MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS
MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
MAY 12, 2016
1. Roll Call
Present
Mr. Joe Carmichael, Vice Chair
Mr. Tyree Davis IV, Student Governor
Ms. Virginia Fry, Governor (arriving at 1:40 p.m.)
Mr. Gabriel E. Gore, Governor
Dr. Peter Hofherr, Chair
Mr. Stephen B. Hoven, Governor
Ms. Beverly Miller, Governor
Mr. Kendall Seal, Governor
Mr. Greg Spears, Governor
Ms. Carrie Tergin, Governor
Also Present
Clifton Smart III, President
Frank Einhellig, Provost
Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus
Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs
Matt Morris, Vice President for Administrative Services
Jim Baker, Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and International Programs
Jeff Morrissey, Chief Information Officer
Wes Pratt, Assistant to the President and Chief Diversity Officer
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 Dr. Peter Hofherr, 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 --- Dr. Hofherr mentioned that the first item of business was the approval of the minutes for the open meeting of March 31, 2016, and the closed meeting of April 1, 2016. Ms. Miller so moved, receiving the second of Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 8-0.
4. Consent Agenda --- Dr. Hofherr noted that the next item of business on the agenda was the approval of the Consent Agenda for this meeting. He commented that one slight change that he is making to the Consent Agenda is removing the West Plains Campus items which will be presented by Dr. Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus after President Clif Smart’s report. The remaining items included in the Consent Agenda are:
President
Approval of First Amendments to Athletics Employment Agreements for Assistant Coaches
for Football (Human Resources No. 1519-16).
Student Affairs
Approval of Wyrick expenditures passed by student vote April 2016 to be implemented
in FY 2017 (Purchase Approval No. 137-16).
Approval of a Student Government Association (SGA) resolution to name the new Multicultural Resource Center Annex (Facilities No. 42-16).
Approval of the revised Student Government Association (SGA) Constitution (Student Policies No. 109-16).
Springfield Campus Purchases/Contracts
Approval of Procurement Activity Report for the period March 16, 2016, through April
27, 2016 (Purchasing Activity Report No. 437-16).
Facilities and Equipment
Approval of Activity Report for the month of March 2016 (Activity Report No. 280-16).
Approval of proposal and award of a contract for the FY16 job order contracting services – security systems installation (Bids & Quotations No. 1518-16); Netwatch, Inc., maximum amount for the year of $250,000, and the maximum amount per project of $65,000. This contract has options to renew for four additional consecutive fiscal years.
Human Resources Items
Actions concerning academic employees (Human Resources No. 1520-16).
Actions concerning non-academic employees (Human Resources No. 1521-16).
Mr. Spears 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 new Student Governor, Mr. Tyree Davis IV, to his first meeting. He next welcomed everyone to commencement weekend at Missouri State. He stated that in the three commencement ceremonies tomorrow, we will graduate 2,424 students on the Springfield campus, including 1,778 students with undergraduate degrees and 646 with graduate degrees, 73 of which are doctorates. On Saturday, 276 students will graduate with associate degrees on the West Plains campus.
President Smart next announced that our student spotlight today is the “Quest for the Cup” team in Missouri State’s Communication Sciences and Disorders Department. This competition for Speech-Language Pathology graduate students is held annually at the Missouri Speech Language Hearing Association’s state convention. He then introduced Jill Oswalt, the faculty sponsor for MSU’s “Quest for the Cup” team. Ms. Oswalt remarked that this competition has been held for twelve years and we have won the Cup the last three years, four of the last five years, and a total of five times. Team members in attendance were Cassie Lowe (team leader), Kelsey Dethrow, Riley Hammond, Megan Goforth, Chrissy Wall, and Kalli Conner.
