August 20, 2004

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
AUGUST 20, 2004

  1. Roll Call-
    Present- Dr. Barbara Burns, President of the Board
    Mr. Thomas Carlson, Governor
    Mr. William Darr, Governor
    Mr. Michael Duggan, Governor
    Ms. Mary Sheid, Governor
    Ms. Phyllis Washington, Governor
    Ms. Kelli Wolf, Student Governor

    Absent- Mr. Michael Franks, Vice President of the Board

    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 9:05 a.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 meeting of July 30, 2004. Ms. Sheid moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Darr seconded the motion.
    Motion passed 6-0.
  4. Educational:
    1. Faculty Senate Report --- Dr. Lois Shufeldt, Chairperson for the Faculty Senate, reported on the upcoming issues that the Faculty Senate will confront this year. Some of the issues included in her report were 1) a prioritization of new faculty positions; 2) a review of a possible provost organizational model; 3) a review of several compensation issues; 4) a revision of our nondiscrimination statement to include sexual orientation; and 5) a continuation of monitoring the grade inflation situation.
    2. Report from Vice President for Academic Affairs --- Dr. Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs, reported that there were approximately fifty faculty members in attendance at the orientation session for new faculty held earlier this week.
  5. West Plains Campus:
    1. Report from the West Plains Campus --- Mr. Kent Thomas, Chancellor, reported that Shannon Hall in Mountain Grove is now functional and we are up to 154 students. He then presented the following resolutions for the Board’s consideration:
      • Miscellaneous demolition and site preparation at multiple locations on the
      • West Plains Campus (West Plains Campus Bids & Quotations No. 27-04);
      • Missouri Demolition Contractors, low bid of $33,900; project budget established at $40,000.

      Approval of actions concerning non-academic employees of the West Plains Campus (West Plains Personnel No. 22 1-04).

      Moved by Ms. Sheid. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.

      Motion passed 6-0.
  6. Student Affairs:
    1. Report from Student Body President --- Mr. Chris Curtis, President of the Student Body, reported that they held their first Student Government Association leadership retreat two weeks ago. Fourteen of sixteen cabinet members were present along with Student Governor Kelli Wolf. He also reported that the second annual Public Affairs Week would be held September 13-16, 2004.
    2. Report from Vice President for Student Affairs -- Dr. Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student Affairs, reported that the News-Leader will be placing 2,000 free newspapers on campus each week day beginning next Monday, the first day of class. He also reported that they are going to open at 100.7% capacity in the residence halls.
  7. Staff Senate Report --- Ms. Diana Garland, Chairperson-elect of the Staff Senate, reported that the Staff Senate Centennial Committee has purchased a showcase and clock that will be dedicated to 100 years of staff contributions to the University. It will be located on the second floor of Carrington Hall.
  8. 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 during a recess of this August 20, 2004 meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items pursuant to:
    1. R.S.Mo. 610.021(1). “Legal actions, causes of action, or litigation involving a public governmental body...”
    2. R.S.Mo. 610.021(2). “Leasing, purchase or sale of real estate by a public governmental body...”
    3. R.S.Mo. 610.021(3). “Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting an employee of a public governmental body.”
    4. R.S.Mo. 610.021(6). “Scholastic probation, expulsion, or graduation of identifiable individuals...”
    5. 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;”
    6. R.S.Mo. 610.021(11) and (12). “Specifications for competitive bidding...” and “Sealed bids and related documents..
    7. R.S.Mo. 610.021(13). “Individually identifiable personnel records, performance ratings, or records pertaining to employees or applicants for employment...”
    8. R.S.Mo. 610.02 1(14). “Records which are protected from disclosure by law;”
    9. 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. Darr seconded the motion.

    A roll call vote on the resolution was as follows: those voting in favor — Governors Burns, Carlson, Darr, Duggan, Sheid and Washington; those voting against — none; those absent — Governor

    Franks. Board President Burns declared the motion was passed 6-0.

    The Board recessed the meeting at 9:50 a.m. and returned at 10:30 a.m.
  9. Report from the President --- Dr. John Keiser first distributed a press release announcing that the FY2005 approved defense budget includes $8 million to renovate the MFA Milling facilities into the Jordan Valley Innovation Center which will house the University’s Center for Applied Science and Engineering (CASE). CASE will also have $13 million in new research funded in the 2005 Defense Appropriations bill. He distributed a second release where that Congressman Roy Blunt’s Office has notified the SMSU Department of Agriculture that a $577,494 two-year grant has been approved to allow students in rural community colleges the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in agriculture. Dr. Keiser reported that SMSU has established partnerships with Crowder College in Neosho, Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, and the SMSU campus in West Plains to teach by television the courses necessary to earn a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Agriculture.

