Board of Visitors

Board of Visitors Meeting April 22, 2016

The Board of Visitors met on April 22, 2016 in the Board Room of the David Student Union with Rector Preston White presiding.

Present from the Board

• Mr. William B. Downey
• Mr. William R. Ermatinger
• Mrs. Vicki Siokis Freeman, Secretary
• Robert R. Hatten, Esq.
• Mr. S. Anderson Hughes
• Mr. C. Bradford Hunter
• Mr. W. Bruce Jennings
• Mr. N. Scott Millar, Vice Rector
• Hon. Gabriel A. Morgan, Sr.
• Hon. Ella P. Ward
• Mr. Preston M. White, Jr., Rector

Absent from the Board

• Mr. Steven Kast
• Mr. Mark Rodgers
• Hon. Ronald L. Tillett

Present from the University

• President Paul Trible
• Mr. William Brauer, Executive Vice President
• Ms. Cynthia Perry, Chief of Staff
• Dr. David Doughty, Provost
• Mrs. Adelia Thompson, Vice President for University Advancement
• Mrs. Beverley Mueller, Executive Assistant
• Maureen Matsen, Esq., University Counsel
• Dr. Jana Adamitis, Faculty Senate President
• Mr. Tom Kramer, Assistant Director of Wason Center
• Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines, Vice Provost
• Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dean of Students
• Ms. Lori Jacobs, Director of Public Relations
• Mr. C.J. Cahill, Student Assembly President
• Mr. Michael Camisole, New Student Assembly President
• Mr. Robert Jacklin, Alumni Society President

Captains Log Reporters

• Mr. Josh Reyes
• Ms. Madeline Monroe

Rector White welcomed everyone present and thanked Mr. Millar for presiding over the last meeting and congratulated him on his new position with Canon USA.

Rector White called for approval of the minutes of the February 26, 2016 meeting. The motion was provided by Dr. Ward, seconded by Mr. Ermatinger and the minutes were approved by unanimous vote of the Board.

President’s Report

President Trible reported on the trip to Dublin to see the Marching Captains perform in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and said how very proud he was of our students and their performance on that occasion. He and the Provost had also been to Glasgow to see our students who are studying there and said that next year we will have students there for two semesters and commented on this wonderful partnership with the University of Glasgow.

President Trible announced that Dr. Ella Ward was running for Congress and wished her great success. He also announced that Sheriff Gabe Morgan was recently honored as the 2016 Role Model of the Year at the 100 Black Men Black-Tie Gala. In addition, he said that Mr. Andy Hughes has retired after nearly 40 years of a distinguished banking and financial career.

President Trible then introduced Vice Provost for Enrollment Services and Student Success, Dr. Lisa Duncan-Raines. Dr. Raines announced to the Board that CNU had been selected to receive the 2016 Gold Award for Retention Excellence by Noel Levitz. This is the top national award given by Noel Levitz among 600 colleges and universities. President Trible said this recognition underscores the hard work of all of our faculty and staff across the university and reflects our extraordinary success.

He also said that Kiplinger’s ranked CNU among the 100 Best College Values in America and Christopher Newport was ranked number 80. Other Virginia schools fell in the rankings and CNU was the only one that increased in the rankings. He explained that value is a consideration of the quality of the academic experience and cost of education. He noted that CNU was in the top 300 of all colleges - public and private. President Trible also reported that Bloomberg Business Week ranked CNU among the 100 Best Undergraduate Business Schools in America.

President Trible reminded the Board that graduation will be on May 14 with over 1000 graduates and Dr. Chris Howard would be the speaker. He said that the annual Scholarship Luncheon was held recently with an extraordinary student speaker, Emily Egress, who communicated the values of leadership and service of CNU. In addition, he announced that rising senior Brook Byrd was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship which is the most prestigious national award bestowed on undergraduates studying the sciences and engineering.

Rector White added that he attended the Service Awards reception where faculty and staff were honored for their years of state service. President Trible and Beverley Mueller were recognized for their 20 years of service. Rector White thanked everyone who received an award and said it was a wonderful event.

Nominating Committee Report

Mr. Downey reported that a slate of officers has been proposed and would be formally presented at the September meeting. The slate includes Mr. Scott Millar-Rector, Mr. Ron Tillett–Vice Rector and Mr. Brad Hunter- Secretary. No action was required at this meeting. Rector White thanked Mr. Downey and the committee.

Finance and Audit and Committee Report

Mr. Millar said the committee had a very good meeting with a great deal of discussion. He called for questions on the revenues and expenditures report and internal audit report which were provided to the Board. He said the committee made some recommendations to the tuition and fees proposal and the amended tuition and fees proposal was distributed. He then asked Ms. Perry to review the tuition and fees recommendation.

Ms. Perry reviewed in detail the proposed tuition and fees room and board for 2016 noting that the General Assembly has asked all colleges and universities to show restraint in setting tuition for next year. A 2.98% increase in tuition and a 2.83% increase in room and board are recommended. President Trible noted that this is the smallest annual increase in tuition since 2002–03 and this action was taken in strong support of the General Assembly and Governor and in appreciation of keeping higher education affordable for the citizens of Virginia.

