Advancement Committee Meeting April 18, 2024

The Committee on University Advancement met on Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. in Room 201 of the Freeman Center with Chair of the Committee John R. Lawson, presiding.

Present from the Committee

John R. Lawson, Chair
Regina Brayboy
William Estrada
Lindsey Carney Smith, Esq., Rector
Ron Tillett

Absent from the Committee

C. Larry Pope

Present from the University

Bob Colvin, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives
Sarah Herzog, Chief Financial Officer and Associate Vice President
William G. Kelly, President
Kenneth Kidd, Deputy Chief of Staff
Jennifer Latour, Chief of Staff
Olga Lipatova, Faculty Senate Representative
Adelia P. Thompson, Vice President for University Advancement, External Engagement and the Arts

Others Present

Rachel Fitzsimmons, Student
K. Spencer McDonald, Controller of CNU Foundations
Kyle McMullin, Athletic Director
Deborah Roundtree

At 12:00 p.m. Chair John R. Lawson called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present.

Chair Lawson called for a motion to approve the minutes from the February 8, 2024 Committee on University Advancement. Regina Brayboy provided the motion, seconded by Ron Tillett. The minutes were unanimously approved.

Junior pre-med student Rachel Fitzsimmons spoke to the Committee. Rachel is a leader in the Center for Community Engagement - A Bonner Scholar and Ferguson Fellow - and her service has focused on Riverside Medical Center where she has built programs that add to their volunteer capacity, to serve patients and their families. Her capstone project as she enters her senior year is building a clothes closet for Riverside, specifically the ER, to provide patients who have nothing - including a shirt on their backs. Because of her project, neighbors in need who leave Riverside get to do so with dignity, and in proper clothes - not a hospital gown and socks.

Closed Session

At 12:13 p.m. Chair Lawson called for a motion to enter closed session under Freedom of Information Act § 2.2-3711 (A)(9) Gifts, Bequests and Fundraising. Regina Brayboy provided the motion, seconded by Ron Tillett and the committee went into closed session.

Return to Open Session

At 12:47 p.m. Chair Lawson called for a motion to enter open session which was completed by Regina Brayboy. Lindsey Carney Smith seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous vote of the Committee.

The Committee returned to open session and Deborah Roundtree read the certification language: The Committee of University Advancement certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under this chapter were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed session was convened were heard, discussed or considered by the Committee.

Ms. Roundtree asked the Committee Members to certify that only public matters were discussed that were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was called and Chair Lawson, Regina Brayboy, William Estrada, Rector Lindsey Carney Smith, and Ron Tillett certified to the above through roll call.

Chair Lawson called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Regina Brayboy made a motion which was seconded by Ron Tillett. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:48 p.m.