MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
JUNE 21, 2013
1. Roll Call
Present- Mr. Stephen Bough, Governor
Mr. Joe Carmichael, Governor
Ms. Carrie Carroll, Governor
Mr. Gordon Elliott, Governor
Mr. Peter Hofherr, Governor
Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, Governor
Ms. Paige Jenkins, Student Governor
Mr. Orvin Kimbrough, Chair of the Board
Ms. Beverly Miller, Vice Chair of the Board
Ms. Cathy Smith, Governor
Also
Present- Clifton Smart III, President
Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Frank Einhellig, Provost
Don Simpson, Interim Vice President for Student Affairs
Ken McClure, Vice President for Administrative and Information Services
Jim Baker, Vice President for Research and Economic Development and International Programs
Kenneth Coopwood, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
Stephen Foucart, Chief Financial Officer
Brent Dunn, Vice President for University Advancement
Penni Groves, General Counsel
John McAlear, Secretary of the Board
2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Mr. Orvin Kimbrough, Chair of the Board of Governors. He called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. in The Board Room in Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. Mr. Kimbrough first asked Mr. Steve Bough, Governor from Kansas City, to comment on today’s meeting. Mr. Bough welcomed everyone to Kansas City and thanked the entire board for coming to today’s meeting.
3. Approval of Minutes:
a. Board of Governors’ Meetings --- Mr. Kimbrough mentioned that the first item of business was the approval of the minutes
for the regular open meeting of May 16, 2013, and the open joint meeting with the
Springfield City Council of May 16, 2013. Mr. Bough so moved, receiving the second
of Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
4. Consent Agenda --- Mr. Kimbrough 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:
June 19, 2013 Executive Committee Meeting
Approval of agreement to retain Jerry Burch as legislative consultant through August 31, 2014 (Agreement No. 328-13).
Approval of Office of Procurement Services activities from May 11, 2013, through June 14, 2013 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 388-13).
Award of a contract for the FY14 Job Order Contacting Services (Bids & Quotations No. 1437-13) Kenmar Construction, Inc.
Award of a contract for the FY14 Job Order Contracting Services – Mechanical Repair & Replacement (Bids & Quotations No. 1438-13); WMC, Inc.
Approval of voluntary benefits platform and program provided by Keeler and Associates and including as some products those offered by Allstate Insurance Company (Human Resources No. 1424-13).
President
Approval of First Addendum to Employment Contract of Melissa Stokes, Head Coach, Women’s Volleyball (Human Resources No. 1425-13).
Approval of FY2014 Employment Agreements for Athletics Administrators and Coaches (Human Resources No. 1426-13).
Academic Affairs
Approval of Faculty Handbook Revision Proposed Changes, Handbook Sections 1.5; 1.5.2.1; 3.4.1-3.4.2; 4.8.2; 4.8.5; 7.2.1-7.2.2; and 16.2.3 (Faculty Policies No. 135-13).
West Plains Campus
Approval of Activity Report dated June 21, 2013 (West Plains Activity Report No. 101-13).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 355-13).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus non-academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 356-13).
Approval of lease agreement for the lease of property at 515 Cass Avenue, West Plains, Missouri (West Plains Agreement No. 34-13).
Springfield Campus Purchases/Contracts
Approval of Procurement Activity Report for the period May 17, 2013, through June 5, 2013 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 389-13).
Financial
Approval of rental rates for space in the Kenneth E. Meyer Alumni Center for various departments and University-related offices (Agreement No. 329-13)
Approval of FY14 additional fringe benefits to be funded by Missouri State University or the Missouri State University Foundation (Human Resources No. 1427-13).
Facilities and Equipment
Approval of Activity Report for the month of May 2013 (Activity Report No. 246-13).
Approval of Amendment to Lease Agreement with Lumimove, Inc. dba Crosslink (Agreement No. 330-13).
Human Resources Items
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1428-13).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1429-13).
Approval of additional personal days (Human Resources No. 1430-13).
Ms. Miller made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, receiving a second from Ms. Carroll.
Motion passed 9-0.
