MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF
VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
April 19, 1973
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia Commonwealth
University was held on Thursday, April 19, 1973, at 9:00 a.m. in the President's
Dining Room.
Present were Dr. Blanton, Messrs. Dabney, McGehee, Norris, Obenshain,
Scott, Shumate, Temple and Turnbull. Drs. Gwathmey and Thornton, Messrs.
Seaborn and Sheffield, Miss Keyser and Mrs. Stone were absent. Also present
were Drs. Brandt, Brooke, Neal, Smith, Willett, Wilson and Woods; Messrs.
Holmes and Imirie, and Miss Cosby.
Dr. Blanton called the meeting to order. On motion duly made and
seconded, the following minutes were approved: Regular Meeting of the Board
of Visitors, held March 15, 1973, and Special Meeting of the Property Committee,
held April 6, 1973.
Mr. Scott noted that there had been an unfortunate comment in the
Commonwealth Times, attributed to Dr. Langston, regarding the Board's
recent decision in favor of coeducational dormitory facilities. Dr. Wilson
responded that Dr. Langston had not made the reported comment and that,
as in the past, the Board would be asked to approve any further proposed
changes in the regulations of the residence halls.
Mr. Shumate inquired about the procedures through which the Capital
Outlay Request must be sent. The Request is sent to the Division of Engineering
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and Buildings, the Division of the Budget, and to the Governor's Office. After
that, it becomes part of the Capital Outlay Request to be presented to the
General Assembly in January, 1974.
Following the report of the President, the proposal to establish a
Practical Nurse Training Program was presented. Mr. Imirie stated that it is
being proposed due to the Virginia law which requires practical nurses to pass
an examination. The main purpose of the new program would be to upgrade
present employees. It was pointed out that Section XV of the proposed pro-
gram (Trainee's Commitment) is a debatable point, as it is not certain that
VCU can require the employees to stay at VCU following their training. On
motion duly made and seconded, the proposed program was approved in
principle as presented. The State Division of Personnel will have to decide
whether or not Section XV is applicable.
Dr. Smith presented the Capital Outlay Request and described each
of the items in detail. The Capital Outlay Request, as presented to the Board,
was approved on motion made and seconded.
On motion duly made and seconded, the Hospital Accounts report was
approved unanimously.
Dr. Brandt noted that Dr. William Thornton, a member of the Board of
Visitors, is listed in the Faculty Appointments and Changes of Status as
Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine. On motion made and seconded,
the Faculty Appointments and Changes of Status were approved unanimously.
Dr. Brooke presented the proposal to merge the Departments of Adver-
tising and Journalism into a new Department of Mass Communications. Mr.
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George T. Crutchfield and Mr. James R. Looney, Department Chairmen of
Journalism and Advertising respectively, expressed their opinions as to the
proposed merger. Both noted that they are in complete agreement that this
merger is best for the students and for the University. The suggestion to
merge the two departments came from the departments themselves and not
from the administration. Dr. J. Curtis Hall, Dean of the School of Business,
noted that the School is still interested in advertising, but this particular
department is more media-oriented than any other department in the School of
Business. He felt it would be best for the combined department to be located
in the School of Arts and Sciences. Mr. McGehee questioned the use of the
title, "Mass Communications," instead of "Communications," as the depart-
ment name. The department chairmen responded that the new department will
be concerned with all types of communications but, basically, will deal with
mass communications. On motion made and seconded, the proposal was
approved unanimously.
Dr. Paul D. Minton, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, was
introduced to the Board by Dr. Brooke. Dr. Minton stated that what he finds
so exciting about VCU is the move to integrate various interests in the class-
room. Arts and Sciences is trying to develop cooperative efforts with other
schools on campus, such as Education and Basic Sciences and Graduate
Studies. He is looking forward to an interweaving of faculty and facilities.
Mr. Temple mentioned that the Wayne Commission Report stressed the need
for a graduate program in chemistry in central Virginia because of the many
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chemical plants located here. In order to recruit employees for the plants,
graduate education in chemistry is needed on a part-time basis so that
employees may continue to work as they obtain their degrees.
Mr. Scott inquired about the understaffing, of about 65 faculty members,
in the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Brooke noted that the entire West
campus is understaffed by about 100 faculty and the overload is picked up
by adjunct faculty. Mr. Scott asked how VCU determines which courses
are needed by the community and should be offered. Dr. Brandt noted that
Mr. Mapp has a questionnaire in each bulletin published in the newspapers
asking for suggested courses from the community.
Mrs. Wolf, President of the MCV Auxiliary of Virginia Commonwealth
University, was introduced by Mr. Imirie. She described the growth of the
Auxiliary since its development two years ago and gave a very interesting
presentation on the work done by the Auxiliary.
Mr. Scott noted that he spoke at a Pathology Seminar in early March
regarding the role of the Board of Visitors. At a seminar at UVA last week-
end, Mr. Scott discovered that many students there did not know there was
such a thing as a Board of Visitors. He asked if the President and Vice
Presidents could convey to the University a willingness on the part of the
Board to describe its role. Dr. Brandt noted that this would be a tremendously
effective approach. The meeting of several Board members with faculty members once a month is supposed to help this situation. Dr. Blanton described a new program, PSRO (Professional Standards
. Dr. Blanton described a new program, PSRO (Professional Standards
Review Organization), which will be started soon and notified the Board that
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this is something in which they will be expected to participate. This will
give assurance that the Board of Visitors does have some quality control in
hospitals.
