Board of Visitors Meeting April 29, 2008 - Draft

The Board of Visitors of Christopher Newport University met on April 29, 2008, in the Board Room of the David Student Union
with Rector Claude S. Hornsby, III presiding.

Rector Hornsby welcomed everyone and called for a motion to approve the minutes of the February 28, 2008 meeting. The motion was made by Mr. Heath seconded by Mr. Joseph and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

President's Report

President Trible said that it had been a very successful year for CNU in every respect. He noted that there have been a number factors contributing to the success and the library has truly transformed the academic life of CNU. The General Assembly approved the money necessary to go forward with the planning and construction of the next two academic buildings. He said a great team of faculty and staff worked together to make this happen. He recognized Gary Whiting and his colleagues on the faculty for helping design the building and define the need; Bill Brauer for his daily leadership; the support of the Governor, Senator John Miller and Delegate Phil Hamilton, all who played a decisive role in all that happens in Richmond.

President Trible reported that another outstanding freshman class is taking shape. Dean Patten and the admissions team does a great job and this year nearly 8,000 applications have been submitted for a class of 1,200 freshmen. The number of students of color who have applied and are attending CNU is increasing and the SAT average of the freshman class continues to rise. Competition for these high-ability students is intense and he said the key going forward is to establish endowments for these students. Canon established its first scholarship program in the country at CNU. Canon is offering $5,000 a year per student and is funding 25 scholarships. These Canon Scholars have an average GPA of 4.1 and SAT of 1340. President Trible reported that the Golf Auction was a huge success and the monies raised are for need and merit based scholarships at CNU.

The athletic teams continue to do well. President Trible reported that in the spring 4 teams won conference championships and will go to the NCAA national tournament - women's lacrosse and softball and men's tennis and baseball.

President Trible announced that Governor Kaine will be the speaker at Commencement on May 18th and that Governor Holton and Mrs. Holton have also been invited to attend and be honored for their service to the Commonwealth.

Next, Rector Hornsby called for discussion of the changes to the Board By-Laws which was distributed at the last meeting. Ms. Perry reviewed the changes with the Board.

The first change includes language that the Board approved in 1993 delegating authority to the President to appoint full time salaried teaching, research and administrative professional faculty. These appointments are then reported at the next Board meeting. The second amendment is to reflect the change in the teaching load for the full time instructional faculty moving to a 4/3 teaching load for tenure track faculty in 2008 and tenure track faculty in 2010. The final amendment is to change the reporting lines for complaints of sexual harassment to the Director of Equal Opportunity. There being no questions, Rector Hornsby called for a motion to approve the changes to the by-laws, the motion was made by Mr. Martin, seconded by Ms. Crittenden and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Finance and Audit Committee Report  

Mr. Joseph reported that the finance committee reviewed the financial reports to date and everything is in good order. He noted that the Ferguson Center will have a deficit at the end of the year but is taking the appropriate action to bring it back to a balanced state next year. The Finance Committee discussed in detail the tuition and fee increase for next year. He reminded the Board that the State reduced CNU's budget by 5% this year. He told the Board that the State is setting aside an incentive fund for universities who hold down their tuition increases but that amount is uncertain at this time. He also noted that other institutions are delaying setting tuition and fees until there is more information from Richmond . The Finance Committee recommended to the Board that no action be taken at this time and that the Board refer the decision to the Finance Committee for action in the next 30 days. Rector Hornsby called for discussion and a motion. Mr. Heath made the motion to refer setting of tuition and fees to the Finance Committee, seconded by Mr. Martin and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Academic Affairs Committee

Ms. Hoinkes reported that at the academic affairs committee meeting Dr. Keston Fulcher reported on the university's progress of monitoring student success by evaluating and assessing how much students learn from their experience at CNU. The entering freshmen are given a standardized test to be used as a benchmark and then they are given the same test in their junior year. The test is given in two areas: general education test in critical thinking and in a specific subject matter. The results of this study not only provide information on the students' success but allows CNU to evaluate the strengths and needed areas of improvement in a curriculum. Ms. Hoinkes recommended that this presentation be given to the entire Board.

