Minutes
UWF Board of Trustees
Telephone Conference call
University of West Florida
September 27, 2001
The agenda:
Chair's greetings
President's greetings
Action items
1. Approval of minutes
2. UWF Board of Trustees meeting schedule
3. UWF Board of Trustees committee appointments
4. Election of at-large member to Executive Committee
5. Adoption of general guidelines for presidential search process
6. Appointments to Trustee Search Committee
7. Appointments to Search Advisory Committee
8. President's salary
Other business
Adjournment
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Chair Collier Merrill convened the meeting at 8:07 a.m. on September 27, 2001 from the Alumni Room of the University of West Florida. Trustees participating in the call were:
Honor Bell
Pam Bilbrey
Angie Bowler
K.C. Clark
Carol Dover
Lornetta Epps
Sharon Hess Herrick
Collier Merrill
JoAnn Morgan
Eddie Phillips
Roy Smith
President Morris Marx, during opening remarks, informed the trustees that fall, 2001 enrollment increased by about 10 percent, even after the purge of students who did not pay their fees, and he predicts a 10 percent growth for the year, which he called "absolutely astonishing." "Hopefully, down the line, it will result in more funding," he said. He also warned, however, that budget cuts are coming because of the economic downturn, but details won't be known for a few more weeks.
Boards of trustees do not yet have the power to approve tenure nominations, but President Marx said he hoped that power is devolved to the boards by late spring. He informed the Board that one tenure nomination, that of Dr. Bruce Swain, has been forwarded to the Division of Colleges and University. Dr. Swain is a professor in the Communication Arts Department.
Agenda item 1
Trustee Bilbrey moved and Trustee Epps seconded adoption of the minutes. It passed unanimously.
Agenda item 2
Trustee Epps moved and Trustee Phillips seconded approval of the meeting schedule. It passed unanimously.
Agenda item 3
Trustee Bell moved and Trustee Epps seconded the creation of three committees and the appointments to them. Members of the Finance, Administration and Audit Committee are Trustees Clark (chair), Bilbrey (vice chair), Hess Herrick and Epps. Members of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee are Trustees Smith (chair), Bell (vice chair), Bowler and Morgan. Members of the Governmental Relations Committee are Trustees Dover (chair), Travis Bowden (vice chair), Charles Horner and Phillips.
Trustee Smith also moved that the chair be an ad hoc member of those committees. Trustee Phillips seconded that motion. After a brief discussion, the motion was amended by Smith and seconded by Phillips that the chair would be an ex-officio member only for the three committees just created, and the bylaws be amended to reflect that. It passed unanimously.
Agenda item 4
Chair Merrill moved and Trustee Bowler seconded the appointment of Trustee Epps as the at-large member of the Executive Committee. It passed unanimously.
Agenda item 5
Keith Goldschmidt, deputy corporate secretary, briefly explained important elements of the search process. The Board of Trustees is always in control of the process, and it hires the professional search firm, which works directly under the full board's supervision. The Trustee Search Committee (TSC) is charged with developing minimum criteria for presidential candidates and presenting them to the Search Advisory Committee (SAC). The SAC cannot delete that criteria, but it will expand it. The Search Advisory Committee works directly with the search firm to develop criteria, develop a marketing and advertising strategy, seek candidates and later interview a short list of candidates presented to it from the professional search firm. The TSC must approve all work products of the SAC. The TSC will arrange visits to the home campuses of the three or four final candidates and make a final recommendation to the full Board of Trustees for approval.
Goldschmidt advised the Board to consider one change in the search process involving the number of candidates the professional search firm will submit to the SAC. The proposed process calls for the professional search firm to submit 10 to 12 candidates. Because Florida's Sunshine law might prevent some candidates from wanting to be in such a large pool, Goldschmidt suggested changing the wording be changed to "no more than 10 to 12 candidates." That way, the SAC and the professional search firm can decide on the number of candidates to bring to the SAC for further consideration.
Trustee Clark moved the presidential search process with the change of "no more than 10 to 12 candidates," and Trustee Phillips seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously.
Agenda item 6
Chair Merrill announced his appointments to the Trustee Search Committee: Trustees Bowden, Bowler, Epps, Smith and Merrill. The committee will elect its chair at its first meeting. Trustee Dover moved and Trustee Clark seconded approval of the appointments, and they were approved unanimously.
Agenda item 7
Chair Merrill announced his 38 appointments to the Search Advisory Committee. Trustee Bell said that he knew many of the community members on the committee and asked if the university representatives had as much diversity as far as ethnicity, minority, and gender. Chair Merrill said it was a diverse committee and he was very happy with it. He said there was some late arm twisting of some members who questioned whether they could commit the time necessary for the project. "I'm excited," he said.
Trustee Phillips remarked that only one person on the committee represents the Fort Walton Beach campus and there is only one person from the community representing Okaloosa County. Chair Merrill said that they did not receive many applications from that area, and he noted that Dr. Diane Barlar is the head of the Chamber of Commerce.
Trustee Morgan moved and Trustee Bilbrey seconded the appointments. They were approved unanimously.
Trustee Bell said he had to leave the call but said he supported the next agenda item.
Agenda item 7
Trustee Phillips moved and there were several seconds to increasing the president's salary by 2.5 percent on Nov. 1, the same as authorized for all state employees by the Legislature. It was approved unanimously.
Other business
Trustee Phillips asked that the Board revisit the issue of appointing liaisons of the Board to different areas of the campus, suggesting that everyone be given the opportunity to identify an area of interest. "I'd like to be the liaison to the research/development area, as well as economic development," he said.
Chair Merrill said that no liaisons, other than Trustee Smith as a faculty liaison, have been appointed. He said that trustees should check with Goldschmidt, who will supply them with options.
Trustee Bilbrey said that she is interested in the UWF Board Trustees becoming members of the Association of Governing Boards. Trustee Clark moved and Chair Merrill seconded the motion to join AGB. It passed unanimously. Trustee Smith said that information on presidential searches should be obtained from AGB and distributed to trustees and the SAC.
Chair Merrill said it was important for the Board to begin negotiations with a professional search firm as quickly as possible. The Florida Board of Education is expected to have a pool of four firms by Oct. 18, and he said that the Trustee Search Committee could begin negotiations and bring a recommendation to the full Board at its Oct. 25-26 meeting. Trustee Phillips moved that the TSC be authorized to enter into negotiations with a professional search firm. Trustee Clark seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Trustee Clark inquired whether the Board should obtain officers' and directors' errors and omissions insurance. Chair Merrill said the Board is now covered under the state policy, but the UWF general counsel is investigating the issue because the additional insurance would allow the Board to pick its legal representative.
Finally, several trustees mentioned letters they received from many individuals with grievances, and they sought advice on how to respond. Trustee Morgan said that the board should be careful about getting involved in micro-managing the institution. Part of the job of the Board of Trustees is to make sure that the university has processes in place to take care of such issues and to make sure they are functioning properly, she said. Once the process is in place, then it should be left alone to make the decisions. For the Board to get involved in individual grievances sets a dangerous precedent, she said. Trustee Phillips said he agreed 100 percent.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:47 a.m.