MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
MAY 13, 2004
1. Roll Call
Present- Dr. Barbara Burns, President of the Board
Mr. William Darr, Governor
Mr. Michael Duggan, Governor
Mr. Michael Franks, Vice President of the Board
Ms. Mary Sheid, Governor (connected by conference
call at 1:40 p.m.)
Ms. Phyllis Washington, Governor
Ms. Kelli Wolf, Student Governor
Absent- Mr. Thomas Carlson, Governor
Also
Present- John Keiser, President
Kent Thomas, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Greg Onstot, Vice President for University
Advancement
Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs
Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student Affairs
Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance
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 1:00 p.m. in the Parliamentary Room of the Plaster Student Union on the campus of Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
3. Minutes --- Dr. Burns noted that the first item of business on the agenda was the approval of the minutes submitted by the Secretary for the open and closed meetings of April 16, 2004. Mr. Duggan moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Darr seconded the motion.
Motion passed 5-0.
4. Educational:
a. Faculty Senate Report --- Dr. Lois Shufeldt, Chairperson for the Faculty Senate, reported that the Senate had a proposed action to finish the Meyer Library auditorium as well as a proposed action on adopting a Provost/VPAA governance model. She next commented that Dr. Jim Giglio, former Chairperson of the Faculty Senate, had summarized to the Faculty Senate that the $2 per credit hour additional fee increase (beyond the recommended increase) approved by the Board on March 30, 2004 was to fund the existing dental plan as well as take care of any additional medical benefit needs in FY05. She asked that the Board make good on the use of those additional funds. Ms. Washington asked why Dr. Shufeldt might think that the Board would not make good on that usage. Dr. Shufeldt remarked that at a recent cabinet meeting, the balance of the additional amount (after funding the dental plan) was to be used to help balance the budget. Now that there are additional funds from the State, she stated that there should be adequate funds to place these additional dollars toward the medical plan. Dr. Keiser responded that this amount approximates $214,000 and will be placed in university reserves and it is anticipated that the needed additional funding for our medical plan will probably greatly exceed this amount. The plan would be not to call on the reserves until we renegotiate the calendar year medical plan changes. Ms. Washington remarked that she did not understand it to be that way and she would like to have clarified what was approved. Dr. Shufeldt remarked that she would like to see a separate budget line for that amount. Dr. Keiser responded that we have no problem in doing that – the real issue is that the problem will probably be greater than that amount. Mr. Franks stated that he was the one to make the motion for the additional $2 per credit hour fee. He said the motion was simple – we would increase the fee by $2 per credit hour to address keeping the current benefit levels where they were. The motion was not to create a sinking fund. The reason not to create a sinking fund is that the University, over the last few years, has consistently dipped into reserves to help fund the medical plan. He did not mean to create a separate line item fund by his motion. Dr. Shufeldt said that there is a perception that the extra fee was designated for dental and medical needs. Mr. Franks again stated that the motion was to keep the current level of benefits where it is today and that is what has happened.
b. Report from Vice President for Academic Affairs --- Dr. Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs, first announced that they will be recommending Dr. David Hough, who has been the Acting Dean for several years, as the Dean of the College of Education. As far as the College of Arts & Letters, they will close the search and reopen the search in the fall. Dr. Christy Drale, who has been Acting Dean this year, will be returning to the faculty. He will be recommending Dr. Curt Lawrence to serve as the Acting Dean for this next year. These actions will be presented to the Board at the next Board meeting.
Dr. Schmidt next introduced Dr. Jeanne Phelps, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, to give a presentation on the revised SMSU Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures (Student Policies No. 77-04) that the Board will be asked to approve. She reported that the Board approved a modified honor code four years ago and it has been working very well and is indeed making a difference at SMSU. The Academic Integrity Council is made up of ten faculty and ten students and an ex officio member from the Office of Academic Affairs, the position she is holding. There has been 23 XF grades (failure due to academic dishonesty) given in the four-year period. Dr. Phelps reported that changes in the revised policies and procedures include adding two ex-officio members from the Dean of Students Office and SGA. Another major change authorizes the University to revoke a student's grade or degree if academic dishonesty is discovered after the grade/degree has been awarded. This could only be done within a five-year period after the grade or degree has been awarded. Motion to approve the proposed revisions was made by Mr. Franks and seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 5-0.
