The official minutes of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees are maintained by the Secretary of the Board. Certified copies of minutes may be requested by contacting the Board of Trustees’ Office. Electronic or other copies of original minutes are not official Board of Trustees' documents.
Board of Trustees
February 22, 2001
The Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina met Thursday, February 22, 2001, at 5:05 p.m., in the Poinsett Room of the Westin Poinsett Hotel in Greenville, South Carolina.
Members present were: Mr. Mack I. Whittle, Jr., Chairman; Mr. Herbert C. Adams; Mr. Arthur S. Bahnmuller; Mr. Alexander English; Mr. A.C. Fennell, III; Dr. C. Edward Floyd; Mr. Samuel R. Foster, II; Mrs. Helen C. Harvey; Mr. William C. Hubbard; Mr. Toney J. Lister; Mr. Miles Loadholt; Mr. Robert N. McLellan; Mr. M. Wayne Staton; Mr. John C. von Lehe, Jr., via telephone; and Mr. Othniel H. Wienges, Jr. Trustees absent were: Mr. James Bradley; Mr. J. DuPre Miller; Ms. Darla D. Moore; Mr. Michael J. Mungo; and Mrs. Inez M. Tenenbaum. The faculty representative, Professor Caroline Strobel, and the student representative, Ms. Jotaka Eaddy, were both present.
Others present were: President John M. Palms; Secretary Thomas L. Stepp; Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jerome D. Odom; Vice President and Chief Operating Officer J. Lyles Glenn; Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William F. Hogue; Vice President for Human Resources Jane M. Jameson; Vice President for Student and Alumni Services Dennis A. Pruitt; Interim Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Allan Barber; Executive Dean of Regional Campuses and Continuing Education Chris P. Plyler; Vice Provost and Dean for Libraries and Information Systems George D. Terry; General Counsel Walter (Terry) H. Parham; Interim Chancellor of USC Aiken Thomas L. Hallman; Chancellor of USC Spartanburg John C. Stockwell; Dean, USC Union, James W. Edwards; Interim Budget Director, Office of Budget and Finance, Robert E. Bugbee; Director of Facilities Planning and Construction and University Architect Charles G. Jeffcoat; Director of Planning Services, Office of Facilities Planning and Construction, Donna Collins; Member of the University Business Partnership Foundation Manuel Gaetán; Trustee Emeritus Paul S. Goldsmith; Director of Public Affairs Russell McKinney; Wife of the Interim Chancellor, USC Aiken, Susan Hallman; Office of Media Relations representative Jason Snyder; and representatives from the media.
Chairman Whittle stated that notice of the meeting had been posted and the press notified as required by the Freedom of Information Act; the agenda and supporting materials had been circulated to the members; and a quorum was present to conduct business.
Chairman Whittle welcomed everyone and invited those present to introduce themselves. Mr. Snyder introduced the representatives from the press.
Chairman Whittle stated that there were contractual matters with respect to Gift Naming Opportunities, as well as a personnel matter with respect to the appointment of the USC Aiken Chancellor that were appropriate for Executive Session.
Mr. Wienges moved to enter Executive Session and Mr. Hubbard seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
The following persons were invited to remain: Dr. Palms, Mr. Stepp, Dr. Odom, Mr. Glenn, Dr. Pruitt, Ms. Jameson, Mr. Parham, Dr. Plyler, Dr. Barber, Dr. Hogue, Dr. Stockwell, Mr. McKinney, Ms. Warren, Ms. Jenkins, and Ms. Tweedy.
Executive Session
There were no other matters appropriate for Executive Session; Chairman Whittle declared the meeting returned to Open Session.
Return to Open Session
The following three sets of minutes had been circulated by mail to the Board for review and were presented for approval:
The Ad Hoc Committee on Advancement met on February 8, 2001. Mr. Robert Staton reviewed the status of the Bicentennial Campaign and had noted that, as of December 2000, slightly more than $335 million had been raised.
Mr. Staton had provided Committee members with a report which he hoped would be a helpful reference. Copies of this report had been distributed to Board members. One of the charts in the report detailed campaign information, the second diagram compared the original goals with actual performance, and the third section described funding resources. Utilizing this data, the Development Office would focus on increasing the dollar amount for scholarships, chairs, and fellowships.
The Buildings and Grounds Committee met on February 8, 2001, and discussed the following items:
The Commission on Higher Education had informed all higher education institutions that they would be inquired to update quickly a deferred maintenance report that the Commission last produced in 1994. This report was important because the Governor's budget would include a capital improvement bond line item of $60 million for deferred maintenance and new information would be needed to assist in the setting of priorities.
The Fitness/Wellness Center project was progressing well. The completion date was scheduled for the end of 2002, with an anticipated opening in 2003. The Arena project was scheduled to be bid February 27, 2001. It would be completed by the end of 2002. The Greek Village project was also progressing well. Construction should begin this spring on the houses initially approved, as soon as the infrastructure had been completed.
