[2008-02-14] February 14, 2008 A Regular Meeting of the Board of Visitors

              February 14, 2008
A Regular Meeting of the Board of Visitors
Minutes
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth University was held on Thursday, February 14, 2008, at 8 a.m. in the Richmond Salons located in the University Student Commons at 907 Floyd Avenue.
Present were Messrs. Rosenthal (Rector), Hurtado, Jackson, Jones, Robertson, Sherman, Siegel and Snead; Drs. Bersoff, Doswell, Shapiro; and Mesdames Lambert and Rhodes. Drs. Broaddus and Romano and Mr. Baldacci were absent. Also present were Drs. Trani, Gottfredson, Holsworth, Huff, Macrina, Moriarty, Retchin, Rhone and Rodriguez; Messrs. Bennett, Bunce, Gehring, Ohlinger, Ream, Ross and Wyeth; and Mesdames Atkinson, Balmer, and Messmer. Ms. Mainthia, student representative to the Board, Ms. Williams, staff representative to the Board, and Dr. Murphy-Judy, faculty representative to the Board, were also present.
The Report of the Rector and the Report of the President were presented.
Mr. Snead reported for the Academic and Health Affairs Policy Committee. The Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology was presented. The proposal for the new VCU interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology is driven by the need to build an academic structure so students in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering and medicine can learn the ongoing research opportunities in nanoscience and nanotechnology and acquire the education and knowledge that will enable the students to pursue such careers. The scope and importance of nanomaterials is increasingly recognized among students, faculty and industrial scientists not only because of the discovery of new classes of materials of high technological relevance, but also because of a deeper fundamental understanding of the basic scientific phenomena underlying the unique properties of nanomaterials. VCU students should be trained in the rapidly expanding cross-disciplinary areas of nanostructures and nanotechnology. The training requires new effective approaches for the integration of teaching and research activities at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The Academic and Health Affairs Policy Committee recommended to the full Board the approval of the Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
The Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology was presented. The program will train students through highly interdisciplinary teaching and research, give the students strong technological and computational skills, and produce graduates with the ability and background to move easily among different projects and research venues in future careers. The graduates will be among the researchers making the most significant advances in chemical and biological science research in academic, industry and government settings during the coming decades. The Ph.D. program in Chemical Biology is a cross-campus program. Reflecting the interdisciplinary concept, faculty members from departments and centers spanning the chemical and biological sciences on both the Monroe Park and Medical campuses are participating in the program. The program is not limited to a specific track within a specific department. In principle, students from the participating departments will gain the Ph.D. in Chemical Biology through a combination of core activities in Chemical Biology, home department courses and elective courses across the campus-wide Chemical Biology curriculum. The program is specifically designed to be as flexible as possible in order to maximize the learning and research possibilities available to students. The students may develop research projects that draw from the many areas in the chemical and biological sciences available at VCU. The Academic and Health Affairs Policy Committee recommended to the full Board the approval of the Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Chemical Biology.
The Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Systems Modeling and Analysis was presented. The program will be operated by the Department of Statistical Sciences and Operations Research and the Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, within the College of Humanities and Sciences at VCU. The program is the result of significant growth in research in both departments. The new research-oriented Ph.D. program will complement the Master of Science in Mathematical Sciences offered by the two departments. The program will contribute to VCU’s strong focus on scholarship, teaching, and service in the areas of operations research, statistics, and mathematics. The Academic and Health Affairs Policy Committee recommended to the full Board the approval of the Proposal to Establish a Ph.D. in Systems Modeling and Analysis.