Mr. Millar thanked Ms. Perry and all others involved in putting together the proposal for their hard work. He said the number one priority is the generation of new scholarship dollars and this proposal is strong in accomplishing that objective. Chairman Millar said the Resolution comes as a recommendation of the Finance and Audit Committee. Rector White called for a motion to approve Resolution 1: Tuition and Fees and Room and Board as amended. Dr. Ward provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Hughes and the Resolution passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Academic Affairs Committee Report

Chairman Hughes said the committee had a very good meeting. He said faculty searches are underway and we are on target to achieve the goal of 279 faculty members. In addition there has been an increase in positions for tenure and tenure track positions as well as lecturers and instructors. Faculty salary increases will be 3% as per state guidelines. The raises take effect on December 1st instead of July 1st. The increase makes progress toward getting faculty salaries up to the 60th percentile of our peer group and helps strengthen our case for Phi Beta Kappa.

He also commented on Brook Byrd’s award of the Goldwater Scholarship which is the first in the history of CNU. He said that Brook has a 4.0 GPA, participates in the President’s Leadership Program, performs research at Jefferson Lab and is on the tennis team.

Mr. Hughes reported that there are 19 students studying in Scotland and discussions are underway about an exchange program. Next year there will be two semesters of study at the University of Glasgow. There are approximately 14 study abroad trips this summer with approximately 170 students. He said there was a good conversation about the policies and practices of ensuring the safety of our students who are studying abroad.

Mr. Hughes noted that accreditation efforts continue with two major components – the compliance and certification report and quality enhancement plan. He said the compliance and certification report has 90 plus questions and the university must go through this process every 10 years and it costs approximately $1 million. The quality enhancement topic chosen was undergraduate research.

Student Life Committee Report

Chairman Morgan said that there was good conversation about our students and the quality of our students. He applauded the hard work of Dean Rob Lange, Vice Provost Lisa Duncan-Raines and Dean Kevin Hughes as well as Student Assembly President CJ Cahill.

Sheriff Morgan said this is the largest graduating class with 1,319 students. He then asked Dr. Raines to report to the board on student success. Dr. Raines said that 90.8% of current first year students have registered for the Fall and that the “recruit back” initiatives are underway to register those students who have not yet registered. She said that over10 years our first-year retention rate has increased by more than 12% and the average GPA is also up by 12%. Due to the talent of our class, our better support services and interactions with students and faculty, academic honors for our students at the end of their first semester has increased by 73% in 10 years. Also, the six-year graduation rate has increased to 70% which is more than a 25% increase.

Dr. Kevin Hughes said that at CNU campus culture really matters and we provide support at a greater level than most schools which sets us apart from our colleagues. He said that across the board institutions are seeing an increase in students who have mental health challenges. Our counseling center anticipates these needs and we have seen an increase in initial appointments, crisis walk-ins, phone consultations and crisis responses. We have systems in place to identify those students who are struggling. Residence Assistants are key in this process and a new model has been put in place to have more individual contact with our students. Student Assembly President C.J.Cahill has been a residence assistant for three years and has seen both models. Mr. Cahill reported that campus culture has changed dramatically and the individual connections have made a huge impact. He cited several examples where he was able to identify students in need and refer them to the counseling center.

Building and Grounds Committee

Chairman Downey reported that the General Assembly had approved the funds for the Trible Library expansion and the Fine Arts Center. The Committee toured the new Alumni House and Greek Village and both projects are on time for their completion dates. The Alumni House will be completed in the fall and Greek Village will be completed in July.

Student Assembly

Mr. C.J. Cahill thanked the Board for allowing him to participate in the Board meetings. Hethen asked next year’s president Michael Bamisile to introduce himself. Mr.Bamisile is a junior and is majoring in neuroscience with a chemistry minor. He is in the Honors Program and is actively involved in the life of the University.

Faculty Senate Report

Dr. Jana Adamitis, President of the Faculty Senate, said that this year the Senate had a very productive year and accomplished most of its goals. There were changes made to the personnel section of the handbook bringing it more in line with actual practice. She said the Senate was most appreciative of the President inviting them to make recommendations to the six-year plan. There was a great meeting with President, Provost, Vice Provosts, deans and the Senate about suggestion on areas of importance which include diversity, undergraduate research, study abroad, internships and scholarships. She said the Senate looks forward to working with the Board and administration again next year.

Alumni Society Report

Alumni Society President, Mr. Macklin, said that there had been an expansion of the

organizational structure to create a category called clubs. Clubs are made up of alumni and non-alumni. Theclub is working with the historical preservation group to find items of significance to place in the Alumni House. He said the Society sent out 14,000 surveys and approximately 900 were returned. They will be reviewing these over the next few months and incorporating the suggestions brought forward.

Secretary Vicki Freeman called for a motion to enter closed session under Freedom of Information Act Section 2.2–3711(a)(1) Personnel (a)(6) Investments and (a)(8) Gifts, bequests and fundraising. Mr. Downey provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Millar and the motion was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

The Board returned to open session and Secretary Freeman asked for a roll call certifying that only public matters were discussed that were identified in the motion by which the executive or closed meeting was called. Board members Mr. Downey, Mr. Millar, Mr. Jennings, Mr. Hughes, Mr. Ermatinger, Mr. Morgan, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Hatten, Ms. Freeman and Rector White certified to the above.

Rector White called for a motion to approve Rexolution 2: Award of Emeritus Status and Resolution 3: Promotion of Instructional Faculty and Distinguished Professor. Sheriff Morgan provided the motion, seconded by Mr.Ermatinger and both resolutions passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.