Dr. Schmidt next presented a resolution (Curriculum No. 268-04) approving the Bachelor of Arts in Art History. Moved by Mr. Darr. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 5-0.
Ms. Sheid joined the meeting at this time by conference call.
5. West Plains Campus:
a. Report from the West Plains Campus --- Mr. Kent Thomas, Chancellor, reported that they have been notified by the Higher Learning Commission that we have been granted ten years of additional accreditation starting last November. He then presented the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Approval of Capital Projects proposal for $7,000 for the purchase and maintenance of atomic clocks for the SMSU-WP campus (West Plains Campus Purchase Approval No. 28-04).
Approval of Capital Projects proposal for $5,000 for each of the next three years for landscaping projects to be determined jointly by the SMSU-WP Custodial department and the SGA (West Plains Campus Purchase Approval No. 29-04).
Approval of Capital Projects proposal for up to $15,000 for all activities and supplies necessary to create a sand volleyball court (West Plains Campus Purchase Approval No. 30-04).
Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Mr. Franks.
Motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Thomas then distributed the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Approval of actions concerning academic employees of the West Plains Campus (West Plains Personnel No. 213-04).
Approval of actions concerning non-academic employees of the West Plains Campus (West Plains Personnel No. 214-04).
Approval of FY05 Overview of Salaries and Benefits for the SMSU-West Plains Volleyball Head Coach and Assistant Coach (West Plains Personnel No. 215-04).
Moved by Mr. Duggan. Seconded by Mr. Franks.
Motion passed 7-0.
6. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Mr. Rafiel Warfield, former President of the Student Body, reported that the Student Activity Council has been restructured and will be a much more efficient organization. He also reported that the SGA approved the SMSU Student Academic Integrity Policies and Procedures that was presented earlier today. He then ended his last report by giving a summary of the Senate's accomplishments this year.
Mr. Chris Curtis, present President of the Student Body, first introduced Lindsay Haymes as the new Vice President of the Student Body. Mr. Curtis mentioned they will be promoting civic engagement next year through more and public on-line forums. They will also be promoting on-line registration.
b. Report from Vice President for Student Affairs: Dr. Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student Affairs, reported that it is time to start preparing for the recruitment of students for the fall of 2005. They will be increasing the admission standards by raising the index from 106 to 107 (the index is the sum of your ACT percentile rank plus your class percentile rank). He next reported that the Relay for Life philanthropy fund raising by our students will exceed $181,000 this year. He is guessing that this will place us in the top one or two in the nation. We raised about $137,000 last year.
Dr. Aripoli then read a resolution honoring former Student Body President, Mr. Rafiel Warfield. Moved by Mr. Franks and seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 6-0.
Dr. Aripoli then read a resolution honoring former Student Body Vice President, Andrea P. Smith. Moved by Mr. Franks and seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 6-0.
He then presented a resolution (Awards No. 7-04) approving six former employees to be added to the Wall of Fame at a November ceremony. Those employees are James E. Bane, John W. Northrip, Paul Redfearn, Thomas Stombaugh, Bill Thomas, and Tom Wyrick. Moved by Mr. Duggan and seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 6-0.
7. Staff Senate Report --- Mr. Phil Nichols, Chairperson of the Staff Senate, thanked the SMSU administration and specifically Ms. Debbie Donnellan, Coordinator of the project, for making the University Staff Ambassador's program a great experience.
8. Report from the President --- Dr. John Keiser reported that we received an additional $1.8 million in our FY05 base that will be allocated to those categories that had been severely cut. Some of this amount will be added to our reserves.
