The University of West Alabama
Board of Trustees
Monday, December 7, 1998
10:00 a.m. - Student Union Building
Approved Minutes

1. CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Terry Bunn, Chairman pro tem, called the meeting to order and asked Dr. Drayton Pruitt to give the invocation.
Mr. T. Raiford Noland, Assistant Secretary, called the roll. Attending were: Mr. Pierce Boyd, Mr. Terry Bunn, Mr. Robert Keahey, Mr. Preston Minus, Dr. Doris Oliveira, Dr. Drayton Pruitt, Mr. John Smith
Absent: Mr. Dwight Duke, Mr. Herbie Malone, Mr. Frank McGough, Dr. Louise Nolen, Rev. Samuel Pettagrue, Jr., Mr. Thed Spree
2. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Dr. Pruitt reported that the Executive Committee met subsequently to the Board meeting held on September 14, 1998, when no quorum was present. It had approved the budget for the FY 1998-99, had authorized the preparation of the specifications for the re-roofing of various campus buildings for submission to the State, had authorized Mr. Noland to negotiate a lease contract between Rush and the University for two acres of land on the north end of campus, and approved an honorary degree for Mr. Paul Broadhead. Mr. Noland reported that he had been working on an agreement with the Rush group and a lease agreement had been prepared and turned over to Rush for a period of fifty years, with a payment of $5,000 to UWA each year.
3. COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Land Use Committee - Dr. Pruitt reported that this Committee had to recess its meeting earlier this morning because not enough information was available to make any decision on how the bond issue money should be spent. He stated they would meet again as soon as this Board meeting is over to have further discussions. He indicated that if $3.4 million were spent on maintenance, this still would not bring the campus to a satisfactory status. He said the University needs the results of a study that could be done by the Southern Company and/or others for the heating and air-conditioning systems on campus to determine what has to be done and the estimated costs. He would like to receive authorization from the Board to proceed with retaining a firm to do such a study at a cost not to exceed $100,000. This information is needed so that the Land Use Committee can make some sound decisions on the maintenance items that need to be done, as well as consider other needs on campus. He noted that hopefully we would not have to spend any of the $100,000 if there were enough savings from the utility costs after the HVAC renovations have been done to pay for the study.
Mr. John Smith moved to authorize an expenditure of not more than $100,000 to have a study done on the heating/air-conditioning systems, assess the technology needs and costs on campus, or other needs that may be determined. After these studies have been completed, the Land Use Committee can make decisions on how the remainder of the bond issue money will be spent and make recommendations to the Board. Mr. Minus seconded the motion. Dr. Pruitt explained that there are several items that need to be focused on, such as: (1) an energy savings study, particularly in Wallace Hall, and all over campus. He stated that the Committee wants to avoid spending millions of dollars on maintenance unless it is clearly known to be a solution to whatever the problem may be. (2) an analysis needs to be done of the facilities on campus to determine their best use. (3) the technology needs for the near future, in particular, the laptop concept. He said the Committee did not want to recommend something to be done today and it possibly be antiquated a year from now. The motion passed.
Mr. Noland stated that the University did not have $100,000 for this study and hopefully it could be included in the savings the study would provide. If not, the University would have to provide the cost from next year’s budget. Dr. Pruitt stated he would contact the Power Company to see if they would do the study at no cost.
B. Athletic Committee - In the absence of the Chair of this Committee, Mr. Dee Outlaw reported on the activities of the different athletic programs since the last Board meeting.
4. STUDENT AFFAIRS REPORT
Dr. Ervin Wood reported that enrollment for the Fall Quarter had increased about 3 1/2% from last year. He stated that the largest increase was in graduate students; however, both undergraduate and graduate enrollment has increased. He added that all recruiting efforts in Florida have not shown any results this year, but there had been an increase of students from Mississippi. He stated that only the University of North Alabama had a larger percentage increase in Alabama than UWA.
Mr. John Smith stated that UNA is heavily recruiting students from foreign countries, particularly students whose home country is paying for their tuition, and he suggested that Dr. Wood look into this. Dr. Pruitt asked if there was any chance that the Florida Panhandle area could be included in our service area where out-of-state tuition is waived. Dr. Wood said that he felt this was well looked into, but would do some further checking. He did point out, however, that the University of South Alabama has an extension at Fairhope and this would probably prevent UWA from being in the service area for the Florida Panhandle.
He also reported that changes have been made to the pre-registration procedure, which should speed up the process at the time of regular registration.
Dr. Wood reported that the semester conversion is on schedule for August 1999, and that this committee will meet again in January to set all dates for the calendar.
Dr. Oliveira reported that she had received a letter from the University’s Student Government Association about some of their concerns, and that she would send copies to all of the trustees.
5. ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REPORT
Dr. Roach stated that the University was very fortunate to have Dr. David Taylor selected as the new Provost through an internal search. Dr. Taylor had served as Dean of Liberal Arts for several years. Also, he reported that an internal search had been done for Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and that Dr. Roy Underwood had been selected for this position. Dr. Underwood and Dr. Holland were attending the SACS annual meting in Atlanta at this time.
