IHL Nov. 2005 meeting highlights

http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/ADMIN/downloads/BdNov05.pdf
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Mr. Bob Owens was absent. (p.1)

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3. System Administration - New degree programs.
a. MVSU - requests permission to establish a Master of Arts in Rural Public Policy and Planning degree program (CIP 44.0401) within the Department of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.
b. USM - requests permission to establish a Master of Science in Sports and High Performance Materials degree program (CIP 30.0101) collaboratively within the Schools of Human Performance and Recreation and Polymers and High Performance Materials in the Colleges of Human Performance and Recreation and Science and Technology, respectively.
c. USM - requests permission to establish a Doctor of Philosophy in Sports and High Performance Materials degree program (CIP 30.0101) collaboratively within the Schools of Human Performance and Recreation and Polymers and High Performance Materials in the Colleges of Human Performance and Recreation and Science and Technology, respectively.
d. USM - requests permission to establish a Master of Science in Recreation and Leisure Management degree program (CIP 31.0101) within the School of Human Performance and Recreation in the College of Health.

A motion was made by Dr. Neely, seconded by Ms. Whitten, to approve the establishment of new degree programs as listed above in agenda item #3. The motion passed on a 10 to 1 vote, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting. Board members voting for the motion were: Mr. Ed Blakeslee, Mr. Thomas Colbert, Dr. Stacy Davidson, Dr. D. E. Magee, Dr. Bettye Neely, Ms. Virginia Shanteau Newton, Mr. Aubrey Patterson, Ms. Robin Robinson, Mr. Scott Ross, and Ms. Amy Whitten. Mr. Roy Klumb voted against the motion. (pp. 6-7)

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5. System Administration (Information item.) - The following colleges and universities are recipients of the Halbrook Awards for Academic Achievement Among Athletes which are administered by the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities.

David C. Halbrook Award for Academic Achievement Among Athletes (Trophy)

Division Award Recipient Public University - Women Mississippi State University
Public University - Men University of Southern Mississippi
Community and Junior College Hinds Community College
Independent College Blue Mountain College (p.7)

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6. USM - Approved the initiation of IHL #208-264, McLemore Hall Renovations, and the appointment of Landry & Lewis as the project professionals. The building has deficiencies in electrical, mechanical, and architectural systems and needs modifications to accommodate current University programs. Funds are available in the amount of $500,000 from University sources. (p. 11)

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10. USM - Approved the Construction Documents as prepared by the project professionals, Studio South Architects, PLLC, authorized advertising for the receipt of bids, and request approval by the Bureau of Buildings for GS #108-217, Health & Science Lab/Gulf Park Campus. Funds are available in the amount of $8,229,499 from S.B. 2988, Laws of 2003, and S.B. 2010, Laws of 2004.

11. USM - Approved the bid and the award of a contract in the amount of $397,400 to the lowest bidder, B. W. Sullivan Construction, and request approval by the Bureau of Buildings for GS #108-239, Bennett Auditorium Ada Repairs. Funds are available in the amount of $500,000 from S.B. 2988, Laws of 2003. Supporting documents are on file in the Board Office.

12. USM - Approved the bids (6) and the award of a contract in the amount of $572,000 to the lowest bidder, C. Perry Builders, for IHL #208-262, ACM Abatement and Demolition of Twelve (12) Buildings with Appurtenances, Pine Haven Apartment Complex. Funds are available in the project budget from internal University funds. Supporting documents are on file in the Board Office. (p. 11)

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15. USM - Approved the appointment of Citigroup as the bond underwriter and authorized proceeding with the sale of bonds to finance the Village Housing construction project. The Southern Mississippi EBC has approved the issuance of $16,840,306 of revenue bonds to finance the project. In addition, $1,800,000 of University funds will be used in the project. Supporting documents are on file in the Board Office.

