BOARD OF TRUSTEES
THE UNIVERSITY OF WEST ALABAMA
Bell Conference Center
March 3, 2008, 10:30 a.m.

I. CALL TO ORDER
In the absence of Mrs. Margaret Lovett, President pro tem, Mr. John Northcutt, Vice President pro tem, called the meeting to order and asked Mr. Alex Saad to give the invocation.
II. ROLL CALL
Mrs. Earlene Lindsey, Assistant Secretary, was asked to call the roll. Attending were: Mr. Terry Bunn, Dr. Louise Nolen, Mr. John Northcutt, Dr. Doris Oliveira, Mr. Alex Saad, Mr. Thed Spree, and Dr. Tom Umphrey. Trustees not attending were: Mr. Thomas Ballow, Mrs. Lena Hardaway, Mr. Robert Keahey, Mrs. Margaret Lovett, Mr. Preston Minus, and Mr. John Smith.  Mrs. Lindsey announced that a quorum was present.
III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mr. Northcutt said the item of reviewing a recommendation for an honorary degree needs to be added to the agenda, and he asked for a motion to approve the agenda. Dr. Umphrey moved to add the item and approve the agenda; Mr. Saad seconded the motion, and the motion passed.
IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR DECEMBER 3, 2007, MEETING
Mr. Northcutt asked if there were any changes to the minutes from the last meeting. Dr. Umphrey made a motion to approve the minutes as submitted, Mr. Saad seconded the motion, and the minutes were approved.
V. REPORT OF THE BOARD PRESIDENT
Mr. Northcutt announced that Mrs. Lovett was unable to attend the meeting today because she is having surgery this morning. He said that the Board extends its good thoughts, prayers and wishes for her to have a speedy recovery.
Mr. Northcutt said the first thing he would like for the Board to consider is the recommendation by the University Honorary Degree Committee to award Dr. William Warren Rogers, Sr., the Doctor of Laws (L.L.D.) degree. He noted that the information on Dr. Rogers could be found in the binders and indicated that Dr. Rogers was nominated by Dr. Riser in the UWA Department of History and Social Science. A motion was made by Dr. Umphrey to approve the nomination, Mr. Bunn seconded the motion, and the motion was approved.
VI. REPORT OF THE FACILITIES COMMITTEE
Mr. Saad, Chair, reported that the Committee met today, but could not take any action since a quorum was not present. He said the Committee received a report from Capstone, and the company indicated that they are on schedule with the housing project. Mr. Saad said more information would be available, probably at the next meeting of the Board in June and added that the construction may have begun by that date.
Also, Mr. Saad said the Committee heard a pre-design report on the regional wellness and fitness center. He said some money had been already dedicated to this project; however, he noted he was not sure what the next step would be in moving forward with this project.
VII. REPORT OF THE STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Mr. Thed Spree, Chair, reported that the Student Affairs Committee met this morning and also did not have a quorum. He said Mr. Buckalew gave a report to the Committee, starting with the mission statement of the division. Mr. Spree indicated that Student Affairs focuses on attracting and preparing qualified students, personal and financial counseling, and extracurricular activities, and works hard to provide a safe environment on campus for the students. He said video cameras have been installed in certain areas on campus to provide more security for the students.
Mr. Spree reported that the Campus Activities Board has been very busy this year and hosted twelve events. He said the Wellness Center is widely used, with over 1,500 people using it in one month.
Mr. Spree reported that the Intramural Sports program has been very active this season and had a large number of participants.
Mr. Spree said the cheerleading squad is now female only and the squad’s overall GPA is 3.04.
Mr. Spree reported that UWA had over 4,500 students to apply for financial aid this past year. The amount of student loans certified for 2007-08 year is over $37 million. Mr. Spree said there are two new teacher programs that offer financial aid assistance – the Alabama Teacher Recruitment Incentive Program and the federal Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program. He said these two programs are to encourage students to choose teaching as a career.
