Board of Visitors

Board of Visitors Meeting June 2, 2017

The Board of Visitors met on June 2, 2017 in the Board Room of the David Student Union with Rector Scott Millar presiding.

Present from the Board

• Lindsey Carney, Esq.
• Robert R. Hatten, Esq.
• Mr. S. Anderson Hughes
• Mr. C. Bradford Hunter
• Mr. W. Bruce Jennings
• Mr. Steven S. Kast
• Ms. Terri M. McKnight
• Mr. N. Scott Millar, Rector
• Hon. Gabriel A. Morgan, Sr.
• Kellye L. Walker, Esq.
• Dr. Ella P. Ward
• Mr. Preston White, Jr.

Absent from the Board

• Mr. William R. Ermatinger
• Mrs. Vicki Siokis Freeman

Present from the University

• President Paul Trible
• Mr. William Brauer, Executive Vice President
• Mrs. 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
• Geoffrey Klein, Vice Provost
• Dr. Brian Puaca, Faculty Senate President
• Mr. Tom Kramer, Director of External Relations
• Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success
• Dr. Kevin Hughes, Vice President for Student Affairs
• Mr. Kenneth Kidd, Student Assembly President
• Mr. Ross Snare, Alumni Society President

Rector Millar welcomed everyone present. Rector Millar thanked Mr. White, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Jennings for their leadership and many contributions to the Board noting that their terms were expiring on June 30th.

Rector Millar called for a motion to approve the April 14, 2017 minutes. Mr. Hughes provided the motion, seconded by Dr. Ward and the minutes were approved by unanimous vote of the Board.

President’s Report

President Trible also thanked Mr. White, Mr. Hughes and Mr. Jennings for their extraordinary contributions to our success. He welcomed Dr. Brian Puaca, the new President of the Faculty Senate and Mr. Kenneth Kidd, the newly elected President of the Student Assembly.

President Trible said that Commencement was a very special day and it was a beautiful ceremony. He said that he was pleased that honorary degrees were awarded to two special couples – Mary Lib and Dieter Hoinkes and Carol and Climis Lascaris– for their many contributions to our success and to the success of our Comprehensive Campaign. He said both had written lovely thank you notes and shared the one from Climis and Carol Lascaris with the Board.

President Trible said it had been a marvelous year with many accomplishments. He highlighted the remarkable results in the comprehensive campaign and said the library expansion continues, the expansion of Regattas will be completed in late August and the planning of the Fine Arts Center is underway. In addition, he noted that we will have an outstanding freshman class, the number of faculty continues to grow, the retention of our students is increasing, our graduation rate is 75%, the number of students in the President’s Leadership Program and Honors Program continues to increase and the number of minority students and students of color is also increasing. He pointed out that our students reported 75,000 hours of community service. He said our student-athletes are among the best in the nation winning 12 conference championships and finishing 14th in the nation in best overall athletic performance.

President Trible announced that the two fully funded scholarships were awarded this year to Ryo Murasaki from Japan and Grace Goode. He then read the heartwarming thank you letter from Grace Goode’s mother. He thanked the Board for their generosity and acknowledged Mr. Ermatinger’s initiative and contribution to help establish these scholarships.

Finance and Audit Committee Report

Rector Millar chaired the Finance and Audit Committee meeting and said they reviewed the Statement of Revenues and Expenditures for April 30, 2017 and 2016 and asked Mr. Brauer to review in further detail with the Board the revenues and expenditure report. Mr. Brauer said that everything is tracking with acceptable tolerances compared to the budget and to the prior year. He said that the IT allocation that was accumulated under academic support had now been allocated which aligned the expense accounts with the budget. He noted that the statement of Retirement of Indebtedness shows all principal and interest has been paid for the fiscal year and explained the two transfers out of capital reserves for the design and development of the Fine Arts Center. He said these monies will be reimbursed when bonds are issued next year and that there was also a transfer for the University’s share of the Library Phase II expansion.

