BOARD OF TRUSTEES
THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST ALABAMA
Bell Conference Center
December 3, 2007, 10:30 a.m.

I. CALL TO ORDER
Mrs. Margaret Lovett, President pro tem, called the meeting to order and asked Dr. Tom Umphrey to give the invocation.
II. ROLL CALL
Mr. Tom Ballow, Secretary, called the roll. Attending were: Mr. Tom Ballow, Mr. Terry Bunn, Mr. Robert Keahey, Mrs. Margaret Lovett, Mr. John Northcutt, Dr. Doris Oliveira, Mr. Alex Saad, Mr. Thed Spree, and Dr. Tom Umphrey. Trustees not attending were: Mrs. Lena Hardaway, Mr. Preston Minus, Dr. Louise Nolen, and Mr. John Smith.
Mr. Ballow announced that a quorum was present.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mrs. Lovett asked for a motion to approve the Agenda. Mr. Saad moved to approve the Agenda, Dr. Umphrey seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 10, 2007, MEETING
Mrs. Lovett asked if there were any changes to the minutes from the last meeting. Dr. Umphrey made a motion to approve the minutes, Mr. Northcutt seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved.
V. REPORT OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT
Mrs. Lovett said sometimes there are life-threatening events that happen, as happened to Dr. Oliveira and Mr. Keahey, and she said on behalf of the Board, she was glad to see they are both doing well. She also congratulated Mr. Saad on the birth of his new grandchild.
Mrs. Lovett reported that she represented the Board of Trustees at the recent meeting of the UWA Foundation Board, and she attended the Homecoming events that were very enjoyable. She thanked the Board for returning the Code of Ethics forms.
Mrs. Lovett said plans are being developed for the annual Board Retreat and information will be sent to the Trustees in the near future.
VI. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Mrs. Lovett, Chair, reported the Committee met today and approved a recommendation that was made by the Faculty Honorary Degree Committee to award Mr. Neal Morrison an honorary degree. She said the Executive Committee is making the recommendation to the Board for the honorary degree to be given at the May 2008 Commencement. Mr. Saad moved to approve the recommendation, Mr. Northcutt seconded, and the motion passed.
Mrs. Lovett said the Executive Committee approved an amendment to the Board’s Bylaws regarding the evaluation of the University President and further recommends the amendment to the full Board for consideration. Mr. Saad made a motion to approve the amendment to the Board’s Bylaws, Dr. Umphrey seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Dr. Umphrey made a motion to approve the minutes of the Executive Committee from August 2007; Mr. Ballow seconded the motion, and the motion passed 9-0.
VII. REPORT OF THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE
Mr. Alex Saad, Chair, reported that the Facilities Committee met this morning and approved a presentation by Capstone Developers, Inc. to move forward on the new dormitory project. Mr. Bunn asked when the dormitory would be open, and Mr. Saad replied that if all goes as planned, it would be open in the Fall of 2009. Capstone made two recommendations (under Section 8 of Trustee’s binder) to the Facilities Committee, as follows: (1) Capstone will complete an assessment of the current state of UWA Housing and Residence Life operations and make reasonable recommendations as to the strategic direction the University should take, as outlined in Section 8 of the Board members’ binders; and (2) Capstone will supply UWA with a supervisory level employee to oversee the current Student Housing and Residence Life operations on an interim basis, beginning June 1, 2008, or earlier if deemed appropriate, and running through July 31, 2009, when the new facility and program will begin.
Mr. Spree moved to approve Recommendation #1 by Capstone, Mr. Bunn seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Mr. Ballow moved to approve Recommendation #2 by Capstone, Dr. Umphrey seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
Mr. Saad said several of the Trustees and Dr. Holland visited the rodeo facility in Fayette County recently. He said the recommendation of the Facilities Committee is to authorize the University President to spend $12,000 to hire Grimes Architects to develop a master plan for the University’s rodeo facility, confirm that the current site will support such a major facility, complete a building codes study, produce a schematic design, produce a plan of phased development, and provide a schematic cost estimate of each phase of the project. Mr. Spree seconded the motion on the recommendation, and it was approved.
Mr. Saad asked for a second to a recommendation by the Committee to hire a firm to do a topographic map of the campus, at a cost of $23,000, and added the last one was done in 1964. Dr. Holland stated that the utilities would be on the map, as well.
Mr. Saad said the Wesley Foundation would like to swap their building and lot to the University for a two-acre site on campus, and would build a new Wesley facility sometime in the future. He said they have selected a site on Union Drive behind Hardees. The University would stipulate that a house would have to be built on the lot within five years or the ownership of the property will revert to the University. Mr. Saad indicated this was informational purposes only.
Mr. Saad reported that the University has been negotiating with the Sumter County Commission to obtain the old McMillan Bank building in downtown Livingston to be used for a Black Belt Museum. Dr. Holland said the University has to renovate the facility within four years and the Commission will transfer ownership to the University, or if the University does not comply with the stipulation, the Commission will retain ownership.
Mr. Saad said the Facilities Committee approved the addition of ten street names on campus, as required by the 911 Emergency Planning. Dr. Umphrey seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Mr. Saad reported that the University needs to look ahead to the future and an architectural image study on the design of the campus needs to be done. He said the Committee authorized the President to seek funding for such a project.
VIII. REPORT OF THE ATHLETIC COMMITTEE