Mr. Spree reported that there was a slight increase in on-campus housing occupancy last year; however, in the current year, the on-campus housing decreased for the Fall and Spring Semesters. He noted the new housing project that is going to be built by Capstone will help tremendously. He said it will be more student-friendly and not like the typical old dormitory-style housing.
Mr. Spree reported that applications received for the Fall Semester 2008 are up, with the freshmen applications being up by 10% and transfer applications being up by 11%.
Mr. Spree commended Mr. Danny Buckalew for the good job he is doing as Vice President for Student Affairs.
VIII. REPORT ON THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Mr. John Crawford reported that through the last week, the University has received $4.8 million in gifts and pledges for The University We Will Be Capital Campaign. He said the most recent gift was a grant in the amount of $120,000 from the Daniel Foundation that is to be used for a scholarship program which Dr. Martha Hocutt and Dr. Tom DeVaney developed. He said superintendents and principals from the Black Belt area will identify students to attend UWA and major in mathematics or science. The students will be provided a full scholarship if they will graduate and teach in the area.
Mr. Crawford said the Daniel Foundation indicated they will probably continue a similar gift to the University, provided this first phase is a success.
Mr. Crawford announced that, in addition to the $4.8 million received, there are outstanding proposals over $4.5 million that have been presented to potential donors. He said that a significant proposal has also been made to Regions Bank and Alabama Power Company. Mr. Crawford also reported that a commitment of $350,000 has been received from Mr. James Suttles from Demopolis to be used to establish an entrepreneurship program in the College of Business. He indicated that Dean Ken Tucker was instrumental in developing this proposal.
Mr. Crawford reported that he would be meeting this week with a potential donor who has indicated he might be willing to put UWA in his estate planning. He said if this commitment is made, it would bring the Campaign to about the $5.5 million mark.
Mr. Crawford said the Capital Campaign is now ahead of schedule and he feels confident that the goal of $15 million will be reached. He said if anyone would like a copy of the latest Campaign newsletter, to please let him know.
IX. REPORT FROM ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
Enrollment Trends
Dr. David Taylor said there was a copy of his report in each Trustee’s binder. He said there were 2,036 students registered in the current term of the online program. Of this figure, Dr. Taylor said 1,911 were graduate students. He indicated this was a slight decrease from the previous term and said the decrease was primarily in the undergraduate and the “hybrid” undergraduate students. Dr. Taylor said these are students who are on-campus students, but they choose to take extra classes in the online program. He indicated that the growth in the graduate online program has continued. Dr. Taylor reported that UWA graduated over 400 online students at the last Commencement. Dr. Taylor said the applications for graduate admission for the upcoming term currently total 509 students.
New Online Calendar
Dr. Taylor announced that the University will implement in the Fall a new online calendar to run five eight-week sessions. He said this means that the Fall online semester will begin at the same time as the Fall on-campus semester. A second Fall term will begin mid-Fall on the campus term, and the two will end concurrently. The same pattern will be repeated in the Spring, and the two summer terms will run concurrently.
Online Textbook Sales
Dr. Taylor said going to the online eight-week sessions makes it more critical that the textbooks for students are available online. He said in the past a student had to order the textbook within two days after registering, and the book might arrive in five or more days. Dr. Taylor said, with the online sales, a student can immediately download a textbook unless a hard copy is desired. He said the hard copy would still be available online, as well as in the University’s bookstore.
Dr. Taylor said another advantage of the online method is that a student can purchase a book, chapter by chapter, instead of purchasing the whole textbook. He also said the publishers who participate in this program give a certain percentage of their profits back to the University.
Chemistry Major Tracks
Dr. Taylor said, in the past, with the ACHE moratorium on new programs and implementation of viability standards, the University has tried to look at consolidating programs instead of offering new ones, looking particularly at creating new emphases for existing programs. He announced that in the Fall Semester, two new tracks, Forensic Chemistry and Biochemistry Science, will be added to the traditional Chemistry major. The Forensic Chemistry Track will prepare students for the growing career field of Forensic Science and the Biochemistry track for more advanced studies in the field.