A presentation of the revised master plan was scheduled for the March 22 Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting. The present version as well as the new plan would be compared. The proposed master plan would be reviewed extensively by the Committee and would be considered for approval when there had been thorough opportunity for input.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval to increase the budget for this project by $310,000, as described in the materials distributed for this meeting, funded with Renovation Reserve Funds. This would result in a total budget of $1,148,000 funded with Renovation Reserve Funds. Mr. Wienges seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval of this project as described in the materials distributed for this meeting, with a budget of $250,000 funded with Renovation Reserve Funds, on the condition that it would not begin until the status of next year's budget was known and the Buildings and Grounds Committee had been informed that the President had authorized activation of it. Mr. English seconded the motion.
Mr. McLellan questioned why this project was contingent upon the adoption of next year's budget if reserve funds would provide the financial resource. President Palms responded that potentially these funds could be used to balance the budget in the event of an "an extraordinary emergency."
The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval to increase the budget for this project, as described in the materials distributed for this meeting, by $420,000 funded with Housing Funds. The total project budget would be $1,810,000 to be funded with Housing Funds. Mr. Bahnmuller seconded the motion.
The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval of this project, as described in the materials distributed for this meeting, with a budget of $490,000 to be funded with Housing Funds. Mrs. Harvey seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval to accept Ifra's $1.5 million gift, as well as a $2 million endowment to facilitate the continual upgrading of technology, as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Staton seconded the motion.
Dr. Odom corrected an article in The State newspaper which indicated that the University would be required to provide $500,000 for this project; rather, the University of South Carolina would only furnish personnel. In addition, Dr. Odom had received a letter from Kerry Northrup, Executive Director of Ifra, which clearly reiterated that same information. Responding to a question from Mr. Loadholt regarding the source of the gift, Dr. Odom replied that several different worldwide news companies would provide funding through the Ifra organization.
The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
On behalf of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, Mr. Loadholt moved approval to increase the budget for this project, as described in the materials distributed for this meeting, by $500,000 to fund the second phase of work. The increase would be funded with private funds and would result in a total project budget of $1,200,000 funded with $550,000 in School of Medicine Appropriated State Funds, $500,000 in Private Funds, and $150,000 in School of Medicine Institutional Capital Project Funds. Mr. Lister seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
During the Executive Committee meeting earlier today, the Committee had approved a contract to purchase a 1980 Beechcraft King Air F90 airplane from the University of South Carolina Development Foundation for the use of the Athletics Department; approved a contract to merge the Dorn VA Medical Center Library with the USC Medical School Library; approved a contract for the purchase of The Henry W. Kendall Collection of Laurens Papers; and also approved a contract for the purchase of The Joel Myerson Collection of Nineteenth Century American Literature. Mr. Parham had reported to the Committee concerning the status of the Action Sports Media contract negotiations which had been discussed at a prior meeting. The Committee had also received a report from Dr. Palms regarding the University of South Carolina 2000-2001 budget and preliminary planning for the 2001-2002 budget.
Mr. English moved approval of the establishment of the USC Aiken School of Business Administration Quasi-Endowment as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Fennel seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
Mrs. Harvey moved approval for a contract rate for graduate courses/programs as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. McLellan seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
Mrs. Harvey moved approval of the proposal for a special tuition rate for teachers holding emergency certification as described in the materials for this meeting. Mr. Loadholt seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
Mrs. Harvey moved approval of the appointment of Dr. Thomas L. Hallman as Chancellor of USC Aiken, effective January 1, 2001. Mr. Loadholt seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.
In addition, in accordance with the request from Dr. Palms, the Executive Committee had approved salary supplements for the Chancellor of USC Aiken and the Chancellor of USC Spartanburg.
The Executive Committee had also approved modifications to Head Football Coach Lou Holtz's employment agreement with the University of South Carolina.
Chairman Whittle recognized Mr. Fennell who informed the Committee that membership in the Alumni Association was the highest on record, approaching 26,000 paid members; in comparison, the membership in 1997 had been 15,000. He also noted that the membership retention rate was very substantial.
Mr. Fennell briefly discussed several of the new programs that the Alumni Association had added including the "Show Your Card" program which offered free admission to a Gamecock baseball game and a Lady Gamecock basketball game, and special gifts such as t-shirts and refreshments under the tent at the ETV building before several of the football games and basketball games when an individual presented an Alumni Association membership card.
The Alumni Association had started a legacy program which cultivated and encouraged children and grandchildren of Association members to consider attending the University of South Carolina. To date, approximately 1,500 children had enrolled in this program. For example, each year the Alumni Association mailed birthday cards to the children. For special birthdays, they would receive gifts; at age one, they would receive a bib that said "I'm a little cocky"; at age three, they would receive a height chart with Cocky holding a ruler; and at age five, they would receive a wallet with a Gamecock on the front.
The "Alumni University" program had been held this past June and alumni had participated in a unique classroom learning experience with USC faculty which incorporated a wide variety of subjects and experiences to enhance lifelong learning. The weekend event had culminated with a trip to the Charleston Aquarium. The dates for this year's program were June 20-23, 2001.