Dr. Roach reported that a letter had been received from the Alabama Board of Nursing which indicated that 86.9% of the UWA graduates had passed their licensing exam the first time.
Dr. Roach asked Dr. Taylor to give the Academic Affairs report. Dr. Taylor distributed copies of his report. He explained that in may 1996, the Alabama Legislature adopted a bill that became known as the "program viability" legislation. It set minimum standards of productivity that each academic program had to meet or be placed on a three-year monitoring cycle, and at the end of this period, if the standards were not met, one option was that such a program could be phased out. He stated that core liberal arts programs, as defined by ACHE, are given an additional three years to demonstrate viability.
Dr. Taylor stated that both ACHE and the State Department of Education are stressing that institutions need to take creative and innovative approaches to dealing with viability issues. Two approaches often mentioned are collaborative relationships/partnerships with other colleges and universities and distance education. He outlined several existing programs at UWA – Agribusiness with Auburn, a dual degree program in forestry with Auburn, dual degree program in engineering with Auburn and UAB, a dual degree program in environmental sciences with Auburn, an allied health program with Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, and the collaborative Bachelor of Science degree in nursing with the University of Alabama.
He added there are several potential programs which are currently being considered, such as (1) collaborative programming with Shelton State in the Athletic Training major and the Technology major and (2) a possible consortium of institutions that would share resources in graduate Library Media programs.
Dr. Taylor stated that a first-rate television production facility had been established on campus. He also reported that a pilot course (graduate course in education) would be launched in the 1998-99 academic year. A Library Media course would also be offered which would be Web based via a linkage with the Southern Regional Electronic Campus, a service of the Southern Regional Education Board.
6. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
A. Laptop University - President Roach explained that the "Laptop University" concept would be designed to adequately meet the needs of the University. He also said it is his belief that the President’s role should reveal his willingness and ability to develop new programs. He indicated that in the four years he has worked at UWA, great strides had been made in obtaining technological equipment and that the needs of the regional area, as well as on-campus, should be addressed. The "Laptop" concept would place computers in the hands of the students and faculty, and would alleviate some of the problems that students currently have in accessing computer labs on campus. He stated that sufficient funds are not available in the budget to update the computers on campus at this time. Dr. Roach then gave a detailed presentation on the laptop concept.
To update the Board on where this project stands at this time, Dr. Roach reported that representatives from the IBM and DELL Companies have already given presentations on what each could offer. Currently, talks are underway to have representatives from Gateway and Compaq to come on campus and give their presentations. He indicated several other items that need to be determined are the funding feasibility, support systems, i.e. help desk for the students, the promotion or publicity, and the desirable structure/capabilities of the computers.
B. Other - Dr. Roach reiterated his plans for his involvement in the fund raising efforts for the University, as well as his plans to visit with all UWA alumni organizations. He hopes to identify any prospective donors, build their interest and seek out their donations. He said he wants to involve the alumni more in the activities and projects on campus in hopes they will make a commitment to pledging donations.
Dr. Roach said that he feels the President has got to make fund-raising his #1 priority and meet at least annually with the Development staff to make decisions on goals for the year. Also, he wants to develop and define all projects brought to the Development Office, indicating he would like the priorities to be established before they are presented to him. He further stated he would be available when asked to be involved in these efforts, and will certainly send a personal letter to any donors expressing appreciation for their gifts. He also said he thought it very important that the University’s appreciation for gifts be expressed to the donors often, not just in a personal letter. He would also like to establish a social relationship with all donors and/or prospective donors, and indicated that the President’s Home will certainly be used for this purpose.
Dr. Roach stated that he and his wife, Darlene, are pledging a personal gift to the University and invited all attending this meeting to do the same.
7. OTHER
Mr. Clemit Spruiell, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, gave a status report on the UWA Foundation. He stated that the Foundation had met in November, and that the members were very excited about the Laptop University concept. Joel Hillhouse was elected to serve as the Chair and Aubrey Ellis will be the Vice-Chair for this term. The Foundation is in very good financial standing at this time.
Mr. Spruiell also reported that plans are underway for an inauguration for President Roach, possibly sometime in February. He stated the Inauguration Committee is hopeful that the newly elected Governor will be able to come to this event.
Mr. Bunn commended Mr. Spruiell, his staff, and the Foundation Board for their outstanding job, and President Roach added his appreciation to the work done by Mr. Spruiell and his staff.
At this time, Dr. Drayton Pruitt asked that the Board go into an executive session to consider another person for an honorary degree.
The meeting recessed at 11:50 a.m.
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The meeting reconvened at 12:02 p.m. and Mr. Minus made a motion to award an honorary degree to Mr. Roland Pugh of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The motion was seconded by Mr. Keahey and passed unanimously.
There was no other business, and the meeting was adjourned.