Baccalaureate in Social Work
Dr. Taylor said that the current Social Work Track in Sociology has grown in demand to the point that a proposal for a separate degree program in Social Work is being developed for submission to ACHE. This program would lead to licensure.
Educational Specialist Degrees
Dr. Taylor said the University is also looking at re-establishing the Ed.S. (AA certification) in the College of Education, which was discontinued some time ago. He said UWA will seek approval for the Ed.S. in School Counseling, Library Media, and Elementary Education. Dr. Taylor said surveys indicate there is a great demand for these programs, particularly if the line of study is incorporated into the online program.
New Foreign Language/ESL Lab
Dr. Taylor said he was very pleased to announce the opening of a state-of-the-art foreign language lab. He encouraged the Trustees to attend the opening ceremony for the lab, which will be held in the near future. Dr. Taylor indicated that this lab will not only be used to teach the French and Spanish curriculum, but will also be used as an “English as a Second Language” lab. He said there is a very large market for this type of program, particularly among Asia students.
Fulbright Lecture Series
Dr. Taylor noted that the Fulbright lecture series is a fabulous enrichment program for the students and community. He noted that a list of the scholars visiting the campus this year is included in the Trustees’ binders, and encouraged Trustees to attend some of the scholars’ presentations.
Datatel Degree Audit
Dr. Taylor said the CIS staff has worked very hard to complete the installation of the Datatel system. He indicated that over the next few years, other Datatel facets will be added. One of the new benefits, according to Dr. Taylor, is that the Datatel System will allow an advisor or a student to instantly access a degree audit outlining what the student has completed and what he or she lacks in a selected degree program.
VoIP
Dr. Taylor said that the University’s old telecommunications system is completely antiquated and that no new telephone lines can be added in Bibb Graves and certain other buildings with this system.
Dr. Taylor reported that the installation of a new VoIP system began with Webb Hall, where the switchboard is housed, and a portion of Bibb Graves. He said this system is net based and has amazing capabilities. Dr. Taylor indicated that the CIS staff is working through phases of installation as funds become available. Wallace Hall is next on the schedule.
Schoolcast
As part of the continuing emergency response efforts initiated by the University, Dr. Taylor announced that the addition of the Schoolcast system that will be able to send up to 12,000 calls or text messages at one time. He said this system would be used when there is some kind of emergency on campus, such as what happened at Virginia Tech, and also when threatening weather conditions exist.
AEDs
Dr. Taylor said he has been concerned there were not enough Automated External Defibrillators on campus and said he is pleased to announce that seven more have been placed on campus, including one in the Bell Conference Center. Dr. Taylor indicated that more would be placed as funding allows.
Sponsored Programs – Grants and Congressional Proposals
Dr. Taylor referred to the newsletter from the Office of Sponsored Programs, which outlined the grant activity that is taking place on campus. He said several very important grants have been awarded, a lot of applications have been filed, and several others are in the preparation stage.
Dr. Taylor said he and Dr. Becky Harvard have prepared two funding requests that have been sent to Congressman Artur Davis and will also be sent to Senators Shelby and Sessions. He said one request is for enhancement of the technological infrastructure on campus. The second request, which ties in with the Capstone project, is for money to convert Spieth and Selden Halls for academic and student support use once they have been replaced by the new residence halls.
X. REPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT
Dr. Holland said he believed that in the next few years it will be apparent the University made an important turning point in the history of this institution during this time. He said he appreciated all of the hard work that has been done.
Dr. Holland said it was his pleasure to introduce the newly selected Miss UWA, Miss Stevi Bolen, and indicated she will represent the University of West Alabama in the Miss Alabama Pageant in June.
Dr. Holland also introduced the newly elected officers of the University’s Student Government Association for 2008-2009, as follows: Miss Hannah Meherg – President, Mr. Blake Meherg – Vice President, Miss Jessica Bridgmon – Secretary, and Miss Casey Smith – Business Manager.
XI. ADJOURN
There was no other business and Mr. Northcutt adjourned the meeting at 11:25 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,

Thomas Ballow, Jr.
Secretary

Earlene Lindsey
Assistant Secretary