President Smart then gave a report on the recent Association of Governing Board’s (AGB) annual conference which he attended with Governors Tergin and Carmichael, and Steve Foucart. He remarked that there were great sessions on diversity, board meeting organization, crisis communication, and finance. Governor Tergin commented that one of the takeaways she came away with is that we have a great Board and administration. Some of the conversations she was hearing were others considering the use of executive committees and looking at strategic risk assessment, two things we already have in place. Sessions she attended included shared governance, engaging potential donors, and new board member orientation. Chairman Hofherr asked if Governor Tergin would be willing to draw up a few recommendations from what she learned for the Board to consider and she agreed to do so. President Smart commented that he had also created a takeaway list from the conference and will help facilitate a listing of recommendations with Governors Tergin, Miller, and Carmichael for the upcoming Board retreat.
President Smart next commented on their visit to our Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, which is located in northern Virginia, after the AGB Conference. He commented that this was the first time Board members have visited this part of the MSU system. Governor Carmichael added that the program offers an M.S. in Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction. This year, out of their 90 students, 40 were funded by the Department of Defense. He added that they are working on an offering at Fort Leonard Wood through a distance learning project.
President Smart then reported on the Tabletop active shooter exercise we conducted last month on campus in the Emergency Operations Center. Campus safety has been the Board’s number one risk management priority and we have discussed it multiple times. Governor Miller attended the exercise and reported that there were about 35 administrators in attendance along with representatives from the Springfield Police Department and Mercy’s EMS group. She indicated that everyone divided up into the various groups that would respond to an active-shooter situation – policy, operations, logistics, finance, and public information. She added that the exercise went very well and each of the various groups was aware of what its role would be. She ended her report by saying that an outside assessment group is being hired to come in and advise us on how we can improve communications and some of the procedural aspects of the university’s response to an incident. President Smart added that the outside consultant will also be visiting our West Plains Campus to review its plan as well.
President Smart next gave a report on the University’s legislative priorities this year. Our first priority was an operating appropriations increase of 6%, which was included in Governor Jay Nixon’s budget recommendation. We ended up receiving a 4.5% increase (the largest of any public university due to performance funding and an equity adjustment), which came to more than $3.8 million. The legislature also appropriated a $1 million line item to Missouri State for the collaborative engineering program with Missouri S&T. In exchange for this level of funding, all four- and two-year schools agreed to keep instate undergraduate tuition at the same level as last year. He then reminded the Board that they had already approved the 2016-17 Fee Schedule with a $1-per-credit-hour increase for Springfield instate undergraduate students along with an $8-per-semester fee increase, and a $2-per-credit-hour increase for West Plains instate students. To address this, he then presented a resolution (Fees No. 148-16) rolling back these previously approved fee increases. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Mr. Hoven and Ms. Miller.
Motion passed 8-0.
President Smart indicated that we also had capital successes this year as well as having our occupational therapy line-item appropriation combined into our core operating appropriation. He then expressed thanks to several individual legislators who played critical roles in our legislature successes this year: Senators Ron Richard, Jay Wasson, Kurt Schaefer, Mike Cunningham, Mike Parson, David Sater, Eric Schmitt; and Representatives Todd Richardson, Kevin Austin, Tom Flanigan, Scott Fitzpatrick, Lincoln Hough, Eric Burlison, Jeff Messenger, and Jered Taylor. He said it all began with Governor Jay Nixon making Higher Education his number one priority in his last year.
President Smart ended his report by presenting a resolution (Awards No. 68-16) approving former Missouri State University employees to be added to the Wall of Fame. The 2016 recommendations are – Dr. Don Aripoli, Dr. Larry Banks, Dr. Wayne Bartee, Mr. William Daggett, and Mr. Mike Smith. He commented that these five individuals have given dozens and dozens of years of great service to the University. Moved and seconded respectively, by Ms. Tergin and Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
6. West Plains Campus – Dr. Drew Bennett, Chancellor of the West Plains Campus, first presented a resolution (West Plains Campus Activity Report No. 116-16) for the approval of the Activity Report dated May 12, 2016, which includes a sidewalk repair of $2,278.91 at the Pennsylvania House. Moved by Mr. Hoven and seconded by Mr. Spears.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Bennett next presented three resolutions for the Board’s consideration. He commented that they are in the process of selecting a new head basketball coach and they had 119 candidates in the first week. A search committee narrowed this pool down for telephone interviews, and then brought four candidates to campus. They will be making their final selection very soon. The three resolutions needing approval are:
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 389-16).