16. USM - Approved the purchase of property located at 104 North 35 th Avenue and 106 North 35th Avenue in Hattiesburg, MS. The purchase price of $146,500, which is the average of two appraisals. University funds will be used for the purchase. Supporting documents are on file in the Board Office. (pp. 11-12)

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19. Other Business

b. USM - Approved the request to name a facility. The new name will be revealed at a ceremony in the future. (p. 12)

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Payment of legal fees for professional services rendered by Maxey Wann, PLLC (Statement dated 9/1/05) from the funds of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. (This statement represents services and expenses in connection with the IHL v. State case.) TOTAL DUE.......................................................$112.50 (p. 13)

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Payment of legal fees for professional services rendered by Adams & Reese (Statements dated 8/4/05, 8/8/05, 8/4/05, and 1/13/05) from the funds of The University of Southern Mississippi. (These statements, in the amounts of $44.75, $5,337.50, $87.50, and $14,752,50, respectively, represent services and expenses in connection with the DePree, Brewer, Servedio, and Servedio cases.) TOTAL DUE.....................................................$20,222.25 (p. 13)

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COMMISSIONER’S REPORT
Presented by Dr. Thomas Meredith, Commissioner
• Good Morning. It’s great to be here with all of you for my second Board meeting. Today is my 34 th day on the job, and every day I’m here I continue to be impressed with our eight outstanding institution heads, our eight great institutions, our 69,000 students, and our 25,000 faculty and staff. We have tremendous stories to tell. I am confident that together we will achieve great results for Mississippi.
• Of course, this is the first Commissioner’s Report delivered from our new Board Room. I am confident this new room will give more people access to the process of higher education through expanded physical space as well as the use of advanced technology such as teleconferencing and web casting capabilities. With this increased space, I’d like to encourage anyone who is interested to come to our meetings, and become part of the process of higher education. I want to once again thank the sponsors and former Board members who have helped make this room a reality.
• Let me give you an update on our recovery from Katrina. Governor Barbour and Senator Cochran have been especially helpful in assisting in our efforts.
• We are seeing relief for facilities in the amount of $266 million.
• We are also seeking relief with other costs, like waiving tuition, room and board, etc., for students and faculty at $82 million.
• USM, under the leadership of President Thames, is doing a miraculous job in serving students in their newly created campus in an old hospital. Their “can do” spirit was quickly evident as it is all across the Coast, and quite frankly, is a characteristic of the people of Mississippi.
• My thanks go to Dr. Thames and his team for a job well done.
• With all due respect to those who walk every day in other professions, I must tell you we have the best. Every day, those of us who have chosen this career of education, have a chance to play a major role in making lives better for many people. We discover and realize dreams. Although all of you have other careers, you have been given the awesome responsibility of directing university level education for the citizens of our great state. The value of our degrees rests in your oversight! It is my job and the job of these institutional heads to carry out your direction on a daily basis.
• Our intention is to make you very proud of the results of our actions.
• However, we are forced with two significant challenges.
• First is participation. We must dramatically increase the number of citizens who obtain some form of post secondary education. I won’t take you through all the data this morning—that will come later—but a new level of cooperation between K-12, community colleges and IHL must be forged if we are going to do our part in making this state better.
• All of us must begin expecting even more from our students of all levels, our teachers and professors, our parents and ourselves.
• As Steinbeck said in Grapes of Wrath, “It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him”
• We must expect more of others and more of ourselves if we are going to make a difference. We must raise aspirations while we raise expectations if we are going to make a difference. All of us have such a relatively short period of time to make things better for others. All of us have been given the opportunity and the authority to make a difference. We can’t waste it!
• The second significant challenge is funding.
• The impact of the cuts to higher education has been dramatic. Enrollment going up and funding going down is not a good formula. Tuition has gone up dramatically, except for 2004, which threatens success even through it is still a tremendous bargain. In 2000, faculty salaries were over $3,000 below our regional counterparts. This year that figure has jumped to $7,000 below. Our faculty are the heart and soul of our institutions. We must no put them in any greater jeopardy!
• The good news is the commitment of Governor Barbour to IHL for this legislative session. Although his budget proposal shows level funding for next year because of unknown costs due to Katrina, he has said to me and to the public that it is time to help IHL. We are appreciative!
• It is our responsibility to now adequately make our case to our fine legislators. I know they will respond. Carrying a case forward in a unified way will help make us successful. There is much to do in terms of statewide issues.
• Because of this, I have formed a strategic planning committee lead by Trustee Amy Whitten and staffed by our state economist, Dr. Phil Pepper. The committee has identified 5 key priority areas where we should focus our efforts as a system moving forward: 1. Increase the percent of ninth graders who graduate from high school by working with K-12; 2. Market the importance of higher education and increase participation; 3. Develop closer working relationships with community colleges to increase matriculation to four year schools; 4. Increase retention and graduation rates; and 5. Increase the quality of education at all levels. • We will focus on these key priority areas as we look forward to 2006.
• In keeping with the second key priority area, “Marketing the importance of higher education,” I’d like to review with you some of our new marketing/communication efforts.
• We are currently in the process of reworking the architecture, and eventually the design, of IHL’s website. We recently hired a webmaster on staff, Mr. Henry Anderson. Henry, will you please stand up.
• Our goal is for the system site to be a tool for the citizens of Mississippi, and other states, to make connections and find information. For example, if a student is interested in studying accounting, he or she should be able to go to our website, search for accounting, and be directed to all our institutions that offer such a program, including what kind of facilities they have, who teaches the program, what kind of financial aid is available, etc.
• Eventually we’ll be able to target the state with a marketing campaign directing students and interested citizens to our website, which will serve as a true educational tool. We have a lot of work in front of us, but I’m confident that we have a team in place that will make it happen.
• Finally, I’d like to mention that we have a new internal communication tool, also originating from the Communications Department. The Facilitator is a new weekly newsletter written in-house and emailed as a pdf to IHL System Office employees. Affectionately referred to by our staff as “The Tator,” I’m pleased we have a more effective way to communicate system news and other interesting bits of information throughout the office. I have some copies for you as examples.
• Also in keeping with the key strategic priority of increasing graduation rates, I’m pleased that our system will confer 3,379 degrees this December.
• In 2005, the system awarded 13,852 degrees. That’s 130 more degrees than were awarded in 2004, and 351 more degrees than were awarded in 2003.
• This is proof that we’re doing something right—we’re doing what needs to be done in a state that so desperately needs education. Graduation is the culmination of what we do. Our core function is to get people educated and have them contribute to society.
• This is another time of celebration. Congratulations.
• Finally, 2006 is another milestone for the Board.
• Thanks to the University of Mississippi’s respected academician Dr. Gerald Walton, we discovered that The Board of Trustees of The University of Mississippi held its initial meeting on January 15, 1845. One hundred sixty years later, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning continues the legacy of leadership for all eight of Mississippi’s public universities.
• I’m pleased to be standing here before you today, in recognition of your 160 years of service to the state of Mississippi, and I’d like to say “good job.”
• In honor of this milestone, we have a surprise for you today. In recognition of your service, please enjoy a piece of “Birthday” cake! The cake will be in the lobby for everyone to enjoy following the meeting.
• Thank you for your attention, and congratulations on a job well done. (pp. 20-22)

