MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
FEBRUARY 5, 2016
1. Roll Call
Present
Mr. Joe Carmichael, Vice Chair
Mr. Caleb Doyle, Student Governor
Ms. Virginia Fry, Governor
Dr. Peter Hofherr, Chair
Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, Governor
Mr. Kendall Seal, Governor
Mr. Greg Spears, Governor
Ms. Carrie Tergin, Governor
Absent
Mr. Gabriel E. Gore, Governor
Ms. Beverly Miller, Governor
Also Present
Clifton Smart III, President
Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Frank Einhellig, Provost
Wes Pratt, Assistant to the President and Chief Diversity Officer
Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs
Matt Morris, Vice President for Administrative Services
Jim Baker, Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and International Programs
Stephen Foucart, Chief Financial Officer
Jeff Morrissey, Chief Information Officer
Donna Christian, Director of Internal Audit & Compliance
Suzanne Shaw, Vice President for Marketing & Communications
Brent Dunn, Vice President for University Advancement
Rachael Dockery, General Counsel
John McAlear, Secretary of the Board
2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Dr. Peter Hofherr, Chair of the Board of Governors. He called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. in the Traywick Parliamentary Room in the Plaster Student Union on the campus of Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
3. Approval of Minutes:
a. Board of Governors Meetings --- Dr. Hofherr mentioned that the first item of business
was the approval of the minutes for the open and closed meetings of December 11, 2015,
and the open and closed meetings of December 30, 2015. Mr. Hoven so moved, receiving
the second of Mr. Spears.
Motion passed 7-0.
4. Consent Agenda --- Dr. Hofherr noted that the next item of business on the agenda was the approval of the Consent Agenda for this meeting. The items included in the Consent Agenda are:
President
Approval of revision to G5.02 Expressive Activity Policy (Board Policies No. 98-16).
Approval of revision to G12.01 Information Assurance Policy (Board Policies No. 99-16).
Approval of 2016-2017 Employment Agreements for Athletic Coaches - Assistant Coaches for Football (Human Resources No. 1513-16).
West Plains Campus
Approval of Activity Report dated February 5, 2016 (West Plains Campus Activity Report
No. 115-16).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus non-academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 386-16).
Financial
Approval of Procurement Activity Report for the period November 19, 2015, through
January 20, 2016 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 432-16).
Facilities and Equipment
Approval of Activity Report for the month of November 2015 (Activity Report No. 276-16).
Approval of Activity Report for the month of December 2015 (Activity Report No. 277-16).
Approval of amendments and changes to the Memorandum of Agreement between Missouri State University and Teamsters Local Union No. 245 (Agreement No. 371-16).
Human Resources Items
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1514-16).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1515-16).
Ms. Fry made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, receiving a second from Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 7-0.
5. President’s Report --- President Clif Smart began his report by indicating that it is anticipated that we will have another Springfield Campus Spring enrollment record – our first week enrollment was 20,501, which is up about 1½%. He added that the West Plains campus has rebounded from a fall enrollment that was down about 8.8%. Current enrollment in West Plains is 1,579 students.
President Smart next reported that last week, he testified in opposition to two bills dealing with who may carry firearms on campus. Each bill would allow anyone with a conceal-carry permit to carry a concealed firearm anywhere on campus. In Missouri, the minimum age to be able to obtain a conceal-carry permit is 19. He added that his testimonies dealt with concerns on the breadth of these bills particularly allowing firearms in residence halls, research facilities, board meetings, disciplinary hearings, and other inappropriate areas. All of the two- and four-year public schools and the private schools are working together on the response to this type of legislation. Student Governor Caleb Doyle then shared research that found a significant positive relationship between gun ownership and overall homicide levels and that gun ownership is a strong risk factor for suicide. He mentioned that he has been working with a group of students across the state on this matter. They plan to take the facts on this subject to the State Capitol to anyone that will listen to show that allowing guns on campus is a really dangerous idea.