"zUniversity.com" will allow alumni to actively interact with the University, as well as other alumni, through the Internet. This internet access will provide the opportunity to update the alumni database more easily.
Mr. Fennell also explained that the Association had been actively conferring with an architect regarding site selection for a new alumni center. A 35,000 square foot building was anticipated which would ultimately "make a statement about how vital our alumni are to the University of South Carolina's mission." Mr. Fennell concluded by stating that USC alumni had contributed $3.8 billion and 54,000 jobs to the state from 1998-1999.
Chairman Whittle indicated that this report would be deferred until the next meeting. The goals would be incorporated into discussions of pending state budget cuts.
As outgoing president, Ms. Jotaka Eaddy summarized Student Government Association accomplishments during her administration. She thanked Board members for their support, as well as Dr. Pruitt for his guidance. Ms. Eaddy hoped that she had been able "to give back to the University just a little portion of what USC has given me thus far."
The Student Government Association had worked very closely with the University parking director to institute a campus evening shuttle which had been particularly welcomed during the winter months. This service had helped to minimize unsafe situations for USC students.
In addition, through a cooperative effort with the College of Social Work, a new class, Service 101, would be offered beginning in Fall 2001. This course was unique because it would join the three parts of higher education--research, service, and academics. In addition to the classroom, students would have the opportunity to volunteer at a designated community service site in order to learn about their service, as well as possibly offering these agencies a new perspective for resolving problems. It was hoped that these students would ultimately have a better understanding of the concept of service and to know that "service is not only doing but is also learning and giving back."
Collaboration with the Department of Athletics and the Gamecock Club this past year had resulted in the creation of the "Sixth Man Club," an organization composed of students wearing Gamecock t-shirts who stood together in a designated section during basketball games. All of the 942 seats available to students in that section had sold during these events. The Student Government Association hoped to expand that offering in the new arena.
Ms. Eaddy noted that, as an advocate for the student body, the Student Government Association would respond to a recent student petition regarding the drop date by presenting this issue to the Faculty Senate in the near future. She believed that "we as a student government did our job in advocating the voice of the students to our Faculty Senate." In addition, the Student Senate had passed an important legislative resolution this past year involving the support of the Bisexual/Gay/Lesbian Association which impacted the University's discrimination policy.
Working closely with the University of South Carolina Office of Research, the South Carolina Research Institute, and the Columbia Incubator Center, the Student Government Association had received a $150,000 grant from the South Carolina Research Institute to create a student incubator program. The University would "set up a place for students to be creative and innovative." To date, 16 students had applied. Ms. Eaddy was confident that this program would generate many successful student business ventures.
Ms. Eaddy briefly summarized student efforts to lobby the state legislature regarding budget cuts. The USC Student Government Association had facilitated a December meeting of all of the state's public higher education institutions' student body presidents; as a result, a student lobbying effort had been planned at the State House. On the USC campus, the Student Government Association had initiated a letter writing campaign; over 2,000 student letters had been sent to members of the state senate. A press conference had also been organized involving both in-state and out-of-state students who publicly voiced their objections to these budget cuts. Ms. Eaddy conveyed to the Board the student concern regarding the possibility of increased tuition. "We ask that this Board really take into consideration the students when dealing with the budget concerns."
In conclusion, Ms. Eaddy thanked the Board for "this incredible experience." She looked forward to the possibility of working with Board members in the future as she embarked upon a career of international public policy.
Chairman Whittle indicated that the President's Report had been presented during the Executive Committee meeting earlier today when the presidents of Clemson University and MUSC, via telephone, and Dr. Palms had discussed the budget cuts and collaborative research efforts.
Dr. Palms briefly addressed the University of South Carolina SACS reaccreditation process. He noted that during the following week the chair of the USC Columbia visiting committee would be on campus to review the reports to be submitted. Provost Odom had been working daily with college deans to ensure that their strategic plans and concomitant assessments and feedbacks had been appropriately documented. The USCS SACS reaccreditation visiting committee would be on the Spartanburg campus the following week; the USC Columbia committee was scheduled to visit the campus during the first week in April; the USC Aiken committee would visit that campus during the third week in April.
Chairman Whittle stated that the Secretary of the Board wished to offer an alternative to the discussion of a called March Board meeting for the purpose of revisiting the goals, the specifics of enrollment, and the economics of adding 500 additional freshmen. The next Board meeting was scheduled at a regional campus on April 12. Mr. Stepp suggested that the meeting could be held in Columbia on that date without jeopardizing the timeliness of readdressing the various budgetary concerns. It was decided to meet on April 12 in Columbia.
There were no further matters to come before the Board of Trustees, and Chairman Whittle declared the meeting adjourned at 5:53 p.m. inviting those individuals present to attend a reception later that evening which would officially begin the Joint Boards' Retreat.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas L. Stepp
Secretary