Approval of actions concerning West Plains Campus non-academic employees (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 390-16).
Approval of Fiscal Year 2017 Salary and Benefits Overview for Missouri State University-West Plains Coaches (West Plains Campus Personnel No. 391-16).
Moved and seconded, respectively, by Ms. Fry and Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Bennett then presented a resolution (West Plains Campus Purchase Approval No. 49-16) for the approval of expenditures to implement student-approved capital projects. These projects include: a) $7,000 to provide a sidewalk from Lybyer Technology Center to Gohn Hall; b) $2,500 for disability accessible picnic tables; c) $5,500 for updated student seating and common area furniture for Putnam Student Center; d) $3,600 to provide for the planting of eight fruit trees; and e) $5,000 for campus beautification on the MSU-West Plains campus. Moved by Mr. Hoven and seconded by Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
He next presented a resolution (West Plains Campus Agreement No. 44-16) for the approval of a revised Memorandum of Understanding and to enter into an agreement with West Plains High School. This Memorandum of Understanding concerns the joint offering of an Early Degree Program which allows eligible juniors and seniors to simultaneously fulfill West Plains High School and MSU-West Plains degree graduation requirements. Moved by Ms. Tergin and seconded by Ms. Miller.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Bennett then presented a resolution (West Plains Campus Agreement No. 45-16) for the approval of a revised Dual Credit Agreement. This revised agreement requires that the High School faculty member teaching the course has at least eighteen graduate credit hours in the discipline he/she is teaching and it also raises the qualifications for those students taking the dual-credit course. Moved by Ms. Fry, receiving a second from Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Bennett stated that with the students graduating on Saturday morning at West Plains, this will bring the total number of students being awarded Associate Degrees on the West Plains campus to more than 4,900. He then reported on the Greater Ozarks Center for Advanced Technology (GOCAT) which is a partnership between MSU-West Plains, the City of West Plains, and the South Central Career Center of the West Plains R-7 School District to bring advanced technological training to area residents. He also reported that Dr. Phillip Howerton, associate professor of English at MSU-West Plains, recently was honored by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon with the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in Education.
7. Academic Affairs:
a. Faculty Senate Report --- Dr. Sharmistha Self, former Chairperson of the Faculty
Senate, first reported on the Faculty Concerns Committee’s Report which was based
on the assessment of academic administrators. She reported that President Smart’s
ratings this year were more positive than in previous years. Faculty ratings for the
Provost were also quite high. She added that the Ad Hoc Benefits Committee issued
a report recommending the accrual of sick days for nine-month faculty, like staff,
administrators, and twelve-month faculty earn. The Faculty Senate was in support of
this recommendation. She reported that in their April meeting, Cynthia Macgregor and
Beth Hurst were elected, respectively as Chair-Elect and Secretary for the coming
school year. Mr. Mike Foster, new Chairperson of the Faculty Senate, then reported
that his approach for the next year is that he is going to be a cheerleader for the
faculty. He wants faculty to be visible and he has told the Faculty Senate that positive
visibility equals positive recognition. He is going to recommend to new students this
coming year that they find a faculty mentor. It is important that students and faculty
build a relationship from the beginning. He is excited about the coming year.
b. Report from Provost --- Dr. Frank Einhellig, Provost, first announced, subject to the Board’s approval in the June meeting, that Dr. Ronald Del Vecchio will be the new director of the Darr School of Agriculture, effective August 1. Dr. Del Vecchio most recently was at the University of Minnesota – Crookstone, serving as the department head of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Department.
He next presented a resolution (Administration No. 44-16) to establish the Missouri State University Center for Writing in College, Career, and Community. The goal is to develop a more efficient operation in our processes and procedures where we are serving teacher preparation so that teachers have a better avenue in getting support for helping in the writing process (kindergarten through university). Moved and seconded, respectively, by Mr. Spears and Ms. Fry.