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EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion by Ms. Whitten, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting, the Board voted to close the meeting to determine whether or not it should declare an Executive Session. On motion by Ms. Whitten, seconded by Mr. Patterson, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting, the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the reason later reported by the President in Open Session and stated in these minutes, as follows:

Discussion of the restoration efforts at The University of Southern Mississippi.

On motion by Ms. Whitten, seconded by Mr. Patterson, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting, the Board voted to return to Open Session.

Mr. Frank Alley, Assistant Commissioner of Construction and Physical Affairs, reported on the restoration efforts and possible additional land sites for the Gulf Park campus, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, and other USM sites on the Gulf Coast. No action was taken.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

On motion by Mr. Ross, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting, the Board voted to close the meeting to determine whether or not it should declare an Executive Session. On motion by Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. Blakeslee, with Mr. Owens absent and not voting, the Board voted to go into Executive Session for the reason later reported by the President in Open Session and stated in these minutes, as follows:

Discussion of the evaluation of the Institutional Executive Officers.

On motion by Mr. Ross, seconded by Mr. Blakeslee, with Mr. Colbert, Mr. Klumb, Mr. Owens, and Ms. Whitten absent and not voting, the Board voted to return to Open Session. By consensus, the Board authorized the Commissioner to conduct the Institutional Executive Officers’ evaluations on behalf of the Board with Board input. (p. 23)

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2. Dr. Meredith reported on the new Board meeting room as follows. We are excited to be in our new room. This has been underway for quite some time. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that this room was underway when I got here. When I first saw the old Board room on the day that I was hired, I was shocked at how much smaller it seemed to be than it used to be with all the wires running everywhere. It really was not befitting the integrity and importance of this Board. I am very proud of what you have accomplished with this and I look forward to our work here.

Some of you in this room can remember when this Board of Trustees began meeting in 1969 in the old Board room upstairs. At that point in time, it held about 45 people. The population of our system was about 44,000 students. It is now about 68,000 or 69,000 students. We have grown quite a bit. We now have quite a few more people who want to attend the Board meetings and be a part of it. So that attendance has grown over time and many times, I was told, the capacity of the room upstairs was far less than what it needed to be for the number of people present.

