MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
October 19, 1972
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth
University was held October 19, 1972, at 9:00 a.m. in the President's Dining
Room.
Present were all the members of the Board except Mr. Dabney, Miss
Keyser and Mr. Shumate. Also present were Drs. Brandt, Brooke, Smith,
Watts, Willett, Wilson and Woods; Mr. Shiflet, Mrs. Rothenberg, and Miss
Cosby.
Dr. Blanton called the meeting to order and announced that Mr. Earl
J. Shiflet, Secretary of Education, would arrive at the meeting at 10:00 a.m
On motion duly made and seconded, the minutes of a Special Meeting
of the Executive Committee, held September 15, 1972, were unanimously
approved. A revised Page 3 of the minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board
of Visitors, held September 21, 1972, was distributed. On motion made and
seconded, these minutes were approved as amended. Mr. Holmes distributed
copies of the budget requests submitted to the State for the January, 1973,
session of the General Assembly and described the various categories set
forth in the requests. The minutes of the Special Meeting of the Finance
Committee, held October 3, 1972, were approved unanimously on motion made
and seconded.
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Dr. Brandt asked that Mr. Holmes give a report on the UGF drive and
the meeting held with purchasing officials. Mr. Holmes noted that three State
universities, UVA, VCU and VPI&SU, are primarily affected by a new purchasing
directive issued a few weeks ago. The new guidelines give less authority to
the individual institutions and more authority to the central purchasing office.
The presidents of the three universities met with Mr. Alsop, Mr. Craigie and
Mr. Shiflet to discuss the issue and to present any arguments against the
directive. No changes have been made in the new guidelines so far. Mr.
Holmes described the UGF kickoffs held at the University. Mr. Scott helped
with them, and the Rhythm Band of the Senior Center played. There was more
enthusiasm for these meetings than any held in prior years.
Dr. Blanton introduced the Secretary of Education, Mr. Earl J. Shiflet.
Mr. Shiflet described the role of the Office of Education. Education is the
process by which an individual becomes sensitive to his society and is given
the opportunity to respond to that society effectively. The charge to the
Office of Education is to provide the opportunity for every individual to
develop himself to the fullest extent in keeping with his interests, aptitude
and ability. Mr. Shiflet hopes that the role of the State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia will be strengthened in the near future. There must
also be a higher degree of coordination between institutions of higher education
Mr. Temple asked Mr. Shiflet how VCU could get the attention of
State budget officials in order to have them recognize our needs. Mr. Shiflet
responded that the profile of uniqueness that each institution will be preparing
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for his office will be of great help in answering questions about budgeting.
The State Council of Higher Education will also have an important role in this.
Mr. Temple also asked where the state of Virginia is headed with
respect to the direction of educational policies by one Federal power, and what the role of the State Council is to be in this area. Mr. Shiflet commented
that the state is on the verge of getting a superboard if the Council is not
strengthened. The members of the General Assembly want someone to keep
watch over the educational institutions. He stated that the State Council of
Higher Education does not have the authority that it should have. If the
educational institutions can prove to the General Assembly that they are
cooperating, it will be good. The superboard will come eventually if the job
of operating higher education is not done efficiently; therefore, all institutions
must work together as much as possible.
At the conclusion of Mr. Shiflet's remarks, Dr. Daniel T. Watts, Dean
of the School of Basic Sciences and Graduate Studies, described the departments in the School and the strengthening of the various departments.
Mrs. Elaine Rothenberg, Dean of the School of Social Work, noted that
the School is the only graduate school of social work in the state. One very
exciting development in Social Work is the aid being given to the Office of
the Secretary of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in developing,
planning, staffing and evaluating a conference for the staff of HEW in relation
to the pending Allied Services Act.
On motion duly made and seconded, the report on Hospital Accounts
was unanimously approved.
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Dr. Brooke explained the correction on Page 8 of the Faculty Appointments and Changes of Status relating to Mrs. Giovannoni. Dr. Woods
described the job that Professor Williams will be doing. The Faculty
Appointments and Changes of Status were unanimously approved, on motion
duly made and seconded.
Dr. Brooke commented on the carbon copy of a letter he and several
others had received from J. H. Alexander who formerly taught in the School
of Business. Dr. Brooke explained several points contained in the letter. It
was mentioned that, other than the State conflict of interest regulations, there
is no formal policy concerning faculty members of the same family teaching in
the University.
Dr. Wilson reported that there is still no West Campus student govern-
ment. Parking is a concern on both campuses. Visitation is working well,
but there is a lack of recreational facilities. The student situation is fairly
quiet this fall. When student government was voted out last year, a number
of boards were set up to assume the responsibility of the student government.
It is no longer an honor to be elected to an office in student government.
He is continuing to try to get a student government on the West Campus, but
there is a low level of interest.
Dr. Smith noted that the Education and Science Building is in working
drawings, as is the addition for the James Branch Cabell Library. There are
$200,000 of on-going renovations on the West Campus. Work on Sanger Hall
and the Tompkins-McCaw Library is progressing. The bids for the foundation
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of the parking deck have been returned, and the low bid was about $17,000
lower than expected. Renovations for the hospital total $1,500,000. East
Campus instructional renovations total $500,000. VCU officials have been
working with various State officials on the hospital project.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 p.m.
APPROVED: Secretary
