Board of Visitors Meeting June 16, 2006

The Board of Visitors of Christopher Newport University met on June 16, 2006, in the Alumni Room of the Student Center with Rector William P. Heath, Jr. presiding.

Rector Heath welcomed all those present at the meeting. He then called for a motion to approve the minutes of the February 24, 2006 and April 21, 2006 meetings. Ms. Hoinkes provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Wilson. There being no discussion the minutes were approved by unanimous approval.

Rector Heath reviewed the recommended change to the By-Laws as discussed at the April meeting. The revision changes the date of the annual meeting. Rector Heath called for discussion of the by-law change. There being none, Mr. Allen provided the motion to ratify the change to Section 1.B 1) of the by-laws which identifies the date of the annual meeting as the first meeting in the new academic year. Ms. Hoinkes seconded the motion and it was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Rector Heath informed the Board that Ms. Mary Elizabeth Hoinkes, Mr. E.G. Allen, Jr., Mr. Thaddeus Holloman, Mr. Gerald Passaro and he were reappointed to the Board for the next four years.

Chair Mr. Jay Joseph said the committee met this morning and reviewed the financial statements year to date and the operating budget for 2006-07. He then asked Ms. Cynthia Perry to review with the Board the budget for the upcoming year.

Ms. Perry explained that the General Assembly has not yet appropriated a budget so the budget is based on the most conservative approach which is the Senate recommendation for the budget. The Governor's budget recommended an increase in the state general fund support for the university of $2.2 million and it is anticipated there will be an additional $650,000 from central funds to support salary increases and other things. The Senate reduced the Governor's budget by $516,000 and that is the basis of the budget being presented.

Assumptions funded in the proposed operating budget include incremental general fund support for faculty and staff salaries and fringe benefits, base adequacy and student financial aid. Incremental tuition and fee dollars will support the non-general fund share of increases in faculty and staff salaries and fringe benefits as well as the operation and maintenance of new facilities, incremental debt service payments and other priority needs of the University.

Ms. Perry continued to discuss in detail the Operating Budget for 2006-2007. Resolution 1 was presented to approve a total budget of $96,615,252 which is an increase of approximately 12.4% representing $45,069,771 in Educational and General Programs; $3,292,702 in Student Financial Aid; $44,327,814 in Auxiliary Enterprises with an allocation of comprehensive fees to the programs within Auxiliary Enterprises; $3,300,200 in Financial Assistance for Educational and General Services and $624,748 in unrestricted contributions.

Ms. Perry pointed out in the Resolution that the budget is recommended as an estimated appropriation as opposed to a final appropriation from the General Assembly. Also, it authorizes the University to take whatever action is appropriate and in compliance with the directives from the State to move the July 1 st payroll to June 30 th . The Resolution also authorizes the university to transfer whatever central fund appropriations are necessary and provides authorization to revise the expenditure plan based on the final budget appropriated by the General Assembly. The committee recommends that the Board allow the administration to make those revisions and obtain the President's approval and report back to the Board if there are revisions made to the budget as presented.

Following questions and discussion, Mr. Jay Joseph provided the motion to approve RESOLUTION 1: OPERATING BUDGET 2006-2007, seconded by Mr. Allen and passed by unanimous vote of the Board. Mr. Allen provided a motion to authorize the President to take whatever action is necessary to allocate any additional funds received from the final budget and directed the President report back to the Board on the final allocation. The motion was seconded by Mr. Joseph and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Academic Affairs Committee Report

Chair Ms. Mary Lib Hoinkes said the committee discussed the faculty evaluation process and faculty salaries. She told the Board that the State looks at other institutions that are most like CNU and the average faculty salaries at those institutions and uses that as a basis for making recommendations to the General Assembly on where the appropriated salary should be. Provost Summerville noted that CNU is with a benchmark of institutions which was established in 1997 with 1995 data, so arguably it is based on out of date circumstances. However, each year he reviews the current list to determine what changes occurred in the benchmark list and at this point the changes are not to CNU's advantage. The list puts CNU's recommended benchmark for salary around $66,000 per year and that keeps CNU at least marginally competitive in terms of retention and recruitment of faculty. The institutions on the list of 2004 data have average faculty salaries ranging from $49,761 to $84,615. Ms. Hoinkes told the Board that this year there have been 5 new faculty positions added and the other new faculty hired were for replacement positions. She distributed a chart showing the prestigious institutions where these faculty received their degrees.

The one action item the committee recommended was RESOLUTION 2: Promotion and Change of Status of Instructional Faculty. Ms. Hoinkes explained that this action is consistent with the terms of the employment contract and with the provisions of the Plan of Compensation wherein a faculty member is promoted to Assistant Professor status upon receiving their Ph.D. degree. Rector Heath called for discussion and there being none, the Resolution was passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

Student Life Committee Report

Ms. Frank reported on the meeting of the Student Life Committee. She noted that this is a banner year in terms of applicants. CNU received 7,177 applicants which is an increase of 17% over last year. The leadership class is the largest with 198 students and their SAT average was 1247 up from 1219 last year. There are 49 Smithfield-Godwin Scholars with a GPA of 3.9 and SAT average of 1320. These students receive $2,000 in scholarships to study abroad. In addition, enrollment from Richmond increased from 160 students last year to 184 this year and enrollment from the Peninsula increased from 148 to 162.

Ms. Frank told the Board that CNU has become more selective and has reduced the number of students admitted with a GPA below a 3.0. The Honors Program accepted 1327 students with an SAT average of 1276 and GPA of 3.8. Many of these students are also part of the Leadership Program and a recent study has shown that our most successful students participate in both the Honors and Leadership programs.

Enrollment of African American students continues to rise with an increase from 6 to 7 percent and the Latino freshmen will increase from 2 to 4 percent. Three students from Captains for Excellence program have applied to CNU. Approximately 548 students have applied to transfer to CNU. Out of these 190 have been admitted and 139 have indicated they will attend.

Ms. Frank reported on a young man who was a student at Woodside High School – Leon Prather. Although Leon was terribly disadvantaged and homeless throughout his life, he graduated from Woodside 5 th in his class, with a 4.26 GPA and SAT score of 2120. He received $30,000 in college scholarship grants and was named the Gates Millennium Scholar. Leon Prather has chosen CNU although he has been recruited by other prestigious colleges. Mr. Holloman said that Leon chose CNU because of the excellent fine and performing arts program and he was pleased to see the article in the paper.

Dean Eddleman reported that there had been a waiting list for housing but all students wanting housing have now been accommodated. She reported that out of the 2858 beds on campus, 2856 are filled, which includes some rooms tripled. At this time, there are 1190 housing contracts for freshmen. There are 1180 freshmen signed up for the Setting Sail orientation program.

Ms. Molly Buckley reported that the SGA's initiative this year is to get students involved in organizations on the campus and working with Virginia21.

Mr. Mark Bernecker, President of the Alumni Society, reported that the Society is excited about the upcoming year and the addition of an alumni house on campus. Their focus this year will be on fundraising and they hope to recruit 10 more members to the Alumni Society Board.

At 1:15 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. Allen provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Holloman and passed by unanimous vote of the Board.

The Board returned to open session at 3:05 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. Frank, Ms. Budlong, Rector Heath, Ms. Hoinkes, Mr. Holloman, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Joseph and Mr. Allen certified to the above.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

_____________________________

William P. Heath, Jr., Rector

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