MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Held September 16, 1971
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth
University was held Thursday, September 16, 1971, at 10:00 a.m. in the
Board Room of Sanger Hall on the MCV Campus.
Present were all the members of the Board except Mr. Obenshain,
Mr. Scott and Dr. Thornton. Present by invitation were Drs. Brandt,
Burgart, DiBiaggio, Willett, Wilson and Woods; Messrs. Booker, Edwards,
Imirie, Noe and Ware; and Miss Cosby.
In the absence of the Rector, Vice Rector and Secretary, Mr. Dabney
called the meeting to order. The following minutes were approved as dis-
tributed on motion made, seconded and unanimously approved: A Regular
Meeting of the Board of Visitors held July 15, 1971; a Special Meeting of
the Finance Committee held July 12 , 1971; a Special Meeting of the Property
Committee held July 21, 1971; and a Special Meeting of the Finance Committee
held August 12, 1971.
Dr. Herbert J. Burgart, Dean of the School of the Arts, discussed
the varied and growing programs in the School of the Arts.
Following a discussion on Dr. Burgart's report, Dr. John A. DiBiaggio,
Dean of the School of Dentistry, discussed the major role that VCU/MCV
plays in dental education in the state and region. The School of Dentistry
is trying to recruit ten percent black and ten percent female students for
the coming year.
Page 2
Mr. Charles W. Noe, Director of the Athletic Program, then gave
a talk on the developments in the Athletic Program. Mr. Charles Booker,
a new assistant coach this year replacing Mr. Watson, was introduced to
the Board members.
Mr. William G. Broaddus, Assistant Attorney General, was invited
to the meeting at this time to discuss the Vincent F. Wright case. He gave
the background information on this case and outlined the legal procedures
that are open to Mr. Wright.
Mr. Temple suggested that the responsibilities of the Board members
be studied so that the members will know what is expected of them. Mr.
Wilson approved a self-study of the Board of Visitors and appointed Mrs.
Stone, Drs. Blanton and Gwathmey and Messrs. Sheffield and Temple (with
Mr. Sheffield as Chairman) to bring back information from the Association
of Governing Boards conference in Williamsburg, October 10-12, that is
pertinent to the Board.
Dr. Brandt mentioned the excellent conference on College Law,
sponsored by the Attorney General's office, at Virginia Beach this summer.
Mr. Turnbull thanked Mr. Broaddus for his help and assistance.
On motion duly made, seconded and unanimously approved, the
resolution pertaining to the termination of faculty and other personnel
contracts passed on July 15, 1971, was rescinded.
Page 3
Following some discussion, the Faculty Appointments and Changes
in Status were presented. The addition of Mr. Vincent F. Wright in the
Separations Section was made. Other corrections are as follows:
Page 2 - Zalis, Orestes S. - effective 8/1/71
Page 3 - French, William C. - Assistant Clinical Professor
of Orthodontics
Page 6 - Perkinson, W. Baxter, Jr. - Clinical Instructor in
Restorative Dentistry
Page 7 - Strickler, Edmund R. - Clinical Instructor in
Restorative Dentistry
Page 8 - Armstrong, Robert H. - Clinical Professor of
Radiology
Baker, Robert Leon - Clinical Professor of Obstetrics
and Gynecology
Howell, Talmadge R. - Associate Clinical Professor
of Radiology
Page 9 - Alpern, Frederick P. - Clinical Instructor in
Pediatrics
Jamison, James C. - Clinical Instructor in
Pediatrics
Smith, Douglas Campbell - Clinical Instructor in
Radiology
On motion made, seconded and unanimously passed, the Faculty
Appointments and Changes of Status were approved as corrected.
Following lunch, the recommendations relating to the change in
name for the School of Graduate Studies were explained by Dr. Woods. It
was duly moved, seconded and unanimously approved that the name of the
"School of Graduate Studies" be changed to the "School of Basic Sciences
and Graduate Studies" with the phrase "and Graduate Studies" to be dropped
when an administrative officer is appointed to assume total University
responsibility for graduate affairs or graduate programs.
Page 4
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Hospital Accounts Report
was unanimously approved by the Board.
Following some discussion on the Report on Gifts, Grants and
Contracts, it was moved, seconded and unanimously approved to adopt
this report.
There was some discussion concerning the merits of Dr. Kinloch
Nelson and his contributions to VCU/MCV. Upon motion duly made and
seconded, the Board unanimously approved the appointment of Dr. Kinloch
Nelson as Emeritus Dean of the School of Medicine.
The Report on the Origin of Indigent Patients was not ready for
presentation to the Board.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board unanimously
approved the University Self Study required by the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools.