Mr. Terry Bunn, Chair, said this Committee met this morning and he asked Mr. E. J. Brophy to proceed with his presentation for the past year.
Mr. Brophy, Athletic Director, reported on the academic and athletic successes of the sports programs at UWA, the fundraising, the re-activation of the Letterwinner’s Club, the media and marketing opportunities, updating of the athletic facilities, large attendance at the sporting events, and the corporation support provided from Coca-Cola, Adidas, and Unicel.
IX. REPORT ON THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Mrs. Lovett asked Mr. John Crawford to give an update on the Capital Campaign. Mr. Crawford indicated a copy of the case statement was distributed to the Trustees. He said the Office of Institutional Advancement has been working with the Jerry F. Smith Group and a total of $3,723,000 has been committed to the Campaign, which is 25% of the goal.
Mr. Crawford added that there are three proposals for over $5 million currently outstanding. He indicated that 46% of the Board have already made a pledge or donation. Mr. Crawford said he was happy to announce that the faculty/staff campaign ended on October 31 and $747,000 was committed to the Campaign.
X. REPORT FROM THE FACULTY SENATE
Mrs. Lovett requested Dr. Gerald Jones to give the Senate report. Dr. Jones said three new ad-hoc committees have been appointed, to study the following: (1) the veterans memorial project, (2) to review and recommended needed changes to the Tiger Paw Handbook, and (3) to look at obtaining research grants for the freshman seminar classes.
XI. REPORT FROM THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
Ms. Mahalia Gray, President of the SGA, was not able to give this report due to illness; however, Mr. Danny Buckalew presented the report. He said the SGA officers attended the STARS Retreat in Destin; approved a resolution to suppose Higher Education Day next year in Montgomery, and set a goal of 150+ students to attend; had a canned food drive for the Food Bank, and also held a voter registration drive for over 100 students on campus.
XII. REPORT ON ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Board of Trustees’ Annual Report to ACHE
Dr. David Taylor, Provost, reported that the annual Board of Trustee Report for the University of West Alabama was presented to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education in October 2007. He said several of the commissioners have been very complimentary of the report and were very impressed about the amount of outreach the University does in the area.
Strategic Diversity Plan
Dr. Taylor indicated a draft summary of the Strategic Diversity Plan, as mandated by the settlement agreement reached by the University in the Knight vs. State of Alabama case. He said a copy of the settlement can be found on the UWA website.
Dr. Taylor said the Diversity Plan must be implemented by December 12 this year, and added that a tremendous amount of work has been put into the development of this document. He said Mr. Ken Walker and Dr. Ken Tucker co-chaired the committee to work on this Plan. Dr. Taylor said the first draft was presented to the President’s Council on November 26, and the Council worked very rapidly to finalize it for today’s meeting. He said the Plan recaps what the University has already done with diversity among the faculty and staff, and added that on page 12 of the Plan, four goals are stated, as follows: (1) create, enhance and sustain an inviting and respectful University environment which values diversity, encourages inclusiveness, and prepares students for success in an increasing global society; (2) increased recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, administrators, and professional staff to appropriately reflect the target population; (3) develop and enhance partnerships with diverse stakeholders, including businesses, civic organizations, and the broader community, to support diversity and multiculturalism at UWA and in surrounding communities; and (4) systematically evaluate the effectiveness of the strategic diversity plan, campus climate, and diversity statistics and make recommendations for improvement based on evaluation results.
Dr. Taylor asked the Board of Trustees to adopt this Diversity Plan, as presented. Dr. Oliveira moved to adopt the Plan, Dr. Umphrey seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
McIlwain Bell Awards
Dr. Taylor announced the recipients of the McIlwain Bell Awards for 2008, as follows:
Support Staff Excellence Award Ms. Holly Holycross
Professional Staff Excellence Award Mr. Michael Pratt
Trustee Professor Dr. Tom DeVaney
Mr. Saad made a motion to approve the slate of recipients; Mr. Northcutt seconded the motion, and the motion passed. A certificate and $1,000 were given to each.
XIII. REPORT FROM UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
Dr. Holland said he hoped the Trustees would notice the new signs on campus, and added that they should all be installed over the next two weeks.
Dr. Holland thanked the Board and the entire campus community for the successes the University has had. He added that a review of the accomplishments of the University should provide a sense of pride to everyone involved.
Ms. Lovett asked if any other Trustee would like to make a comment. Mr. Spree proceeded to the podium and stated that he would like to brag on how the University helped his area, Greene County. He additionally thanked Mr. Ken Walker and Dr. Ken Tucker for their work in the development of a strategic plan for Greene County. He also thanked Dr. Martha Hocutt for bringing her ideas on what the County could do to improve the public education.
Mr. Spree also added that he had a cooking team in the BBQ Cookoff at the Christmas on the River in Demopolis last week. He said Mr. Mike Spencer and Ms. Monica Moore represented the University at the Cookoff as part of their learning process for the Cookoff that is going to be in Livingston in the Spring 2008.
Dr. Oliveira thanked Dr. Taylor and Dr. Holland for improving the diversity on campus.
XIV. ADJOURN
There was no other business and Mrs. Lovett adjourned the meeting at 12:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,

Thomas Ballow, Jr.
Secretary

Earlene Lindsey
Assistant Secretary