Dr. Keiser next introduced Dr. Bruce Johnson, Chair of the SMS Intercollegiate Athletics Committee, to provide a progress report on goals set in the institution's most recent athletics certification self-study. The Self-Study Steering committee approved 21 goals for improving the athletics program. He reported that most of the objectives either have been completed or plans for completion have been implemented. He reported on four areas – equity, welfare, and sportsmanship; fiscal integrity; academic integrity; and governance and commitment to rules compliance. The first goal he highlighted was student-athlete participation percentages. From 1994-95 to 2002-03, the percentage of female student-athletes increased from 31.7% to 46.2%. The undergraduate enrollment at SMSU in 2002-03 was 55.2% female. Numbers of female student-athletes in the same nine-year time period grew from 111 to 234. Much of this increase was from adding women's soccer and swimming. In the Spring of 2003, the Office of Equal Opportunity conducted a survey of athletics interests and abilities of 7,277 SMS freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Of the 977 responses received, 620 were from female students. Although 173 females respondents expressed interest in participating in intercollegiate athletics at SMS, only eight indicated they were not participating because their sports programs were not available at the University. He highlighted eleven additional goals, including comparable locker facilities for comparable men's and women's sports programs, a diverse Department of Intercollegiate Athletics with regard to administration, staff, and coaches; and, graduation rates of student-athletes.
Mr. Franks next reported that, over the last few months, we have been taking nominations for the Presidential Search Committee for Dr. Keiser's replacement. He proposed the following individuals to make up the committee: from the Board - Michael Franks, Mary Sheid, and Tom Carlson; from the faculty – Jim Giglio (CHPA), Gloria Galanes (COAL), due to a withdrawal, a yet to be named faculty member from COE, Michael Hignite (COBA), and Mark Richter (CNAS); from academic administration – Cynthia Pemberton (CHHS); from the students – Kelli Wolf and Chris Curtis; from the staff – Phil Nichols and Charlotte Hardin; from West Plains – Carol Silvey; from alumni – Tom Strong, Bill Hixon, and Virginia Fry; and from emeritus faculty – Don Landon.
Mr. Franks commented that the most important part of the process is where we help define the attributes of the next president of SMS. We invite the entire University community to send input to the committee. Ms. Washington expressed her wish to also be on the committee. Dr. Burns asked if there was a motion to approve the Presidential Search Committee as presented with the addition of Ms. Washington. Ms. Sheid so moved. Mr. Darr provided the second.
Motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Franks emphasized that the job of the committee is to assist the Board by submitting three finalists to the Board.
9. Financial:
a. Development Report --- Mr. Greg Onstot, Vice President for University Advancement, presented the Development Report for the ten months ending April 30, 2004. At this point in the year, when compared to last year, total gift dollars received are up about $700,000 with a total of $6,130,020.
b. Financial Report --- Mr. Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance, presented the financial statements for the ten-month period ending April 30, 2004. Our cash and investments are up a little when compared to April 30, 2003. He added that at the end of this fiscal year, student fee revenues will be greater than state appropriation revenues.
He then presented a resolution (Finance No. 975-04) authorizing the reimbursement of expenditures for the Intermodal Transfer Facility from proceeds of tax-exempt bonds. This is a required resolution so that we can use bonds to reimburse ourselves for expenditures incurred prior to the issuance of the bonds. The current funding plan for this $17.1 million Intermodal Transfer Facility is: Federal Transportation Administration - $11 million; University's land match - $2.4 million; University's net assets - $1 million; and bond proceeds - $2.7 million. These are estimates because construction bids have not yet been requested. Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 6-0.
c. Purchases & Contracts --- Mr. Kay then presented the following resolution for the Board's consideration:
Purchases exceeding $25,000 from April 16, 2004 through April 30, 2004 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 241-04)
He explained that there were three items included in this Purchasing Activity Report. One of the items was the Soft Drinks and Related Products, Equipment, Supplies & Services recommendation that was carried forward from last month. Each Board member was provided copies of the proposals from Pepsi Americas and Ozarks Coca-Cola and a narrative describing the cost evaluation process. He further explained that after comparing the commissions plus contributions less purchases of the two proposals, the Pepsi Americas proposal, over the ten-year period, was the better proposal by approximately $1.5 million to $1.6 million, thus, they are recommending that the award be made to Pepsi Americas. Mr. Franks commented that when you compare the two proposals, it is pretty obvious which is the better proposal. Motion to approve was made by Mr. Duggan. Ms. Sheid provided the second to the motion.
Motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Kay then presented the following resolution:
Purchases exceeding $25,000 from May 3, 2004 through May 12, 2004 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 242-04).
Moved by Mr. Franks and seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 6-0.
