Thursday, June 13, 2024 | 10:00 a.m.
Carroll Hall | Minerd Executive Seminar Room
Winthrop University | Rock Hill, South Carolina
Committee Members Present:
Glenn McCall, Kathy Bigham, Ed Driggers, Tim Sease, Dr. David McDonald (via conference call)
Committee Members Absent:
Gary Williams
Others Present:
Dr. Edward A. Serna (President), Dr. Sebastian van Delden (Provost), Todd Hagins (General Counsel and Secretary to the Board), Dr. Randy Imler (Trustee), Tammie Phillips (Executive Director), Amy Bailey (Office Coordinator)
Agenda
Public Notice
Pursuant to state law, Winthrop University published a notice to the public on its website providing the meeting agenda and a notice affixed outside the meeting location on June 13, 2024.
Call to Order
A quorum being present, following an invocation, Chairman McCall called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman McCall moved to adopt the Executive Committee minutes from April 11, 2024. With no objection, the Executive Committee adopted the minutes.
Report from the Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Chairman McCall thanked those in attendance live and via phone conference.
Report from the President of Winthrop University
President Serna provided the following report to the Executive Committee:
Update on Spring Sports
President Serna began the meeting by providing an Athletics update on student-athletes’ impact on the field, in the classroom and in the community. He reported Winthrop student-athletes finished the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.33, with 73.6% of them achieving a GPA above 3.0. An impressive 54 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0, representing nearly 20% of our athletic cohort. Parker Whittle (baseball) has been honored with the Big South Conference Post Graduate Fellowship award.
He reported Winthrop esports was named the CECC School of the Year out of 900 colleges and universities with such programs. The esports team won the CECC National Championships for Super Smash Brothers and Valorant. Men’s golf won its first Big South Championship in the program’s 39-year history and participated in the NCAA tournament. Track and field earned five Big South Conference individual championships. Softball finished as runners-up in the Big South Championship under first-year Head Coach Kendall Fuller.
He reported Winthrop Athletics showcased the campus in hosting the Collegiate Disc Golf Championships, successfully welcoming over 800 student participants from 200 universities. Winthrop student-athletes have completed over 5,000 community service hours, the highest since before the pandemic. The first Eagle Club auction since 2019 saw over 200 attendees and raised over $100,000 for student-athlete scholarships and books.
Update on Big South Conference
President Serna reported the conference is considering hosting the Big South Conference Basketball Championship Tournament at a single site or returning to the high-seed tournament format. He reported Chuck Rey and other athletic directors in the Big South met in Johnson City, Tennessee, last week to tour facilities and the area. A decision is expected in the fall.
A large part of the Big South meeting was spent discussing the proposed NCAA-Power 5 Settlement Agreement. He reported that this likely is or is the preface to a major shift in college sports that started with NIL. If finalized, the agreement will impact Winthrop’s budget for the next 10 years, with $227,000 less in revenue distribution from the NCAA. The money will be diverted to the Power 5 the next 10 years to pay for their players but will not benefit other universities like Winthrop, their student-athletes or any mid-major student-athletes. Power 5 student-athletes will start receiving payments in Fall 2025, with television revenue distributed only to Power 5 schools, approximately $20 million per year per school to be disbursed to student-athletes. Mid-major schools may choose to pay student-athletes at their discretion from their own funds.
Update on Budget
President Serna reported Acting CFO Kevin Butler met with cabinet to review the budget numbers for FY24-25. He reported that he reiterated to the cabinet that we will present a balanced budget to the Board for approval at the June full Board meeting. This is a crucial step in maintaining our financial health and ensuring we can continue to support our institutional goals. For this year we will present a budget that relies on last year’s budget as the baseline with capped contingencies. President Serna reported that budgets will be a topic of each of his one-on-one meetings with cabinet members, with part of their performance appraisal centered on management of the budget and especially contingency spending.
He reported that he requested Kevin Butler make suggestions to structure a more coherent, understandable and transparent budget process. The new budget process will begin in September and end with a budget based on different levels of revenue expectations. The goal will be to provide the Board a first look at the budget during the April meeting. There will be a budget committee that will begin to meet after the academic year begins to “zero line” the budget, department by department, to establish a baseline for Fiscal Year 25-26 and on. Part of the process will include possible restructuring business and operational areas to make the university more efficient. Butler proposed a working session via Zoom for any interested Board members next week to review budget details and answer questions, particularly from the finance committee. He has already discussed this proposal with Tim Sease, who supports the idea.
Update on Admissions
President Serna provided an update on admission numbers. They are trending up for a second year and in line with the projections presented to the Board when it approved the tuition transparency plan. We are seeing momentum in our Tuition Transparency Initiative. Shelia Burkhalter received much applause from parents and potential students at this week’s Orientation about the initiative. Tuition transparency will help us stand out as other institutions are talking about raising tuition. He reported that retention rates for persisting undergraduate students for Fall 2024 is on par with this time last year, with 2,146 out of 2,566 registered. This leaves 392 students working through holds, advisement, and registration issues. This registration rate aligns closely with last year's figures.
President Serna provided an update on Fall 2024 new student admission and financial aid. Admitted students for Fall 2024 have increased by 36% over last year (6,293 vs. 4,639) and by 67% from two years ago (6,293 vs. 3,764). We have secured 918 freshmen enrollment deposits, a 5% increase from 874 at this point last year. Of those who made a deposit, 858 students (93%) have already registered to attend an Orientation session, compared to 800 students (92%) last year. For transfer students, we have 223 deposits, a 25% increase from last year at 178. Of those transfer students who made a deposit, 181 have registered for Orientation versus 159 last year. This group also tends to be the most price sensitive demonstrating the impact of the Tuition Transparency Initiative. These trends contribute to a higher current undergraduate degree-seeking headcount of 2,815 this year versus 2,317 last year.