President Smart next gave an update in the diversity and inclusion area since our last meeting. He introduced Mr. Wes Pratt as our new Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant to the President for Diversity and Inclusion and Dr. Gilbert Brown as our new Associate Provost for Diversity. He also stated that a new 34-member Diversity Council will be announced next week. We also now have a Bias Response Team led by our Dean of Students, Dr. Thomas Lane, to investigate and respond to any incidents of hateful speech.
He ended his report by previewing the Information Technology Infrastructure discussion which will be later in today’s meeting, led by Mr. Jeff Morrissey, Chief Information Officer.
6. Academic Affairs:
a. Report from Provost --- Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost, first gave an overview of
the 2015-2016 tenure and promotion application process. Ten faculty members have applied
for both tenure and promotion while there are another 28 faculty members who have
applied for promotion only. He next gave a dual-credit update. Dual-credit students
are those students who are taking courses in high school for which they receive college
credit. Last fall, we had 2,151 students taking dual-credit courses at their respective
high schools. He added that, at the State level and our accreditation level, the requirements
to qualify as a high school dual-credit instructor will become more rigorous – a Master’s
degree with at least 18 credit hours in the teaching discipline. Over 90% of our dual-credit
teachers already meet these requirements, but we do have some teachers shy on the
18 credit-hour requirement, especially Physics and Mathematics teachers. We are looking
at how we can help these teachers become qualified under these requirements. Dr. Einhellig
then reported on the spring 2016 online enrollment. This spring, we have: 465 class
sections that are taught online; ten percent of total credit hours are online; and
3,000 unduplicated students are enrolled in at least one online course. These factors
have doubled since five years ago, with the credit-hour factor almost tripling.
7. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Ms. Ashley Crisafulli, Student Body President,
first reported on the activities on the West Plains campus which included the West
Plains SGA supporting the new common fee concept for next year. Included in her report
for the Springfield SGA were course evaluations being updated, and the upcoming February
24th Day at the Capitol where there will be a busload of students and organizations
traveling to Jefferson City to represent the University.
b. Commendation --- Dr. Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs, offered a commendation for Caleb Doyle for his outstanding service as Student Governor for Missouri State University. Moved by Ms. Tergin and seconded by Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 7-0.
8. Staff Senate --- Ms. Christina Bowles, Chairperson for the Staff Senate, reported that the Staff Satisfaction Survey is not ready to be released at this time. It should be released in mid-February and they are pleased with a 53% response rate.
9. Human Resources --- Mr. Matt Morris, Vice President for Administrative Services, presented a resolution (Board Policies No. 100-16) amending the Employee Handbook for Administrative, Professional, and Support Staff and Employees and related policies. The changes included: (a) changes in the operation process of employee-initiated transfers; (b) changes in the operation process of within-grade salary adjustments; (c) clarifications in language regarding long-term care insurance; (d) changes in the operation process of credit course fee waivers; (e) incorporating Inside Missouri State as an internal communication tool; (f) changes in the operation process of the University charge account plan to My Payment Plan; (g) updating the Bursar’s Office operating hours and location; and (h) adding a delegation of responsibility provision to the President to establish, implement, and make appropriate modifications when necessary with identified changes being reported to the Board. Moved by Mr. Hoven and seconded by Mr. Spears.
Motion passed 7-0.
10. New Business:
a. Revisions to G1.05 Non-Discrimination Policy Statement and G7.02-2 University Policies
– Ms. Rachael Dockery, General Counsel, presented a resolution (Board Policies No.
101-16) approving revisions to the University’s Non-Discrimination Policy Statement.
