Meeting of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees

Friday, June 7, 2013
Gold Room, DiGiorgio Campus Center
Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC

 

Members present: Dalton Floyd (Chair), Karl Folkens,  Jane LaRoche, Kathy Bigham Susan Smith-Rex, Bob Thompson, Donna Tinsley-Holley, Janet Smalley, James Williamson, Glenn McCall, Tim Hopkins, Don Long,  Tim Sease, Scott Talley, Anthony J. DiGiorgio (ex officio).
 
Members absent: None.

Representatives present: Christopher Aubrie, Student Representative; Cliff Calloway, Faculty Representative

Representatives absent: None.

Others present: Faculty and staff of Winthrop University, Anna Douglas of The Herald.  David Thackham, The Johnsonian, Allison Rouch, CN2, South Carolina State Senator Wes Hayes, South Carolina State Senator Creighton Coleman, Mrs. Marion Coleman

The Board of Trustees met on Friday, June 7, 2013 on the campus of Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC.

 

Call to Order

Chair Floyd called the meeting to order at 11:06 a.m. Bob Thompson moved with a second from Sue Smith Rex that the Board meet in executive session for the purpose of discussing personnel, legal, and contractual issues.  Karl Folkens moved the Board end executive session, Tim Hopkins seconded.  The motion passed unanimously by voice vote.  No actions were taken in executive session.

The Board recessed at noon. 

As there were no requests made for public comments, the meeting continued at 1:00 p.m.in the Gold Room of the DiGiorgio Campus Center. 

 

Approval of Board Minutes of April 12, 2013

Kathy Bigham made a motion to approve the minutes from the meeting of April 12, 2013. The motion seconded by Glenn McCall. The minutes were approved unanimously as presented.

Special Presentation by Senator Wes Hayes and Senator Creighton Coleman

The Honorable Wes Hayes and the Honorable Creighton Coleman presented President DiGiorgio with a Senate citation commending him for his service to the State of South Carolina. 

 

Report of the Executive Committee and Chair of the Board

Chair Floyd reported that the Executive Committee had met via teleconference May 23, 2013.  Several matters were reviewed and discussed.  The materials from the meeting have been forwarded to each of members of the Board.   Chair Floyd asked that the Board consider a number of resolutions:


A. Affirmation of the Employment Contract of President-elect, Dr. Jayne Marie (Jamie) Comstock
Karl Folkens made a motion the Board ratify and vote for the contract as recommend by the Executive Committee and executed by Chair Dalton Floyd.  Jimmie Williamson seconded.  The vote was unanimous.

B. Resolution to Honor Dr. Cliff Calloway for Meritorious Service to the Winthrop University Board of Trustees as the Faculty Representative. 
Cliff was honored for his work not only on the Board but also for his work on the Presidential Search Committee.  The vote was unanimous in favor of the resolution.

C. Resolution to Honor Mr. Dalton Floyd for Meritorious Service to the Winthrop University Board of Trustees
Dalton was honored for his many years of service to the Board, first as Governor Sanford's Representative and later as an elected member of the Board.  The vote passed unanimously.

 

Report of the Committee on Academic Affairs

The Committee presented a Resolution to Confer Emeritus Status.  As it was from the committee, no second was needed.  Chair Smalley read the resolution for the following faculty: Dr. Kent Foster, Associate Professor, Computer Science; Dr. Kenneth Gordon, Professor of Spanish and Chair, World Languages and Cultures; Mr. Ron Green, Professor and Chair, Social Work;  Dr. Susan Green, Professor of Education, Curriculum and Pedagogy; Dr. Barbara Heinemann, Associate Professor of Spanish, World Languages and Cultures;  Dr. Danella Kasparek, Assistant Professor of Education, Physical Education, Sport, and Human Performance; Dr. Ccile Leung, Professor of French, World Languages and Cultures; Dr. Marguerite Quintelli-Neary, Professor of English, English; Ms. Jean Wells, Assistant Professor, Dacus Library; Ms. Mary Beth Young, Associate Professor of Dance, Theatre and Dance.  The vote was unanimous. 

Chair Smalley continued her report with a summary of the newly tenured and promoted faculty.  Seventeen faculty were awarded tenure and 18 were promoted.

Chair Smalley then introduced the new administrators in College of Arts and Sciences, including Dr. Karen Kedrowski as Dean of the College, Dr. Jennifer Disney as chair of the Political Science Department, Dr. Scott Shinabargar as chair of the Department of World Languages and Cultures, Dr. Thomas Polaski as chair of the Mathematics Department.

Chair Smalley continued with an update on the Winthrop-School Partnership Network, as it was selected as the 2013 recipient of the National Association of Professional Development Award for Exemplary Professional Development School Achievement.  She also informed us that Department of Design Assistant Professor Jennifer Belk was awarded the 2013 Carol A. Kueker Construction Education Visionary Award by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) Education Foundation and an installation work produced by Fine Arts students was featured as part of a performance and installation at the Mint Museum of Art in uptown Charlotte in May.  Chair Smalley continued with an update that the College of Business Administration has added an 18-hour Certificate in Healthcare Management to its offerings.  Good news was shared that our Academic Success Center saw a record number of students for the 2012-13 academic year and University College has implemented a program to target un-enrolled students without degrees.  Chair Smalley concluded with information about Winthrop's Return to Learn program, which targets students who were enrolled in the spring of 2007 or later, who had earned 100+ hours, and who did not complete their degrees but had no judicial or other holds prohibiting them from returning. 

 

Report of the Committee on Finance

Committee Chair Karl Folkens reported on 2013-14 preliminary Allocation Status Report that included the projected additional new year commitments and revenues.  Revenue projections were increased for the proposed fee increase and other potential revenue sources including the nonrecurring deferred maintenance funding in the pending legislation.

