MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
February 21, 1985
A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Board of Visitors of
Virginia Commonwealth University was held on Thursday, February 21,
1985, at 10:00 a.m. in the University Meeting Center.
Present were Messrs. Farinholt, Reynolds and Smith; Dr. Gayle and
Mrs. Whittemore. Absent were Messrs. Grey, Ludeman and Morris. Also
present were Drs. Ackell, Connell, Hall and Simmons; Messrs. Brown,
Bruegman, Ross and Ware; and Mrs. Price.
Mr. Smith called the meeting to order and asked Mr. Bruegman to
present the Quarterly Budget Report for the Second Quarter Ended Decem-
ber 31, 1984. Mr. Bruegman stated that the revenue and expenditure
budgets have been reduced by $708,000 in anticipation of the decrease
in Tuition and Fees revenue caused by this year's enrollment decline.
After these budget reductions, the total percent of revenues and expen-
ditures realized this year are essentially equal to the percentages
realized last year at this time. 96.2 percent of the budgeted revenue
has been received this year compared to 95.8 percent last year. 48.4
percent of this year's budget has been expended compared to 48.2 per-
cent last year. Mr. Smith raised a question concerning the hospital's
budget. He stated that this budget shows a marked decrease in funding
for professional services and an increase in fiscal and administrative
services. Mr. Bruegman stated that he did not have the answer to this
question but would obtain the information. On motion made and
seconded, the Quarterly Budget Report for the Second Quarter Ended
December 31, 1984, was accepted.
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Mr. Bruegman reported to the Committee on the University's and
hospital's compliance with the Prompt Pay Legislation. He stated that
the University is 66 percent in compliance and the hospital is 23 per-
cent in compliance. Mr. Bruegman stated that the University is still
experiencing many problems, including the timeliness of the receipt of
receiving reports from the departments and vendors sending invoices
directly to the departments rather than to Invoice Processing. Mr.
Bruegman also stated that the administration is reviewing a number of
options for improving compliance.
Mr. Ware reported that VCU had received favorable attention in the
General Assembly on a number of items. Of the proposed $1.8 million
cut in the University's base budget, $1.1 million was restored. A
proposed Center on Public Services ($384,000) was disapproved by both
the House and Senate. A five-year pilot program in teacher education
and new initiatives for inservice training for public school teachers
in math and English was funded at the reduced amount of $91,000. Both
houses of the Assembly approved the Governor's recommendation for
$487,000 in General Funds and $214,730 in Non-General Funds for essen-
tial equipment replacements. The University requested $352,500 for
upgrading its Financial Accounting System and received $244,635 in
General Funds support with the balance to be funded by Non-General
Funds. On the Capital Outlay side, the University received a blanket
Non-General Funds' renovation authorization not to exceed $3 million
and a $199,000 General Fund appropriation for renovation of student
labs in Dentistry. Following Mr. Ware's presentation, Dr. Ackell
stated this session was one of the most difficult the University has
experienced. Overall, the administration is very pleased with the
outcome. Mr. Smith complimented Dr. Ackell, Mr. Ware and other members
of the administration on their successful activities during this ses-
sion.
Mr. Reynolds, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Nominations,
reported he, Mr. Farinholt, Mr. Grey and Mr. Ross met on February 5,
1985, to discuss the Board's nominating process. He stated that the
Committee reviewed the concerns addressed by Dr. Gayle in his November
letter as well as the Board's Bylaws. Presently, the Nominating Com-
mittee is appointed under the "Special Committee" section of the
Bylaws. The Bylaws also provide for the election of the Rector, Vice-
Rector and Secretary, and members of the Executive Committee. The
election of the Rector is held in May and the election of the other
officers and members of the Executive Committee in July. Although not
specified in the Bylaws, the recent practice of the Board has been to
elect to the Executive Committee the individuals who chair the standing
committees of the Board in addition to the Rector, Vice-Rector and
Secretary. The Committee concluded that it was appropriate to continue
the practice of having the Executive Committee composed of the officers
of the Board and the chairs of the standing committees. The Committee
also concluded that it is essential that the Rector continue to be
involved in the process of nominating candidates for the office of
Vice-Rector and Secretary and for membership on the Executive Commit-
tee. In order to fulfill these objectives, the Committee submitted the
following recommendations:
(1) The Rector shall appoint a Nominating Committee for the sole
purpose of nominating a candidate to serve as Rector of the
Board. The election of the Rector would be held at the May
meeting of the Board of Visitors. Once the election of the
new Rector has occurred, the Rector-elect would appoint the
chairmen of the standing committees of the Board and a new
Nominating Committee which would have as its purpose the nomi-
nation of candidates for the offices of Vice-Rector, Secretary
and membership on the Executive Committee. The Rector-elect
would serve as a member of the new Nominating Committee with
voice and vote. Candidates for the respective offices and the
membership on the Executive Committee would be presented to
the Board for election at the July meeting of the Board.
(2) Although not included in the charge to the Ad Hoc Committee,
the Committee considered the size of the Executive Committee,
which currently consists of nine members. The Committee felt
that since the duties and responsibilities of the offices of
Vice-Rector and Secretary are largely ceremonial, the Rector
should consider appointing both the Vice-Rector and Secretary
to chair one of the standing committees in addition to serving
as Vice-Rector and Secretary, respectively. If a Rector were
to agree with this recommendation, it would serve to reduce
the maximum number of members on the Executive Committee from
nine to seven. This would require a change in the Bylaws to
provide that the Executive Committee shall consist of not less
than seven (7) nor more than nine (9) members of the Board.
Following a discussion, it was the consensus of the Executive Com-
mittee that these points should be addressed in the Board's Bylaws. On
motion made and seconded, the Ad Hoc Committee's recommendations on
nominations were approved and will be presented to the Board at the
March meeting as proposed Bylaw changes.
On motion made and seconded, the Committee convened into executive
session to discuss certain personnel matters involving the performance
of identifiable employees or faculty of VCU, and to discuss the evalua-
tion of performance of departments or schools of VCU where such matters
regarding such individuals might be affected by such evaluation, and to
discuss matters relating to honorary degrees and special awards, and to
discuss investments as authorized by Section 2.1-344 a(1), a(5) and
a(8) of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Following executive session, on motion made and seconded, the
Report on Investments, the Report of the President, and the appointment
of Dr. James J. McGovern as Assistant Vice President for Health Scienc-
es were accepted and/or approved.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:45 a.m.
Approved:
W. Roy Smith, Rector
