and available for purchase on the "winthropeagles.com"
web site.
Updates to the Athletic Facilities include new seating, new dugouts, team room, visitors'
locker room, athletic training room, umpires locker room for softball; tennis improvements
include repairing cracked courts and resurfacing all courts; the coliseum arena floor
was refinished with a new court design; locker rooms for volleyball, women's soccer,
and men's basketball have been refurbished and a new locker room established for women's
lacrosse.
Chair Bigham continued her report by focusing on updates from the Division of Student
Life. Since it's relocation to Winthrop, the SC Campus Compact now has 16 member institutions
of higher education and the Board is chaired by President DiGiorgio. New members since
headquarters became WU include USC-Upstate and Greenville Technical College. Last
year our member institutions reported 36,000 campus volunteers who contributed 223,518
hours of service to their respective communities over $1.6 million in service (calculated
at minimum wage) to South Carolina.
The committee was introduced to William (Bill) Cabaniss, the new Director of Center
for Student Wellness. Bill came to Winthrop after the successful restructuring of
the Department of Center for Student Wellness that allowed the hiring of a full time
manager to oversee this department and its increasing administrative demands.
The committee also received a report from Carrie Morphis, Coordinator of Victim Services,
who gave us an update on efforts to implement campus-wide education and training on
issues related to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.
Report on the Committee on Institutional Advancement and Development
Chair Thompson reported on the update on enrollment in the Fall 2011 class, and activities
for recruitment of the spring and fall 2012 classes. Highpoints of the report included
the total number of new freshmen enrolling was nearly 2.5% over last year's numbers;
quality indicators for both average GPA and SAT for the freshman class rose slightly
ahead of the 2010 freshman class; the number of transfer students is 359, up nearly
9% over 2010.
Overall, weekday visits, conducted daily at 9:30 AM and 2 PM, have increased more
than 27% over 2010. Interest remains high in the First Look Friday events, with over
80% of registered students attending. There are eight Transfer Tuesdays scheduled
for 2011-12
Chair Thompson then reported on the presentation to the committee by the staff of
University Relations regarding the shift to online-only delivery of the former paper
copy of the faculty/staff newsletter, FYI. Analytics revealed that readership had
significantly declined for the online version. Research on other schools' internal
communications pointed us to a new model for information delivery, and a focus group
of faculty/staff confirmed that a more robust and engaging daily one-stop source for
news would be appreciated. As a result, the new Winthrop Update was designed over
the summer and launched in September. The committee received a walk-through of the
new page.
The second half of the report was focused on updates as provided by the Division of
Development and Alumni Relations.
Major recent Alumni and/or Development events have included the Riley College of Education
Scholarship Luncheon; the D.B. Johnson Society Induction (donors who have made planned
giving arrangements) and the extremely successful kickoff of Distinction: The Campaign
for Winthrop.
The campaign has already raised over $33.5 million, surpassing the total of the previous
campaign in the "silent phase" alone. The overall goal is set at $50 million and the
public campaign is projected to run to the fall of 2014. At this point, the campaign
has received ten gifts of at least $1 million.
Additionally, we are above national fundraising trends for higher education. In 2009,
nationwide giving to higher education fell by nearly 12% but Winthrop was up 15% that
year. In 2010, national giving was up only 0.5% but Winthrop was up 35%.
Upcoming this spring will be the election to fill the one of the Alumni designated
seats on the Board of Trustees. Dr. Ann Dickert and Dr. Jimmy Williamson are vying
to fill the seat to be vacated by Frances Davenport. Election results are expected
by the end of March 2012.
The Winthrop Foundation Board has elected a new slate of officers for 2012. Gary Williams
will serve as President, Marc Bogan as Vice President, Gerry Schapiro as Treasurer,
and Ann Terry as Secretary. The Board has also elected new members including Sig Huitt,
Reggie Lloyd, Bennish Brown, Jan Ivey, Frank Marshall and Derick Close. Carlos Evans
is rotating off the Board after a lengthy and distinguished tenure.
On behalf of the Committee on Institutional Advancement and Development, we would
like to commend Carlos for his many years of faithful service to Winthrop.
Report of the Chair of Faculty Conference
Dr. Cliff Calloway began his report with thanks to the faculty for electing him to
this position and the honor of being able to represent them. He then reported on the
two faculty conference meetings held in August and October of this year. The primary
topic of discussion has been the continuation of the Roles and Responsibilities document
and how those new roles and responsibilities will be reflected in departmental policies
as well as institutional polices of tenure and promotion.
The faculty conference has recommended a new statement on Academic Freedom. That statement
has been accepted by President DiGiorgio and will now be added to our faculty handbook
and other materials as appropriate. The next meeting of the faculty conference is
scheduled for December 10, 2012.
Report of the Chair of the Council of Student Leaders
Kambrell Garvin reported on the latest activities of the Council of Student Leaders.
The group has allocated over $6,000 to various student groups to support their activities.
A new Dedication to Excellence has been created including a new section on the environment.
The Political Action Committee worked to register 100 new voters for the upcoming
primary election to be held in January. They have also been hard at work publicizing
their B3 safety campaignBe Alert; Be Aware; Be Smart.
Finally, they are looking forward to the upcoming Homecoming celebrations including
tailgating with the Alumni Association prior to the men's basketball game.
Report of the President
As has been the case for the last few years, it continues to be a difficult time to
predict governmental support for higher education both on the state and national levels.
We are awaiting the outcome of the Congressional "super-committee" that has been tasked
with reducing the federal budget by $1.2 trillion. There is some thought that part
of their proposal will involve ending tax breaks given citizens to offset higher education
expenses. Of course, this will directly impact many of our students, current and future.
As you know a study regarding faculty and staff salaries is being undertaken this
year to determine what effect these past few years of declining funding have had on
our competitiveness. While we may not immediately be in a position to improve salaries
if needed, to have the comparative data available will be allow us to be ready for
such time as the economy improves and there may be resources available for salary
improvements.
In the last few weeks, work has begun on the installation of mast arm traffic lights,
similar to those on North Cherry Road. We have worked with the City of Rock Hill to
ensure most of the work will be completed when students are away with the bulk of
the work being scheduled for the December-January semester break.
Likewise, work continues on the new Subway sandwich shop in Dinkins Hall with a planned
opening in the spring semester. Also underway and on schedule is the work to Phelps
Residence Hall.
The president concluded his report by congratulating the Women's Soccer team on their
co-championship of the regular season. He also congratulated scholar athletes Matt
Horn and Dejon Bivens on their Rhodes and Marshall Scholarship applications.
Executive Session
Kathy Bigham made a motion for the Board to move into Executive Session, Don Long seconded. The Board met in executive session for the purpose of the contractual and personnel matters. Bob Thompson moved the Board return to public session with no actions taken. The motion was seconded by Frances Davenport. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.
Old Business
None
New Business
None
Adjournment
Hearing no objections, Chair Floyd adjourned the meeting at 2:55 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board