10. Facilities and Equipment --- Mr. Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration & Finance, next presented the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Approving the May 3, 2004 Building Report (Building Report No. 134-04).
Approving the Activity Report for the month of April 2004 (Activity Report No. 137-04).
The rigging repair at McDonald Hall and Arena (Bids & Quotations No. 1123-04); Kenmar Construction, only bid of $37,129; total project budget established at $55,000.
Professional testing services in conjunction with the switchgear replacement at the Grand Street substation (Architects & Engineers No. 589-04); Electric Power Systems for a fixed fee of $7,500 plus reimbursable expenses. Additional services of up to $3,000 as described in this agreement may be authorized and approved as necessary.
Professional services in conjunction with the renovation of the Jim D. Morris Center (Architects & Engineers No. 590-04); Ness Architects, Incorporated budget increase for an increase in additional services of $5,000 that will bring the total in additional services to $11,500.
Laboratory improvements in Temple Hall (Bids & Quotations No. 1124-04); The Fagan Company, low bid of $499,542, for the base bid and alternate number one; total project budget established at $625,000.
The north stair repair at McDonald Hall and Arena (Bids & Quotations No. 1125-04); Mid-Continental Restoration, only bid of $197,927; total project budget established at $275,000.
The ceiling replacement in the kitchen at Kentwood Hall (Bids & Quotations No. 1126-04); Bales Construction, low bid of $24,990; total project budget established at $31,250.
Air quality testing services in conjunction with the restroom renovation at Woods House (Architects & Engineers No. 591-04); Security Storage Service, Inc. for a fee not to exceed $1,500. Additional services of up to $1,000 as described in this agreement may be authorized and approved as necessary.
Moved by Ms. Washington. Seconded by Mr. Duggan
Motion passed 6-0.
Mr. Burris then presented the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Approval of revised University Parking Policy (Policies & Procedures No. 97-04).
Approval of the Environmental Management Policy (Policies & Procedures No. 98-04).
Moved by Mr. Franks. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 6-0.
11. Human Resources ---Mr. Burris next presented the following resolutions:
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1130-04).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1131-04).
Moved by Ms. Washington. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 6-0.
12. New Business --- Dr. Bill Cheek, Associate Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, and Dr. Jim Baker, Assistant to the President, gave a joint presentation. Dr. Baker explained that the University is in an eighteen-month planning process. At the same time, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) will be doing its ten-year accreditation study for the University. The self-study visit will take place in November. What we are proposing is that our long-range plan essentially becomes our accreditation plan. The HLC is looking at this possibility for future self-study plans. Dr. Cheek is working on the HLC piece of this project and Dr. Baker is heading up the long-range plan.
Dr. Cheek reported that in our self-study, we have to address five criteria, twenty-one core components, and four categories of operational indicators. The five criteria include: Mission and integrity; Preparing for the future; Student learning and effective teaching; Acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge; and, Engagement and service. We will also have to address three commission statements – on diversity, on general education, and on assessment of student learning. It is our plan to use the new long-range plan, Daring to Excel, as part one of the self-study.
Dr. Baker next showed the Board the process that we are going through with the new long-range plan. He explained that there will be some new chapters in the long-range plan – Research, International Programs, Human Resources, Distance Learning, Graduate Education, and Diversity. He also indicated that the planning process is on the web. There have been three public forums asking for feedback and comments on the plan. All comments and suggestions are on the website. There will be additional public forums. In the fall, there will be roundtable discussions to get more input about what we want to accomplish as a university. The plan should be completed about the same time our next president takes over – July 2005. We will be looking at whether we need to make adjustments to the university goals of the existing plan. We also will be looking at whether we need to add a theme to our existing five themes and we will evaluate our existing Community Principles. We will also evaluate the SMSU System (all campuses).
13. 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 May 13, 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. 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,…"
Ms. Sheid moved the approval of the resolution and Mr. Duggan seconded the motion.
A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor – Governors Burns, Darr, Duggan, Franks, Sheid, and Washington; those voting against – none; those absent – Governor Carlson.
Board President Burns declared the motion was passed 6-0.
14. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for June 18, 2004.
15. Adjournment--- Dr. Burns adjourned the meeting at 4:05 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Darr, the second of Mr. Duggan, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John McAlear
Secretary to the Board