Minutes

1. Call to Order and Determination of a Quorum

A quorum being present, the meeting was called to order. Participating were: Mr. James M. Brown, Chairperson; Mrs. Margaret Sayre, Vice Chairperson; Mr. James L. Miller, Secretary; Mr. Daniel Dunmyer; Mr. Eugene Fife; Mr. Wayne Meisel; Ms. Heather Arnott, Student Representative; Dr. Charles Brichford, Faculty Representative; Mrs. Linda Martin, Classified Representative. Also participating were President Jerry Beasley; Cabinet officers, Mr. James L. Cannon, Dr. Dean W. Turner, Mrs. Debbie Curry, Mr. Michael Curry, Dr. William O’Brien, and Ms. Anita Lewis; Ms. Cecilia Fizer; Dr. Kathryn Liptak; Dr. James White; Dr. Roy Ramthun; Mr. James Ridenour, Marts and Lundy; and, Mr. Dennis Juran of Deloitte and Touche. Mr. R. T. Rogers and Mr. J. Franklin Long were unable to participate.

2. Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the September 26, 2002, meeting of the Concord College Board of Governors were approved as mailed.

Dr. Jerry Beasley updated the Board on activities involving the Development Office and the Concord College Foundation. He indicated that the College has been working with the Foundation Board and Mr. Jim Ridenour, a consultant from Marts and Lundy, and have been looking for ways to engage board members of the Foundation, Alumni Association and Board of Governors in the capital campaign. Mr. Ridenour discussed the capital campaign with the Board of Governors, and indicated that the assistance of each board member is needed and appreciated. Further, each board member is encouraged to identify and call on others who are in a position to influence the College’s campaign. Mr. Ridenour told members of the board that he would forward a gift scale to them.

Dr. Beasley thanked board member, Eugene Fife, for his assistance in securing the $1 million from the Shott Foundation, which will be earmarked for the Entrepreneurial Studies Program. Additionally, Dr. Beasley expressed appreciation to other members of the board who have been working on specific projects: Dan Dunmyer has assisted Debbie Curry and Steve Lee in reducing by one-half the cost of treating athletic injuries at the College; Wayne Meisel has organized a flood relief effort (money from the Bonner Foundation and channeled through the Concord College Foundation), which will aid victims in Mercer and McDowell Counties; Margaret Sayre and James Brown, who attended the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s meeting regarding roles of Boards of Governors.

President Beasley discussed the dual enrollment issue with board members, and updated them on the attempted regulation of athletic spending at the state colleges (excluding universities). It is obvious that there are widely varying practices for reporting athletic spending.

Plans for a shared facility in Raleigh County are still unfolding, and the board will be kept informed of these efforts.

Dr. Beasley reported that several personnel issues at the College have been resolved: 1) the administrative law judge has ruled that Steve Glazer was negligent in the incident in which he was involved that injured two students, and she further ruled that the College was justified in suspending Mr. Glazer for the summer term. However, it is the judge’s ruling that the suspension for the fall semester was excessive, and that Mr. Glazer should be immediately reinstated and paid for the fall term; and, 2) the College will attempt to mediate Will Johnson’s law suit against the College.

The College, Dr. Beasley reported, is still pursuing the creation of a consortium of small public colleges in the Appalachian region. The group (consisting of Dr. Kaplan, University of Virginia — Wise; Dr. Tom Powell, president of Glenville State College; and, Dr. Jerry Beasley) will meet at the AASCU annual meeting to identify colleges in the region that share common challenges.

Dr. Dean Turner, Vice President for Academic Affairs, reported that two new academic minors have been proposed and approved by the Division of Social Science, Academic Affairs Executive Council and the Faculty Senate. Those programs are: a minor in Public and Non-profit Administration (combining existing courses in political science, business and other service disciplines to enhance students’ employment and graduate school prospects); and, a minor in Ski Area Management (utilizing courses in Recreation and Tourism Management and Business to increase the marketability of graduates). Additionally, Dr. Turner reported that a content specialization in Educational Leadership (a program for aspiring principals) for students completing a M.Ed. has been reviewed by the Department of Education, Division of Education and Human Performance, Academic Affairs Executive Council and Faculty Senate.

Dr. Turner reported headcount enrollment as of November 12, 2002) of 3,008; FTE of 2,819.13.

Dr. Liptak thanked Mr. Fife for his valuable assistance with the NCA study, and announced that the College’s self-study has been distributed to the team members and Dr. Lopez of the North Central Association . The focus team has requested a luncheon meeting with the members of the Board of Governors on January 27 at 12:00 noon in the State Room. Dr. Liptak will send a reminder of the date, time and location to board members.

Mr. Dennis Juran of Deloitte and Touche elaborated on the auditor’s report, which was mailed to all members of the Board of Governors. After considerable discussion, Mr. Fife asked about the possibility of forming an Audit Committee of the Board of Governors, not unlike that which has recently been established for the Concord College Foundation. The Audit Committee of the Board of Governors would be responsible for interpreting the auditor’s report, and ensuring that members of the board understand the significance of items addressed in the auditor’s report.

Mr. Michael Curry, Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid, reported on activities in Admissions and Financial Aid (see attachment). Mr. Curry expressed appreciation to Dr. Turner, Vice President and Academic Dean, and to Registrar Carolyn Cox for their efforts to promote interest in dual enrollment.

