Academic Affairs Committee Meeting November 18, 2022 - Christopher Newport University

Board of Visitors

Academic Affairs Committee Meeting November 18, 2022

Present from the board

  • Steven S. Kast, Chair
  • The Honorable Richard S. Bray
  • John R. Lawson, II
  • Sean D. Miller

Board Members not Present

  • LTC (R) Boris G. Robinson

Present from the University

  • Quentin Kidd, University Provost and Lead Staff for Committee
  • Rachel Holland, Associate Professor of Performing Arts and Faculty Senate President/Liaison
  • Kelly Cartwright, Professor of Psychology
  • Sarah Poole, CNU Student
  • Margarita Marinova, Professor of English
  • Joshua Ring, CNU Student
  • Anton Riedl, Associate Professor of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering
  • Nannette Washington, Executive Administrative Assistant to the Provost

The regular meeting of the BOV Academic Affairs Committee of Christopher Newport University was called to order at 9:46 AM on February 3, 2023 by Steven S. Kast, Committee Chair.

A vote was held to approve the previous meeting minutes. Chairman Kast called for a motion, which was made by The Honorable Richard S. Bray and seconded by Sean D. Miller. The minutes were unanimously approved.

At this point, Chairman Kast turned the meeting over to Quentin Kidd, University Provost.

Topics that were discussed by the Provost are as follows:

  1. Faculty/Student Presentation
    1. Dr. Margarita Marinova, Professor of English
      1. SCHEVE 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award Recipient
      2. Teaches World Literature
      3. Talked about her life, how she got here and what led her to be a Professor
      4. Discussed some of her research projects
    2. Sarah Poole, CNU senior majoring in English and Theater
      1. From Dover, New Hampshire
      2. Took many classes with Dr. Marinova, including what proved to be one of her favorite classes, Women in Literature.
      3. Able to take a study abroad trip in Rome.
      4. Just presented a paper at a conference.
      5. Drawn to CNU because of the beauty of the campus.
    3. Dr. Kelly Cartwright, Professor of Psychology
      1. SCHEVE 2023 Outstanding Faculty Award Recipient
      2. Teaches Psychology, Neuroscience and Teacher Prep
      3. Received Masters and Ph.D. at University of Arkansas
      4. Discussed methods of teaching and her Reading Lab.
    4. Joshua Ring, CNU sophomore majoring in Leadership and Military Science
      1. From Richmond, Virginia
      2. Discovered a love for research and connected with Dr. Andrew Velkey, Associate Professor of Psychology
      3. Joined Dr. Cartwright in her Reading Lab; best decision he ever made.
      4. Drawn to CNU because it felt like home.
  2. Faculty/Academic Accomplishments (briefly discussed because of time)
    1. Dr. Russell Burke received a $42,002 sub-award from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) for a project entitled “Land Restoration, Shoreline Protection and Base Resilience at REPI site Naval Weapons Station” with the Department of Navy being the Prime Sponsor.
    2. Dr. Johnny Finn received a $5,500 Supplemental Award for the project entitled “Floor Map for the Living Apart: Geography of Segregation in the 21st Century Exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
    3. The Center for Community Engagement (Vanessa Buehlman and Brook Covington) has been awarded a #15,000 grant from the Bonner Foundation to support our continued implementation of campus-wide community-engaged teaching and learning initiatives.
    4. The Music and Theater programs (Drs. Colin Ruffer and Benjamin Corbin) have been awarded the full-cost ($21,000) of a Yamaha Avant Grand Piano by the Hampton Roads Community Foundation E.K. Sloane Fund.
    5. Drs. Mohammad Almalag, Dr. Michael Lapke and Christopher Kreider have been awarded a $99,202 grant from the Coastal Virginia Center of Cyber Innovation (COVA CCI for “Navigating Cybersecurity Compliance Challenges for the Maritime Industry in Southeast Virginia.”
    6. Dr. Graham Schweig has received a $17,500 grant from the Uberoi Foundation for travel during sabbatical leave.
    7. Dr. Russell Burke has also been awarded a $219,786.79 grant from the Department of Army/Army Corps of Engineers for “CESU Assessment of Dual-Purpose Fish/Oyster Reefs in the Lynnhaven River, Virginia.”
  3. SACSCOC – Accreditation
    1. 5th year report is due March 15, 2023
    2. We are making good progress
    3. Out of 74 standards, we have to respond to 22.
  4. Resolutions
    1. #2 - New Degree Program, the bachelor of Arts Degree in Music.  With no questions, Chairman Kast called for a motion to recommend the resolution to the full board.   The motion was made by Sean D. Miller and seconded by John R. Lawson.  The motion passed unanimously.   
    2. #3 - Plan of Compensation. With no questions, Chairman Kast called for a motion to recommend the resolution to the full board.  The motion was made by Sean D. Miller and seconded by The Honorable Richard S. Bray.  The motion passed unanimously.
    3. #4 - Appointment to the Instructional Faculty. With no questions, Chairman Kast called for a motion to recommend the resolution to the full board.  The motion was made by John R. Lawson and seconded by Sean D. Miller.  The motion passed unanimously.
    4. The remaining three resolutions, “#5 – Promotions of Instructional Faculty, #6 – Tenured Appointments of Instructional Faculty, #7 – Faculty Sabbatical Leaves for 2023-2024, were saved for the full board meeting to be discussed in closed session.

The Honorable Richard S. Bray asked, in reference to the Plan of Compensation, are the salaries constrained by the Commonwealth. Dr. Kidd said yes and the salaries listed were the average salaries for the different faculty ranks. He also said the amount of faculty in each rank can affect the average salary for that rank.

The Honorable Richard S. Bray also asked if there was a limit by the Commonwealth to the number of tenured faculty we can have. Dr. Kidd said the tenure process is handled internally and he preceded to explain the process in detail. He then asked if there is an appeal process and does the Commonwealth get involved with that? Dr. Kidd stated that tenure denials can go to the Board if they wish to pursue it.

The next Board of Visitors meeting will be held at 10:00 a.m. on April 14, 2023 in the Madison Room of the David Student Union unless otherwise announced.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:35 a.m. by Chairman Steven Kast.

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