The University of West Alabama
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Bell Conference Center
March 6, 2006, 10:00 a.m.

I. CALL TO ORDER
Mr. Alex Saad, Chair pro tem, called the meeting to order.
II. ROLL CALL
Mr. Saad asked Ms. Earlene Lindsey to call the roll. Trustees attending were: Mr. Thomas Ballow, Jr., Mrs. Margaret Lovett, Dr. Louise Nolen, Mr. John Northcutt, Dr. Doris Oliveira, Mr. Alex Saad, Mr. Thed Spree, and Dr. Tom Umphrey. Absent: Mr. Terry Bunn, Mrs. Lena Hardaway, Mr. Robert Keahey, Mr. Preston Minus, and Mr. John Smith. A quorum was present.
III. APPROVAL OF REVISED AGENDA
Mr. Saad reported that he received a request from Dr. Lauren Wells to appear at the meeting of the full Board today; and he was, therefore, recommending the revision of the agenda previously sent to the Trustees. Dr. Umphrey made a motion to approve the revised agenda, Dr. Oliveira seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 12, 2005, MEETING
There were no changes to the minutes from the meeting held on December 12, 2005, and Dr. Umphrey moved to approve. Mr. Ballow seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
V. REPORT OF THE CHAIR
A. Regular Meeting on December 4, 2006
Mr. Saad said the regular meeting in December 2006 was previously approved to be held on December 12, 2005, because the SACS annual meeting usually is during the first week in December; however, he said their meeting has been scheduled for the week of December 12, 2006, conflicting with the Board meeting scheduled on that date. He asked for a motion to approve the date of the December meeting of December 4, 2006. Dr. Umphrey made a motion to change the meeting date back to December 4, Mrs. Lovett seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.
B. Board Retreat
Minutes of Retreat on January 27-28, 2006
Mr. Saad asked if the Board members had an opportunity to review the minutes from the Retreat held on January 27-28, 2006. He said he would give the Board until the next meeting to review the minutes, at which time they would be considered for approval.
Mr. Saad thanked everyone who attended the Retreat and stated there was a quorum at the opening, but not at the closing part of the meeting. He said they went over the University’s Strategic Plan and set some guidelines for the Board strategic plan.
Mr. Saad said it was very important that the Board adopt a strategic plan and review it on a regular basis and at such time when the minutes from the Retreat are approved, the Board Strategic Plan will be initiated.
VI. REPORT OF THE ATHLETIC COMMITTEE
Mr. Ballow said the Committee met at 8:00 a.m. this morning and Mr. Dee Outlaw (Director of Athletics) briefed them on the programs at the University. He also reported that a search committee is in the process of looking for a head football coach and will meet this evening to narrow down the applicants.
Mr. Ballow said a new fulltime cross-country coach has been hired; someone with a very good record, and also a new volleyball coach has been hired. Mr. Ballow reported that he is also serving as an advisor to the search committee to hire a new athletic director to replace Mr. Outlaw, who is retiring in the summer. He said the committee has its next meeting schedule for Wednesday of this week, and hopes are to have someone on board by June.
Mr. Saad asked if there were any questions, and if there was a second to approve the report. Dr. Oliveira seconded the motion and it was approved.
VII. REPORT OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE
Dr. Umphrey reported that the Finance Committee met earlier this morning and went over the appropriations from the Alabama Special Education Trust Fund for 2006-2007. The Committee also discussed the legislative process and they feel good about the amount of money that has been proposed as an appropriation for UWA in the coming fiscal year. He added that he hopes the Senate will approve what the House has already approved, so the University will be able to move forward in finalizing the 2006-2007 budget.
Mr. Saad asked if there were any questions and, if not, he asked for a second to approve the report. Mrs. Lovett seconded the motion and it passed.
VIII. REPORT OF THE UNIVERSITY FACILITIES COMMITTEE
Mr. Saad reported that this Committee also met this morning and Mr. Noland provided an update on the University facilities, particularly about the cost of repairs on damage incurred by the hurricanes. He said most of the repairs have been completed, and indicated that the light poles at the baseball complex will be installed right away.
There were no questions, Mr. Ballow provided a second, and the report was approved.
IX. REPORT FROM THE FACULTY SENATE
Dr. Alan Brown, Chair, reported that during the past few months the Senate has been actively recruiting new members for the Higher Education Partnership. He said Whitney Wood, from HEP, spoke to the Faculty Senate recently about the benefits of becoming a member and about the need for a large turnout of faculty at the annual Higher Education Day in Montgomery.
Dr. Brown said Dr. Richard Schellhammer is currently writing a new draft of the maternity leave policy for the University, and he plans to present it to the Senate at its next meeting. He added that Dr. Gerald Jones has been conducting a comparison survey of UWA’s benefits’ package with other universities in the State of Alabama and he will present his findings at the March meeting.
Mrs. Lovett provided a second to this report and it was approved.
X. PROVOST’S REPORT
A. Minority Recruiting Report
Dr. David Taylor announced that the University has been extremely successful in recent years on recruiting minority faculty and staff. He said five of them are products of UWA’s Minority Faculty Development Fellowship program. He distributed a list of minority faculty, administrative staff, and professional staff who have recently been hired.
Dr. Taylor said the percentage of minority faculty as grown from 2.3% in the 2000-2001 year to 14.8% in the current year, and that the percentage of minority administrative staff has grown from 5.1% in 2000-2001 to 16.3% in the current year.