    He then presented a resolution (Agreement No. 136-04) approving a cooperative agreement between the Discovery Center of Springfield and SMSU. This will allow us to establish a series of collaborative efforts in life sciences. Motion made by Mr. Darr with the second offered by Ms. Sheid.

    Motion passed 6-0.

    Mr. Black next presented a resolution (Board Policies No. 36-04) approving revisions to the University’s Open Meetings and Records Policy. There have been some changes made to the Sunshine Law that will go into effect on August 28, 2004. These changes to our policy are necessary to be consistent with the changes to the law. He then summarized a few of the more significant changes to the law. Moved by Mr. Carlson. Seconded by Mr. Darr.

    Motion passed 6-0.
  10. Financial:
    1. Development Report --- Mr. Greg Onstot, Vice President for University Advancement, presented the Development Report for the month of July 31, 2004. He reported that we received about $583,000 in the first month of our new fiscal year.

      He then distributed a resolution (Gifts No. 136-04) approving the naming of the dining hall between Hammons House and Hutchens House on Harrison Street as the Garst Dining Hall. He reported that a member of the SMSU Foundation Board of Directors and his wife, Robert M. and Edith I. Garst of Midland Texas have made a decision to fund a major scholarship for current and future SMSU students and primarily for

      Marshfield, Missouri high school students. Moved by Mr. Darr. Seconded by Ms. Sheid.

      Motion passed 6-0.

      Mr. Onstot then reported on the local television rights contract for intercollegiate athletics. He began by providing some background information. In 1990, KY-3 was selected through the bid process to televise a limited number of basketball games with them paying a rights fee of $1,500 per game to SMSU. After that bid process, there was no competition for televising our men’s and women’s basketball games and the rights fee gradually disappeared. The games were televised on KY-3 but they did not have to pay a rights fee. The contract expired this spring and we advertised a “Request for Proposal” for televising our basketball games for the next three years. We received bids from MediaCom and KY-3. It was difficult to compare the bids as KY-3 is an over-the-air channel that covers about 100 miles and MediaCom is a cable system that has linkages over the entire State through other cable systems. He explained that they looked at four areas in this exercise: 1) how can we get more games televised? 2) how can we expand our audience to other areas of the State? 3) what can we do to help other programs within intercollegiate athletics? and 4) what type of financial rewards might we receive in the form of a rights fee?

      Mr. Onstot summarized the following:
      1. MediaCom is proposing to televise sixteen games each year compared to KY-3’s twelve games.
      2. MediaCom has proposed that SMSU can sell eight 30 second spots @ $250 per spot for each game, while KY-3 proposed three spots @ $450 per spot for each game. KY-3 does not allow us to sell to any of their clients.
      3. MediaCom has waived the $1,500 per game fee that we pay for them to televise our home football games. In addition, MediaCom proposed to televise three baseball games from Hammons Field at no cost to SMSU, while KY-3 proposed to give SMSU fifteen hours of additional production time.
      4. MediaCom will provide SMS with $65,000 in advertising per year while KY-3 will provide $10,000 per year.
      5. Both MediaCom and KY-3 propose to provide all production costs for weekly coaches shows as well as provide all advertising slots to SMS for sale to advertisers.
      6. MediaCom has linkages to many cities throughout the state of Missouri and they are close to finalizing something to link with the Kansas City area that would relate to about 400,000 homes.
      Mr. Onstot explained that these are the major points that have caused us to recommend to the Board that the University award a contract to MediaCom. The total dollar amount and promotion value in MediaCom’s proposal is $331,500 versus KY-3’s $83,550. A key difference between the two bidders is that KY-3 is an over-the-air channel that reaches homes with approximately 726,000 adults at no cost while individuals need to subscribe to MediaCom. We know that this will disappoint those people who do not subscribe to MediaCom.

      Mr. Carlson asked if it was correct that, in this type of proposal, those who bid are not aware of what makes up other bidder’s bids. Mr. Onstot responded that he was correct. Mr. Onstot further explained that after receiving their initial proposals, both bidders were sent a letter indicating that they could enhance their bid. Neither bidder took the opportunity to enhance their original bids. Mr. Carlson asked if it was right that now the Board is obligated to select a bidder based on what has been submitted — we cannot ask for either party to enhance their bid. Mr. Onstot responded that he was correct. When asked about possible viewers, Mr. Onstot indicated that if MediaCom is able to link with all those cities currently under negotiation, there would be broader statewide coverage for the University, but when looking at only this region, KY-3 would have broader coverage, as MediaCom does not have the number of subscriptions to outdraw KY-3.

