MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
SOUTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
MARCH 18, 2005
1. Roll Call
Present- Mr. Thomas Carlson, Governor
Mr. William Darr, Governor (by conference
call)
Mr. Michael Duggan, Governor (by conference
call)
Mr. Gordon Elliott, Governor
Mr. Michael Franks, Vice President
of the Board
Ms. Mary Sheid, Governor
Ms. Phyllis Washington, Governor (by
conference call)
Ms. Kelli Wolf, Student Governor
Also
Present- John Keiser, President
Kent Thomas, Chancellor of the West
Plains Campus
Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for
Academic Affairs
Greg Onstot, Vice President for University
Advancement
Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student
Affairs
Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration
& Finance
Kent Kay, Associate Vice President
for Finance
John Black, General Counsel
John W. McAlear, Secretary of the
Board
2. Presiding --- The presiding officer for the meeting was Mr. Michael Franks, Vice President of the Board of Governors. He called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. in the Parliamentary Room of the Plaster Student Union on the campus of Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.
3. Minutes --- Mr. Franks noted that the first item of business on the agenda was the approval of the minutes submitted by the Secretary for the open regular meeting of February 18, 2005, open special meeting of March 2, 2005, closed regular meeting of January 21, 2005, closed regular meeting of February 18, 2005, and closed special meeting of March 2, 2005. Ms. Sheid moved to approve the minutes as presented. Mr. Carlson seconded the motion.
Motion passed 7-0.
4. New Business --- Mr. Franks indicated that with the addition of Mr. Elliott to the Board and the end of Dr. Barbara Burns' term, the Board needs to reform. He asked for nominations for officers of the Board. Mr. Duggan moved to nominate Mr. Michael Franks as President, Ms. Mary Sheid as Vice President, Mr. Kent Kay as Treasurer, and Mr. John McAlear as Secretary. Both Ms. Washington and Mr. Carlson provided the second to the motion. Ms. Washington then moved to close nominations and Mr. Darr seconded the motion.
Motion to close the nominations passed 7-0.
Mr. Franks then asked for a vote on the slate of officers as nominated.
Nominations passed 7-0.
5. Report from the President --- Dr. John Keiser first recognized Mr. Jerry Burch, University lobbyist, with a plaque and Mr. Paul Kincaid, Director of Government Relations, with a bronze bear award for their dedicated service in the Missouri State University name change legislation being passed.
He next reported that Representative Carl Bearden has introduced legislation that would achieve our 2002 funding levels and includes an FTE student element in a new funding formula.
Dr. Keiser next presented a resolution (Fees No. 122-05) recommending student fees for the 2005-2006 year. The formal fee increase would represent a 6.5% increase. This will generate about an additional $4.7 million. This will support a projected 2% salary increase. Dr. Don Aripoli, Vice President for Student Affairs, next reported on the national issue of affordability and cost of higher education. He also commented on the concept of elasticity and that if we have been priced too low and there is ample elasticity, students would have flocked to us in the past. This has not been the case the past seven to eight years. He commented that the 6.5% recommended increase is a fair increase. He added that the recommended resolution includes two issues that our students have been working on – 1) a $10 increase in the SCUF (Student Computer Usage Fee) fee for Fall and Spring to support a music download and other technology; and 2) a new $1 fee to fund the Student Government Association. He also added that students in the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies program, based in Washington D.C., will pay out of state fees for all credit hours taken (as opposed to the normal out of state fee kicking in above seven credit hours).
After considerable discussion, Mr. Franks asked if there was a motion to approve the recommended fee increase. Moved by Mr. Duggan and seconded by Ms. Sheid.
Motion passed 7-0.
General Fred Marty, Associate Vice President for Administrative Services, next gave a brief summary of the proposed chapter in the SMSU long-range plan concerning Facilities and Support Services. His presentation revealed that SMSU is the lowest of all four-year public institutions in the State as far as square feet per FTE student. The Facilities Condition Index (ratio of deferred maintenance to replacement value) reflects deterioration in our facilities being classified in the "poor" category. Our maintenance and repair backlog is about $72 million. We are limited to addressing life safety, access, and critical operational deficiencies. Our plan to improve this situation is an additional $250,000 over and above what we are allocated at the present time for the next five years.
6. Educational:
a. Faculty Senate Report --- Dr. Lois Shufeldt, Chairperson for the Faculty Senate, gave a report to the Board. Included in her report were the nominations for the Chair-elect of the Faculty Senate for the upcoming election in April – Dr. Reed Olsen from Economics, Dr. Mark Richter from Chemistry, Dr. Kishor Shah from Mathematics, and Dr. Tom Wyrick from Economics. Although the fee increase for next year has already been acted upon by the Board, she presented two Senate actions – one action recommending that salaries for full- and part-time faculty and staff and stipends for graduate assistantships be increased by at least 3.3% in the FY06 budget; and a second action that SMSU should increase student fees by an average of $7 per credit hour to make up for the shortfall that developed during the past two years plus the $10 per credit hour currently proposed by the administration; because costs are lower in 100-level courses and to address the possibility that higher fees at SMSU will cause some students to take more 100-level courses at other institutions, fee increases for such courses should rise by only $10 per credit hour, while fee increases for 400, 500, and 600-level courses should be approximately $25 per credit hour.
b. Report from Vice President for Academic Affairs --- Dr. Bruno Schmidt, Vice President for Academic Affairs, first presented a resolution (Curriculum No. 277-05) approving the Academic Calendar for 2006-2007. Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Ms. Washington.
Motion passed 7-0.
He then presented a resolution (Curriculum No. 278-05) approving the creation of a School of Public Health reporting directly to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Moved by Mr. Duggan. Seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 7-0.