During the discussion on the 1972-74 Biennium Budget Request, it
was brought out that gifts and grants do not show in the Budget Request.
It was requested that gifts and grants be broken down according to
salaries and places. It was agreed that this should be done.
Upon motion duly made and seconded, the 1972-74 Biennium Budget
Request was unanimously approved by the Board for submission to the State
Budget Office on Monday, September 20, 1971. The Board members were
urged to attend the budget hearing.
Page 5
Mr. Temple suggested that Board members work on a one-to-one
basis with members of the Governor's Advisory Board, the Senate Finance
Committee and the House Appropriations Committee to enlighten them as
to the reasons for requesting funds in each different area.
There was discussion on the joint informational effort, and the
Board members were asked to write to either Dr. Brandt or to Dr. Willett
giving their feelings or suggestions in this area.
Following a discussion on the annual fund drive, the meeting was
adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Visitors will be held on
Thursday, November 18, in the President's Dining Room on the Academic
Division Campus.
APPROVED:
Report of the President to the Board of Visitors
September 16, 1971
Dr. Brandt announced that he had invited Mr. William G. Broaddus, Assistant
Attorney General, to talk to the Board members at 12:30 p.m. about the Dean
Vincent F. Wright case.
A Self Study, directed by Dr. Joel R. Butler, will be made during the coming
year. It is required by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
every ten years. The study should be very beneficial to the University, and
copies will be distributed to the Board and to the President towards the end
of the year. When it is completed, about 25 persons will visit VCU for three
days to examine specialized areas of the study.
The lowest bidder on Sanger Hall omitted a $579,000 item from his bid so he
turned the contract down. The second lowest bidder has not yet been heard
from. The third lowest bidder gave an extension on his bid until September 30,
1971. Major improvements are being made in the basement of the Lyons Building
where the bulk of the business operations will be moved. The Business Building
should be finished by the end of October. The Education and Science Building
is being designed by the architect. We are still trying to get the Richmond
Planning Commission to take formal action on the Master Site Plan.
The Visitation Policy was approved by about 99% of the parents who replied
to a questionnaire which was mailed this summer. The visiting hours are:
Monday - Thursday 6 p.m. until. 10 p.m.
Friday 6 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Saturday 12 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Sunday 12 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The National Health Insurance proposals by the President will make it necessary
to go over all VA hospital construction. There will be no new hospitals
constructed until the National Health Insurance proposals have been approved.
The wage/price freeze has caused some concern on campus, but most problems
have been solved by now. We have asked the Advisory Board whether or not
we can initiate a library fine system under the freeze.
Patients are expected February 1, 1972, for the Health Testing Center. This
will be a service to the medical and to the general public.
Page 2
The RCA 7 computer is under letter of intent, but we have not put out a
formal order for it.
The Annual Fund Drive is going to start this fall with a drive to the alumni,
faculty, friends and administrators of the University.
The search for the Dean of Arts and Sciences is proceeding well. We are
also looking for a Dean of the School of Education.
The VCU Day Care Center, formerly the Belle Bryan Day Nursery, is in
operation as of September 1. UGF gave $5,500 for the remainder of this year.
We would like to make some innovative changes in the Day Care Center and
make it a combination baby sitting-educational facility.
Dr. Harry F. Lyons will be starting work next week on the Washington program.
Our salary scale is not in line with competitive hospitals in Richmond in the
nurse anesthetist field. We have had to cut back from eight to three operating
rooms due to the lack of nurse anesthetists.
The Association of Governing Boards will be meeting in Williamsburg,
October 10-12. Five members of the Board will be attending, along with
Dr. Brandt.
A rape occurred in the Pollak Building about 8:00 a.m. outside the Dean's
office one morning recently. The secretary refused to give any assistance,
would not work with the artist for a sketch of the assailant, and said if we
caught him, she would not help in the prosecution. There had been an
attempted rape three days earlier, and several obscene phone calls had
been received, but none of this was reported.
Registration went very poorly this year. A new ID card system has been
initiated. The card will look like a driver's license and will be kept for
four years.
An invigorating administrators' retreat was held September 2-3 and discussion
was held on the direction the University should be taking.
Meetings will be held around the state between now and Christmas with alumni
and legislators.
Mr. Carlton wants to have control of the Cancer Research Institute board.
Both the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University resent
this. Unless he will come up with something that will function effectively,
we will let it go.
Page 3
A station wagon service between the two campuses has gone into effect and
will carry faculty and administrators. The vice presidents will be about the
only ones who will be allowed parking on both campuses.
The Council of Higher Education in Virginia has approved an M.S. degree in
Engineering at Old Dominion University. The Council has also approved an
M.S. degree in Nursing at the University of Virginia. There are enough
students to support both programs, so ours should not be affected.
