WHEREAS, Winthrop University is presently preparing for the reaccreditation site visit
by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); and
WHEREAS, during the course of the internal review undertaken in preparation for the
SACS visit it has become apparent that additional language in the by-laws of the Board
of Trustees is necessary to satisfy one of the SACS criteria; and
WHEREAS, one of the SACS criteria reads as follows: "The presiding officer of the
Board must have no contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest
in the institution. The majority of other voting members of the Board must have no
contractual, employment, or personal or familial financial interest in the institution";
and
WHEREAS, another of the SACS criteria related to the governing board requires, in
pertinent part, that "the Board must not be subject to undue pressure from political,
religious or other external bodies. Furthermore, it should protect the administration
from similar pressures"; and
WHEREAS, all Trustees are already subject to the ethical guidelines set by the State
of South Carolina, including those related to conflicts on interest; and
WHEREAS, it is appropriate for the Board of Trustees of Winthrop University to adopt
and establish additional language reflecting this fact in its by-laws to assist in
satisfying the SACS criteria set forth above;
THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Winthrop University, that the by-laws of the Board of Trustees of Winthrop University are hereby amended by adding a Section E to the Existing Article I of the by-laws to read as follows:
"As Trustees are among those public officers defined within Section 8-1-10 of the South Carolina Code of Laws, they are required to complete and file with the State Ethics Commission a Statement of Economic Interests Form disclosing, among other things, any compensation received from an individual or business which contracts with the University.
In addition, as public officeholders, Trustees are subject to the state's Ethics Reform Act, including but not limited to all applicable statutory provisions governing actual or potential conflicts of interest."
June 9, 2000
