Advisory Board Meeting

Monday, March 9, 2015

5:30 p.m., Building 2 Lecture Hall

1.  Call to Order; Confirmation of a Quorum

At 5:37 p.m., Steve Boerigter, Chairperson, called the meeting to order.

Board Members Present:

Stephen Boerigter

Micheline Devaurs

Michael DiRosa

Michelle Hall

David Sutton

Staff Present:

Wynn Goering, CEO

Cindy Rooney, Dean of Instruction

Lisa Wismer, Director, Business Operations

Gayle Burns, Manager Business Services

Vint Miller, Public Relations

Kathryn Vigil, Student Enrollment Director

Elizabeth Rademacher, Academic Student Success Manager

Valida Dushdurova, Research and Information Manager

Alex Zubelewicz, Event Coordinator

2.  Installation of Board Members

Judge Alan Kirk administered the oath of office to Stephen Boerigter (second term) and Michael DiRosa (first term.)

3.  Confirmation of Quorum.

All board members were present.

4.  Approval of Agenda

No changes to published agenda.

5.  Approval of Advisory Board Meeting Minutes

Michelle Hall noted an errata on the second page, second bullet (the word “listing”). Hall moved / DiRosa seconded a motion to approve the minutes with that correction. Passed.

6.  Introduction of Visitors:

Iris Chung, Los Alamos

Andrew Chung, Los Alamos

Tris De Roma, Los Alamos Monitor

Jerry Dominguez, UNM Albuquerque

7.  Recognition of Linda Hull

On behalf of the Advisory Board and UNM-Los Alamos, Steve Boerigter presented outgoing board member Linda Hull with a flowering plant in recognition of her service.

8.  Public Comment

There was no public comment.

9.  Reports

Written reports were included in board material packets and are part of that public record.

a.  Chief Executive Officer

·  Under Priority #1, Steve Boerigter asked if there were firm numbers underlying the assessment of the risk of a master lease arrangement. Dr. Goering replied that there was no formula, but that some kind of pro forma statement could certainly be developed. Other board members also spoke to the desirability of student housing spaces that UNM-LA would actually control. Michelle Hall suggested UNM-LA students be asked directly about their interests in such housing, and potential willingness to make commitments to it. UNM-LA staff will follow up, starting with the UNM-Los Alamos student government.

·  Michael DiRosa asked if there was certainty about who would receive any revenues from the sale of the 9th street property. Dr. Goering replied that he thought UNM-Los Alamos would have good reasons to make such a claim, but that the property was in fact owned by the UNM Board of Regents and they would have the final say.

·  Under Priority #3, Dr. Goering called the board’s attention to the chart of the high schools of origin of UNM-Los Alamos new students.

b.  Dr. Jerry Dominguez, the new branch liaison to the Office of the Provost, provided information about his role in the organizational change that now has all UNM branch campuses reporting to that office.

10.  Recommendation of Tuition/Fee Rates for FY 16

Dr. Goering highlighted two factors underlying the administration’s recommendation of a $4.75 increase to residential tuition and fees at UNM-Los Alamos (to $74.00 per credit hour):

·  Our best projection at this time is that UNM-LA’s revenues will decline by approximately $20,000; and its fixed expenses will increase by approximately $50,000. The recommended increase would generate approximately $50,000 in additional revenues, assuming enrollment remains steady.

·  In a higher education “market” framed by the tuition rates of Santa Fe Community College ($39.50 per credit hour) and Northern New Mexico University ($114.50 per credit hour), we believe UNM-Los Alamos’s should more closely reflect the latter given the quality we have to offer. The relatively high personal income of Los Alamos County, and relatively low tax support for the campus, also suggest tuitions should be higher than peer averages.

Board members noted that even with an increase of that magnitude, the budget projections were still showing a gap between anticipated revenues and expenses. Dr. Goering responded that the branch might have to employ one-time or reserve funds to allay that; and noted that the recommendation as presented was “at the top of [his] comfort level” to justify to the UNM Board of Regents.

Michael DiRosa moved and David Sutton seconded a motion to recommend the following tuition and fee rates to the Board of Regents. The motion passed without dissent.

11.  Next Meeting:

The next meeting will be April 13, at 5:30 p.m., to take action on a budget recommendation to be submitted to the Board of Regents.

12.  Adjournment (7:20).

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