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THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
THE VISITORS OF JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY
Volume XXXVIII No. 3
Minutes of the Meeting of March 22, 2002
The Visitors of James Madison University met Friday, March 22, 2002 in the Chandler Hall Board Room on the campus of James Madison University. Mr. Zane Showker, Rector, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
PRESENT:
Showker, Zane, Rector
Blackwell, Helen
Chiapparone, Paul
Cuevas, Pablo
Farrell, Joe
Harrell, Henry
Helsley, Conrad
Jasien, William
McConville, Timothy
Martin, George
Mix, Mark
Testwuide, Robert
Castello, Barbara, Secretary
Glotfelty, Ted, Student Member
O’Meara, Dr. William, Speaker, Faculty Senate
ABSENT:
Cunningham, Charles
Fuller, Richard
Obenshain, Mark
ALSO PRESENT:
Rose, Linwood, President
Brown, Douglas, Vice President for Academic Affairs
King, Charles, Vice President for Administration and Finance
Scott, Robert, Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness
Warner, Mark, Vice President for Student Affairs
Crosson, Charles, Interim Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs
Hilton, Fred, Director of University Communications
Harper, Donna, Assistant to the President
Holsinger, Larry, Director of Audit and Management Services
Eton, David, Assistant Vice President for University Budget Management
Knickrehm, Steve, Assistant Vice President for Resource Planning
Cronk, Tabor, Senior Assistant Attorney General of Virginia
Blake, Peter, Deputy Secretary of Education
Mr. Showker, Rector, opened the meeting by welcoming the members and stating that Charles (Chuck) Cunningham, Richard Fuller and Mark Obenshain were unable to attend.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
On motion of George Martin, seconded by Paul Chiapparone, the minutes of the January 11, 2002, meeting were approved as distributed.
PRESIDENTS REPORT
Dr. Rose opened his remarks by recognizing several individuals:
· Dr. Robert Reid, Dean of the College of Business – reaccreditation by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business Accreditation;
· Dr. Lennie Echterling, Professor in the School of Psychology – Recipient of the Counseling Vision and Innovation Award by the National Association for Counselor Education and Supervision;
· Dr. J. Patrick Rooney, Professor in the School of Music and Director of JMU’s Marching Royal Dukes – 30th anniversary of the Band and 20th anniversary for Dr. Rooney as the Director;
· Julie Sproesser, Editor, and Amanda Capp, Managing Editor of The Breeze - Recipient of 19 awards in the Virginia Press Association Contest, including 1st place for overall content and design;
· Dr. Malcom Lane, Department Head for Computer Science – Recognized as a Center of Excellence in Information Security by the National Security Agency; and
· David Mills, President of the Student Government Association – 30th anniversary of JMU SGA.
Dr. Rose also highlighted a number of accomplishments and programs since the last board meeting:
· Admissions received over 18,100 applications with freshman applications up by 1,800 over last year;
· JMU is currently ranked 18th in the country for Peace Corps involvement with 39 alumni currently serving;
· Universal Corporation Studies Abroad Scholarships will contribute $20,000 annually to assist approximately eight students with scholarships to study abroad;
· Dr. Kathy Stafford will begin April 1st as the Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations;
· Alternative Spring Break sponsored 30 trips over spring break with approximately 300 students participating;
· Madison Day, 2002, focused on the Second Amendment with Lawrence Eagleburger as the Madison Day speaker followed by a Scholarship Luncheon recognizing donors and recipients.
· The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges will be on campus in April for JMU’s 10 year reaffirmation of accreditation process;
· The 2002 General Assembly Session and Budget focused on an environment of budget reduction using the base adequacy study and considering faculty and staff salaries.
In closing, Dr. Rose introduced Mr. Peter Blake, Deputy Secretary of Education, and thanked him for attending.
(Attachment A)
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Audit Committee
Mr. Bill Jasien, Chair, gave an informal report of the Audit Committee meeting. He reported that since he did not have a quorum he did not have an official meeting, but that it did provide him an opportunity to meet informally with Larry Holsinger, Director of Audit at the University. Because there was no formal meeting there was no action taken on the report.
Development Committee
Mr. Joe Farrell, Chair, presented the report of the Development Committee. (Attachment B)
He said that Dr. Rose reported to the committee that Dr. Kathy L. Stafford had been appointed as Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, effective April 1, 2002.