B. Fulbright Scholar Lecture Series
Dr. Taylor reported that the University is using this series as a launching pad for a number of events that will culminate in the institution’s 175th anniversary in 2010. He said over the next few months, four Fulbright Scholars will visit the campus and will spend from three to six days on campus and they will give several presentations to the students in their particular disciplines. Dr. Taylor said they will also give one presentation to the general public and noted that all members of the Board are invited.
Dr. Taylor distributed a list of the scholars and the dates and times that each would be giving a presentation. He said Ms. Kim Schildkamp, from the Netherlands, will visit on March 8-10, 2006; Dr. Igor Hanzel from the Slovak Republic and hosted by Loras College will visit on March 14-16; Dr. Ainur Baisaklov from Almaty, Kazakhstan, and hosted by Indiana University, will visit April 17-19, 2006; and Dr. Rude Liu from Beijing, China, and hosted by the University of Missouri – Columbia will visit April 23-27, 2006.
Dr. Taylor said this was an exciting time, particularly the enrichment value for the students, and he hopes that some of the trustees would be able to attend.
Dr. Taylor asked if there were any questions following his report.
Dr. Oliveira asked how long a faculty member has to work before coming up for tenure. Dr. Taylor replied that one could stand for tenure in the fourth year. Dr. Oliveira moved to accept this report from the Provost, Mr. Ballow seconded the motion, and it passed.
XI. PRESIDENT’S REPORT
A. Honor’s Day (March 22, 2006)
Dr. Holland asked that the Trustees, who plan to attend Honor’s Day, should contact Mrs. Kaye Bryan in his office. He said on that day, three individuals will be inducted into the Society of Golden Key. The new inductees are: Mr. Mark C. Crumpton, Mrs. Janis Wingate Stewart, and Mr. Charles L. Willis, Jr. Dr. Holland said that biographical information was included in the packets distributed to the Trustees. He said Mr. Crumpton would be the guest speaker at the Honor’s Day luncheon.
B. Commencement on May 6, 2006
Dr. Holland encouraged the Board members to attend and notify Mrs. Bryan. He announced that the Honorary Degree Committee has recommended an honorary doctorate for Representative Terry Spicer, and noted that this was discussed at the recent Board Retreat. Dr. Holland said Mr. Spicer is from Elba, Alabama, and is the Assistant to the Director of Economic Development at Enterprise Junior College and a state representative. Mr. Spicer will also be the guest speaker for Commencement on May 6.
C. Projected Enrollment for Fall 2006
Dr. Holland distributed a chart on these projected figures. He said in the Strategic Planning meeting a goal of 3,375 was set, and this goal is getting close to being reached. He said based on the current projections, there should be about 3,285 students in the Fall.
Dr. Holland said the actual goal for the freshman class is 450, having 394 last Fall, and indicated from the data distributed that the goal is getting closer to being met. He said for the Summer the applications are 23 ahead of where we were last year, and for the Fall, the applications are 26 ahead of where we were last year at this time. Dr. Holland said all indications are that the University is on track to having a record enrollment again this year.
D. Sucarnochee Festival, April 2006
Dr. Holland distributed a flyer on the Festival that is again being sponsored by the UWA Center for the Study of the Black Belt, indicating that it is on April 17-22, 2006. He added that there will be some first-rate programs during that week and encouraged the Trustees to attend and bring their friends.
Mr. Saad said the Sucarnochee Revue that is taped on the campus is really a treat and encouraged the Trustees to attend.
Dr. Oliveira asked if the York people participated in these programs. Dr. Holland indicated they do, and Mr. Saad added that people from all over the Black Belt region participate.
Mr. Saad asked for a second to the report from the President. Mr. Northcutt seconded, and the motion passed.
XII. DR. LAUREN WELLS
Mr. Saad asked Dr. Wells to come to the platform and he apologized to her for not replying to her request sooner. He said the Board members have received her material and asked if she had any new information. She indicated that she did not. She said she was appearing to ask the Board to consider the evidence of which was supplied to the Board on Dr. Holland’s non-renewal of her contract and asked that the Board make a determination to extend her contract.
Mr. Saad asked Dr. Wells if she would like to say anything further. She said she felt the evidence was clear that she has served the University well, that she has a good teaching record, a good research record, she had received favorable annual reviews, and good comments from students. She said she also presented evidence that she questioned the dean of her department, the Provost, as well as the President, when she felt like policy was not being followed.
Dr. Wells said she has asked since last March why her contract was not renewed, and no one was willing to provide her with an answer. She said she feels when there is an annual evaluation in place and one receives a good evaluation, something is missing when the contract is not renewed. She said she feels an explanation should be given to a faculty member when the faculty member has the expectation of continued employment.
Dr. Oliveira asked what she meant about policy not being following and Dr. Wells said she indicated this in her material she furnished the Trustees. Dr. Wells said, as an example, when programs have additional hours, such action should go before the Academic Council and other groups, but sometimes this procedure has not been followed.
Mr. Saad asked if there were any other questions. Mr. Saad made a motion to affirm the action of the President on March 15, 2005, not to renew Dr. Wells’ contract, and Mrs. Lovett seconded the motion. The motion was approved.
Mr. Ken Scott came to the podium, said “Mr. Chairman”, and Mr. Saad informed Mr. Scott he could not recognize Mr. Scott as he was not on the approved agenda.
XIII. ADJOURN
There was not other business, and Mr. Saad adjourned the meeting at 10:35 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Lena Hardaway
Secretary

Earlene Lindsey
Assistant Secretary