MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS
OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
April 15, 1976
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia
Commonwealth University was held on Thursday, April 15,
1976, at 8:45 a.m. in the Conference Room at 910 West Franklin
Street.
Present were Drs. Blanton and Gwathmey; Messrs. Dabney,
Grey, McGehee, Norris, Obenshain, Scott, Seaborn and Shumate
and Mrs. Thalhimer. Absent were Mesdames Satterfield and
Stone and Mr. Morgan. Also present were Drs. Andrako, Brooke,
Fleshood, Hall, Neal, Salley, Sparks, Temple, Willett, and
Wilson; Mr. Holmes and Mrs. Price.
Dr. Blanton called the meeting to order and on majority vote
of the Board an Executive Session was held. Mr. Dabney was excused
from the meeting.
During the Executive Session, on motion made and seconded,
the Board unanimously agreed that honorary degrees be awarded to
Mr. Virginius Dabney and Mr. Eppa Hunton, IV. On motion made and
seconded, it was unanimously approved that Mr. Dabney would re-
ceive the Doctor of Humane Letters (LHD.) and Mr. Hunton would
receive the Doctor of Laws (LL.D).
Following the Executive Session, on motion made and seconded,
the Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the Board of Visitors, held
February 19, 1976; a Special Meeting of the Board of Visitors, held
March 17, 1976; and a Regular Meeting of the Board of Visitors, as
amended, held March 18, 1976 were unanimously approved.
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The Report of the President followed. On motion made and
seconded, the Board of Visitors, believing that the merger of the
computer systems of the State Community College System and VCU
under the direction and control of the Virginia Division of
Automated Data Processing abrogates the authority and responsi-
bility of the Board of Visitors for the governance of Virginia
Commonwealth University, unanimously approved the following
resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that we reject the asserted
authority of the State Division of Automated
Data Processing, the decision with respect to
merger of computer systems, and the manner in
which the decision was reached. The Board
directs the administration to decline to
implement the directive received from Mr.
Charles Miller, dated April 2, 1976.
On motion made and seconded, Mr. Raymond T. Holmes, Jr., was
unanimously elected to serve on the membership of Blue Cross/Blue
Shield of Virginia.
Mr. C. Coleman McGehee, Chairman of the Board's Budget Ad Hoc
Committee, gave his committee's report to the Board. Mr. McGehee
reported that he would present the summary statement and hoped that
the Board would adopt it. Then, a decision would have to be made
as to the next steps to be taken. After presenting his very detailed
report, the Board requested the Administration to pull the information
together in a more attractive form and report to the Executive Com-
mittee in 10 days. During the discussion, the Board indicated that,
in addition to just preparing a brochure, there would have to
be extensive participation by members of the Board in presenting
VCU's position to its various publics and to the members of the
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General Assembly. On motion made and seconded, the conclusions and
recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee were unanimously approved.
On majority vote of the Board an Executive Session was held to
discuss the proposals for the Board's By-Laws and Orientation and Con-
tinuing Education program.
Following a discussion on the proposed By-Laws of the Board of
Visitors and the proposed program of Board Orientation and Continuing
Education, on motion made and seconded, the By-Laws and the Board Orienta-
tion and Continuing Education programs were approved. Mrs. Thalhimer
stated her objection to the Executive Committee being given powers
formerly handled by standing committees. It was decided that the new
By-Laws will become effective July 1, 1976. The Board will have meetings
in May, July, September, November, January and March.
Dr. Robert Jesse joined the meeting at this time for a presentation
of the Final Report of the Capital Area Group Health Association (HMO).
Following Dr. Jesse's presentation, the Board acknowledged receipt of
the report.
Following a discussion, the Financial Statements were accepted by
the Board.
On motion made and seconded, the Faculty Appointments and Changes
in Status were unanimously approved.
Dr. Neal reported to the Board that Dr. John A. Cardea had been
appointed Chairman of the Division of Orthopedics.
The meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m.
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Richard D. Obenshain, Secretary Approved:
y Approved:
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
April 15, 1976
1. Tenure Study
Dr. Temple reported that the 1975 Session of the General
Assembly had requested the State Council of Higher Educa-
tion to conduct a state-wide study on tenure. SCHEV re-
ported that VCU's report was 97.5 percent correct. Many
of the institutions' accuracy levels were much lower than
VCU's.
2. University Graduate Council
Dr. Temple reported that in 1972, the visiting team of the
Southern Association of State Colleges and Universities
recommended the establishment of a university graduate
council at VCU. At the last meeting of the University
Assembly, the By-Laws for the establishment of the University
Graduate Council were adopted. The Council will become
operative during the 1976-77 session.
3. Merger of Computer Systems
Dr. Temple read to the Board a letter received from Mr.
Charles D. Miller, MIS Director, Education, on the Secretary
of Education's letterhead indicating that the computer systems
of Virginia Commonwealth University and the State Community
College System would be merged. The letter also directs that
seventeen (17) positions from VCU would be turned over to State
ADP and the merged center would be managed by State ADP. Dr.
Temple continued that a meeting had been held with representa-
tives from ADP, the Secretary of Education and the former acting
Secretary of Education. At the conclusion of that meeting,
it was agreed that another meeting would be held. However,
no such meeting was held and the above mentioned letter was
received. The Board's action as a result of this report
by Dr. Temple appears in the April 15, 1976, Board of Visitors'
minutes.
