Academic Affairs Committee Meeting November 16, 2023

Present from the board

Lee Vreeland, Ed.D., Chair
Brently K. Archer
Terri M. McKnight, CPA
Kelli Purdy Meadows, CPA, CCIFP
Christy T. Morton
Remote participation permitted due to personal work-related travel to attend the Senate Finance Committee Retreat in Northern Virginia pursuant to Code of Virginia § 2.2-3708.3

Present from the University

Quentin Kidd, University Provost/Chief Academic Officer and Lead Staff for Committee
Sarah Chace, Associate Professor of Leadership and American Studies and Faculty Senate Representative
Sarah Finley, Associate Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures (Spanish)
Nashara Richardson, Junior, Spanish Major
Riley Park, MAT Student, Undergraduate Degree in Spanish
Robert Colvin, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
Carolyn Davis, Director of Finance and Administration for Academic Affairs
Nicole Guajardo, Dean, College of Natural and Behavioral Sciences and Professor of Psychology
Lynn Lambert, Associate Provost for Research and Dean of Graduate Studies
Anton Riedl, Associate Professor of Physics, Computer Science and Engineering
Jennifer Major, Office Manager for 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 4:15 PM on November 16, 2023 by Lee Vreeland, Committee Chair.

A vote was held to approve the previous meeting minutes. Chairwoman Vreeland called for a motion, which was made by Terri M. McKnight and seconded by Kelly Purdy Meadows. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Chairwoman Vreeland turned the meeting over to Quentin Kidd who introduced our faculty/student guests.

Faculty Showcase
1. Dr. Sarah Finley – Associate Professor of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, Spanish
2. Dr. Finley gave us a view of what a Spanish class looks like and she discussed her research.
3. Dr. Finley is a first-generation Masters and Ph.D., which allows her to connect well with her students.
4. Dr. Finley has published two books, ten articles and has held many conferences.
5. Nashara Richardson – Junior from Suffolk, Virginia. She is a Spanish Major who also is doing independent research on retention rates for Latino students. She will be studying abroad next spring in Costa Rica. She made that choice because they have a unique opportunity for service learning.
6. Riley Park – He is a MAT student and received his undergraduate degree in Spanish. He will receive his masters in English as a Second Language (ESL) with an extra endorsement to teach Spanish. His internship will be teaching at an elementary school and a high school. Because of the language diversity in his classroom, he is studying other languages. He firmly believes when you study languages, it enhances your ability to teach them.
Budget and Finance – Carolyn Davis, Director of Finance and Administration for Academic Affairs
1. Continuing to do their part to absorb a $2.5 million budget reduction. On target to meet budget goals.
2. Has a $53 million budget of which 88% is staffing and the remaining 12% is non-personal or operating expenses. Current and future budget challenges are being met as follows:
3. FY24 Budget Reductions
  - Faculty Line Reduction
  - Adjunct Hiring
  - Staff Hiring and Eliminating/Delaying Positions
  - Non-Personal Expenses (Travel, Grants and Research)
4. FY25 Budget Challenges
  - Continue to work with a $2.5 million budget reduction.
  - Manage class schedules and curriculum with reduced numbers of faculty and adjuncts.
  - Incorporate $300,000 into budget planning for restored faculty development funding, sabbaticals and a greenhouse.
  - Continue to look for ways to streamline operations and automate manual processes.
5. On-Going Efforts
  - Sabbaticals
  - Faculty Salary Review
  - Faculty Count
  - Administrative Support Review
Update on the Science and Engineering Research Center - Dean Nicole Guajardo
1. Currently calling our new building the Science and Engineering Research Center to emphasize the great work we do at CNU in science, engineering and resesarch.
2. It will include critical teaching and research space for the departments of Physics, Computer Science and Enginering and Mathematics, as well as for our majors in kinesiology and neuroscience. Bringing this areas together in one building will provide new and expanded opportunities for innovative interdisciplinary collaboration.
3. The building will have the following
  - A state-of-the-art 100-seat demonstration classroom which will provide opportunities for active demonstrations of chemistry, physics and engineering phenomena. Also, excellent to enhance public interest in STEM.
  - It will also have specialized classroom space, an exercise science lab, and a biomechanics lab to support the growing major in kinesiology.
  - A two-story lab to develop and test unmanned aircraft systems and other robotics.
  - A maker space incorporating v various fabrication methods, including 3D printing and a CNC that will provide opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
4. This space will enable us to expand opportunities to engage in interdisciplinarity collaboration, innovation and partnership with the community. The completion of this building will finalize our science buildings and provide spaces that will enable us to elevate scientific training and preparation at Christopher Newport, preparing our students for their future careers.
Provost's Updates
1. Grants/Funding
  - Dr Roberto Flores, Dr. Ryan Fisher, Dr. Toni Riedl and Dr. Lynn Lambert have been awarded $800,000 from the National Science Foundation for "Collaborative Research: EPIIC: Developing Emerging Technology Ecosystem Partnerships for Primary Undergraduate Institutions."
  - Dr. Kathryn Cole has been awarded $122,075 from the National Institute of Health National Cancer Center for "Studies of Tubulin and Novel Inhibitors: Synthesis, Modeling and Biological Evaluation."
  - Dr. Sara Black has received the J. Russell Major Prize in French History for her book Drugging France: Mind-altering Medicine in the Long Nineteenth Century (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2022). The award is bestowed on the best English-language work in French history.
2. Post-COVID academic improvement
  - Mid-term grades show evidence of improved academic performance.
  - Percentage of grades reported as D, I or failing was down 13.1% from 16.0% last year.
  - Percentage of students with at least one A grade reported was 41.2% up from 39.0% last year.
3. Study Abroad Rankings
  - Ranked #6 in the Nation for Short-Term Program Participation
  - Ranked #10 in the Nation for Total Study Abroad Participation
  - Based on participation in the 2021-2022 academic year and one of the first snapshots of the post-COVID study abroad data. According to this report, nationally only 5.9% of undergraduate students studied abroad in 2021-2022. CNU was more than 4x higher with 26.9%. Go Global Captains!

The next Board of Visitors meeting will be held at 4:15 p.m. on February 9, 2024 in a location to be determined.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m. by Chairwoman Lee Vreeland.