5. President’s Report --- President Clif Smart also welcomed everyone to the June Board of Governors’ meeting in Kansas City. He added that this morning’s meetings have been productive and they are looking forward to MSU Alumni night at Kauffman Stadium tonight. He then announced that this is the final board meeting for our Director of Internal Audit, Ms. June McHaney, who is retiring on August 1. Mr. Steve Hoven, Chair of the Finance and Facilities Committee, presented Ms. McHaney with a Bear Plaque and expressed the Board’s appreciation for her role in leading the Internal Audit Department for seven years.
Mr. Smart then presented a resolution (Finance No. 1028-13) for the approval of our Capital Appropriations request for Fiscal year 2015. We are required to submit this request annually, and because of the timing of the deadline, we ask for the Board’s approval of the table of contents. We will then add in the specific details in time to submit it before the deadline. He asked Mr. Ken McClure, Vice President for Administrative and Information Services, to explain the changes in this listing this year. Mr. McClure explained that because of the expiration of the Lewis and Clark appropriation on June 30 of this year, we have taken the opportunity to list as our number one priority in FY15 the Ozarks Health and Life Sciences Center on the Springfield Campus and Hass-Hoover Hall on the West Plains Campus. The estimated cost of these two buildings is about $52.8 million. Our second priority in FY15 is the Facilities Reutilization Plan (FREUP) for renovating Ellis Hall, Hill Hall, and McDonald Arena, with an estimated cost of $52.7 million. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Mr. Hoven and Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
Mr. Smart then presented a resolution (Finance No. 1029-13) for the approval of the Fiscal Year 2014 internal operating budget. The Springfield portion of the budget was previewed at the May meeting and we talked in detail about the budget at today’s meeting of the Finance and Facilities Committee. He asked Mr. Steve Foucart, Chief Financial Officer, to present the highlights of the budget one final time. Mr. Foucart gave the following breakdown of the FY14 Budget - $167,625,739 in budgeted operating revenues, $86,037,023 in budgeted non-operating revenues, $238,466,736 in budgeted expenses, $(14,297,910) in budgeted transfers, and $935,374 in budgeted non-recurring allocations. He further indicated that the $253 million budget is up about $5 million compared to last year. The 3.1% increase in State appropriations is our first increase in five years. Moved by Ms. Carroll, with the second provided by Mr. Elliott.
Motion passed 9-0.
Mr. Smart then gave a brief update of the 2013 legislative session which ended on May 16. Governor Jay Nixon is evaluating the bills that were passed to decide which to sign and the legislative veto session is in mid-September. Among the bills the Governor is evaluating are the budget bills. For Missouri State, that not only includes the 3.1% increase in the core budget, but also $825,000 in additional funding for the Occupational Therapy Program in Springfield and $500,000 for various health programs in West Plains. One of the factors the Governor is concerned about is the potential impact of House Bill 253, which reduces personal income taxes over the next several years. Governor Nixon vetoed this bill but it remains to be seen if this veto will be overridden in September. This bill could impact the general revenue to the tune of $800 million to $2 billion, which could potentially affect the budgets for higher education, K-12, and other services funded by general revenue.
He next announced that members of the Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE), the organization of presidents and chancellors of the public four-year universities, have come to agreement on a funding formula for higher education. COPHE will be interacting with Governor Nixon on this proposed formula before we share the details of the proposed formula in the coming weeks. Missouri State comes out well under this new formula assuming we meet our performance measures. He also announced that he was elected Vice-Chair of COPHE for the next two years.
Mr. Smart mentioned that the final item on today’s agenda is an update on our two previous discussions – on sustainability in December and West Plains Academic Programs in February. He remarked that these discussions are meaningless if we don’t take action coming out of them – that is our purpose today – to update you on our work to-date. In October, as several of you have requested, we plan to have a discussion on a targeted aspect of diversity – probably student recruitment and retention. Mr. Kimbrough noted that regarding our discussion topics, he sees that some topics may be informational and that there may not be a specific action item coming out of the discussion.
