Board of Visitors Meeting April 21, 2006

The Board of Visitors of Christopher Newport University met on April 21, 2006, in the Alumni Room of the Student Center with Rector William P. Heath, Jr. presiding.

Rector Heath welcomed everyone present and the meeting began with the presentation to President Trible of a $25,000 check from George Dudley, President and CEO of Newport News Shipbuilding Employees' Credit Union. This initial funding establishes the Newport News Shipbuilding Employees' Credit Union endowed Merit Award to provide scholarship assistance for merit students at CNU.

President Trible introduced and welcomed the newest Board Member, Buddy Allen, who was appointed to replace Judy Ford.

President Trible announced that Ann Compton, ABC White House Correspondent, would be the commencement speaker on May 13th and that over 500 students are expected to participate in the ceremony.

This year a freshman class of approximately 1200 students is anticipated. President Trible told the Board that Applications have been increasing by about 1,000 a year and to date, 7,200 applications have been received. The SAT average is 1168 and last year it was 1156. Applications from out of state students are up by 63% and they have increased dramatically from Maryland , Pennsylvania New Jersey and New York . Applications from African Americans increased by more than 200 over last year or by 30%. President Trible thanked Mr. Holloman for his involvement with the Captains for Excellence Program and for their efforts in this regard. There were five open houses for 2005-2006 which brought 3,500 visitors to CNU. In addition, over 300 guests attended two spring Honors Visits; Minority Student Visit Day brought over 100 guests, and over 600 people attended three leadership events. He said that over 1,425 juniors and sophomores and their families have visited CNU over spring break – an all time record. In addition, Counselor Visit Day brought over 70 counselors from around the state to CNU and group visits and overnight visits have been exceptional. Over 2,000 guests from groups like Project Discovery, Upward Bound, middle schools and a variety of special high school tours have also been on campus.

President Trible told the Board that the student athletes have done well this year. In spring, CNU won three USA Conference championships in men's tennis, women's tennis and women's lacrosse. In addition CNU came in second in golf.

He reported that construction on campus was continuing with the student union quickly taking shape. The student union should be completed early summer and ready for use by the return of faculty and students. The cupola on the new library is underway and the library will be completed in about a year.

President Trible reported that there is still no state budget. Tuition and fees are, by large measure, set based on the contributions from the State. CNU has been granted authority in both the House and Senate to create a new residential complex ($25 million) and there is also funding for the modernization and renovation of Gosnold ($16 million). In the future it is anticipated that we will build 2 other academic buildings -- one on the site of the current student center and the other on the site of McMurran Hall.

President Trible thanked Dr. Tracey Schwarze for her leadership this past year on the Faculty Senate. He noted that he has met with the Senate and the Executive Committee regularly creating good communication between the administration and the faculty.

Ms. Crittenden thanked President Trible and CNU for their support of Project Discovery and thanked Mr. O'Connell for representation at the state banquet.

Finance and Audit Committee Report

Chairman Jay Joseph said the committee met and reviewed the status of the financials as of the end of February. The committee received the proposed Tuition and Fees and Room and Board structure for 2006-07 and he asked Ms. Perry to review the tuition and fees proposal with the Board. She noted that no budget has been approved by the State at this time and estimates were based on the Governor's budget. There are no caps on undergraduate or graduate tuition increases. She noted that the funding priority for the next academic year is to enhance opportunities for student success. This would include the addition of full-time instructional faculty, the implementation of the new curriculum including the liberal learning core and first-year seminars, the initiation of a major in Chemistry, enhance Learning Communities for freshmen, increased opportunities for undergraduate research and foreign study at Oxford University and Prague and expanded programs in academic advising, service learning internships and graduate school preparation. Chairman Joseph said that the resolution comes to the Board at the recommendation of the Finance and Audit Committee. Rector Heath called for discussion and questions of Resolution 1: Tuition and Fees and Room and Board, following which, the Resolution was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

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Chairman Joseph asked Mr. Brauer to review Resolution 2 with the Board.

