Friday, February 6, 2015
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC
Members present: Kathy Bigham, Karl Folkens, Glenn McCall, Jane LaRoche, Susan Smith-Rex, Janet Smalley,
Tim Hopkins, Don Long, Tim Sease, Randy Imler, Donna Glenn Holley, Scott Middleton,
Ashlye Wilkerson (via teleconference), Scott Talley, Julie Fowler as substitute for
Molly Spearman, Debra Boyd (ex officio).
Members absent: None
Representatives present: Ian Deas, Student Representative; John Bird, Faculty Representative
Representatives absent: None
Others present: Anna Douglas, The Herald; members of Winthrop faculty and staff
The Board of Trustees met on Friday, February 6, 2015 on the campus of Winthrop University,
Rock Hill, SC.
Public Comment
There were no requests for public comment.
Call to Order
Chair Bigham called the meeting to order at 10:30 a.m. She notified the Board of Ms.
Molly Spearman, newly elected State Superintendent of Education's decision to remove
Dr. Cindy Van Buren as the Superintendent's designee to the Board. Ms. Spearman has
not yet named a replacement and has sent Dr. Julie Fowler as a substitute for today's
meeting.
Executive Session
Karl Folkens moved with a second from Randy Imler that the Board meet in executive
session for discussion related to proposed contractual arrangements with the presidential
search consultant and the receipt of legal advice pertaining to former and current
employees. The vote was unanimous. Kimberly Faust, Debra Boyd, John Bird, and Ian
Deas were invited to remain for the executive session. Tim Sease moved the Board end
executive session, Scott Talley seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously
by voice vote. No actions were taken in executive session.
Recess
Kathy Bigham recessed the Board at 12:05 with plans to resume at 1:00 p.m.
The Board resumed its meeting at 1:05 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Don Long moved to accept the minutes from the meeting of November 21, 2014. Glenn
McCall seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous in favor of the minutes as submitted.
Report of the Executive Committee and Board Chair
Chair Kathy Bigham reported on the status of the search for the 11th president of
Winthrop University. She then reviewed information that was discussed at the Executive
Committee meeting including the plans for York County Day. York County Day is a program
of the chambers of commerce of York County, including the York County Regional Chamber
along with the Greater Clover, Greater York, and Lake Wylie Chambers. Scheduled for
February 24, 2015, this event provides the York businesses an opportunity to meet
face-to-face with legislators from across the State. Jeff Perez, Senior Counsel to
the President for Public Affairs is this year's co-chair.
For the ninth year, Winthrop University has been recognized as an institution that
values civic engagement with its recent naming to the 2014 President's Higher Education
Community Service Honor Roll. The President's Higher Education Community Service Honor
Roll recognizes the nation's leading higher education institutions and their students,
faculty and staff for a notable commitment to bettering their communities through
service. The designation is one of the highest honors a college or university may
receive for its dedication to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.
A number of applications have been received and are currently being reviewed. The
position has been redesigned to be the chief operating officer for the Winthrop Alumni
Association and work closely with the executive board and the university's alumni,
coordinating communications, affinity group activities, class reunions and annual
events such as Homecoming and Reunion Weekend. The position will also have responsibility
of the Annual Fund, a key revenue source for student scholarships, the alumni association,
faculty awards and other university initiatives.
Three site visits for program accreditations have been completed in the fall semester
with one planned for the spring. Site visits linked to program reviews have been completed
for the B.A. in Psychology and the B.A. and B. S. in Mathematics. A site visit for
the ACEJMC (Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications)
review of the B. A. in Mass Communications and the B.S. in Integrated Marketing Communication
was completed in the fall. The AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business) site visit for the B.S. in Business Administration is planned for February
2015. Self-study preparations are underway for teacher certification/licensure programs
in the College of Education, College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Performing
Arts.
Supporting materials from the Executive Committee meeting have been included in this
meeting's supporting materials.
Report of the Committee on Academic Quality
Committee Chair Sue Smith-Rex spoke of the Committee's review of the changes to the
General Education program. The General Education Task Force, chaired by Gloria Jones,
defined General Education at Winthrop as building a broad knowledge base, developing
critical thinking skills, fostering innovation, and preparing students to become responsible,
informed, and effective citizens in a changing and complex world. The task force made
two major recommendations for departments to examine their programs of study in relationship
to general education, that majors and programs should follow the general education
principles to make changes in requirements and that the number of hours in general
education should be reduced. A task force to review the General Education Core will
be appointed later this spring.
The Second Annual Conference on Teaching and Learning held on January 31 was a great
success. Dr. Rex deferred the reporting of the conference to Dr. Bird as he plans
to speak of it in his report to the Board.
Report of the Committee on Compensation
Committee Chair Janet Smalley presented for consideration by the Board, the operating
guidelines for the Committee on Compensation. She reported the Executive Committee
reviewed the guidelines at their January 9 meeting and made a change in item #4 regarding
the ability of the Compensation Committee to recommend an increase in the president's
supplemental salary provided by the Winthrop Foundation was discussed. The suggestion
was made that the president's supplement should not be under the purview of the Compensation
Committee nor should it be an independent discussion with the Foundation. Rather,
it should be linked to the president's annual evaluation by the Executive Committee
as stated in the Board's bylaws. The motion before the Board reflects that change.
As no second was needed, Chair Bigham called for a vote. The motion passed unanimously.
Ms. Smalley continued her report by updating the Board on the competitive compensation
study. Upon receipt of the College and University Professional Association (CUPA)
survey results, the compensation study committee will include these data in the study.
