MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS
OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
November 18, 1976
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia
Commonwealth University was held on Thursday, November 18, 1976,
at 9:00 a.m. in the Conference Room at 910 West Franklin Street.
Present were Drs. Blanton, Gayle and Gwathmey; Messrs. Dabney,
Norris, Obenshain, Scott, Seaborn, and Shumate; and Mesdames
Satterfield, Stone and Thalhimer. Absent were Messrs. Grey,
McGehee and Morgan. Also present were Drs. Brooke, Hall, Neal,
Temple, Willett and Woods; Mr. Holmes and Miss Cosby; and Mrs. Price.
Dr. Blanton called the meeting to order.
On motion made and seconded, the Minutes of a Regular Meeting
of the Board of Visitors, held September 16, 1976, were unanimously
approved.
The Board requested that the minutes of the Hospital Com-
mittee be submitted regularly to the Board for approval.
On motion made and seconded, the Report of Gifts, Grants
and Contracts was unanimously approved.
On motion made and seconded, the Financial Statements
were accepted by the Board.
On Page 9 of the Faculty Appointments, two corrections were
made: Dr. John R. Jones as Professor of Anesthesiology rather than
Medicine and Dr. Reuben B. Young as Professor of Pediatrics rather
than Medicine. In the Addendum, the expiration date of Dana B. Kirk's
contract was changed to 6/30/80 rather than 6/30/79. On motion
made and seconded, the Faculty Appointments and Changes in Status
w re unanimously approved.
Page 2
On motion made and seconded, the Contracts signed since
the September Board Meeting were unanimously approved by the
Board.
On motion made and seconded, the following Resolutions
amended, was unanimously approved:
RESOLVED, that since Virginia Commonwealth
University's collection agency has returned
certain student accounts, totaling $3,687.50,
from the Fall of 1969 through the Summer of
1971, as uncollectible either because the
individuals could not be located or the
amounts were too small to file suit;
BE IT RESOLVED: that the Vice President
for Finance is hereby authorized to transfer
these accounts to the University's Deferred
Delinquent Account upon approval by the
Attorney General.
At this time, Dr. Blanton introduced to the Board Mr. Lewis
, newly appointed Director of Athletics, and Mr. Dana Kirk,
the new Head Basketball Coach. A short question and answer
period followed. Dr. Blanton indicated to Messrs. Mills and Kirk
that they had the full support of the Board and the administration
The Report of the President followed. During the Report,
the Board completely endorsed the work of the administration in
presenting the VCU Case to members of the General Assembly, State
officials and other interested persons.
Dr. Blanton announced to the Board that he had received
a copy of Mr. Morgan's letter of resignation from the VCU Board.
The letter will be made a part of these minutes. On motion
made, seconded, and unanimously approved, the Board received Mr.
Morgan's letter of resignation with deep regret and sincere
appreciation for his service to the VCU Board of Visitors.
Page 3
Dr. Blanton read to the Board a letter from Mr. C. Coleman
McGehee concerning the 1976 General Appropriation Act. The last
paragraph of Mr. McGehee's letter read:
In view of the content of the document, I
think we should ask the administration to
establish proper accounting safeguards to
insure that we meet the provisions of this
act and also to protect the Board of Visitors
since the wording seems quite comprehensive.
Dr. Blanton requested that the administration set up the
mechanics to insure that the provisions of the Act were met.
Mr. Scott presented the report of the Property Committee.
Following a discussion, on motion made and seconded, the relocation
of the Physical Plant Building on the MCV Campus was unanimously
approved.
Mr. Scott also reported to the Board the need to construct
a bridge connecting Sanger Hall and the Nelson Clinic. This
bridge is needed in order to permit the transport of patients
between the Clinic and West Hospital. The funds are available.
On motion made and seconded, the proposal to construct the
pedestrian bridge over Marshall Street was unanimously approved.
Mr. Scott presented the proposal to purchase the Grove Avenue
Baptist Church. The administration plans to ask the Governor
for $235,000 from his Land Fund and ask the RPI Foundation for
a loan of $400,000. On motion made and seconded, the proposal
to purchase the Grove Avenue Baptist Church was unanimously
approved.
Mr. Pete Anderson of Glave, Newman and Anderson joined the
meeting for a presentation of the updated Master Site Plan
of the Academic Campus. Following a very comprehensive presentation
Page 4
on motion made and seconded, the updated Master Site Plan for
the Academic Campus was unanimously approved.
Mr. Seaborn presented the report of the Academic Policy
Committee. Dr. David Saunders, former Chairman of the Council
on Faculty Affairs, and Dr. William Gander, Chairman of COFA, joined
the meeting for the presentation of the proposed statement on Academic
Rights and Responsibilities. Following a discussion, on motion
made and seconded, the statement on Academic Rights and Responsi-
bilities was unanimously approved.