Motion passed 9-0.
He then presented a resolution of appreciation for Dr. Sharmistha Self’s exemplary service as Chair of the Faculty Senate for the 2015-2016 academic year. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Ms. Tergin and Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Einhellig then named the recipients of the Missouri State University Foundation Awards for Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service for 2016, some of whom were present:
Service – Jeffrey Cornelius-White (Counseling, Leadership and Special Education); Sharmistha Self (Economics).
Research – Paul Durham (Biology); Kanghui Guo (Mathematics).
Teaching – Susan Berg (Nursing); Kyoungtae Kim (Biology).
Dr. Rachelle Darabi, Associate Provost for Student Development & Public Affairs then presented a resolution (Awards No. 69-16) naming the Excellence in Public Affairs Faculty and Staff award recipients. Faculty award winners were Charlene Berquist, Melissa Burnett, and Ashley Leinweber, and Staff award winners were Holly Hesse, Devin Schehrer and Darren Young. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Mr. Spears and Ms. Tergin.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Darabi then introduced each of the award winners (Mr. Kyle Moats, accepted on behalf of Women’s’ Softball head Coach Holly Hesse, who is competing in the Missouri Valley Conference Softball Tournament). Governors Carrie Tergin, and Greg Spears assisted Dr. Darabi with the award presentations.
Dr. Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk, Chair of the twelfth annual Public Affairs Conference, next reported on the success of this year’s conference, Building Healthy Communities: Body, Mind, and Spirit. She indicated that there were three sessions at each time slot instead of the normal two sessions, so there were many more panel sessions to select from. There was a 12% increase in the number of participants this year, and an 80% approval rating at every single event.
8. Student Affairs:
a. Report from Student Body President --- Ms. Ashley Crisafulli, former Student Body
President, first thanked the Board for their service and support this year. She reported
that three SGA-related items were approved in today’s consent agenda: 1) approval
of this year’s Wyrick Commission student-approved projects; 2) the naming of the new
Multicultural Resource Center Annex; and, 3) the addition of a Title IX Commissioner
to the SGA Constitution. She reported that one of the key SGA successes this year
was the passage of the $25 fee for a new Health and Wellness Center. Ms. Alissa Biermaier,
outgoing SGA Vice President also thanked everyone for making this such a wonderful
year. Mr. Adam Coffman, newly elected Student Body President, reported that his theme
for next year will be the same motto as for his campaign – “Moving ever upward.” He
indicated that the three key things they will be working on next year are: 1) increasing
the marketing of the university and of SGA, as well; 2) expanding the resources for
students (expanded library hours –finals and mid-terms); and 3) the beginning of discussions
for a new residence hall.
b. Commendations --- Dr. Dee Siscoe, Vice President for Student Affairs, first presented a resolution to commend Ashley Crisafulli as Student Body president from May 2015 through May 2016. Moved by Mr. Hoven and seconded by Mr. Carmichael.
Motion passed 9-0.
Dr. Siscoe then presented a resolution to commend Alissa Biermaier for outstanding service as Student Body Vice President from May 2015 through May 2016. Moved and seconded, respectively, by Ms. Tergin and Ms. Fry.
Motion passed 9-0.
9. Staff Senate --- Ms. Christina Bowles, Staff Senate Chair, reported that the Staff Satisfaction Survey was not finalized in time to be included in today’s agenda. This will be coming to the Board soon. She commented that this is an extremely positive report. She announced the Staff Senate Officers for next year: Ryan Wilson – Chair; Rob Moore - Chair-Elect; Sandy Johnson – Secretary; and, Brian Edmond - Director of Staff Relations.
Mr. Matt Morris, Vice President for Administrative Services, presented a resolution to commend Ms. Bowles for her outstanding service as Staff Senate Chair for 2015-2016. Moved by Ms. Miller and seconded by Ms. Fry.
Motion passed 9-0.
