MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Held November 18, 1971
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth
University was held Thursday, November 18, 1971, at 10:00 a.m. in the
President's Dining Room in the Hibbs Building on the Academic Division
Campus.
Present were all members of the Board except Dr. Gwathmey, Mr.
McGehee and Mr. Seaborn. Present by invitation were Drs. Brandt, Brooke,
T. O. Hall, Matthews, Smith, Watts, Westermann, Willett, Wilson and
Woods; Messrs. Edwards, Holmes, Hunton, Imirie, Ware and Wayne; and
Miss Cosby.
Mr. Wilson called the meeting to order. The following minutes
were approved as distributed on motion made, seconded and unanimously
approved: A Regular Meeting of the Board of Visitors held September 16,
1971, and a Special Meeting of the Property Committee held September 9,
1971.
Dr. Daniel T. Watts, Dean of the School of Basic Sciences and
Graduate Studies, distributed materials describing the growth of the School.
The Association of American Medical Colleges had been pleased with the
progress in Basic Sciences when the accreditation visit was made.
Dr. Alfred T. Matthews, Dean of Student Life, discussed the
functions of Student Life. The three major areas of Student Life are:
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Housing and Financial Aid, the Office of Student Life, and the Counseling
Center. There was some discussion on holding referenda on such things as
a Student Union and having a school newspaper which is not sponsored by
the Department of Journalism.
Dr. Thomas O. Hall, Jr., Chairman of the Department of Philosophy
and Religious Studies, presented the proposed Bachelor of Arts program in
philosophy. Upon motion made and seconded, the proposed degree program
was unanimously approved.
Dr. Harland W. Westermann, Dean of the School of Community
Services, presented the proposed Bachelor of Science program in Urban
Studies. It was moved and seconded that the proposed Bachelor of Science
program in urban studies be adopted. Following discussion, it was unani-
mously approved.
Dr. Brandt described the new procedures of the State Council of
Higher Education for Virginia for letters of intent. Upon motion duly made
and seconded, it was unanimously resolved that the letter of intent for a
Master's degree program in Urban and Regional Planning be approved for
submission to the State Council.
Mr. Wilson announced that the Edward A. Wayne Medal had been
created to honor individuals on rare occasions when they were judged as
having given distinguished service to VCU. He presented Mr. Wayne with
the original cast of the Medal. Mr. Eppa Hunton, IV was presented the
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first Edward A. Wayne Medal, confirming the symbolic presentation made at
the June, 1971, commencement.
After lunch, Mr. Temple announced that the MCV Foundation has
received $150,000 from the estate of Mr. Edwin B. Thompson to be used for
a study of spots on the eye. Two unrestricted gifts have been received,
but no appropriations of these funds will be made until requests from the
various departments have been received. The Robert Blackwell Smith
Memorial Fund of about $15,000 has been established to make student loans
annually.
A report on grants, awards, gifts and contracts for the 1970-71
Fiscal Year, with expenditures by departments, was distributed and dis-
cussed. Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Report on Gifts, Grants
and Contracts was unanimously adopted.
On motion made and seconded, the Hospital Accounts Report was
unanimously approved.
On motion made, seconded and unanimously passed, the Faculty
Appointments and Changes of Status were approved.
The Report on the Origin of Indigent Patients was presented to the
Board, and Dr. Brandt explained some of the information. Following a
discussion on the report, on motion duly made and seconded, the report
was unanimously approved.
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The following resolution was unanimously adopted on motion made
and seconded:
WHEREAS Robert Blackwell Smith, Jr., served faithfully
and with distinction for twelve years as the fourth president
of the Medical College of Virginia; and
WHEREAS, during his distinguished career, Doctor Smith
demonstrated unswerving devotion to his chosen profession,
first as a student and successively as Assistant Dean, Dean,
Assistant President, President and Provost; and
WHEREAS his success in obtaining outstanding faculty
and securing necessary financial support to improve the
physical facilities resulted in the recognition of the College
as a health science center with national and international
prominence; and
WHEREAS his firmness of conviction and loyalty to the
Medical College of Virginia and all who were associated with
it were his outstanding characteristics;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Visitors of
Virginia Commonwealth University record its high esteem and
deep appreciation for the many contributions of Robert Blackwell
Smith, Jr., to the Medical College of Virginia during a period
of unprecedented growth and the Board further wishes to extend
to his family its deepest sympathy in the great loss caused by
his death, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution
be suitably inscribed and presented to his family.