6. Academic Affairs --- Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost, gave a faculty and academic administrator hiring update. There were ten academic department head searches – five ended with interim appointments, four internal appointments were made, and one was filled from off campus. Out of 57 faculty searches, 37-40 will be filled and the remaining will be filled by per-course faculty or in other ways. He indicated that the two main reasons for failed searches are trailing spouses and salary needs. He added that in some areas, there are very few candidates available. Dr. Einhellig next gave an academic program update. On June 15, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education approved the Bachelor of Applied Science in Hospitality and Restaurant Administration, and most of the students for that degree will be transfers from Ozarks Technical Community College. The Masters in Occupational Therapy was also approved. We are still trying to hire a Director for this program and if we do not hire a Director, we cannot submit our final self-study for accreditation review. Our planned start date for this program was Summer of 2014 but this may be delayed until January 2015 or Summer of 2015, depending on whether we are able to make a hire.
7. Research and Economic Development & International Programs --- Dr. Jim Baker, Vice President for Research and Economic Development & International Programs, presented a resolution (Administration No. 31-13) for the approval to establish the Missouri State University International Leadership and Training Center and related Memorandum of Agreement with Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce. He indicated that the University and the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce have worked together in the pursuit of international business development since before 2004. He said that about 80% of the global population is in an “emergency economy” – an economy that is ready to “emerge” onto the world stage. The need for leadership development, professional development, workforce training, and language training in these emergency economies is enormous. The mission of this new center is to provide high-quality, noncredit language training coupled with international leadership and professional development programs customized to meet the needs of client organizations. Start-up funds will be provided by the Vice President for Research and Economic Development and International Programs. He added that, after two years, it should be a self-supporting program and will be sustained through externally generated revenues. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Mr. Bough and Mr. Elliott.
Motion passed 9-0.
8. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Mr. David Schneider, Student Body President, reported that the Student Government Association on the West Plains Campus recently funded Student Organization teams to participate in the Grizzly Golf Classic held on June 7, and participated in the Old-Time Music Festival on June 14 and 15 by volunteering their time. He added that, in Springfield, one of their directors is involved with compiling a Student Athletic and Recreation Task Force to analyze aspects of management, finances, specifications, marketing, and student expectations of some of the new facilities that we are proposing in the coming year. He also reported that their major theme this coming year is student retention, which is highly linked to student involvement, so one of their primary goals for the year is to facilitate and encourage involvement.
9. Staff Senate --- Ms. Dixie Williams, Chairperson for the Staff Senate, remarked that she was thankful for the opportunity to work with the Board this year and for President Smart’s interest in Staff Senate. She indicated that Ms. Andrea Weber, Assistant Director of Student Engagement, will be the Chair of the Staff Senate for the coming year.
10. Human Resources --- Mr. McClure next presented the following resolutions for the Board’s consideration:
Approval of salary adjustments for academic employees: 2% across-the-board increase, effective August 1, 2013 (Human Resources No. 1431-13).
Approval of salary adjustments for academic administrators and 12-month faculty: 2% across-the-board increase, effective July 1, 2013 (Human Resources No. 1432-13).
Approval of salary adjustments for nonacademic executive, managerial, administrative, professional, and non-exempt staff: 2% across-the-board increase, effective July 1, 2013 (Human Resources No. 1433-13).
Approval of salary adjustments for nonacademic professional staff: 2% across-the-board increase, effective August 1, 2013 (Human Resources No. 1434-13).
Approval of salary adjustments for nonacademic executive, managerial, administrative, professional, and non-exempt staff: adjustment to the new minimum of the pay ranges (increased by 1%) and 2% across-the-board, effective July 1, 2013 (Human Resources No. 1435-13).
Moved by Mr. Hoven. Seconded by Ms. Smith.
Motion passed 9-0.
11. Unfinished Business --- Mr. Smart commented that last December, we added an in-depth discussion item for our Board meetings. The first topic was sustainability in December and the second topic was the West Plains Academic Programs in February. Both discussions ended with the Board asking the administration to work on some action steps to address identified priorities and we want to update the Board on our progress. Mr. McClure, assisted by Dr. Tammy Jahnke, Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Science, will address actions on sustainability and then Dr. Einhellig and Dr. Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus, will address steps taken on West Plains Academic Programs.
