MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
July 20-21, 2006
1. Roll Call
Present- Mr. Michael Duggan, Governor
Mr. Michael Franks, President of the Board
Mr. Brian Hammons, Governor
Ms. Mary Sheid, Vice President of the Board
Mr. Ryan Sivill, Student Governor
Ms. Phyllis Washington, Governor
Mr. John Winston, Governor
Absent- Mr. James Buford, Governor
Also
Present- Michael Nietzel, President
Paul Kincaid, Chief of Staff
Belinda McCarthy, Provost
John McAlear, Secretary of the Board
2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Mr. Michael Franks, President of the Board of Governors. He called this board retreat to order at 8:30 a.m. at the Best Western Big Spring Lodge in Neosho, Missouri.
3. Welcome --- Mr. Franks welcomed the board and administration and explained that this retreat was for the governors to ask and learn about the workings of the university. After a brief discussion, board members agreed that the orientation process for new governors needs to be strengthened so that governors understand from the beginning what is expected from them. It was also mentioned that some of the board meetings seem to last too long. Mr. Franks mentioned that a goal this year is for the board to make better use of the "consent agenda" concept so the meetings will move along more timely.
4. 2005-2006 Accomplishments --- Dr. Nietzel used this time period to review with the Board the 2005-2006 accomplishments (this same presentation will be shared with the campus community on September 20, 2006 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Plaster Student Union). Some of the major accomplishments included: a) implementing the Provost Model; b) receiving a full ten-year accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission; c) instituting two separate one percent reallocation of funds; d) establishing a new indirect cost rate policy; e) developing the CAP-IT program; f) receiving the $25 million gift commitment from Mr. John Q. Hammons for the JQH Arena; and g) increasing the university's diversity efforts in the recruitment of the Kansas City and St. Louis areas. The discussion of these diversity efforts lead the board into a conversation concerning the wording of the University's current nondiscrimination policy.
5. Financial Matters --- Mr. Kent Kay, Chief Financial Officer, provided a chart showing the 2008 reallocation targets totaling $1,193,976 for the Springfield campus and $76,816 for the West Plains campus. He also reported that the University's Self-Insurance Fund is in excellent shape at June 30, 2006 with a reserve of over $4.2 million due to lower than expected claims experience. He ended his presentation by reporting that carry-forward funds from 2006 to 2007 total about $25 million.
6. Administrative and Information Services --- Mr. Greg Burris, Vice President for Administrative and Information Services, reported on the following topics:
a) 2008 Capital Appropriation Request – FREUP Phase I, the Ozarks Public Health and Life Science Center; and the Broadway Hall Allied Health Building (in West Plains) are the top three priority projects.
b) Recreation Center – a referendum regarding this facility is planned for October of this year.
c) JQH Arena – groundbreaking remains December of this year with staging needs beginning in November.
d) classroom upgrades - $854,766 was spent this summer on classroom upgrades.
e) Darr Agricultural Center – during the meeting, Mr. Paul Kincaid, Chief of Staff, reported that Senator Bond had placed $1 million in the Transportation Budget for the Darr Center.
f) ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) selection and implementation plans – this will be an approximate 30 to 36-month implementation of a large, integrated, commercial administrative computer system after the selection of the vendor.
g) compensation system changes – our goal is to have fewer job titles as we currently have 596 job titles for 1,313 staff.
h) new performance evaluation system – implementation of the new forms will begin in October of 2006.
7. Report from the General Counsel --- Mr. John Black, General Counsel, first briefed the Board on highlights of the Missouri Sunshine Law. He then gave a history of Board actions regarding the use of alcohol and specifically with regard to the Mountain Grove campus's use of wine and spirits that they produce. Mr. Franks asked the administration to review and recommend policies regarding: 1) the general use of alcohol on the three campuses; and 2) Mountain Grove and the use of its produced wine and spirits.
8. Student Affairs Update --- Dr. Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student Affairs reported on the following topics:
a) Enrollment Management Initiatives - our retention rate has been hovering around 72% and our goal is to increase this to 80%.
b) Wellness Update – Wellness has been a theme on our campus for over ten years and we hope to have a Health Risk Appraisal process in place by Spring of 2007.
9. University Advancement Update --- Mr. Greg Onstot, Vice President for University Advancement, provided
a summary of the unit's successes in 2005-06. These included: a) the
merger of Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts with Hammons
Student Center/Plaster Sports Complex in July 2005; b) introduction of
the new Missouri State magazine in the Fall of 2005; c) a record amount
of gift dollars received in FY06 - $11.8 million; and d) the planning
for "The First Campaign for Missouri State University" – a 4-5 year campaign
with a goal of $100 million.
10. West Plains Campus Update --- Mr. Kent Thomas, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus, reported
on the following:
a) FY06 Completed Initiatives – one such initiative being the establishment of four new AAS degrees – Computer Graphics and Programming, Entrepreneurship, Respiratory Therapy, and Fire Science.
b) FY07 In-Progress Initiatives – one example being a pilot project for dual enrolled gifted high school students in the Mountain Grove area.
c) FY08-10 Initiatives – one example being an expanded nursing program of up to 100 students.