Mr. Farrell said that Charles Crosson, interim vice president, had reported on fund raising results for the year, to date. He said Mr. Crosson reported that the year to date total, $4,311,348 represented a –29% in comparison to 2000-2001; he noted that The Chronicle of Higher Education had stated the average figures for educational fundraising were running from –11% to 34%. He said Mr. Crosson also told the committee that the year to date gift income was up 3% over 2000-2001 at $4,070,163.
Mr. Farrell told the Board that Mr. Crosson reported on the forming of a committee to begin preparations for a $10 million building project that will include a theatre and dance center and a music performance center. He said Mr. Crosson also provided a timeline for the campaign.
On motion of Joe Farrell, seconded by Tim McConville, the report of the development committee was approved.
Education and Student Life
Dr. Conrad Helsley, Chair, presented the report of the Education and Student Life Committee. (Attachment C)
He said that presentations were given on the Center for Multicultural/International Student Services and the Women’s Resource Center. Dr. Mark Warner, Vice President for Student Affairs, provided some context for the presentations by sharing the essence of the 1999 Centennial Commission’s recommendation on diversity and the resulting action of the Board of Visitors during its 1999 Retreat. In addition, Dr. Warner shared the JMU Defining Characteristic, which relates to diversity and serves as a driving force for goals and objectives through 2008. Mr. Zebulun Davenport, Associate Vice President for Multicultural Awareness and Student Health, provided an overview of the services and programs offered by the Center for Multicultural and International Student Services. Ms. Hillary Wing-Richards, Associate Director of the Health Center, provided an overview of the programs offered through the Women’s Resource Center. Dr. Violet Allain, a Safe Zones coordinator and School of Education faculty member, presented the Safe Zones program. Safe Zones is a volunteer organization on campus that includes faculty, staff, and students.
Dr. Helsley stated that Dr. William O’Meara, Speaker of the Faculty Senate, reported that a merit salary survey had been distributed to all faculty and the results will be shared with department heads in an upcoming meeting. Dr. O’Meara expressed concern regarding the Commonwealth’s ability to remain competitive with other states on faculty salaries. JMU is well below the 60th percentile of its peer group which is the state standard. The Faculty Senate is developing a questionnaire regarding retirement to be distributed to faculty who are retirement age. The Faculty Senate discussed the post-tenure review changes that the Board approved in June and October 2001. The university has a Faculty Handbook Committee that is responsible for recommending changes and refinements to the Board. This standing committee meets each year.
He stated that he then called on Mr. David Mills, President of the Student Government Association, who reported that the SGA had become actively involved in community government and that a strong, collaborative relationship had developed. Mr. Mills met with members of the Harrisonburg City Planning office and offered student perspectives on several city-planning issues. As a result, bike lanes and sidewalks have been added to the planned widening of Port Republic Road.
Dr. Helsley said that Mr. Ted Glotfelty, the Student Member of the Board, reported that he had met with Greek representatives to discuss hazing issues, had worked on a “Safe Rides” project for students; and had discussed the need for merit-based scholarships with the director of the Honors Program. Mr. Glotfelty recommended that the term of the student member be revised to begin the first Board meeting after May graduation and that the outgoing student member be invited to attend the June meeting as well. Mr. George Martin made a motion that the term dates be changed. The motion was seconded by Mr. Pablo Cuevas and passed by the committee. The committee asked Dr. Helsley to make a motion to the full Board in the afternoon session to approve the change in the student member’s term.
On motion of Dr. Helsley, seconded by Pablo Cuevas, the motion to change the term dates for the student member to just after May commencement with the June meeting including both outgoing and incoming student members was approved by the full board.
Finance and Physical Development Committee
Mr. Chiapparone presented the report of the Finance and Physical Development Committee. (Attachment D)
He reported that Mr. John Knight, Assistant Vice President for Finance, reviewed the quarterly financial report and reported that the University’s revenue and expenditures were appropriate for the second quarter of the fiscal year.
He further reported that Mr. Charles King briefed the committee on the University’s plan to reduce the current year’s budget by 3 percent. The University will reduce its operating budget by $1,981,032 by reducing personnel costs of $793,864, operating budgets of $612,316, and equipment purchases of $574,852.