Mr. McClure began by summarizing actions completed to date: 1) a utility revolving loan fund has been established for fiscal year 2014 and beyond that utilizes annual utility savings, up to a maximum of $200,000, for sustainability projects; 2) Burns & Roe Services Corporation, an engineering firm, will perform an external assessment and evaluation (energy audit) of the steam and chilled water production systems, as well as the major buildings on campus; 3) on the West Plains Campus, they have centralized much of their HVAC management, and several facility improvements have been put into place with regards to lighting changes, temperature settings, and recycling initiatives; 4) MSU was recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation for effective forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals; 5) MSU ranked second nationally in the 2013 Top Earth Day in Higher Education Champions through projects with Johnson Controls; 6) the Sustainability Advisory Committee, co-chaired by Mr. McClure and Dr. Jahnke, was reconstituted with members representing faculty, staff, students, and community members, with three subcommittees formed – Energy, Benchmarks, and Goals; 7) a Benchmarks Subcommittee study to provide a sense of where Missouri State stands in comparison to the University’s Benchmark and sister institutions regarding sustainability efforts shows us comparing relatively well in actual achievements.
Dr. Jahnke next reported that the University is scheduled to go through the reassessment process in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Ratings System (STARS) developed by the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). We currently have a Bronze rating and our goal is to receive at least a Silver rating. She added that four separate university groups submitted sustainability proposals to AASHE’s annual conference and all four groups’ papers were accepted to the Conference. The lead authors on these proposals were two students, one staff member, and one faculty member.
Dr. Einhellig next summarized actions taken and in-progress in regards to Springfield Campus courses offered to West Plains students: 1) select math education classes will be delivered to West Plains by ITV this coming fall and spring; 2) two Master in Social Work classes will be delivered this fall with the Ozarks Medical Center promising several student scholarships; 3) BS, General Business will be available through ITV to Gohn Hall on the West Plains Campus, originating from a Glass Hall classroom, recently equipped with ITV equipment; 4) four new online undergraduate program opportunities will begin this fall; 5) a lot of the courses in our Master in Literacy program will now be offered online; and 6) the Master in Educational Technology degree initiated in 2012-13 will now have most courses online.
Dr. Drew Bennett reported that student enrollment at the West Plains Campus is up 9% while credit hours being taken are up 12%. He added that our fall projections are up when compared to last year. Student retention is being focused and last year’s fall-(2012)-to-spring (2013) retention was up 6.2%. For their Agricultural Education program, they have hired their first full-time Agricultural faculty member to begin teaching in fall 2013. With the legislature passing a $500,000 increase for the West Plains Allied Health programs, they are now working on a timeline and plan to enhance these programs. He ended his presentation by announcing they have graduated their first GOAL (Great Opportunities for Adult Learners) cohort of 22 students.
Board members discussed further possible enhancements of our sustainability efforts for the GOALs subcommittee. Also, in renovation projects on campus, energy efficiencies will be addressed. Mr. McClure added that a significant effort has been taken this summer, with coordination between our Energy Manager and our Academic Scheduling Office, to schedule classes such that, in certain buildings, we only cool those areas where we have classes. It was mentioned that we should research grant possibilities to assist in energy efficiencies. Mr. Smart commented that he will be in Washington, DC, next week and two of the days are set aside to meet with a number of agencies to explore various grant possibilities.
12. 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. Mr. Kimbrough 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 June 21, 2013, meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items of business pursuant to:
R.S. Mo. 610.021 (1). “Legal actions, causes of actions, or litigation involving a public governmental body…”
R.S.Mo. 610.021(13). “Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment,…”
R.S.Mo. 610.021(17). “Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body and its auditor,...”
Mr. Carmichael moved the approval of the resolution and Ms. Carroll seconded the motion.
A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor – Governors Bough, Carmichael, Carroll, Elliott, Hofherr, Hoven, Kimbrough, Miller, and Smith; those voting against – none;
Mr. Kimbrough declared the resolution passed unanimously.
13. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Thursday, August 1, 2013, at 8:00 a.m. in the Shealy Conference Center, in Fair Grove, Missouri.
14. Adjournment--- Mr. Kimbrough adjourned the meeting at 2:30 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Elliott, the second of Mr. Hoven, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John W. McAlear
Secretary