11. Office of the Provost - Priorities and Initiatives for 2006-2007 --- Dr. Belinda McCarthy, Provost, reported on the following topics with one example of each area included:
a) Academic Programs – we will seek selected development of new programs.
b) Faculty Development – the tenure period will be lengthened to six years and will be linked with promotions.
c) Student Access, Engagement and Success – our goal is to have the best articulation agreements with community colleges in the State.
d) Public Affairs Mission – one goal is to have more of a statewide scope and to have national excellence in selected areas.
e) Diversity and Inclusiveness – one initiative is to have a minority faculty hiring program.
f) Academic Administration and Operations – each dean will be asked to assess their space needs with the hope of identifying those areas for conversion to types of space with higher needs.
12. Research – Dr. Jim Baker, Vice President for Research & Economic Development, reported on the highlights of this past year. Some of these highlights included: a) developing a new indirect cost recovery policy; b) establishing the Community and Social Issues Institute; c) relocating the Ozarks Studies Institute into the College of Arts and Letters; d) establishing the Center for Biomedical and Life Sciences as a sub-center of the Jordan Valley Innovation Center; e) hiring a compliance officer; f) drafting a whistleblower policy (not yet approved), and g) having JVIC named as a Missouri Innovation Center by the State.
The meeting was recessed at 4:20 p.m. and reconvened at 8:00 a.m. on July 21, 2006.
13. Association of Governing Boards – Seminar Report --- Ms. Sheid and Mr. Duggan were asked to give reports on their attendance at the National Conference on Trusteeship hosted by the Association of Governing Boards. Ms. Sheid first gave a Fundraising update from the AGB. She reported that the average college student graduates with $16,000 worth of debt. Fundraising is becoming more of a necessity as State and Federal funding is being reduced. She then provided some information on cultivating a donor and that creating a vision for a donor is essential to acquiring a donation. She finished her presentation by indicating that most private grants and foundations require 100% giving participation by the institution's board before they would consider donating to the institution.
Mr. Duggan next reported on his attendance in the programs for new trustees. Some of Governing Board responsibilities include: a) clarifying the mission; b) appointing, supporting, and assessing the President; c) approving Long-Range Plans; d) ensuring adequate financial resources; and e) ensuring adequate facilities. He also reported that many public institutions have standing committees. Some of these committees include: a) Finance; b) Development; c) Student Affairs; d) Audit; e) Compensation; and f) Investment.
Dr. Nietzel commented that he could see the possibility of having a committee structure such that a committee could be responsible for more than one of the areas mentioned.
14. Long-Range Plan --- Dr. Nietzel next gave a summary of the long-range plan that the Board will be asked to approve. He summarized that the plan is organized around the following five goals that he instituted when he first came to campus:
a) democratizing society – effective enrollment management, strengthening distance learning and distinctive tuition policies (CAP-IT), effective advising, and new scholarship and financial aid programs.
b) incubating new ideas – focused futures initiative, enhanced research infrastructure and environment, matured graduate and professional programs.
c) imagining the future – Missouri State University traits of educated persons, the public affairs mission, international education, and the Community and Social Issues Institute.
d) making Missouri's future – the six university themes of business and economic development, creative arts, health, professional education, science and the environment, and human dimension
e) modeling ethical and effective behavior – commitment to diversity; community principles; transparency in operations and decisions; excellent facilities, infrastructure, and support services; modern and functional information systems; entrepreneurial, performance-based budgeting and compensation; business plan for the long-range plan; public accountability and measurement; and instruments for outcome assessment.
15. Health Plan Changes --- Dr. Nietzel next indicated the University is considering instituting an employee contribution for individual health insurance beginning in January 2007, in the amount of 7.5% of the University's cost for insurance. However, if such a contribution is introduced, the payment of the required contribution would be waived for all employees for calendar year 2007. In following years, the contribution can only be waived if certain wellness activities are met. The goal is to not collect any employee premiums as this should represent a healthier workforce. Another change to the health plan being considered is to conduct a pilot program for a two year period (calendar years 2007 and 2008) during which employees may opt out of the University's insurance benefits. A third possible change is to institute four premium tiers (employee only, employee plus spouse, employee plus child or children, and employee plus family) instead of just the two tiers that we have had in the past (employee only and employee plus family). The Board indicated their enthusiasm with these changes to the health plan.
16. One Dozen Priorities for 2006-07 --- Dr. Nietzel next presented twelve priorities for the next year:
* implement compensation and evaluation systems
* establish greater statewide and national presence
* promote success of new administrative leaders
* advance state and federal legislative agenda
* prepare new comprehensive fund-raising campaign
* continue major capital and infrastructure initiatives
* promote diversity efforts
* advance academic affairs priorities
* improve budget process
* increase research achievements
* promote a successful intercollegiate athletics program
* develop and prepare full membership of Board of Governors
17. The Building Blocks of Success --- Mr. Franks next gave a report on the Building Blocks of Success – Great Leadership, Organizational Depth, and Great Students.
a) Great Leadership - Missouri State must have a "unique" vision and a "powerful" purpose.
b) Organizational Depth - Innovation and execution need to come from the bottom up. We need to be grooming future administrators and building "bench strength."
c) Great Students – Student aid must be our highest development priority.
Mr. Franks ended his report with a presentation on "The Marketing of Missouri State University" and the value of database marketing.
18. September Meeting in St. Louis --- Mr. McAlear gave a rundown of the various Missouri State University activities to be held in St. Louis in connection with the September 15, 2006 board meeting at the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
19. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for August 4, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. on the Springfield campus in Springfield, Missouri.
20. Adjournment--- Mr. Franks adjourned the meeting at 11:50 a.m.
John W. McAlear
Secretary