Mr. Curry reported that Mr. Jim Huffman, Director of Admissions, will be retiring at the end of December, and that Mrs. Lisa Graham has resigned as Associate Director of Admissions to assume a position at WVU — Tech. Mr. Curry asked that board members forward recommendations or ideas for replacements for these two key vacancies in the Admissions office.

Dr. William O’Brien discussed with the board the plan for the delivery of postsecondary education in the Beckley area, and stated that the mission of this group is a work in progress. Additionally, Dr. O’Brien stated that the consortium will begin in the fall 2003, whether or not there is a shared building in place in the Beckley area. The plan calls for more emphasis on collaboration among institutions. Membership on the Executive Council would be composed of representatives from the public institutions principally responsible for delivery of higher education to the region (West Virginia University, West Virginia Institute of Technology — WVU, Marshall University, Bluefield State College, Concord College and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.) Also included in the Executive Council are community and technical colleges provosts, the chair of the Consortium Advisory Board, and a representative of Mountain State University. Timeframes and common issues for further development are still evolving, and will be addressed in the near future.

Dr. Beasley mentioned that Speaker Robert Kiss is the driving force behind the consortium, and the officials in Charleston are heeding his direction. Dr. Beasley emphasized the importance of continual contact with Speaker Kiss on this issue, and suggested that Mr. Brown and Mrs. Sayre, along with certain Foundation Board members, should meet with Speaker Kiss as soon as possible. Dr. Beasley agreed to call Mr. Brown and set up the meeting with Speaker Kiss.

Dr. O’Brien discussed the narrative for the College’s compact that was submitted on November 15 as stipulated by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission. All constituent groups on campus had the opportunity for review prior to the submission of the narrative.

Dr. Debbie Curry, Vice President for Student and Staff Affairs, told board members of the death of a Concord College student, Courtney Hughes. Courtney died in an automobile accident, and it is her mother’s request that the board and the College community keep the Hughes family in their thoughts.

The Women’s Soccer team won the conference championship, and Coach Barrett was named "Coach of the Year." Annette Laursen was named "Player of the Year."

Other activities within the Student Affairs area were discussed (see attachment).

RESOLVED, the Board of Governors endorses Title 133 Procedural Rule of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, Section 6.7, "In addition to the formal evaluation every four years, each president shall receive a yearly evaluation in a manner and form decided by the governing board or by the president of the employing institution for presidents of the regional campuses or administratively linked community and technical colleges." The following policy is endorsed by the Concord College Board of Governors:

1. The Board of Governors will review the accomplishments and performance of the president of Concord College based on mutually identified and agreed upon goals for July 1 through June 30 of each year in which the more comprehensive formal evaluation is not required.

2. As the first step in this process, the president will prepare a confidential written report for the Board chair by April 15 of each year prior to a face-to-face meeting with the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors. The report will outline the president’s accomplishments in relation to goals that were established for that year and identify goals for the coming year.

3. After reviewing the report, the Executive Committee will meet with the president to discuss accomplishments and evaluate progress toward existing goals. The Executive Committee will provide support and constructive suggestions in order to help the president succeed in meeting their mutually established goals. Prior to this meeting, Board of Governors representatives of campus constituent groups will be asked to submit in writing comments and suggestions related to the president’s performance.

4. Based upon this discussion and the Board’s goals for the year, the president and Executive Committee will finalize in writing the president’s goals for the coming year beginning July 1.

5. The results of the report and goals for the upcoming year will be reviewed with the full Board and the president during Executive Session in May or June of the same year.

Dr. Brichford moved that the Board accept the report of the Executive Committee, but indicated that since faculty and other constituent groups on campus have not had the opportunity to review the proposed evaluation process, that the resolution not be approved until this has been accomplished.

Mr. Brown and Mrs. Sayre reported on a recent meeting with the Policy Commission. There was much discussion at the Policy Commission meeting about setting aside peer equity during times of budget cuts, which may be more than 10 percent. Additionally, there was discussion about whether or not the nature of the budget cuts should be handled by the Policy Commission or institutional boards of governors. It was the overwhelming opinion of those present that individual boards of governors should address the budget cuts. The Policy Commission members discussed the effectiveness of institutional boards of governors–is each institutional board functioning as a governing board or just a "rubber stamp" for the Policy Commission.

The Policy Commission discussed institutional Compacts, and whether or not the state institutions were meeting goals. It appears that funding and decentralization will depend on achievement of goals outlined in institutional compacts. Establishing lobbying groups to help bring the message to the Legislature about the funding of state institutions was discussed. It was announced that institutions bring program changes to the Policy Commission before announcing publicly.

It was stated by the Policy Commission that raising tuition to offset budget cuts is not the most acceptable means of addressing the problem. Discussion of identifying peer institutions indicated that the process seems to be flawed and should be revisited (but, probably not until next year).

The College and Board of Governors need to speak as one voice, and each Board should appoint a spokesperson (preferably the Board chairperson) to speak on the Board’s behalf.

RESOLVED, the Board of Governors endorses a proclamation celebrating the life of Mrs. Corella Allen Bonner.

RESOLVED, that the Board of Governors, on behalf of faculty, students, and staff, as well as for the thousands of young people past and present whose lives he has changed, hereby recognizes and with deep appreciation declares December 9, 2002, "Jim Huffman Day" at Concord College, Athens, WV.

The next meeting of the Concord College Board of Governors is Friday, December 6, 2002.