Minutes
UWF Board of Trustees
Conference Call
March 15, 2002

Vice Chair Eddie Phillips called the conference-call meeting of the University of West Florida Board of Trustees to order at 8 a.m. on March 15, 2001.

Trustees present on the call were:

Honor Bell
Pam Bilbrey
Travis Bowden
Angela Bowler
K.C. Clark
Sharon Hess Herrick
Eddie Phillips
Roy Smith, Jr.

Trustee Phillips explained that Chair Collier Merrill had a scheduling conflict in Tallahassee, as did Trustees Carol Dover and JoAnn Morgan. He also said that Chair Merrill has appointed an ad hoc Committee on Strategic Planning, which will be chaired by Trustee Morgan. The other members of the committee are Trustees Clark, Smith and Bilbrey. The committee will work with the University Planning Council on revising the UWF Strategic Plan and bring a recommendation to the full Board of Trustees at its June meeting.

Trustee Phillips updated the Board on the presidential search saying the Search Advisory Committee will receive up to six final candidates from Bill Funk on Tuesday and will interview each of them for up to two hours sometime within the next few weeks. SAC will advance three candidates to the Trustee Search Committee, which will coordinate a two-day visit for each of the three finalists, conduct on-site visits and bring a recommendation to the full Board.

President Morris Marx briefed the Board on the legislative activity. Both houses of the Legislature are fairly well aligned, and UWF would fare well in those budgets. What UWF would receive is about what was cut last year, Marx said. The School Code rewrite is moving forward and contains some needed authority such as allowing universities to use their carry-forward funds. The UWF nursing program bill has passed and awaits the governor's signature.

Trustee Clark asked about news reports he's read concerning a special pot of money set aside by the Legislature for four universities. President Marx said this is a long running issue in the system, and it centers on the definition of funding equity. This is a political issue that requires a special committee to determine an equitable funding formula that takes into account the economies of scale, Marx said.

Assistant Vice President Pat Crawford informed the trustees that a public notice listing their names will be aired periodically between March 20-30 on WUWF. It also will appear in the Pensacola News Journal during the period. It is to inform the public of a transfer of the WUWF license control from the Board of Regents to the Board of Trustees.

Approval of minutes

Trustee Bell moved and Trustee Smith seconded approval of the minutes from January 17-19, 2002. It passed unanimously.

Trustee Clark moved and Trustee Bowden seconded approval of the minutes from the Feb. 12-13 meeting. It passed unanimously.

Agenda item 1

Vice President Linda Dye explained that the requested rate increase for student housing is 5 percent, or increases ranging from $65 to $105 per student, per semester, depending on the facility. All housing charges include utilities, telephone, cable television and direct computer connections.

Other Florida universities are seeking increases between 3 percent and 10 percent. The University of North Florida is seeking a 5 percent increase and Florida International University and Florida Atlantic University are between 3 percent and 8 percent, Dye said. The UWF Foundation has approved the request.

Trustee Smith moved and Trustee Bell seconded approval of the housing rental rate increases. It was approved unanimously.

Agenda item 2

General Counsel Julie Sheppard said that a potential Department of Defense contract requires reactivation of campus security clearances. The Board of Trustees can be excluded from those clearances, just as the Board of Regents was, because it does not store classified information. Adoption of the resolution allows for those exemptions.

Trustee Clark moved and Trustee Hess Herrick seconded adoption of the resolution. It passed unanimously.

Agenda item 3

Sheppard explained that the resolution on the statewide mutual aid agreement would maximize the coordination of resources in the state in the case of emergency situations. It has been reviewed by the university vice presidents. Trustee Smith asked if the agreement is a two-way street, and Sheppard said that it was, and financial assistance would come to the university. Trustee Bowden moved and there were several seconds to adopt the resolution. It passed unanimously.

Discussion agenda item 1

There was no discussion on the Board mail policy.

Other business

A general discussion ensued on the changes in the presidential search, specifically on the changes in the process approved by the Search Advisory Committee. Dye said the Trustee Search Committee will now conduct the two-day interviews with the candidates, and the SAC certainly will do what the TSC requests. A new schedule will have to be adopted. Dye also said there was the possibility of delaying the receipt of the final six candidates, and that she was going to discuss it with Bill Funk in the afternoon and get back to the Board.

Trustee Clark said that he has met with Bob Hart, president of the UWF Foundation, about his role as liaison to the Foundation Board. He reported that Hart is enthusiastic about the official designation that will result in a good line of communication.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:43 a.m.