Mr. Walter Ryland, Assistant Attorney General, joined the
meeting to report to the Board on the Gay Alliance of Students'
suit and the Oslund case. Mr, Ryland advised the Board of the
action taken by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in the Gay
Alliance of Students' suit. Mr. Ryland reported that, in essence,
the court gave the group everything that it had asked for. Mr.
Ryland advised the Board not to appeal the case and to register
the group. On motion made and seconded, the Board unanimously
agreed not to appeal the Gay Alliance of Students' case. Mr.
Ryland reported that the collection of data in the Oslund case
was well underway. Mr. Ryland gave a brief background report on
the case.
The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. for lunch.
Following lunch, Dr. Arnold Fleshood joined the meeting
and presented a status report on the Special Services Program.
It was felt that this presentation would be received well by
groups in the community.
Page 5
On motion made and seconded, the following resolution was
unanimously approved:
RESOLVED, that the income received from
the Estate of Isaac Davenport has been applied
strictly in accordance with the terms of the
Will during the Fiscal Year 1976:
FURTHER RESOLVED, that all future remittances
from said Estate will be applied likewise.
The resolution on granting authority to the MCV Honor Court
was referred to the Student Affairs Committee of the Board for
Consideration.
On majority vote of the Board, an executive session was
held.
The meeting adjourned at 2:30 p.m.
Richard D. Obenshain, Secretary
Approved:
HERBERT N. MORGAN
ARLINGTON EXECUTIVE BUILDING
2009 • 14TH STREET. NORTH
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22201
November 15, 1976
Dr. Wyndham B. Blanton, Jr.
406 West Franklin Street
Richmond, Virginia 23220
Dear Dr. Blanton:
Our meeting of the Board of Visitors is scheduled for
Thursday morning. I have had it on my calendar for six
weeks, but once again I find that matters over which I
have no control make it impossible for me to attend.
After careful consideration of my schedule and the demands
on my time, I have regretfully reached the decision to
resign from the Board of Visitors.
I am proud that I had the opportunity to vote for T. Edward
Temple as President of the University. I am confident that
under his administration, and with the guidance of a fine
governing board so capably led by you, the University will
enjoy continued progress.
Please advise the Board members that I hold each in high
esteem and hope that the future will permit me the time to
develop the personal friendships which I have made there.
REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT
November 18, 1976
1. Athletics
Dr. Temple brought the Board up to date on the resignations
of Coach Chuck Noe and Assistant Coach Skeeter Swift. Dr.
Temple stated that a new Coach, Dana Kirk, had been appointed
and that Lewis B. Mills had been elevated to Director of
Athletics. Both of these appointments are before the Board
for approval. Dr. Temple continued that he would be glad
to discuss further details of this with Board members
individually.
2. Merged Computer Center
Dr. Temple reported that all systems had been running
smoothly until October 1. In early October, the IBM 158
encountered more and more difficulty servicing the work-
load of the Community Colleges and VCU. Dr. Temple stated
that the Department of Management Analysis and Systems
Development and IBM monitored the equipment. Recommendations
were made by MASD to acquire additional equipment for the 158
system which is suppose to improve its performance.
3. VCU Case
Dr. Temple reported that since beginning the "traveling
road show" more than 50 General Assembly members and 100
alumni have seen the presentation. In addition to Richmond,
this included trips to Emporia, Roanoke, Marion, Staunton,
Tyson's Corner, Hampton, Norfolk, Winchester and Fredericks-
burg. The Case team has also met with Carter Lowance, Bob
Ramsey, Maurice Rowe, Ed Willey, Ed Lane, Doug Hamner, John
McCutcheon, Dan Marvin and the Council staff and John Dalton.
4. National Science Foundation
Dr. Temple reported that VCU ranks 88th out of 355 doctoral-
granting universities in terms of the enrollment of graduate
students in the sciences for 1974. VPI&SU is 46th; UVA is
85th; and Duke is 91st.
5. Evening College
Dr. Temple stated that the VCU Evening College is the largest
in the nation. This is the first year that we have been able
to top the University of Cincinnati.
Report of the President (continued) Page 2
6. Bicentennial Activities
Dr. Temple stated that VCU's participation in the bicentennial
had been very successful and would be drawing to a close on
December 31, 1976. He continued that Mrs. Donna Shumate,
Coordinator of the Bicentennial, had done an outstanding job.
The activities were many and varied -- from Dr. Jordan's radio
program which received national coverage to John Marshall
Day. Westside Story played to packed houses each night.
7. Provost - Administration
Dr. Temple reported that the Search Committee was progressing
nicely. He indicated that he hoped to begin bringing candidates
to the University in late November and early December.
8. Legal Counsel
Dr. Temple reported that Mrs. Kincannon would be leaving the
University on December 31, 1976. We are in the process of
screening candidates and hope to have someone on board by
January or February.