Dr. H. I. Willett, Consultant to the President, then gave a summary
of the President's luncheons with Richmond area businessmen. The Annual
Fund Drive will be underway the first part of December. The regional
luncheon meetings held around the state have been directed primarily at
members of the General Assembly, while the dinner meetings have been
devoted to alumni.
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It was noted that these meetings are just a beginning in the area of
public relations. It was suggested that the President try to get on a tele-
vision program aimed at the Richmond viewers, and Dr. Willett noted that
we are trying to do that next semester. Also, many people will be invited
to attend basketball games this season in order to promote the image of
the University.
It was duly moved and seconded that the proposal for a Center for
Community Health be adopted. The motion was passed unanimously after
some discussion.
The Affiliation Agreement with the Cancer Research Institute was
presented and discussed at length. There was general concurrence that
the agreement in its present form was not one into which the University
should enter.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 p.m.
The next regular meeting of the Board of Visitors will be held on
Thursday, January 27, at 10:00 a.m. in the Board Room of Sanger Hall.
APPROVED:
A Report of the President to the Board of Visitors
November 18, 1971
Dr. Brandt announced that we should be placing an order for a computer
within a day or two. An RCA computer had been ordered, but RCA went
out of the computer field. We are going to order an IBM 360/40 computer.
The wage/price freeze has been of considerable concern to the faculty,
but raises will be effective November 16. We are still seeking retroactive
pay but that will take specific action by the State.
Dr. Brooke is still searching for two deans--one for Arts and Sciences
and one for Education.
The service award pins will have the seal on them with a gold ring around
it. As there is a tremendous backlog of employees to receive the pins,
we are having difficulty scheduling the awarding of the pins.
There will be an Education Day for members of the Board on December 6,
and we hope that you will be able to participate. Other members of the
community have been invited to attend, also.
Dr. Brandt described the "dog riot" which took place in October. There
were many pictures taken during the action. From one of these pictures,
we served a warrant on a female student. She pleaded diplomatic immunity.
We are, however, going to proceed with University procedures in this
case.
There was a student retreat this fall in a very informal setting at an old
camp. It was a highly successful retreat.
Frequently, a professor is out of town for a day or two at a conference
during the year. Some of the administrators have been meeting those
classes without a professor. The experience has been a good one so
far and has gained a lot of two-way communication.
A student wanted to come directly to the Board concerning the visitation
hours. We are riding fairly comfortably on this situation right now, but
we are expecting further communication on it.
The enrollment this fall is 14,800 students. We are up about 800 from
last year. About nine percent of the day students are Black.
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We have submitted to the Governor some preliminary planning on the new
hospital. The hospital is not big enough to take everyone who wants to be
in it. There will be about 400 beds plus a nursery. We are beginning to
connect clinical and North hospitals.
There is a real problem concerning the need of picking up about 50 feet from
the White House of the Confederacy parking lot. The campaign is just about
to get underway to build on this property which will complicate the hospital
building considerably.
The Self Study is progressing. We have a problem with one School, but the
rest are doing well.
We are consistently violating fire regulations in the hospital. The Property
Committee of the legislature and the Fire Marshal are both upset about it.
They object to the fact that we put chairs in the hall for patients to sit on.
We either let them stand for a long period of time or not accept patients.
Patients on wheel carts in the hall also violate fire regulations.
We had a visit from the sub-committee of Congressman David E. Satterfield,
III, concerning drug problems. There were five congressmen attending.
Several presentations were made, and then we gave them an impression of
what MCV is doing. The feedback has been very good, and many were
impressed by what the University is doing.
The medical accreditation team visited us recently. Two years ago, they
objected to the fact that the hospitals were separated from the School of
Medicine. They only gave us a two-year accreditation at that time. This
fall, they gave us the full five-year period to make up the complete seven-
year accreditation period. Dr. Warren H. Pearse, new Dean of the School
of Medicine, came in specifically for that visit. We will bring Dr. Pearse
in to talk to the Board in another couple of meetings.