June 11 and 12 Orientation sessions were fully booked with 277 students. The second session on June 17 and 18 also has 277 students registered, and the third session on June 20 and 21 has 262 students registered.
The Office of Financial Aid has weathered the FAFSA problems well and is ahead of a number of peer institutions, with over 5,700 completed FAFSAs. He reported this places us ahead in the number of FAFSAs received and packages deployed compared to this time last year. This positive trend supports our new and returning student enrollment goals for the upcoming year.
Winthrop recently received a clean audit from the state for our State Lottery Aid programs. The Office of Financial Aid and the Office of Institutional Research are now beginning to work on new rules and reporting requirements for the revised Gainful Employment/Financial Transparency standards, which are due in October.
Update on Articulation Agreement
President Serna reported Winthrop is actively collaborating with Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte to establish a streamlined pathway for CPCC graduates to transition to Winthrop. This initiative aligns with the Board’s decision in April to offer a special tuition discount by providing in-state tuition rates to those students. The articulation agreement is strategically designed to address and mitigate the lower admissions numbers we experienced with freshmen cohorts from 2020 to 2022. He reported that we anticipate formalizing this agreement in a ceremony this summer. The event will highlight Winthrop’s commitment to expanding educational opportunities and strengthening ties with regional institutions.
Update on Strategic Plan
Winthrop submitted the Mission Statement to the Commission on Higher Education for approval, and it was approved with some changes to conform to CHE requirements. The adjustments did not alter the substance of the statement that the Board approved in October. Ed Driggers will present a resolution at the June Board meeting to ratify the updated statement.
President Serna reported that due to current budget discussions, he has decided to forego hiring a new position in the Office of Strategic Initiatives, which was intended to support the implementation of the strategic plan. Despite this, we are progressing with several initiatives in the first year of our strategic plan’s implementation. He will reassess the need for this position in the next fiscal year, aiming to ensure we have adequate support for our strategic goals while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
Update on Fraternity/Sorority Life and Council of Student Leaders
President Serna reported that Shelia Burkhalter will provide the Board updates on these two matters to include providing specific timelines to the Board for implementation of changes during the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Enrollment Committee meeting on June 26.
Report from the Provost of Winthrop University
Provost van Delden provided the following updates:
Recent Academic Appointments
Dr. van Delden said he had appointed Karen Oremus to the Dean of Visual and Performing
Arts position and that she had chosen Tracy Patterson as her Associate Dean of Visual
and Performing Arts. Dr. van Delden also reported on various new department chair
appointments: Michael Whitney, Computer Science; Lorrie Crochet, Music; Alice McLaine,
PE, Sport, and Human Performance; Mark Hamilton, Fine Arts; and Hope Lima, Human Nutrition.
Honors College Update and Dean Search Process
Dr. van Delden said Nick Grossoehme has been selected as the new dean and will assume the position on August 1, 2024. He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College and has been a professor of chemistry since 2007. He has been Director of Undergraduate Research since 2020, and in this capacity the percentage of graduates with undergraduate research experience increased 18% and advanced undergraduate research experiences increased 14%. He has mentored numerous student completing honors theses and has the positive energy and drive to make the new Honors College a huge success. The College’s first “Angel Investor” has been secured – Elaine Whitton Davis committed a five-figure gift annually for three years. Additionally, the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce agreed to secure the All Access Pass to Franklin Covey. As part of the restructuring around the new college, “University College” will no longer exist as it will be converted to an “Office for Student Success.” An internal search for an Assistant Provost for Student Success will commence in the fall semester.
Updates on Academic Programs
Dr. van Delden provided an update on the status of various programs in the approval
pipeline. He reported on the Fall 2024 programs that are fully approved: Criminal
Justice, Web Development, and Design with Concentration in Game Design. Business Administration
with Supply/Logistics is awaiting ACA approval and is expected to be approved in June
or July.
He further reported on Fall 2025 starts for the Ed.D. in Leadership and Innovation, the B.S. in AI, and the B.S. in FinTech. These will be action items at the June Board meeting. He noted Spring 2025 or Fall 2025 starts for the M.S. in Accounting, the B.F.A. in Art Education, M.A. in Educational Studies, B.P.S. (in the CBE modality), and the B.S. in software engineering.
In Fall 2026, he anticipates a B.S./B.A. in Health Sciences and an B.S. in Industrial/Systems Engineering.
Update on CBE Program
He gave a preview of the CBE tuition that will need approval at the June full Board
meeting. The Executive Committee had brief discussion about the price point, and Dr.
van Delden explained the rationale and noted that we are priced well in the market.
Emeritus Faculty Recommendations
Dr. van Delden concluded with a preview of the upcoming nominations for Emeritus status.
There was no discussion about the candidates.
Planning and Review for the June Board Meeting
Chairman McCall reviewed the itinerary and agenda for the June Board of Trustees meeting. Each chair present provided a brief overview of the areas Vice Presidents will cover.
Executive Session
A motion was made and seconded for the Executive Committee to move into executive session pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. §30-4-70(a)(1)and(2) for the purposes of discussion of employment matters involving certain present university employees and contractual items related to Winthrop University. The Executive Committee approved the motion by unanimous voice vote. Chairman McCall asked both the President Serna and the Board Secretary to remain.
A motion was made to end executive session. Such motion was seconded and approved by unanimous voice vote. Chairman McCall noted no votes were taken during the session.
Adjournment
There being no further business, a motion was made to adjourn. The motion was seconded and passed with no objection.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:40 p.m.