      Ms. Sheid commented that this does affect the West Plains area as MediaCom is not in West Plains. Mr. Onstot replied that MediaCom is negotiating with the West Plains cable provider at the present time and is confident that West Plains will be linked.

      Mr. Duggan commented that the process in place is in the best interests of the University on a long-term basis. If we have people who make proposals and we don’t consider the low bidders in these situations, long term — people will stop bidding. If we break down the process, we may make some people happy short term, but long term, it is not in our best interests.

      Mr. Carlson commented that he was uncomfortable with having to make a decision on an issue of this magnitude on such a short notice — this just came up in the last two days. He then moved that we postpone a decision on this until a teleconference call meeting some time next week. Ms. Sheid provided the second to the motion. It was decided that the teleconference call would take place on August 26, 2004 at 4:00 p.m.

      Motion passed unanimously.
    2. Financial Report Mr. Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance, reported that we are undergoing our annual year-end financial audit at this time.
    3. Purchases & Contracts --- Mr. Kay then presented the following resolutions for the Board’s consideration:

      Purchases exceeding $25,000 from July 30, 2004 through August 5, 2004 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 247-04).

      Purchases exceeding $25,000 from August 6, 2004 through August 19, 2004 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 248-04).

      Moved by Mr. Darr and seconded by Mr. Carlson.

      Motion passed 6-0.

      Mr. Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration & Finance, commented that two leases should have been approved at the last meeting as both leases went into effect on August 1, 2004. He contacted Dr. Burns for prior approval of these leases and the following resolutions are presented to obtain the full Board’s approval:

      Approval of lease renewal with Holland Place, LLC (Agreement No. 137- 04).

      Approval of lease in former Great Southern Bank Building (Agreement No. 138-04).

      Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Mr. Duggan.

      Motion passed 6-0.

      He next presented a resolution (Purchase Approval No. 97-04) approving the award of a contract for the installation of energy saving improvements in various locations throughout the SMSU-Springfield campus. This will address our aging chiller infrastructure. Most of the Board has been briefed on the details of this arrangement. During the briefings, it was shown that this project paid for itself using a 4.95% model. Since that time, we have been able to attain an interest rate of 4.3 92% that will save us even more money. Ms. Sheid moved to approve the resolution. Mr. Duggan seconded the motion.
      Motion passed 6-0.
  11. Facilities and Equipment --- Mr. Burris next presented the following resolutions for the Board’s consideration:

    Approving the August 9, 2004 Building Report (Building Report No. 137-04).

    Approving the Activity Report for the month of July 2004 (Activity Report No. 140-04).

    First and fourth floor remodeling of the Jim D. Morris Center for Continuing Education (Bids & Quotations No. 113 0-04); Nesbitt Construction, Inc., low bid of $1,060,000 for the base bid and alternate one; total project budget established at $1,398,500.
    Engineering services in conjunction with the stage lift pit repairs at Craig Hall (Architects & Engineers No. 599-04); Scott Consulting Engineers, P.C., for $3,800 plus reimbursable expenses. Additional services of up to $1,200 as described in this agreement may be authorized and approved as necessary.

    Moved by Mr. Darr. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.

    Motion passed 6-0.
  12. Human Resources ---Mr. Burris next presented the following resolutions:

    Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1143-04).

    Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1144- 04).

    One additional action concerning an academic employee (Human Resources No. 1145-04).

    Additional actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1146-04).

    Moved by Mr. Duggan. Seconded by Mr. Darr.

    Motion passed 6-0.

    Mr. Burris then reported on the Board Approval Thresholds that the Board asked to be researched to consider possibly increasing the amount that needed Board approval. After the research, it is being recommended that we increase the threshold from $25,000 to $100,000 that is comparable to other universities in the state. Mr. Carlson indicated that he was comfortable with the recommendation. He still has some issues with the RFP’s that he wants to think about. Ms. Washington commented that she has an issue with not having adequate time to review some of the recommended resolutions. Mr. Duggan moved to adopt the recommendation of increasing the Board Approval Threshold to $100,000. Ms. Washington provided the second.

    Motion passed 6-0.
  13. Unfinished Business --- Dr. Burns reported that there has been some discussion about moving the October 15, 2004 board meeting to October 22 so it would coincide with Homecoming weekend. She asked if anyone had a problem with moving the date. With no objections, it was decided to change the date of the October meeting to October 22, 2004 on the Springfield campus.
  14. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for September 17, 2004.
  15. Adjournment--- Dr. Burns adjourned the meeting at 12:10 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Duggan, the second of Ms. Sheid, and the unanimous vote of the Board.

John W. McAlear
Secretary