Mr. Holmes distributed a summary of liability insurance coverage
for the members of the Board. Mr. Obenshain commented that the language
used seems to be vague and asked Mr. Holmes to pursue this with the Attorney
General's office to get assurance that the policy covers allegations of gross
negligence, malfeasance, wilful misconduct, etc.
Dr. Blanton noted that he and Dr. Brandt are going to the conference
sponsored by the Association of Governing Boards in California on April 29.
Mr. Obenshain asked if the Board could be provided with guidance on particular
seminars and meetings at which attendance by Board members would be valuable.
Dr. Blanton assured him that he would provide such a report.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:25 p.m.
Secretary
APPROVED:
Report of the President to the Board of Visitors
April 19, 1973
A draft of the Self-Study report has been received. The only parts to which
we can respond are errors of fact, and there do not seem to be many of those.
Commencement will be held on Saturday, May 19 , 1973, at 10:00 a.m. in the
Richmond Coliseum and Dr. Brandt invited the Board to attend. The speaker
will be Senator William Proxmire.
The Honors and Awards program was held on April 15 in the auditorium of the
School of Business Building. There was such a large crowd that there was
standing room only. It was in contrast to past occasions and seemed to be
very much appreciated.
The Governor announced the raises for classified personnel. Some of the
trades areas will receive a five-step increase which is excellent. However,
a special appeal made on behalf of LPN's was denied, and we are having
considerable difficulty in retaining them.
After bargaining with the Richmond Academy of Medicine for their property,
they decided not to sell to VCU. The White House of the Confederacy has
now offered to sell the Ruffner property for $0.5 million and 25 parking spaces.
We are trying to get State approval for this project. There is also a legal
question involved as to whether or not the White House of the Confederacy
has clear title to the Ruffner property. The property was given to the White
House by the City of Richmond with the clause that the property would revert
to the City should the White House decide not to use it. It was suggested
that Dr. Brandt, Mr. Holmes and Mr. Shumate call on Mr. Edward Temple to
impress upon him the essential quality of the Ruffner property.
There were several meetings held with Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Lewis trying
to convince them to donate a large sum of money to the Cancer Research
Center. They still seem to be interested in giving, but not to cancer. The
federal government is cutting back funds for cancer research, and the Lewises
do not want to pick up where the federal government left off. We are still
trying to come up with a project which excites them.
Word has come out from State ADP that they are beginning to plan the con-
solidation of computers being used in institutions of higher education.
Applications for admission for the West campus are still running behind last
year's numbers.
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Dr. Brandt reported that he had received a letter from a Ms. Nordlinger in
the National Organization for Women requesting a computer print-out on
faculty salaries and other information protected by the Freedom of Informa-
tion Act. He has sent it to the Attorney General's office.
Tenure decisions, promotions and terminations are being made now and
several faculty are appealing these decisions. There are some cases in
various stages of litigation now. Professor Stevens in Urban Studies is
appealing a tenure decision, and his lawyer is Senator Frederick T. Gray.
Mr. Robert Markham, a professor of English, is questioning the level of
his salary. He has indicated that he has taken the case to the Civil Rights
Commission. He has also been in touch with the Stone Commission that
put him in touch with the private consultants employed by the Stone Commission.
Mr. Brian Dementi, a former student on the MCV campus, was dismissed by
the institution several years ago. Dr. Brandt studied his case in some detail
soon after his arrival at VCU and agreed with the decision of the faculty to
dismiss Mr. Dementi. Mr. Dementi has now taken the case to the American
Civil Liberties Union. There is also a case of disciplining a student found
to be guilty by the Honor Court for an honor violation. She has appealed
the case, and the decision has been upheld.
Student government will not be formed this year. The Committee is still
working with various recommendations.
There is a new requirement that minutes of the Board be available within
three days. Items covered by the Freedom of Information Act will not be
published.
The parking deck on the MCV campus is out for bids. The Sanger addition
and James Branch Cabell Library addition are progressing well. We hope to
go out for bids for the Science and Education Building soon.
We are working out in the community in regard to the HMO (Health Maintenance
Organization). Dr. Neal pointed out that the Board had approved a demonstra-
tion model and HEW approved the concept but did not fund it because of the
cutbacks in federal funding. A management firm offered its service since
the concept had been approved by HEW. There will be a meeting on May 1
with the management firm. The Governor has assigned an administrative
intern to this project.
Three students died over the last weekend. One was killed in a motorcycle
accident, and another was killed when his car was hit by a traffic violator
who was being chased by a police car. The third student dropped dead on a
playground, and no reason for death has yet been found. He was an orphan
and there was no one to claim his body. His ashes will be shipped back to
his orphanage in North Carolina.
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A professor is being released from the Department of Psychology and the media
stated it was because of his research in pornography. The true reason for his
dismissal is because his research is not in areas of concern in the department.
There has been a fair amount of effort in the development program. Dr. Willett
announced that the University is in the process of trying to publish a five-year
document on the development of VCU. There have been an increasing number
of publications and meetings. The first Annual Fund was inaugurated last year.
A Development Committee of the Board has recently been formed, and it will be
working on the Cancer Research Center development fund.
