MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
MARCH 30, 2004
1. Roll Call
Present- Dr. Barbara Burns, President of the Board (by
conference call)
Mr. William Darr, Governor (by conference call)
Mr. Michael Franks, Vice President of the Board (by conference call)
Ms. Mary Sheid, Governor (by conference call)
Ms. Kelli Wolf, Student Governor
Absent- Mr. Thomas Carlson, Governor
Mr. Michael Duggan, Governor
Ms. Phyllis Washington, Governor
Also Present- Jim Baker, Assistant to the President
Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance
Gregory P. Onstot, Vice President for University Advancement
Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration & Finance
John F. Black, General Counsel
John W. McAlear, Secretary of the Board
2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Dr. Barbara Burns, President of the Board of Governors. She called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in Carrington Hall Room 203 on the campus of Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
3. Financial:
a. 2004-2005 Fee Schedule – Dr. Burns explained that at the March 19, 2004 meeting, Dr. Giglio proposed an additional $2 per credit hour over and above what was being recommended by the administration but that the Student Government Association had not had an opportunity to address this additional amount. She asked Mr. Rafiel Warfield, Student Body President, to report any feedback from Student Government on this proposal.
Mr. Warfield commented that he had just come from the Student Government meeting and they had taken an informal vote from those in attendance at the meeting at that time and the vote was 43 supported the additional $2 per credit hour and 19 did not support it. The discussion was that the majority of those present did not want to lose faculty and staff due to the erosion of employee benefits.
Mr. Warfield further added that the students would appreciate a tool being developed that could be used to evaluate the faculty so that students could see how faculty are evaluated each semester. He sees this as a means of accountability and responsibility. Dr. Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs, responded that students are evaluating faculty on a regular basis but that these evaluations are being used for personnel decisions such as tenure and promotion and, thus, the evaluations are not made public. He added that this would need to be some type of additional evaluation but that he would see no problem with such a system. Mr. John Black, General Counsel, agreed with Dr. Schmidt and commented that the Student Government and the Faculty Senate should work together to come up with something. Dr. Schmidt remarked that SMS faculty with expertise in surveying should be used in the development of this tool, and Mr. Warfield responded that they would welcome this assistance.
Dr. Burns asked if there were any additional questions about the fee proposal. Mr. Franks remarked that he is in favor of the fee schedule with the additional $2 per credit hour because we are going to have to deal with a very dramatic increase in our employee benefit package over the next five years due to what is happening with the cost of health care. This extra $2 per credit hour is a little help in preparing us for this challenge. Dr. Burns asked if there was a motion on the fee resolution (Fees No. 120-04). Ms. Sheid moved to adopt the fee schedule with the additional $2 increase (bringing the in-state credit hour rate to $154) with the notion that we do need to take a look at where our employee benefits can be within the next five years. Mr. Franks seconded the motion. Mr. McAlear then asked to clarify that the motion was to adopt the 28-page fee schedule as presented at the March 19th board meeting with two pages (pages 1 and 7) being changed to reflect the additional $2 per credit hour proposal. Both Ms. Sheid and Mr. Franks agreed.
A roll call vote was taken – Governors Burns, Darr, Franks, and Sheid voted for the motion; no one voted against the motion.
Motion passed 4-0.
4. 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. Burns 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 the Southwest Missouri State University that a closed meeting, with closed records and closed vote, be held immediately following this March 30, 2004 meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items 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(2). "Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body…"
C. R.S.Mo. 610.021(3). "Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting an employee of a public governmental body."
D. R.S.Mo. 610-021(6). "Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals…"
E. R.S.Mo. 610.021(9). "Preparation, including any discussions or work product, on behalf of a public governmental body or its representatives for negotiations with employee groups;"
F. R.S.Mo. 610.021(11) and (12). "Specifications for competitive bidding…," and "Sealed bids and related documents…,"
G. R.S.Mo. 610.021(13). "Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings, or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment,…"
H. R.S.Mo. 610.021(14). "Records which are protected from disclosure by law;"
I. R.S.Mo. 610.021(17). "Confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body and its auditor,…"
Mr. Franks moved the approval of the resolution and Mr. Darr
seconded the motion.
A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor – Governors Burns, Darr, Franks, and Sheid; those voting against – none; those absent – Governors Carlson, Duggan, and Washington.
Board President Burns declared the motion was passed 4-0.
5. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for April 16, 2004 in West Plains, Missouri.
6. Adjournment --- Dr. Burns adjourned the meeting at 6:50 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Franks, the second of Mr. Darr, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John W. McAlear
Secretary