The athletic booster club is collecting money already and has gotten off
to a good start.
Since the last meeting, there has been a banquet honoring Dr. Thornton
for his service to the Crusade for Voters. Mr. Dabney is to receive the
Brotherhood Award at a dinner sponsored by the National Conference of
Christians and Jews on December 8 in Richmond.
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Approximately 900 people attended the faculty receptions this fall which
were held on two nights. The police ran a bus service from the parking
area up to the front door. Those who came seemed to enjoy themselves.
The Women's Auxiliary is working in the hospitals and is trying to help
with service in the hospitals. So far, there has been a very good reaction
to this group. Another group of women is working in the Anderson Gallery
and is helping with receptions and sales.
The UGF campaign came off quite well. We exceeded our goal for this
year for the University.
The legislators will be touring the two campuses on December 10 in the
middle of the day. The regional meetings have been making some good
friends for us. About one-third of the members of the House and Senate
are new members this year.
We had a meeting with Dr. Philip L. A. Minor who made a statement in the
Scarab that he would be trying to have the two merging institutions separated.
No one seems to know why people object to the merger of the two institutions,
but Dr. Willett and I have been holding meetings across the state to communi-
cate directly with legislators and alumni.
Plans for commencement are being formulated now. There will be one
commencement this year on June 3 in the Coliseum.
There is a fair amount of progress on the construction scene. Sanger Hall
is progressing. The Business Building is being landscaped at this time,
and we hope to be in within two weeks. There will be classes in that
building for second semester. There are 130 faculty offices and 85 class-
rooms. Therefore, we will have a tremendous sequence of moves. The
business Building is going to decrease the student traffic on Franklin Street,
but it will increase it on Main Street.
The Pollak Building was dedicated on November 14. It went well, and there
were a good many people present.
The Tompkins-McCaw Library is progressing well. The basement of the Lyons
Building is progressing and many of the business operations will move there.
The Property Committee of the Board looked at some plans for the Science-
Education Building, but the Governor's advisor does not like the plans. We
are battling this at the present time. He is also delaying us on the power
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plant request. We will be going to City Council about the Science-Education
Building bridging across Main Street.
We have to take trash from the hospitals to the incinerators by carrying it
on the elevators. We would like a new trash disposal system and put it in
the new power plant.
One bus has been painted gold with the logo on it. They will soon all be
painted.
There was a fire at 910 West Franklin Street on October 7. Hopefully, we
will be back in that building in about three or four months. There are no
leads as to who set the fire, and we are not excited about the prospects
for catching the arsonist. People responded very well, and we were func-
tioning by the middle of that day. The cleaners are working on the building
now. The personnel from third floor should be back in within a couple of
weeks. The back of the building was not damaged. We have a $10,000
deductible insurance policy, and the insurance company will depreciate
some items. We plan to do some renovating at this time of the heating,
electrical and air conditioning systems. The estimate of the damages
should be written up within the next few weeks.
Dr. Kenneth Asplund in biology has been informed that he will be retained
for at least one more year.
A student contested a grade given to him by his professor. The student is
Black and the teacher is white. The student had a lawyer for the hearing,
but the teacher did not. The teacher went to the AAUP to have a lawyer
provided by the institution. The student came to the hearing, but he did
not present any papers. We have a letter from him saying that he will sue
us for $50,000 within 30 days. We will provide the teacher with legal aid
if it goes to court. The Attorney General's office will help at a hearing as
to the legality of the hearing. We are trying to back off and take the stand
that, in future cases, neither party will be allowed a lawyer at the internal
hearing. The teacher failed the student, and this put him out of his Master's
degree program. Now he cannot teach.
It was suggested that we have students agree to arbitration on a case such
as this when they enter the University as this would cut down on some of
the legal cases. If we have an internal hearing, then the materials could
be brought into civil court.
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Nothing has happened on the Wright case since the Attorney General's office
filed their papers. We are looking at a much broader insurance policy since
this case came up. It took us a considerable amount of time to find a
company that would write us the policy we now have. The Board members
are covered under the present policy, but it pertains only to a small section
of the Wright case. However, members of the Board are only being sued
in an official capacity, not in an individual capacity.
