MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
OCTOBER 16, 2015 1:00 P.M.
1. Roll Call
Present- Mr. Joe Carmichael, Governor
Mr. Caleb Doyle, Student Governor
Ms. Virginia Fry, Governor
Dr. Peter Hofherr, Vice Chair
Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, Chair
Ms. Beverly Miller, Governor
Mr. Kendall Seal, Governor
Mr. Greg Spears, Governor
Ms. Carrie Tergin, Governor
Also Present- Clifton Smart III, President
Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Frank Einhellig, Provost
Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs
Matt Morris, Interim Vice President for Administrative and Information Services
Jim Baker, Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and International Programs
Kenneth Coopwood, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion
Stephen Foucart, Chief Financial Officer
Donna Christian, Director of Internal Audit and 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 Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, 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 Board of Governors’ Meeting Minutes --- Mr. Hoven mentioned that the first item of business was the approval of the minutes for the open and closed meetings of July 30, 2015. Dr. Hofherr so moved, receiving the second of Ms. Fry.
Motion passed 8-0.
4. Consent Agenda --- Mr. Hoven 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 employment contract for Shamika Kentish as Assistant Athletics Director for Compliance (Human Resources No. 1503-15).
West Plains Campus
Approval of Activity Report dated October 16, 2015 (West Plains Campus Activity Report No. 113-15).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 382-15).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus non-academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 383-15).
Approval of Cooperative Agreement between Missouri Sheriff’s Association and Missouri State University-West Plains (West Plains Campus Agreement No. 43-15).
Springfield Campus Purchases/Contracts
Approval of Procurement Activity Report for the period July 14, 2015, through September 30, 2015 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 426-15).
Facilities and Equipment
Approval of Activity Report for the month of June 2015 (Activity Report No. 271-15).
Approval of Activity Report for the month of July 2015 (Activity Report No. 272-15).
Approval of Activity Report for the month of August 2015 (Activity Report No. 273-15).
Human Resources Items
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1504-15).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1505-15).
Approval of Missouri State University Group Dental Plan (Human Resources No. 1506-15).
Approval of Amendment 3 to Missouri State University Group Medical Plan (Human Resources No. 1507-15).
Ms. Miller made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda, receiving a second from Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 8-0.
5. President’s Report --- President Clif Smart began his report by welcoming everyone to Homecoming weekend at Missouri State. He next commented that the Point-of-Pride presentation this meeting is the University’s Ad Team, led by Dr. Melissa Burnett from the Marketing Department in the College of Business. This spring, they competed against 22 other universities in an international competition to develop a marketing campaign to counter violent extremism. Their campaign is called One95 and is designed to unite people in 195 countries one person at a time to end violent extremism. Our team was selected as one of three finalists, the other two schools being from Australia and Canada. They traveled to Washington D.C., in June to make their presentation to the United States State Department, and they won the competition. Since then, government and non-government groups from around the world have reached out to our team to utilize their campaign. The United Nations invited the Ad Team to present their campaign at the UN Summit in New York City in September. Ms. Lanae Flatness and Ms. Brittney Laramie, two members of the Ad Team, next gave a very impressive overview of their One95 campaign project.
President Smart next gave an update on this fall’s enrollment numbers. Our System-wide enrollment, including all campuses, is a new record at 24,735 students and the Springfield campus total of 22,834 students is also a record. Enrollment numbers for graduate students, underrepresented students, International students, and student numbers from other states, were all records. He added that we also have good news on our retention numbers – freshmen students who started with us last year returned to campus this year at a 78% rate – we have hovered around 74% to 75% for several years.
He then presented a resolution (Awards No. 64-15) approving the presentation of the Bronze Bear Award to Dr. C. Norman Shealy for his service to and support of Missouri State University. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Ms. Fry and Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 8-0.
President Smart ended his report by presenting a resolution (Awards No. 65-15) approving the presentation of the Government Excellence Award to Senator Mike Parson for his extraordinary achievement and outstanding support for Missouri State University. Moved by Ms. Tergin and seconded by Ms. Miller.
Motion passed 8-0.
6. Academic Affairs:
a. Faculty Senate Report --- Dr. Sharmistha Self, Chairperson of the Faculty Senate, first introduced the Chair-Elect of the Faculty Senate – Mr. Mike Foster. She reported a Senate Action at their October meeting – to grandfather seven courses as part of the new general education program. These courses were included in our previous general education program but not included in the recently approved new general education program. This information was not communicated to community colleges so we need to take care of those transfer students who were not informed of this change by grandfathering these seven courses.
b. Report from Provost --- Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost, reported that the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) site team left the campus last week. We will soon receive a draft copy of their report with an opportunity to make corrections only where there are errors of fact. A final report will then be sent on to the central office of the HLC and, by the end of the year, we will hear from the central office on whether they affirm the final report. He commented that he expects to see a few areas where we will need to self-improve and this timing will be beneficial as we will be in the middle of our next long-range plan process.
Dr. Einhellig next gave a faculty-hiring update. For this year, they filled 71 faculty/academic administrator positions – 56 from outside the university and 15 were filled internally. We now have 735 full-time faculty (not including some faculty positions in the library and at Greenwood Laboratory School).
7. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Mr. Caleb Doyle, Student Governor, gave the Student Body President Report as Ms. Ashley Crisafulli, Student Body President, was unable to attend today’s meeting. He first gave a report from the Student Government President of the West Plains Campus – Mr. Casey Buehler. The West Plains Student Government Association participated in the Welcome Back Week festivities and the Welcome Back Barbecue on the West Plains Campus. They have also been bringing in a variety of comedians and vocal bands in the early weeks of the semester. On the Springfield Campus, the SGA has been extremely involved in the Taylor Health and Wellness referendum in the support of building a new facility for Taylor Health and Wellness Center. SGA was also heavily involved in the HLC forums last week. He added that a new student task force has been created regarding sexual assault prevention.
8. Staff Senate --- Ms. Christina Bowles, Staff Senate Chair, reported that they hope to roll out the staff satisfaction survey this month. The goals are to assess staff satisfaction and to find out how Staff Senate can better represent the staff. It is hoped to repeat this survey every two years.
9. Financial:
a. Approval of Glass Hall Naming Resolution --- Mr. Brent Dunn, Vice President for University Advancement, presented a resolution (Gifts No. 167-15) recognizing the generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gourley and acknowledging their major gift to the new Student Success Center of the College of Business within David D. Glass Hall by permanently naming the Robert Gourley Student Success Center in honor of their generous support of the University and commitment to excellence in the field of business. The resolution also recognizes the generosity of a listing of twenty-one other donors by permanently naming specific areas in honor of their generous support. To date, we have brought in about $5.4 million in gifts and pledges to the Glass Hall project. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Ms. Fry and Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 8-0.
10. Facilities and Equipment --- Mr. Matt Morris, Interim Vice President for Administrative and Information Services, presented a resolution (Bids & Quotations No. 1506-15) for the renovation and addition to Glass Hall. DeWitt & Associates was the only bidder on this project. This resolution approves a construction contract of $25,984,000 for the base bid plus alternates 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and agreed-upon reductions. The total Project Budget is set at $33,840,165. The project includes renovating the existing public spaces and mechanical systems within the existing Glass Hall. In addition, an approximate 40,000-square-foot addition will provide a Student Success Center for the College of Business and a new, primary entrance to the facility. As part of this renovation, an automatic fire suppression system will be installed to address life safety issues. Moved by Dr. Hofherr and seconded by Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 8-0.
11. New Business:
a. Election of Board Officers for Calendar Year 2016 --- Mr. Hoven commented that the officer slate for next year has previously been discussed and it is his honor to nominate Dr. Peter Hofherr as the next Chair and Mr. Joe Carmichael as the next Vice-Chair. Ms. Tergin provided the second to the nomination.
Nominations passed unanimously.
b. Discussion on Undergraduate Student Research --- Dr. Einhellig began this discussion by remarking that we take great pride in being able to provide what has been referred to nationwide as high-impact learning experiences to a number of our students. These experiences enhance skills, develop confidence and self-assurance, and contribute to the public good. Faculty guidance can range from one-on-one mentoring, to individual class projects, or to an entire class on one project. This semester, over 1,700 students are participating in these types of experiences – where at least one third of the course grade comes from the project. Dr. Einhellig remarked that four undergraduate students will share their projects with the Board. Ms. Claire Geneser has been working for about a year with Dr. Peter Plavchan, in the Department of Physics, Astronomy and Materials Science on a cost-effective solution for the discovery of exoplanets in Astronomy. Mr. Tyler Golden has worked with Dr. Tim Knapp and Mrs. Christina Ryder in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology on community-engaged research through the Sociology Undergraduate Research Assistantship Program. Over four years, twenty research projects have been completed with many different community agencies, such as the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, the Community Partnership of the Ozarks, Habitat for Humanity, and Ozarks Food Harvest. Ms. Kaitlin Curtis presented on the utilization of functional behavioral assessment with students with autism: teaching to the function of escape- and attention-motivated behavior. Her advisor is Dr. Linda Garrison-Kane from the Department of Counseling, Leadership, and Special Education. Ms. Alexandra E. Thrower presented on the research and conservation of a Hisatsinom Ring-Shaped Vessel. Her mentor is Dr. Billie Follensbee from the Department of Art and Design.
A discussion was then held on the research projects presented and in general. It was pointed out that these examples show the relationship between teaching and research – they overlap and are related. Many of the students end up gaining the experience of presenting at regional and national conferences. Dr. Einhellig commented that a number of departments will provide some financial support for students presenting their research results. Dr. Einhellig explained that there is lot of literature on the topic that some learning experiences have a higher impact on students – those experiences include research experiences like we have seen today, study away, internships, and service learning. One of our Key Performance Indicators is tracking these types of experiences. He added that if you can have a personalized experience in any of these areas, then you have affected the life of that student. In wrapping up the discussion of this topic, Dr. Garrison-Kane commented that seeing her students grow and learn from these types of activities is the best part of her job.
12. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Friday, December 11, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. on the Springfield Campus.
13. Adjournment--- Mr. Hoven adjourned the meeting at 3:00 p.m., on the motion of Ms. Miller, the second of Mr. Spears, and the unanimous vote of the Board
John W. McAlear
Secretary