Student Life Committee Report

Mr. Martin reported that CNU has received the largest number of applications in its history which is up by 8 percent over last year. He noted that this is a 558% increase since President Trible arrived at CNU. Nearly 1,100 freshmen have said they will attend and the average GPA is 3.6 and SAT is 1183 up 13 points over last year. Mr. Martin noted that this is a 222 point increase over 10 years ago. Almost 600 students have applied to the Presidents Leadership Program and 193 have been offered scholarships. Applications from African Americans increased by 12 percent or 1,000 to date. Since mid-March CNU hosted nearly 4,000 visitors including almost 2,000 junior prospects and family members. Applications from out-of-state students are up by 5 percent and there were nearly 1,000 inquiries from Ohio.

Mr. Martin reported that 650 students attended the Captains Ball - the largest number in history. He said alcohol was served and it was done very professionally. A satisfaction survey was completed by 60% of the residential students and 94% gave a positive rating of the RAs and 98% had a sense of safety on campus. In addition, 870 students have registered for Setting Sail Orientation and that number will increase as final commitments come in.

Mr. Martin introduced Paul Camacho the new SGA President. Mr. Camacho spoke a little about himself and talked briefly about the Rotaract Club (student Rotary Club) on campus which he established. He noted he had met with the President on the ideas of continuing and enhancing the community of honor at CNU. In addition the Student Life Committee received a report from Dr. Kevin Hughes, Dean of Students on the honor code and honor system at CNU which he also shared with the Board. The Board had a discussion regarding the honor code and sanctions that are imposed when there is a violation.

Alumni Society Report

Mr. Michael Koontz updated the Board on the alumni society's activities. He said that the recipient of the 2nd Annual CNU Alumni Society Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring had been chosen but not yet announced. The award will be presented during commencement weekend and is accompanied by a $2500 check. The Society funded and awarded 5 student leaders with $100; in honor of the first President of CNU they established the Scotty Cunningham Scholarship with $12,500 which was matched; $2500 was given to the Padeia research conference and the Society is currently preparing for homecoming, the 5 K race in the fall and alumni reunion in the spring.

Faculty Senate Report

Dr. Whiting agreed with the President that it had been a great year and thanked all the members of the faculty senate for their service this past year. He distributed a list of the new Faculty Senate membership. A resolution was passed last week by the Faculty Senate “A Capital Appreciation” which was a special thanks to President Paul Trible, his team, the CNU Board of Visitors, Governor Kaine, Delegate Phil Hamilton and Senator John Miller. The Faculty Senate is establishing a faculty mentoring program where senior faculty help new faculty for first 3 years to help integrate them into the life of CNU.

Development Committee Report

Mr. Hornsby said the committee discussed ways to raise the awareness of CNU, particularly looking at ways to engage the alumni. Dr. Taraski reported on Alumni Chapter development and said that an Alumni Chapter had been started in Richmond . There were 14 alumni who attend the reception in Richmond and they want to be more engaged with CNU. There was a discussion about the Annual Fund and the major theme is to try to reach many more alumni, to have more alumni volunteers at the university and personalize our outreach to alumni. Mr. Hornsby stated that the idea of giving back to the university must start early on with the students.

Ms. Hoinkes explained that there was one remaining matter of business. The Board reviewed and approved Resolution 2: Award of Emeritus Status.

Following the Committee reports, the Board discussed the upcoming graduation activities and approved the awarding of an Honorary Degree to Governor Timothy Kaine, the commencement speaker. In addition, President Trible said that he would like to honor Governor Holton and his wife who are the parents of the first Lady for their service to Virginia over the years. Following discussion, Rector Hornsby called for a motion which was provided by Mr. Joseph and seconded by Mr. Martin and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

The President reviewed the appointments of full-time faculty and professional administrative faculty. President Trible complimented Dr. Padilla on his superb first year as Provost and noted that he had gained the confidence and respect of the faculty quickly.

There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned.

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Ms. Deborah Budlong, Secretary to the Board

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Beverley Mueller, Administrative Assistant to the Board

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Claude S. Hornsby, III, Rector of the Board

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