Dr. Schmidt then presented a resolution (Curriculum No. 279-05) approving a new program – Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT). Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 7-0.
He next presented a resolution (Curriculum No. 280-05) establishing a new department – Early Childhood and Family Development. Moved by Ms. Sheid. Seconded by Mr. Carlson.
Motion passed 7-0.
Dr. Lorene Stone, Dean of the College of Humanities and Public Affairs, then briefed the Board on the status of the move of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies to the Washington D.C. area. The sub-lease agreement to lease space will be presented later in today's meeting. She explained that there were no major changes in the sublease since she last reported to the Board.
7. West Plains Campus:
a. Report from the West Plains Campus --- Mr. Kent Thomas, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus, presented the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Approval of new academic program for the Associate of Applied Science in Entrepreneurship (West Plains Campus Curriculum No. 25-05).
Approval of new academic program for the Certificate in Entrepreneurship (West Plains Campus Curriculum No. 26-05).
Approval of new academic program for the Associate of Applied Science in Computer Graphics and Programming (West Plains Campus Curriculum No. 27-05).
Approval of Cooperative Agreement and authority to enter into an agreement with Ozarks Medical Center for the purpose of creating an Associate of Applied Science degree in Respiratory Therapy (West Plains Campus Agreement No. 21-05).
Approval and authorization to enter into contracts for sale of real estate for the purchase of property sold at public auction at West Plains, Missouri (West Plains Campus Land Purchase No. 19-05)
Approval of actions concerning academic employees of the West Plains Campus (West Plains Personnel No. 232-05).
Approval of revised University Smoking Policy (West Plains Policies No. 13-05).
Approval of revised University Pets Policy (West Plains Policies No. 14-05).
Moved by Ms. Sheid. Seconded by Mr. Elliott.
Motion passed 7-0.
8. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Ms. Lindsay Haymes, Vice President of the Student Body, reported that Student Government elections will be held on April 18 & 19, 2005. She also reported that SGA, recognizing the tough financial situation of the State, supports the 6.5% student fee increase. She ended her report by announcing that applications for the Student Governor position will be collected soon.
b. Report from Vice President for Student Affairs--- Dr. Don Aripoli reported that freshman applications are down 158 students while transfer students are up 47 students when compared to the same period last year. Our degree-seeking graduate students are up 48 students. We are not alarmed, as we had projected a small decline.
9. Staff Senate Report --- Dr. Diana Garland, Chairperson of the Staff Senate, reported that this has been an exciting month at the University. She was thrilled yesterday to have received a signed copy of the Senate Bill signed by Governor Matt Blunt changing the name of SMSU to Missouri State University.
10. Finance:
a. Development Report --- Mr. Greg Onstot, Vice President for University Advancement, presented the Development Report for the eight months ending February 28, 2005. Overall, we are down about 400 gifts and $200,000 when compared to last year, a record year.
He next reported on a successful dinner and wine-tasting event held in the Professional Building in which Ms. Sheid played an instrumental role. Our students in the Hospitality program prepared the dinner for 100 people and the goal was to raise $10,000 to $15,000.
b. Financial Report --- Mr. Kent Kay, Associate Vice President for Finance, presented the February 28, 2005 financial statements for the Board's review. He added that when you consider all personnel-related increases in the proposed FY06 budget (retirement, health insurance, and salary increases) it equates to a 5.4% increase.
c. Purchases & Contracts --- Mr. Kay presented the following resolution for the Board's consideration:
Purchases exceeding $100,000 from February 18, 2005 through March 4, 2005 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 260-05).
Purchases exceeding $100,000 from March 5, 2005 through March 16, 2005 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 261-05).
Moved by Ms. Sheid and seconded by Mr. Elliott.
Motion passed 7-0.
Mr. Greg Burris, Vice President for Administration & Finance, next presented a resolution (Agreement No. 153-05) authorizing the University administration to execute on behalf of the Board of Governors a building sub-lease agreement in Fairfax, Virginia to accommodate relocation of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies. Moved by Mr. Duggan and seconded by Ms. Washington.
Motion passed 7-0.
11. Facilities and Equipment --- Mr. Burris then presented the following resolutions:
Approving the Activity Report for the month of February 2005 (Activity Report No. 147-05).
The synthetic grass installation at the west recreation field (Bids & Quotations No. 1146-05); Kennedy Contractors, Inc., low bid of $297,000 for the base bid; total project budget set at $335,610.
Approval to increase the project budget for the lobby and dining room renovation at Blair-Shannon House (Bids & Quotations No. 1147-05). This $44,000 budget increase will bring the new approved project budget to $2,311,000.
Approval to correct the project budget for the renovation of the bathroom in Freudenberger House (Bids & Quotations No. 1148-05). The correct project budget total is $1,257,396.
Moved by Mr. Carlson. Seconded by Mr. Duggan.
Motion passed 7-0.
12. Human Resources --- Mr. Burris then presented the following resolutions for the Board's consideration:
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1162-05).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1163-05). He commented that the lay-off of Daniel Maloney due to the outsourcing of our former vending department should be removed from this resolution, as Mr. Maloney will be transferring to another department that will be included in a resolution for a future Board meeting.
Moved by Mr. Carlson. Seconded by Mr. Darr.
Motion passed 7-0.
Mr. Burris next reported that a Name Change Transition Team has been named to develop guidelines to help coordinate our name change to Missouri State University which will be effective August 28, 2005.
13. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for April 15, 2005.
14. Adjournment--- Mr. Franks adjourned the meeting at 12:05 p.m. on the motion of Mr. Darr, the second of Mr. Duggan, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John W. McAlear
Secretary