Orientation for New Board Members September 14, 2023

Present from the Board

Mr. Brentley K. Archer
Lindsey Carney Smith, Esq.
Mr. William A. Estrada, Esq.
Mr. Boris Robinson

Present from the University

Ms. Faith Belote, Director of Internal Audit
Ms. Amie Dale, Liaison to the Board of Visitors
Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Success
Dr. Kevin Hughes, Vice President of Student Affairs
Mr. William G. Kelly, President
Dr. Quentin Kidd, Provost
Mr. Tom Kramer, Executive Director of the Wason Center
Dr. 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. Kyle McMullin, Director of Athletics
Ms. Adelia Thompson, Vice President for Advancement, External Engagement and the Arts

At 10:24 a.m. Rector Carney Smith called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. She turned it over to President Kelly for a welcome and meeting overview.

Following the opening remarks, Ms. Dale invited Dr. Kidd to provide the Academic Affairs Committee briefing.

Academic Affairs

Provost Kidd began with an overview of the Academic Affairs organizational chart and continued with an update into the liberal learning core, degree types, and several priorities for this academic year. After a brief discussion to conclude the Academic Affairs Committee overview, Ms. Latour and Ms. Ledford were called on to provide the Finance and Facilities briefing.

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 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 turned it over to Ms. Latour to continue with an overview of the rest of the university divisions this committee interacts with, as well as the explanation of the foundations and legislative affairs. She also outlined the standard cycle for the committee and its resolutions. There was further discussion on the roles of the foundations.

Operations, Audit and Risk

Ms. Latour invited Faith Belote who provided a more in depth explanation of how the Director for Internal Audit reports to the Board and how they can work directly with her. Ms. Latour continued by explaining the role of the Operations, Audit and Risk Committee. Ms. Latour concluded her briefing by covering the annual board actions and what board members could expect should they be appointed to that committee. Immediately following Ms. Latour’s overview, Ms. Dale invited Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dr. Lisa Duncan Raines and Dr. Rob Lange to give the Student Life briefing.

Student Life

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 the learning communities, Community Captains program, an overview of Career Planning workshops and events, financial aid, 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. Ducan 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.

Dr. 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 for the next academic year. Ms. Dale then called on Ms. Thompson to provide the Advancement briefing.

Advancement and Communications

Ms. Thompson started her overview with an organizational chart of University Advancement and detailing the scope of work for the office. She also reviewed the role of the Advancement committee and what the Board can expect throughout the course of the year and what to expect at tomorrow’s committee meeting. She also covered the way that different advisory committees work across campus, the structure of the endowment, how scholarships are awarded and the stewardship process.

Athletics

Mr. McMullin started his overview with the structure of Athletics and discussed the evolving landscape of athletics to underscore the need for a formal Athletics Committee for the board. He conveyed the importance of being able to position us to evaluate the landscape in real time and plan accordingly to support our students. Rector Carney Smith echoed this sentiment that now is the right time to form this committee to help us navigate the unknown territory ahead. She then explained the process of bylaws amendment to form a committee to the new board members. Mr. McMullin finished his report by giving an overview of the other branch of Athletics, Campus Recreation, which has over 1,400 students in club sports and intramurals.

The meeting adjourned at 11:40 a.m.