The new Board room seats approximately 120 people. There are a lot of modern features in this room as you will see as the meetings progress as more and more of them come online. Wireless networking and teleconferencing will be available. There will be web casting capability so that the citizens of this state will have a greater opportunity to see the work of this Board. The work of this Board has always been transparent. The capabilities that will be available in this room will make the work of this Board even more transparent to the citizens of the state. One of the pieces still yet to come will be web casting. There will be cameras in here focusing on the work of this Board so that anyone in state can tune in and view part or all of the meeting and see the activities of the session.

There are a number of people who helped to make this dream become a reality. Some of them are with us this afternoon. We hope to have even more in the future. Back in 2003, former Board members Mr. Bill Jones, Jr., Mr. Bobby Chain, and Mr. Marlin Ivey began a concentrated effort to seek both individual and corporate sponsorship dollars for this room. Those efforts proved successful. They raised approximately $44,000 in total contributions to help to offset the room’s costs. Most of the individual donors are former Board members. We are honored that they gave back to the system. Many of them are with us today. I am going to ask them to stand in just a moment. I want to say first of all that I have had the honor and privilege of working with almost everyone who is here today. So I find it a great personal privilege to be able to call out their names and have the opportunity to recognize them for their work.

These former Board members who are here today accomplished great things during their tenure. Those of you on this Board know full well the time commitments that it takes to be a part of this Board. I am very proud of the kinds of things that were accomplished during the time period and the tenure of those who are here today. They are not only great citizens of this state and great supporters of higher education, but I count them all as good friends. I appreciate you being here. So, as I call the former Board members’ names, please stand and remain standing. We have a few who are not present but I will call their names anyway. Then we want to recognize you as a group. Mr. Will Austin, Jr. from Hernando is not present today. Mr. Bobby Chain from Hattiesburg, Mr. Frank Crosthwait, Jr. from Indianola, Mr. Will Hickman from Oxford, Mr. Marlin Ivey from Kosciusko, Mr. Bill Jones, Jr. from Jackson, Dr. Cass Pennington from Indianola, Mr. Denton Rogers from Indianola, and Mr. James Woods from Olive Branch who could not be here today. The Leo W. Seal Family Foundation was also a contributor. Please help me welcome them.

In addition to the individual sponsors, we had corporate sponsors. AmSouth Bank and BellSouth also stepped up to the plate to help make all of this a reality. They will be at the December Board meeting. We will have a chance to recognize them for their support. AmSouth donated $10,000 to our effort. BellSouth was our major contributor at $25,000. Let me end by thanking all of our individual sponsors one more time. Thank you for your great service and great friendship over the years and for being here today. (pp. 24-25)

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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

The Board Staff approved Change Order #7 for GS #108-184, Union Building Renovation/ Addition (Student Life), in the amount of $25,164 with no change to the contract time and requested approval by the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds, and Real Property Management. The change provided replacement of the fabricated Architectural Precast stone with text located at the left and right side of the front portico. Funds are available in the project budget from the following sources: $5,000,000 H.B. 1843, Laws of 1997; $5,000,000 S.B. 3254, Laws of 1998; $20,000,000 SMEBC Bond Issue/SGF; and $1,700,000 University Funds.

The Board Staff approved Change Order #8 for GS #108-184, Union Building Renovation and Addition (Student Life), in the amount of $27,732.30 with no change to the contract time and requested approval by the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds, and Real Property Management. The change provided for miscellaneous owner requested changes. Funds are available in the project budget from the following sources: $5,000,000 H.B. 1843, Laws of 1997; $5,000,000 S.B. 3254, Laws of 1998; $20,000,000 SMEBC Bond Issue/SGF; and $1,700,000 University Funds.

The Board Staff approved Change Order #1 in the amount of $16,185.54 with an additional 43 days to the contract time for GS #108-226, Street and Parking Re-Paving, and requested approval by the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds, and Real Property Management. Funds are available from S.B. 3197, Laws of 2002, in the amount of $600,000.

The Board Staff concurs with the university’s request for the cancellation of contract for GS #114-003, Hardy Hall Renovation & Infrastructure, and requested cancellation by the Bureau of Buildings, Grounds, and Real Property Management. We understand that there may be some fees owed to the Contractor, D. N. P., Inc. Biloxi, Mississippi. We also requested that these funds be held until the university decided the future of the Gulf Park Campus. (pp. 41-42)