10. New Business:
a. Discussion on Online Education --- Dr. Einhellig began a discussion on Online Education
by stating that, in this century, nothing has impacted higher education more than
the online delivery of course work. About 17 years ago, we offered our first online
course work for the Master of Science in Administrative Studies. In the Fall of 2011,
5.6% of credit hours were from online education and by the Fall of 2015 (four years
later), this had grown to 11.1%. The growth has been more dramatic in the summer,
with the increase in the percentage from online credit hours going from 22.2% to 43.9%
from 2011 to 2015. During the 2015 fiscal year, 14% of MSU-Springfield credit hours
were in online course work. For the Springfield Campus, the fiscal year credit hour
five-year trend shows internet delivery up 158%, traditional delivery down 6%, and
a blended delivery (combination of on-line and seated) up 196%. In Springfield, there
are 6,683 unique students enrolled in online courses this semester with 230 different
faculty teaching online. For the West Plains campus, the fiscal year credit hour five-year
trend shows internet delivery up 19%, traditional delivery down 34%, and blended delivery
up 200%. In West Plains, there are 1,314 unique students enrolled in online courses
this semester with 59 faculty teaching online. Dr. Einhellig commented that our growth
in online education is in the ballpark when compared to similar type institutions.
He reported we have fourteen graduate degree programs and sixteen graduate certificate
programs online. We also have eleven bachelor degree majors and seven minors online.
There is also a path to completing the General Education program online.
Dr. Einhellig then introduced Ivy Yarckow-Brown, Senior Instructor, Criminology & Criminal Justice, who has taught 44 online courses since 2009, to summarize how things work online. She walked the Board through her Seminar in Violence course, for which she won the University’s Master Online Course Recognition Award. Her goal is to make navigating through the online site as easy as possible, as it is the coursework material which should be challenging. Her syllabus could range from 18-32 pages and every assignment is detailed in the syllabus. Developing relationships with each student is key for online courses. She will also establish an online learning community so that each student knows they can ask questions of herself and fellow students. She indicated that her classes are fully online, and it is absolutely essential that all components of a seated class be included in the online course format, even if they do require a transition in format or delivery method.
A faculty panel of Ms. Brown, Patti Blanton, Mathematics; Cindy Hail, Childhood Education; Gary Iman, Communications; Dasha Russell, Accounting (West Plains); Stanley Leasure, Finance and General Business; Paula Rector, Criminology & Criminal Justice; and Monika Feeney, Biomedical Sciences next fielded questions and gave their perspectives and experiences in teaching online courses. The question and discussion period revealed the following:
• Online coursework benefits greatly those students who otherwise could not be going to a college campus (in many cases, these are nontraditional students).
• Online coursework is structured so that you have 100% of the students participating when you might only hear from 20% of those in a seated class.
• The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning can provide excellent support and assistance in helping with online course development. There is a process and a certain amount of training for those interested in teaching online.
• Preparation time required for online teaching is much greater than for seated classes.
• The growth in online teaching will continue.
• Many traditional students, due to various reasons, are taking a combination of seated classes as well as online classes, and they are doing so from the beginning of their college career.
11. 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 the State of Missouri. Dr. Hofherr 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 Missouri State University that a closed meeting, with closed records and closed vote, be held immediately following this May 12, 2016, meeting of the Board of Governors to consider items of business pursuant to:
a. R.S.Mo. 610.021 (1). “…any confidential or privileged communications between a public governmental body or its representatives and its attorneys…”
Mr. Carmichael moved the approval of the resolution and Ms. Tergin seconded the motion.
A roll call vote was taken: those voting in favor – Governors Carmichael, Fry, Gore, Hofherr, Hoven, Miller, Seal, Spears, and Tergin; those voting against – none.
Dr. Hofherr declared the resolution passed unanimously.
12. Date of Next Meeting --- The date of the next regularly scheduled meeting was set for Friday, June 10, 2016, at 1:00 p.m., West Plains Civic Center.
13. Adjournment--- Dr. Hofherr adjourned the meeting at 4:15 p.m., on the motion of Mr. Hoven, the second of Mr. Gore, and the unanimous vote of the Board.
John W. McAlear
Secretary