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.

The Academic Affairs and Faculty Liaison Committee of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees met on Friday, September 13, 2002, at 1:45 p.m. in the Carolina Plaza Board Room.

Members present were: Mr. Robert N. McLellan, Chairman; Mr. James Bradley; Mr. Samuel R. Foster, II; Mr. William C. Hubbard; Ms. Darla D. Moore; Mr. John C. von Lehe, Jr.; Mr. Othniel H. Wienges, Jr.; Mr. Mack I. Whittle, Jr., Board Chairman; and Mr. Herbert C. Adams, Board Vice Chairman. Mr. James A. Shuford, III was also present.

Faculty Liaison Committee members present were Dr. Betty Glad, Chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee and Dr. Peter Graham, Chair of the Faculty Welfare Committee. Committee members absent were: Professor Robert M. Wilcox, Chair of the Faculty Senate; Dr. Charmaine Wilson, representative for the Senior Campuses; and Dr. Roy Darby, representative for the Regional Campuses.

Others present were: President Andrew A. Sorensen; Secretary Thomas L. Stepp; Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Jerome D. Odom; Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard W. Kelly; Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William F. Hogue; Vice President for Human Resources Jane M. Jameson; Vice Provost and Executive Dean for Regional Campuses and Continuing Education Chris P. Plyler; Dean of USC Lancaster John Catalano; General Counsel Walter (Terry) H. Parham; Director of Business Affairs Helen Zeigler; Director of the Office of Public Affairs Russell McKinney; and members of the media.

Chairman McLellan called the meeting to order and invited those present to introduce themselves. Chairman McLellan especially welcomed the new members of the Faculty Liaison Committee. Mr. McKinney introduced members of the media who were in attendance. Chairman McLellan 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 Committee; and a quorum was present to conduct business.

Chairman McLellan stated that there were personnel matters dealing with an honorary degree nomination, honorary faculty titles, an appointment with tenure/transfer of tenure which were appropriate for discussion in Executive Session. Chairman McLellan called for a motion to enter Executive Session. Mr. Bradley so moved, and Mr. Wienges seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

The following persons were invited to remain: Dr. Sorensen, Mr. Stepp, Dr. Odom, Mr. Kelly, Ms. Jameson, Mr. Parham, Ms. Warren, and Ms. Tweedy.

Return to Open Session

Ms. Moore asked if the University had adopted a formal policy for nominating individuals to receive honorary degrees. Secretary Stepp explained that a Faculty Honorary Degree Committee accepted nominations from the faculty; other nominations were sent to the Commencement Committee, of which he was chair. A letter addressed to him requesting the consideration of an individual for an honorary degree created a nomination which was subsequently submitted to the Academic Affairs and Faculty Liaison Committee and to the full Board for approval. Secretary Stepp also stated that the University followed a written set of criteria for nominating individuals. In essence, persons who had achieved great distinction in their lives and were worthy of emulation by our graduates to whom the award of an honorary degree would represent the highest University ideals were considered. A principal association with this institution had not been singled as a requirement. Chairman McLellan asked Secretary Stepp to circulate a copy of this information to Board members.

1. Departmental Name Change: College of Liberal Arts: Chairman McLellan recognized Provost Odom who stated that this requested name change had resulted from a Strategic Directions and Initiatives (SDI) recommendation. The SDI Committee had recommended that the speech program be moved to the Department of English which had been accomplished. As a result, the College of Liberal Arts was requesting that the former Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance be renamed to the Department of Theatre and Dance.

   Mr. von Lehe moved approval of the College of Liberal Arts departmental name change from the Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance to the Department of Theatre and Dance. Mr. Wienges seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

   Mr. Whittle asked that those SDI items relative to this Committee be placed on the meeting agenda for a progress report. Provost Odom commented that Mr. Kelly, Dr. Pastides, Dr. Pruitt and he had presented an SDI progress report to members of the Washington Advisory Group during their August visit to the University. President Sorensen suggested that this update could be presented during the October Board meeting. Chairman McLellan asked that information regarding the tracking of University finances be included; Mr. Kelly and Provost Odom were conducting a parallel analysis of revenues and expenditures within the current budget system vs. the SDI approved value centered management system.

2. Adjournment: There being no further matters to come before the Committee, Chairman McLellan declared the meeting adjourned at 1:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Thomas L. Stepp
Secretary