Mr. Chiapparone said that Mr. King updated the committee on the General Assembly’s budget actions and how they impacted JMU. The University’s general fund budgets were reduced by 4.7 million in 2003 and $7.2 million in 2004. These reductions, while very large, were smaller than most due to the General Assembly’s decision to make budget reductions based on an institution’s current funding level. The General Assembly provided additional funds for JMU for financial aid, maintenance reserve, equipment trust, and compensation for faculty and classified employees. Mr. King also reported that the General Assembly approved a capital outlay bond bill that will provide $125,224,100 in capital outlay projects for James Madison University.
He told Board members that Mr. King and Mr. David Eton led a discussion with the committee on the proposed 2002-2003 tuition and fees. They reported that the General Assembly budget included a $12 million budget reduction for JMU over the next two years, and it was the expectation of the General Assembly that much of this reduction could be covered by increasing tuition. While the General Assembly deferred to the Board of Visitors on how much tuition should be increased, they did recommend that in-state tuition not be increased by more than 9 percent.
He said that the committee reviewed and discussed several potential approaches to establishing next year’s tuition and fees. The committee approved the following tuition and fees increases for 2002-2003 and recommends approval by the Board:
Undergraduate Tuition
In-State Tuition - $140 increase or 9%
In-State Technology Fee - $2 increase or 5.6%
Out-of-State Tuition - $812 increase or 10.2%
Out-of-State Technology - $2 increase or 1.1%
Comprehensive Fee - $52 increase or 2.1%
Room and Board - $110 increase or 2.0%
Graduate Tuition
In-State Tuition - $13 increase or 9.1%
Out-of-State - $45 increase or 9.7%
Mr. Chiapparone said that the committee also directed the administration to reallocate $250,000 in the 2002-2003 budget for financial aid.
On motion of Paul Chiapparone, seconded by Dr. Helsley, the report was approved.
Mr. Chiapparone stated that he wanted to be sure that the Board was aware of the tremendous amount of work that Dr. Rose had done with the General Assembly this year. He stated that President Rose had represented and worked, not only for the University, but also for all of higher education as the head of the Council of Presidents. He then asked that the minutes reflect the Board’s appreciation for the work that he did. Rector Showker then asked for a round of applause for Dr. Rose.
SACS UPDATE
Rector Showker called on Dr. Scott, who introduced Dr. Martha Ross, Director of the SACS Self-Study. When introducing her, Dr. Scott commended Dr. Ross for the outstanding job she has done in directing the self-study for the past two-plus years.
Dr. Ross stated that after a period of more than two years, JMU has completed the self-study process. This task has included collecting and cataloging hundreds of documents and reports. Over 70 staff and faculty members have served as members of principal committees, who read the documents and wrote the self-study response.
Dr. Ross explained that the self-study report includes a description of how JMU addresses each of the more than 400 SACS criteria and when appropriate, includes suggestions for how to improve what we do at JMU.
Dr. Ross related that the visiting team will be on campus April 14-18. The 18 members representing institutions all over the south will have received the self-study report and will have web or CD access to most of the documents used to justify our responses. They also will have received an administrative response that describes how JMU is already addressing some of the suggestions. They will spend much of their time on campus interviewing JMU administrators, faculty and students and on Thursday, April 18, will present an exit report that will include suggestions and/or recommendations. JMU then will have the opportunity to respond to the Visiting Team report.
Dr. Ross declared that both reports will be reviewed by the appropriate committee of the Council on Colleges, and, hopefully, a recommendation for reaffirmation will be made in December, 2002, at the annual meeting of SACS.
BUDGET REDUCTION PLAN
Rector Showker called on Mr. King to present the budget reduction plan.
Mr. Charles King briefed the Board on the University’s plan to reduce the current year’s budget by 3 percent. The University will reduce its operating budget by $1,981,032 by reducing personnel costs of $793,864, operating budgets of $612,316, and equipment purchases of $574,852. (Attachment E)
GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATE
Mr. King updated the Board on the General Assembly’s budget actions and how they impacted JMU. The University’s general fund budgets were reduced by 4.7 million in 2003 and $7.2 million in 2004. These reductions, while very large, were smaller than most due to the General Assembly’s decision to make budget reductions based on an institution’s current funding level. The General Assembly provided additional funds for JMU for financial aid, maintenance reserve, equipment trust, and compensation for faculty and classified employees. Mr. King also reported that the General Assembly approved a capital outlay bond bill that will provide $125,224,100 in capital outlay projects for James Madison University. (Attachment F)