Mr. Brauer explained that this Resolution is required by bond counsel and IRS and it allows CNU to be reimbursed from proceeds of 9(d) bonds for expenditures related to the construction of the Student Center . Chairman Joseph said that this Resolution comes to the Board at the recommendation of the Committee. Rector Heath called for discussion and questions, following which Resolution 2: Declaration of Official Intent to Reimburse Expenditures of Certain Capital Projects at Christopher Newport University from the Proceeds of 9(d) bonds was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Chairman Joseph mentioned that he and Ms. Hoinkes attended the CNU Service Award Breakfast at CNU honoring employees for their years of state service. He told the Board that people spoke eloquently and highly about their years at CNU and that Paul and Rosemary were recognized for their 10 years of service at the University.

Rector Heath then called on Ms. Buckley, the new SGA President to address the Board. Ms. Buckley reported on the activities of the SGA last semester. The Senate had a variety of guest speakers at their meetings addressing areas of concern or ways to improve services on campus. The SGA is working on several “think tank proposals” including making the admission process more demanding, enhancing the PLP experience, etc. She told the board there are now two media sources on campus, the all-online newspaper named The Hook and the new CNU television news station called The Navigator. The SGA sponsored Personal Responsibility on Warwick Boulevard week to increase safety measures crossing Warwick Boulevard . Ms. Buckley stated that she is still in the process of appointing her cabinet and the SGA will continue to work with the administration in the upcoming year.

Rector Heath called on Dr. Schwarze, President of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Schwarze reported that they had worked closely with the President to put together several changes this year. To enhance the quality of faculty life at CNU the Senate requested an increase in the number of faculty sabbaticals, an increase in the faculty development grant budget and the creation of junior faculty development opportunities. Several changes in the academic calendar were proposed – adding an academic day during Getting Started Week as well as providing teaching preparation time for new and returning faculty; adding a final exam reading day into the examination period; and creating a window of time between fall and spring for an interim session.

Mr. Gallagher, past president of the Alumni Society reported on the recent activities of the society. He stated that the society has addressed ways to improve the participation in the alumni society. On behalf of the Alumni Society Board, he thanked President Trible for the addition of Judy Ford as Vice President of University Advancement. The society hopes to acquire an alumni facility on campus. He announced that Mike Martin has donated a vehicle to the alumni society for a fundraising auction. The society is working with Judy Ford to create a raffle opportunity. In order to accept the challenge of obtaining the vehicle a commitment was needed on part of the past presidents and present board of directors. Jim Eyre, CNU alum and past president offered a match of $2,500 to meet a goal of $5,000. The board increased the goal to $9,500. A committee has been formed to work out the details of the raffle. President Trible thanked Mr. Martin for his generosity. He noted that the society appointed a membership committee to establish a tiered level of membership dues consistent with those used with other organizations on campus. Additionally they are working to establish an alumni society chapter in Northern Virginia . Finally, Mr. Gallagher announced that Mark Bernecker will be the new Alumni Society President.

Rector Heath asked the Board to entertain a change to the by-laws. He stated that currently the “annual meeting” of the Board is designated as June and officers are to be elected at that time. The proposal is to change the “annual meeting” to the first meeting of the new academic year. This allows time for the new board members to be appointed and participate in officer election and allows us to know who is on the Board. It was proposed to change Section 1.B.1) as follows:

Section 1. The Annual Meeting – The annual meeting of the Board is scheduled in June . Board officers are elected at the annual meeting.

Change to read: The Annual meeting of the Board is the first meeting in the new academic year. Board officers are elected at the annual meeting.

The Board will be asked to vote on this change at the June meeting.

At 1:20 p.m., Rector Heath called for a motion to enter closed session under the Freedom of Information Act Sections 2.2.3711(a)(1) Personnel, (3) Real Estate and (8) Gifts Bequests and Fundraising. Mr. Holloman provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Joseph and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

The Board returned to open session at 2:10 p.m. and the Rector asked for a roll call certifying that only public matters were discussed that were identified in the public motion by which the executive or closed meeting was called. Board members Ms. Luter, Ms. Budlong, Rector Heath, Mr. Martin, Mr. Holloman, Mr. Joseph, Mr. Allen, and Ms. Crittenden certified to the above.

Rector Heath called for a motion to approve President Trible's sabbatical, in accordance with his contract, from May 22 to August 14, 2006 and the following resolutions all of which were discussed in closed session:

Resolution 3: Award of Emerita Status

Resolution 4: Award of Emeritus Status

The motion was provided by Mr. Allen, seconded by Ms. Crittenden and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Deborah Budlong, Secretary

Beverley Mueller, Administrative Assistant to the Board

William P. Heath, Jr., Rector

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