Report of the Committee on Enrollment and Retention
Committee Chair Karl Folkens shared the current enrollment data showing credit hour
production to be up as compared to last year at this time. Freshman retention (fall
to spring) is 93.5% for fall 2013 freshmen and 92.4% for fall 2014 freshmen. Fall
2015 freshman applications and acceptances are higher than the comparable period for
the fall 2014 class.
As Mr. Folkens reported, the committee was given a list of activities the Admissions
team has planned for the spring. Activities include Admitted Student Receptions in
Rock Hill and five additional cities in South Carolina; Preview Day on February 28;
Saturday Visit on March 7; Transfer Tuesday (March 10 and April 14); and Worldwide
Winthrop Day on April 18. Mr. Folkens invited all the Trustees to participate in the
events as their schedules permit.
Report of the Committee on Finance
Committee Chair Glenn confirmed the Committee reviewed the University budget to date.
Due to a period of cold weather, the utility costs are expected to be up by $65,000
over last year's totals. Additionally, there are increased vacancy savings on the
FY2015 Year-to-Date Vacancy Management Budget to Actual as of December 31, 2014. One
reason for the increased amount is Debra Boyd was willing to undertake the position
of Acting President while keeping her position of Provost. Her willingness to do so
is saving the University a great deal of funds.
While summer school revenue remains unknown until later in the summer, we are optimistic
that there will be an increase in credit hour production as a result of the increase
in marketing of summer school.
Report of the Committee on Institutional Advancement and Development
Committee Chair Tim Hopkins reported on the Distinction Campaign's current total of
$50,911,369 and the committee discussion on plans to complete the campaign.
Mr. Hopkins also reported on the divisional assessment by Mr. Charles Witzleben, a
consultant with over 40 years of experience in the field of advancement. An immediate
result of his review has been the creation of Advancement Services to be headed by
Mr. Ryan Sheehan.
Finally, Mr. Hopkins reported on the status of the candidates for the position of
Executive Director of Alumni Relations, a position made available by the resignation
of Dr. Debbie Garrick. Interviews of the finalists are scheduled in the next few weeks
with a decision to be made by the end of February.
Report of the Committee on Student Life and Athletics
Committee Chair Scott Talley stated Athletic Director Tom Hickman began his report
with the usual update of student athlete grade point averages and team success rates.
Notable mentions were made including golfer Zach Seabolt's national ranking as #8
collegiate player; Krystyna Freda reaching the level of all-time leading goal scorer
in Big South women's soccer history during; women's basketball, women's tennis and
men's tennis each winning Big South Conference Championships in 2014 and advancing
to their NCAA tournaments; Dequesha McClanahan became the all-time leading scorer
and assist leader in Big South women's basketball history in 2014 and was named Player-of-the-Year.
Mr. Talley then summarized the report of Dr. Frank Ardaiolo including an update on
the status of the Director of the Center for Career Development and Internships. Upon
the resignation of the Director, Ms. Ellin McDonough, the Program Director for Service
Learning, has assumed responsibilities on an interim basis. Housing occupancy is currently
at 89% rate with 300 students. This year's Martin Luther King, Jr. day of service
included 225 students from Winthrop, Clinton College, and York Tech, contributing
a total 458 hours of service with our area's nonprofit agencies.
Report of the Chair of Faculty Conference and Faculty Representative to the Board
In his report to the Board, Dr. John Bird stated the main focus of the changes to
the General Education program continues to be expanding flexibility of the program
and enabling students to complete the program more efficiently and effectively. Every
department has had to make changes to their curriculum due to changes in the General
Education Program.
Dr. Bird concurred with Dr. Rex's earlier statement that the Second Annual Conference
on Teaching and Learning was successful. Dr. Tom Moore, Chancellor of University of
South Carolina Upstate was the keynote speaker. Papers were presented by faculty from
Winthrop, Clemson, Presbyterian, Tri-County Tech, and University of North Carolina
at Charlotte to an audience of 120. It was an energizing day and a most cost-effective
way to foster professional development for faculty.
Dr. Bird concluded his report by confirming the faculty continue to be interested
and supportive of the search for the 11th president and the competitive compensation
study and look forward to the successful conclusion of each.
Report from the President of the Council of Student Leaders (CSL) and Student Representative
to the Board
President Ian Deas reported on the various activities of the Council of Student Leaders.
The "Justice or Lack Thereof" program was well attended. The event focused on providing
important information to students and featured guest panelists Representative Tommy
Pope, Public Defender Harry Dest, Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood.
The second annual LIFT (Leadership Institute for First Timers) is being developed
and is aimed at getting freshmen involved in leadership roles on campus. The Garnet
and Gold gala is planned for February 28. The Student Allocations committee has disbursed
$21,176 to various student groups to support on-campus programming. Finally, the Council
has approved charters for nine new student organizations.
Report from the President
President Boyd thanked the Board for their support of our students, faculty, and staff
during this busy time at Winthrop.
Most recently, staff have been working on the report for the Higher Education Sub-Committee
of the South Carolina Senate. The sub-committee was interested in getting additional
information including information about our financial literacy program. Developed
by Dr. Cara Peters and Dean Jack DeRochi, the program is funded by a $40,000 grant
for Enhancing Student Financial Education and is co-sponsored by TIAA-CREF. Winthrop
was one of only 15 institutions awarded the grant through a competitive proposal process
involving an independent selection committee of experts in higher education reforms
and financial education.
New Business
None
Adjournment
Tim Hopkins moved to adjourn the meeting with a second from Donna Glenn Holley. The
vote was unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 1:44 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board.
