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USC Board of Trustees
Executive Committee
August 10, 2001

The Executive Committee of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees met Friday, August 10, 2001, at 1:30 p.m. in the Carolina Plaza Board Room.

Members present were: Mr. Mack I. Whittle, Jr., Chairman; Mr. Herbert C. Adams; Mr. James Bradley; Dr. C. Edward Floyd; Mr. William C. Hubbard; and Mr. Michael J. Mungo. Other Board members present were: Mr. Arthur S. Bahnmuller; Mr. Alexander English; Mr. A.C. Fennell, III; Mrs. Helen C. Harvey; Mr. Toney J. Lister; Mr. Miles Loadholt; Mr. Robert N. McLellan; Mr. J. DuPre Miller; Ms. Darla D. Moore (via telephone); Mr. M. Wayne Staton; Mrs. Inez M. Tenenbaum; Mr. John C. von Lehe, Jr.; and Mr. Othniel H. Wienges, Jr.

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 and Chief Financial Officer Richard W. Kelly; Vice President for Research William C. Harris; Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer William F. Hogue; Vice President for Student and Alumni Services Dennis A. Pruitt; Vice President for Human Resources Jane M. Jameson; Vice Provost and Executive Dean for Regional Campuses and Continuing Education Chris P. Plyler; Chancellor of USC Aiken Thomas L. Hallman; Chancellor of USC Spartanburg John C. Stockwell; General Counsel Walter (Terry) H. Parham; Director of Athletics Michael B. McGee; Interim Vice Provost and Dean of Libraries and Information Systems John N. Olsgaard; Dean of USC Beaufort Jane T. Upshaw; Dean of USC Lancaster Joseph Pappin; Dean of USC Sumter Les Carpenter; Associate Budget Director and Senior Analyst, Office of Budget and Finance, William Bragdon; Professor and Chair of the Faculty Senate Caroline D. Strobel; Director of Governmental and Community Relations Shirley D. Mills; President of the Student Government Association Corey Ford; Mrs. Cynthia Lister; Campus Minister, Palm Campus Ministry, The Reverend Tom H.B. Wall; State Legislator and Associate Professor, USC Salkehatchie, William K. Bowers; retiring faculty members: John Lopicccolo, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, and Fredric L. Splittgerber, College of Education; University Legislative Liaison John D. Gregory; guest of Trustee Arthur S. Bahnmuller, Paul Joseph; Director of the Office of Public Affairs Russell McKinney; and members of the media.

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

Chairman Whittle directed the Committee's attention to the agenda and called on Mr. Parham.

  1. Contract Renewal--Carolina Piedmont Foundation:
    Mr. Parham presented for Committee consideration a contract between the University of South Carolina and the Carolina Piedmont Foundation (CPF). Under this agreement, the University would provide 4.6 FTE equal personnel to the CPF. In exchange, the Foundation would provide financial and other support activities to equal the cost of these salaries plus the associated benefits.

    In addition, the three-year agreement stipulated that the Foundation must operate pursuant to prudent business practices and generally accepted accounting principles. The Foundation would be audited annually and financial records would be available to the University upon request.

    Mr. Mungo moved approval of the Carolina Piedmont Foundation contract renewal as described in the materials distributed for this meeting. Mr. Adams seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

  2. Delay of Implementation of APOGEE Fee Increase:
    Provost Odom noted that Dean White, College of Engineering and Information Technology, had requested a delay of the recently-approved APOGEE fee increase from $66 to $132 per credit hour until the Fall of 2002. Based upon a comparative study of higher education institutions in other states, it was believed that such an increase at this time could seriously affect the number of out-of-state applications.

    Mr. Mungo moved approval of the delay of the implementation of the APOGEE fee increase as presented with a request that this approval "not constitute mandatory action on their part." Mr. Bradley seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

  3. Board Legislative Priorities Committee Report:
    Dr. Floyd, chair of the newly-formed Board Legislative Priorities Committee, indicated that Mr. Gregory had formulated a list of legislative priorities based on administrative recommendations, which had been distributed prior to the meeting. Dr. Floyd asked Board members to review this information so that they could contact various legislators regarding these priorities "to increase our position in the bond bill we hope will be coming forward next year."

    Mr. Gregory explained that $47.5 million of a forthcoming $275 million bond bill had been potentially appropriated to the USC System; the distributed legislative priorities represented an additional $14 million of requested funding. The bond bill had been passed by the S.C. House of Representatives and was awaiting consideration by the S.C. Senate. He stressed the importance of trustees contacting Senate Finance Committee members at this time regarding these requests.

    Chairman Whittle suggested that Dr. Floyd arrange a meeting of the Legislative Priorities Committee in September to determine contact preferences. In addition, he asked Mr. Gregory to distribute an itemized listing of the $275 million of bond bill requests as well as Senate Finance Committee contact information. "We need some formal organization between now and January so we will know where we stand, and if we have issues, with what legislators those issues reside." Chairman Whittle also referenced the $100 million of deferred maintenance needs. "I think we need to add that deferred maintenance to the table because it will end up being a legislative issue at some point."

    It was decided that the Legislative Priorities Committee would address these two matters during the September meeting and that the process would move forward monthly until the legislative session began in January. Dr. Floyd encouraged all Board members to participate.

  4. Other Matters: Schwartzman Tenure and Promotion Recommendation:
    Dr. Palms presented the tenure and promotion recommendation for Dr. Roy J. Schwartzman which should have been included for Board of Trustees approval during the June meeting.

    Mr. Bradley moved approval of the promotion of Roy J. Schwartzman as Professor with tenure in the Department of Theatre, Speech and Dance, College of Liberal Arts, effective January, 2001. Mr. Mungo seconded the motion. The vote was taken, and the motion carried.

    Mr. Stepp thanked Mr. McLellan, chairman of the Academic Affairs and Faculty Liaison Committee, for permitting the Executive Committee, in lieu of his committee, to deal with this matter in a timely manner.

There were no other matters to come before the Committee, and Chairman Whittle declared the meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Thomas L. Stepp
Secretary