She reminded the Board that, last year, they asked for a review of this statement
to ensure that the language was legally sufficient. She commented that this review
was performed and it has been determined that the language is legally sufficient,
but that there is an opportunity to update the existing language to more closely track
federal law and the guidance provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Additionally,
with the proposed changes, there is an opportunity to add clarity as to the scope
and the intention of our existing statement, and to make our policy statement more
current and consistent with many of our peer institutions. Ms. Dockery summarized
the three changes to the statement: (1) to clarify that our existing prohibition on
sex discrimination also includes discrimination on the basis of various subsets of
sex discrimination, including pregnancy, marital and family status, gender identity
and expression, and sexual orientation. While this is a change to our existing language,
this is not a change to our existing practice. To some extent, these changes are “form
over substance” if you are looking at what we are actually doing; (2) to add “genetic
information” as a specifically enumerated basis for non-discrimination which is consistent
with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008; and (3) to tighten up
the existing policy statement where it has a very broad statement that is somewhat
unclear in terms of – not discriminating on any basis – which goes much further then
federal law. Motion to approve made by Ms. Tergin, with the second being offered by
Mr. Carmichael. Mr. Hoven commented that he would be voting against this motion due
to what Ms. Dockery has noted, this is “form over substance.” He added that he thinks
our existing policy is very clear – not discriminating against anyone – and it’s a
policy he has respected. He does not believe a change is needed.
Motion passed 6-1 (Mr. Hoven voting nay).
b. Major Discussion Topic: Information Technology Infrastructure --- Mr. Jeff Morrissey, Chief Information Officer, began his presentation by showing the teamwork structure of the 145 centralized and distributed IT support employees across the MSU System. These employees are from: 1) Information Services Division – Springfield Campus; 2) IT Services Department – West Plains Campus; 3) Distributed IT support staff on the Springfield campus, and; 4) Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning. He explained that the Missouri State Information Technology Council (IT Council) was created eighteen years ago to serve as a clearing house for all major IT initiatives. The IT Council: 1) ensures initiatives are aligned with the University’s mission and planning documents; 2) reviews large information technology purchases, and; 3) reviews and develops IT policies, procedures, and standards. He next summarized the University’s current core infrastructure components: 1) Networks; 2) Computing and Telecommunications Centers; 3) Information Security; 4) Business and Application Systems; 5) Blackboard – Learning Management System; 6) Open-access Computer labs; and 7) Help Desk Services.
In moving forward, Mr. Morrissey next touched on the four major IT initiatives identified by the recent Visioning Task Force, what we are doing, and what we plan to do for each initiative. The four major initiatives are:
1) Hiring and retaining qualified staff, and continue to update the knowledge and skills of existing technology staff.
2) Optimizing the use of technology in teaching and learning, in collaboration with faculty and students.
3) Developing an enterprise IT architecture responsive to changing conditions and new opportunities.
4) Providing user support in the new normal – mobile, online education, cloud, and
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) environments.
A lengthy discussion was then held on how the University is meeting the IT challenges
and needs of the campuses and the need to be responsive to ever-changing conditions
and new opportunities.
11. Closed Meeting --- It was determined that the Board of Governors needed to meet in a closed session to consider items of business provided in the Revised Statutes of Missouri. Dr. Hofherr asked if a resolution authorizing a closed meeting of the Board was prepared. Thereupon, the following resolution was presented for consideration:
BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Governors for Missouri State University that a closed meeting, with closed records and closed vote, be held immediately following this February 5, 2016, meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items of business pursuant to:
a. R.S.Mo. 610.021(1). “Legal actions, causes of action, or litigation involving a public governmental body…”
b.. R.S.Mo. 610.021(17). “Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body and its auditor,…”
Ms. Fry moved the approval of the resolution and Mr. Hoven seconded the motion.
A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor – Governors Carmichael, Fry, Hofherr, Hoven, Seal, Spears, and Tergin; those voting against – none; those absent – Governors Gore and Miller
Dr. Hofherr declared the resolution passed unanimously.
12. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Thursday, March 31, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. at the Hilton St. Louis Downtown at the Arch, 400 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri.
13. Adjournment --- Dr. Hofherr adjourned the meeting at 3:10 p.m., on the motion of Mr. Hoven, the second of Ms. Fry, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John W. McAlear
Secretary