Rector Millar said the Committee reviewed the internal audit process and approved an audit plan. He commended Ms. Faith Belote for her excellent job and said she had prepared an initial assessment of what work that is necessary for the next two years and the areas of focus. Rector Millar said that the Committee also reviewed the SWaM report and the numbers look exceptional when compared to the benchmarks within the Commonwealth and the Department of Education and that we are tracking in a positive manner in all categories. He said that even with the removal of capital projects, the numbers are still extremely favorable.

Rector Millar asked Ms. Perry to review the 2017–18 proposed budget with the Board. A total budget of $162,275,483 was recommended which includes $73,492,919 for educational and general programs; $7,354,157 for student financial aid; $78,569,625 in auxiliary enterprises; 1,498,882 financial assistance for educational and general series and $1,359,900 for the unrestricted contributions account. She said the proposed budget supports the priorities of the university, provides funding for salary increases and fringe benefit rate increases, provides funds to meet current and future debt service obligations and advances the goals of the higher Education Opportunity Act legislation.

Rector Millar thanked Ms. Perry for her detailed presentation and told the Board that the Finance and Audit Committee had significant discussions about the budget at their meeting and the proposed budget comes to the full Board at recommendation of the Committee. Mr. Kast provided a second to theCommittee’s recommendation and Rector Millar called for further discussion and questions. He then called for approval ofResolution 1: Budget Resolution, Fiscal Year 2017–2018 and the budget was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Academic Affairs Committee Report

Chairman Hughes called on Vice Provost Dr. Geoffrey Klein to report on two important initiatives which he had shared with the Committee. Dr. Klein said that a faculty member had secured a grant with the federal government which will support faculty in their scholarship and open the door to other federal funds to support faculty research. As part of the application process, facility security clearance is required from the Board and other key management personnel must complete a security clearance form.

Dr. Klein updated the Board on the SACSCOC reaffirmation noting that we are in the final stages of that process. He said the on-site committee made four minor recommendations, none of which were core requirements or federal requirements, and we fully expect that we will be reaffirmed in December.

Dr. Doughty advised the Board the Dr. Robert Colvin, Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Dr. Quentin Kidd, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education were switching positions. Dr.Doughty said that the switch will better serve the university and our students and provide good career opportunities for Drs. Colvin and Kidd.

Mr. Hughes reported that faculty searches were going well and the total number of faculty this year will be approximately 281. The average salary of our faculty has increased by almost 3% to $76,863 making us more competitive in recruiting faculty and bringing us closer to the 60th percentile of our peer group. He noted that good progress was being made to establish a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at CNU. Mr. Hughes said several changes were being made in our study abroad initiative in order to reach our goal of 370 students participating. He said that different places to travel are being explored and more funds have been provided for faculty leading these programs. Dr. Doughty pointed out that we have a very strong relationship with Glasgow University and that CNU is its largest international partner.

Student Life Committee Report

Chairman Sheriff Morgan praised the hard work and leadership of Dean Rob Lange, Vice Presidents Lisa Duncan Raines and Kevin Hughes.

Dean Lange reported that 1,338 students have paid their enrollment deposit but that a 4%–6% melt is expected over the summer which will result in a freshman class between 1,270 and 1,275 students. He said the average GPA is3.8 and the SAT scores are over 1200. Dean Lange said that this year there is a record number of out-of-state students comprising 9% of the freshman class. He also noted that the number of students of color is 22% which is 2% more than last year.

Dr. Hughes reported that currently the office of Student Life is preparing for the incoming class and preparing them to be CNU students and educating them on what it means to be a Captain. He said that our students this year performed 75,000 hours community service and 4,000 of those hours were performed by our outstanding student-athletes. Additionally 19,000 hours of community service was performed by our Greek students and they raised almost $100,000 for their philanthropies. Dr. Hughes noted that our students are very engaged, they participate in intercollegiate sports, intramurals and club sports and participate in one or more of our 200+ clubs and organizations. He said that not only are they involved in the life of our campus but perform exceptionally well academically.

Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines reported to the Board that the average GPA for our 2017 graduates was 3.18 and there were three Gregory Klich award winners each with a 4.0 GPA. Also at graduation, six students were awarded the Rosemary Trible prize. She said that this year we had the highest four-year graduation rate of 69%. The six-year graduation rate is on par with our highest at 75%. At the end of each academic year our students are surveyed to determine who is employed and how many are in graduate school. For the Class of 2016, 88% of our graduates are employed or are full-time graduate students. Other schools our size report 81% of their students are in graduate school or employed full time. Dr. Duncan Raines said CNU was awarded a grant from the AT&T Foundation to assist with our Captains Launch Program. This program is designed to help students adjust to the academic and social expectations at CNU and focuses on motivation and team building.

Building and Grounds Committee

Chairman White asked Mr. Brauer to review the capital project summary. Mr. Brauer said the library expansion project is well underway and on schedule and on budget. He noted that when the Mariners’ Museum Library vacated their space in the library, this added an additional 20,000 square feet for our use. He said the Fine Arts Center is in the design stages and construction is anticipated to start in July 2018. The Regattas expansion is taking shape and should be completed in late August. It is anticipated that construction of Shenandoah River Residence Hall will begin in March 2018 and be completed by theFall of 2019.

Mr. White said the Committee reviewed a proposed revision to the by-laws pertaining to the duties of the Building and Grounds Committee. The Committee agreed to bring the proposal to the full Board for consideration and it will be voted on at the September meeting.

Student Assembly Report

The new Student Assembly President Kenneth Kidd introduced himself and said his goal is to be a liaison with student leaders and administrators to help improve communication with the Student Assembly. He said that this year the Student Assembly hosted an advance to set their goals for the coming year and reached out to each organization for an update on their activities. He highlighted the many activities of the Campus Activities Board, the Captain’s Log, Panhellenic Council, among others.

Faculty Senate Report

Dr. Puaca, the new Faculty Senate President, introduced himself and said that he had spent six of the last eight years on the Faculty Senate. He said the Senate’s most intensive project last year was the work on the curriculum review process. The Executive Committee is in the process of preparing the agenda for next year and they will continue to focus on infrastructure issues and will examine the standards and expectation for evaluations and promotion. He expressed his gratefulness to be included in the Diversity Leadership Workshop recently held on campus and thanked the Board for their support of faculty raises.

Alumni Society Report

Alumni Society President Ross Snare said the Alumni Society Board had a great year and he highlighted their numerous accomplishments. He said that theGregory Klich Almuni House opened this past semester and numerous meetings and events had already taken place in the Alumni House. He said social media following continues to grow, the annual alumni 5K grew by 40% in the number of participants; the logo has been redesigned and the Multicultural Alumni Chapter had been formed. In addition, there was a record breaking attendance at Homecoming sales and alumni giving continues to grow.

Secretary Hunter called for a motion to enter closed session under Freedom of Information Act Section 2.2–3711(a)(1) Personnel and (a)(8) Gifts, bequests and fundraising. Ms. Walker provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Jennings and the motion was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

The Board returned to open session and Secretary Hunter 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. White, Ms. McKnight, Sheriff Morgan, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Kast, Rector Millar, Ms. Walker, Mr. Hughes, Ms. Carney, Mr. Hatten, Dr. Ward and Mr. Jennings certified to the above.

Following the closed session, there was a discussion regarding the Diversity Workshop held on campus. Mr. Juan Johnson, President of the Diversity Leadership in Action group, led the workshop and Sheriff Morgan said he did agreat job and a meaningful dialog was begun throughout the university and it was a very empowering session. Sheriff Morgan thanked President Trible for his vision to change the discourse and include people throughout the university in this very important initiative.

President Trible said he found Mr. Johnson’s presentation to be superb and it was very valuable for everyone. He noted that Mr. Johnson would be returning at the end of September and will meet with the university community and will have a work session with the Diversity Council to begin to put together a plan to move forward. TheBoard will be invited to attend his presentation on September 29th.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.