Chair Folkens brought forth a resolution from the Committee on Finance setting a 3.1% increase in tuition and fees for the 2013-14 academic year.  As this resolution is from a standing committee no second was needed.  The resolution passed unanimously.

Updates on Summer Projects were then given by Chair Folkens as provided to the Committee by Walter Hardin.  "Repurposing Projects" were key projects including the repurposing of the old Academic Computer lab to a Music Library and another room to accommodate the Music Tech lab.  Discussions of repurposing space in the former Facilities Management Office to accommodate the Piano Keyboard Lab and Theatre prop storage were also shared.  He also noted that again this year his staff worked with Residence Life staff to identify and fix items in residence halls.  Lastly, Folkens reported on projects planned for later in the year using the funding from the bonds approved in February.
 

Report of the Committee on Institutional Advancement and Development

Committee Chair Bob Thompson gave an update on the scholarship process. This year, Development saw the most available, in terms of number of scholarships as well as scholarship dollars in total, since the market downturn began in 2008, in part due to an update to the Foundation's spending rule, which now allows for accounts to spend so long as they are at or above 85% of the original gift.  Thompson also informed the Board on the new fund reporting process.  Reports are now made twice a year, splitting the financial report and the outcomes report. 

Chair Thompson shared that the Foundation successfully closed the 2012 year.  The Foundation began 2013 with a new implementation of our Financial Edge software.  Report formats include balance sheet, income statement and budget vs. actual formats. 

Chair Thompson went on to share that the Progress on Distinction: The Campaign for Winthrop has achieved $41,303,350 or 82.61% of the goal of $50,000,000.  When compared with May of last year, the dollars raised to-date has increased 16.7%.

A report on the continuing restructuring of the development team was then given.  Chair Thompson shared that Consultant Kathryn Miree had just begun her field work for the development assessment and planned to return in June to complete her assessment.  Chair Thompson concluded that Chrissy Catoe was welcomed to the division in her role as Senior Director for Donor and Community Engagement.

 

Report of the Committee on Student Life

Committee Chair Kathy Bigham provided a year end summary of athletic summary. She first gave an update from the Big South Conference spring meetings: men's soccer advanced to round 32 in the NCAA Soccer Challenge cup, women's tennis captured the Big South season and tournament championship, women's basketball had an outstanding year and finished second in Big South regular season play, and women's soccer and softball finished as Big South Championship conference runner-ups.

Chair Bigham congratulated Anthony DiGiorgio as he was inducted into the Big South Conference Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the Big South and NCAA athletics over the past 24 years.  Bigham also informed us that seven individuals were inducted into the Winthrop Athletics Hall of Fame.

She then reported on the 2012-13 community service activities, sharing that Winthrop student-athletes performed a total of 3283 hours of community service during the academic year.  Furthermore, Chair Bigham shared that Winthrop student-athletes produced both semester and cumulative overall GPA's over 3.0 for the spring semester just completed, three of the men's teams and six women's teams posted semester GPA's over 3.0. 

Bigham then briefed the Board on plans for new student summer orientation and fall Welcome Week activities, which were designed to engage new students in their new collegiate learning environment.

Chair Bigham reported on the work of the 2012-13 Critical Incident Management Team (CIMT). With the help of CIMT Chair, Dr. Ardaiolo, Chair Bigham informed us that accomplishments included the completion of a  Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for the entire university should a major disaster occur, implementation of safety plans and new entry access protocols for the Macfeat Lab School, participation in a FEMA evaluated multi-state virtual emergency table-top exercise to a radiation leak at the Catawba Nuclear Station, implementation through Campus Police the WU Watch program allowing all cell phones to be able to report emergencies on campus and much more. 

Chair Bigham concluded with a summary of new student leadership initiatives in Student Life.

 

Board Officer Elections

Nominating Committee Chair Janet Smalley along with Mr. Glenn McCall and Dr. Jane LaRoche brought forth the recommendation of Kathy Bigham for Chair and Karl Folkens for Vice Chair.  Both agreed to serve if elected.  Don Long moved the slate be accepted, Tim Hopkins seconded.  The election was unanimous.  The new officers will assume their duties on July 1, 2013.

 

Report of the Chair of Faculty Conference

Dr. Cliff Calloway reported on the Faculty Conference's work with program reviews including the current review of our general education classes.  He thanked VP of Academic Affairs Debra Boyd for supporting the ongoing professional development of the faculty.  Dr. Calloway also gave thanks to the Board for permitting him to be an active member of the Presidential Search Committee.  He concluded his report by introducing Dr. John Bird, the chair-elect of the Faculty Conference and the next representative to the Board of Trustees.

 

Report of the Chair of the Council of Student Leaders

Mr. Christopher Aubrie, newly elected president of the Council of Student Leaders, gave the report to the Board.  He reported on the overall activates of the academic year including the updating of their mission statement and constitution, creation of an annual vision statement, four successful retreats, the purchase of a kiosk located in the DiGiorgio Campus Center that will keep the student body updated on CSL activities, the creation of the Student Allocations Administrator position, the addition of two new organization and annual member seats and the chartering of over 20 new clubs and organizations. 

 

Report of the President

Dr. Anthony DiGiorgio thanked the Board for their longstanding involvement, colleagueship, and friendship with Winthrop and for being a friend over the past 24 years.

 

Special Presentation by the Kershaw Alumni Association

Trustees Tim Hopkins and Jane LaRoche, on behalf of the Kershaw Alumni Association, presented President DiGiorgio with a gift of a table in honor of his many years of service to the University.
 

Old Business

None
 

New Business

None
 

Adjournment

Hearing no objections, Chair Floyd adjourned the meeting at 2:35 p.m.

Minutes submitted by Kimberly Faust, Secretary to the Board