Board of Visitors

Orientation for New Board Members August 8, 2022

Present from the Board

• Mr. Richard Brayboy
• Mr. John Lawson
• Ms. Kelli Meadows
• Mr. Larry Pope
• Mr. Boris Robinson

Present from the University

• Mr. Bruce Bronstein, Interim Chief Communication Officer
• Dr. Bob Colvin, Interim Chief of Staff
• Ms. Amie Dale, Liaison to the Board of Visitors
• Dr. Quentin Kidd, Provost
• Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success
• Dr. Kevin Hughes, Vice President of Student Affairs
• Mr. Rob Lange, Dean of Admission
• Ms. Jennifer Latour, Vice President for Finance and Planning and CFO
• Ms. Christine Ledford, Vice President for Administration and Auxiliary Service
• Mr. Keith Roots, Vice President for University Advancement
• Ms. Adelia Thompson, Interim President

At 11:15 a.m. Interim President Adelia Thompson called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. She provided an overview of the meeting structure, facilitated introductions around the table and invited everyone to enjoy their lunch while she provided an update from the University. Following her update, she called on Ms. Jennifer Latour.

Ms. Latour provided an overview of the University’s organizational chart, an update on the presidential search process and the division of responsibilities between the presidential search committee and the Board of Visitors. Upon concluding her overview, Interim President Thompson called on Ms. Amie Dale.

Ms. Dale covered upcoming events, the overall university schedule for the year and expanded on her role as the university’s liaison to the Board of Visitors. Following her report there was a 10-minute recess to clear lunch from the table and prepare for the afternoon reports.

Academic Affairs

Interim President Thompson reconvened the meeting at 12:15 p.m. and called on Provost Quentin Kidd. Provost Kidd began with an overview of the Academic Affairs organizational chart and continued with an update into several priorities for this academic year including the fifth-year report for SACSCOC. He also addressed how the Academic Affairs committee of the Board operates, which resolutions traditionally come forward and what kind information and statistics they bring forward to the Board over the course of each year. After a brief discussion to conclude the Academic Affairs Committee overview, Interim President Thompson invited Ms. Christine Ledford to join the meeting.

Finance and Facilities

Ms. Ledford greeted the board and began by giving the new members an overview of the responsibilities of her division, Administration and Auxiliary Services, at the University. She and Jennifer Latour outlined the role of the Finance and Facilities Committee, its annual actions and what the new board members can expect if they are appointed to that committee. Ms. Ledford thanked the board and exited the meeting.

Operations, Audit and Risk

Ms. Jennifer Latour continued the meeting by explaining the role of the Operations, Audit and Risk Committee. She provided a more in depth explanation of how the Director for Internal Audit reports to the Board and how they can work directly with that position. She covered the annual board actions and what board members could expect should they be appointed to that committee. Immediately following Ms. Latour’s overview, Interim President Thompson invited Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines and Dean Rob Lange to join the meeting.

Student Life

Dean Lange began by giving an overview of the Admission office and its roles and responsibilities. He proceeded with providing a high-level overview of the current admission landscape and its challenges and opportunities. Based on the trends in student recruitment and the new freshman class profile, he then detailed the priorities and initiatives of the office and Admission Office Overview for the next academic year. After a brief discussion of the items covered, Dean Lange turned the floor over to Dr. Duncan Raines to cover the areas of Enrollment and Student Success.

Dr. Duncan Raines provided an overview of the work within her division and the philosophy and practice behind student success. She also provided basic information on learning communities, the annual Career Outcomes Report, an overview of Career Planning workshops and events, data on retention and graduation rates, and outlined the student success services that are offered not limited to, but including tutoring, peer mentoring and the writing center. Concluding her report, Dr. Duncan Raines called on Dr. Kevin Hughes to expand on the division of Student Affairs.

Dr. Hughes greeted the Board and began with an organizational overview of the Division of Students Affairs. He provided information about the President’s Leadership Program, campus life and signature events, student health and safety, and the trends in student needs on campus. He also explained the functional work of the Student Life Committee, expected annual actions and covered the role of the Student Government President with the Board. After a brief discussion of student life on campus, Interim President Thompson thanked Dean Lange, Dr. Duncan Raines and Dr. Hughes for their overview and as they exited, she called on Mr. Keith Roots and Mr. Bruce Bronstein to join the meeting for the next report.

Advancement and Communications

Mr. Roots started his overview with an organizational chart of University Advancement and detailing the scope of work for the office. He also reviewed the role of the Advancement committee and what the Board can expect throughout the course of the year. He provided year-to-date giving information and went deeper into the office’s strategy for the upcoming year. After a discussion about alumni giving rate, board giving and advancement goals, Mr. Roots turned the floor over to Mr. Bronstein.

In his capacity as Interim Chief Communication Officer, Mr. Bronstein provided a functional overview of the area of Communications and Public Relations at the University. At the conclusion of his overview, Interim President Thompson thanked Mr. Roots and Mr. Bronstein and they exited the meeting room.

Interim President Thompson called on Ms. Dale to talk about the next board meeting, BoardDocs, and future training.Following Ms. Dale’s brief report and to bring the meeting to a close, Interim President Thompson thanked all of the board members for their time and finished by expressing how delighted she was to work with them during this exciting year.

The meeting adjourned at 2:58 p.m.