Board of Visitors

Board of Visitors Meeting November 2-3, 2014

The Board of Visitors of Christopher Newport University attended an Advance on November 2-3, 2014, at the Tides Inn in Irvington, Virginia.

Present from the Board

• Mr. Gary Byler
• Mr. William Downey
• Mr. William R. Ermatinger
• Ms. Vicki Siokis Freeman
• Mr. Andy Hughes
• Ms. Ann N. Hunnicutt
• Mr. C. Bradford Hunter
• Mr. Bruce Jennings
• Mr. Scott Millar
• The Hon. Gabriel A. Morgan, Sr.
• Mr. Mark Rodgers
• The Hon. Ronald Tillett
• Dr. Ella P. Ward
• Mr. Preston White

Absent from the Board

• Mr. C. Bradford Hunter

Present from the University

• President Paul Trible
• Ms. Cynthia Perry, Chief of Staff
• Mr. William L. Brauer, Executive Vice President
• Dr. David Doughty, Provost
• Dr. Geoffrey Kline, Vice Provost
• Dr. Quentin Kidd, Vice Provost
• Dr. Lisa Duncan-Raines, Vice Provost
• Dr. Robert Colvin, Dean
• Dr. Nicole Guajardo, Dean
• Dr. Lori Underwood, Dean
• Mr. Robert Lange, Dean of Admission
• Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dean of Students
• Ms. Adelia Thompson, Vice President for University Advancement
• Mr. Bruce Bronstein, Director of Communications
• Mr. Robert Brown, Chair CNU Real Estate Foundation
• Ms. Beverley Mueller, Executive Assistant

Rector White welcomed everyone present and said that this Advance is an open discussion and an opportunity to explore new ideas and to hear from a number of colleagues from the University.

The meeting began with President Trible's presentation on the vision and values of Christopher Newport University and Provost Doughty led the discussion on academics -- where we are and where we are going. There was discussion of perceived challenges for CNU and ways to overcome them and how to make CNU better and better. Monies for scholarship funds is the biggest priority for CNU

There was a discussion regarding the Board of Visitors meeting structure and it was suggested that each committee should meet for 90 minutes allowing enough time for presentation and completion of any business matters. It was suggested that perhaps there should be an orientation regarding each Committee at the beginning of each year and possibly having each committee present at a Board meeting.

Mr. Brauer provided the Board with an overview of the CNU Education Foundation and its relationship to the Board of Visitors and gave a report on the Foundations' investments and investment strategy. Mr. Brown provided an overview of the CNU Real Estate Foundation and discussed properties currently owned by CNU and/or the Foundation and potential property purchases and their uses in the future.

Ms. Perry reviewed in detail a number of different tuition pricing models and the Board discussed which of those would be most beneficial to Christopher Newport University and for our students.

Dean Lange updated the Board on admission numbers and discussed recruitment efforts for out-of-state, minority and international students. The Board explored ways to increase enrollment in each of these categories. In addition, student outcomes were discussed including graduation rates, wages of our graduates and career and graduate school choices.

Concluding the meeting was the presentation by State Council of Higher Education's Executive Director Peter Blake and Chairman Gil Minor who provided an overview of SCHEV and the roles and responsibilities of Boards of Visitors.

Mr. Downey made the motion to support SCHEV's recommended $30 million budget request for higher education and that a comparison of all the schools should be made and the monies distributed to the schools with the largest need. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hughes and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.