MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS
OF VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
September 13, 1990
A regular meeting of the Board of Visitors of Virginia
Commonwealth University was held on Thursday, September 13,
1990, at 9:30 a.m. in the University Meeting Center.
Present were Drs. Moore (Rector), Berenguer, Johnson and
Peay; Messrs. Farinholt, Ferguson, Lipman, Siegel, Townes,
Whitworth and Wurtzel; and Mesdames Abady and Epps. Absent
were Messrs. Gregory and Meador; and Dr. Holland. Also present
were Drs. Trani, Andrako, Ruch and Wilson; Messrs. Bruegman,
Gehring, Kudless, Poe and Ross; and Mesdames Price and Slattum.
Dr. Moore called the meeting to order and welcomed mem-
bers of the news media and visitors.
The Report of the President followed :
Dr. Trani reported that VCU is poised to become a major influence
in Virginia higher education and higher education generally. The
University has two beautiful campuses, one open from 8 in the morning until 10 in the evening and the other open 24 hours per day
that people feel safe visiting.
Dr. Trani stated that one of his major concerns was VCU's relation-
ship with its neighboring communities. Because of this concern, the
staff has been working diligently to establish six Community Initia-
tives. The Initiatives are:
Community Advisory Boards will provide a mechanism whereby Uni-
versity representatives can meet regularly with representatives of
surrounding neighborhood associations, businesses and cultural
institutions to discuss common concerns and objectives.
Community Assistance Program will assist in providing an economic
stimulus to assure that there will be an ample supply of residential
housing and commercial enterprises to preserve the character of the
neighborhoods and to serve the University's faculty, staff and
students.
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Community Service Associates will provide opportunities for Virginia
Commonwealth University faculty and staff to participate in approved
community assistance projects.
Community Athletic Recreation Efforts program will extend the use of
VCU's recreational facilities to the surrounding neighborhoods.
Monroe Park - plans to develop a joint agreement with the City to
share equally the cost of daily maintenance and any capital improve-
ments at Monroe Park.
Grace Street Task Force will address the long standing facul-
ty/student concerns regarding the condition of Grace Street be-
tween Belvidere and Harrison Streets. The mission of this Task
Force will be to make the Grace Street corridor a safer, cleaner,
more attractive area.
Following Dr. Trani's presentation, Mayor Walter Kenny stated that
the City is very appreciative of the President's Initiatives. He
further stated that he hoped these Initiatives were received with a
creative and cooperative spirit and that he found the Community
Advisory Boards particularly enlightening.
Following Mayor Kenny's comments, Dr. Trani stated that
unfortunate as it may be, people disagree over land use matters.
The President confirmed that he believes the Master Site Plan is a
good plan and is what is best for VCU.
Mr. Siegel, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Communi-
ty Initiatives, stated that he was very proud to have been involved
in the development of the Community Initiatives and that the Commit-
tee endorsed the six Initiatives.
On motion made and seconded, the Presidential Community
Initiatives were approved.
Following a brief recess, on motion made and seconded, the
Minutes of a Special Meeting held on July 18, 1990, and the Minutes
of a Regular Meeting held July 19, 1990, were approved.
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The President's Report continued. Dr. Trani introduced
the following individuals :
Dr. Diane Simon, Assistant Dean, School of Education. Dr. Simon
is the Project Director for Project BEST (Basic Educational Skills
and Training).
Dr. John Wergin, Director of VCU's Center for Educational Development and Research, and Dr. John Whaley, Head, Special Collec-
tions, VCU's Cabell Library, will direct a $100,000 grant awarded by
the Ford Foundation as their initiatives to assist in strengthening
campus diversity. This project will assist in identification and
use of archival data from the greater Richmond community highlighting various aspects of. this community's rich heritage and history
Ms. Paule Marshall, Professor of English, has recently been hon-
ored by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation and was chosen to receive
the 1989 John Dos Passos Prize for Literature.
Dr. Lawrence E. Gary, Samuel S. Wurtzel Endowed Professor,
School of Social Work. Dr. Gary joins VCU from a distinguished
career as social work educator and policy analyst. Most recently
Dr. Gary directed the Institute for Urban Affairs and Research at
Howard University.
Dr. Trani discussed the preliminary enrollment report. Dr. Trani
stated that student enrollment increased during Fall 1990 for the
fifth straight year (up 12 percent from Fall 1986). Fall 1990
headcount enrollments will be the highest ever achieved with an
estimated 21,986 students, up 595 from the previous Fall. The
annual 1990-91 FTE enrollments are estimated to reach 17,960, up
512 FTEs from 1989-90. The size of the incoming freshman class
for Fall 1990 is 1,622 students. This represents the third straight
year of declines in the number of first-time freshman and is the
smallest freshman class in the last ten years.
Dr. Moore announced that the revision to the Board's By-
laws was being withdrawn from the agenda for further revision.
Mrs. Abady reported for the Academic Policy Committee
which met on September 12, 1990. On motion made and seconded,
the Minutes of a Meeting held July 18, 1990, were approved. Mrs.
Abady stated the Retirement Incentive Program was presented to
the Committee for review. This program is a good step forward for
the University and will offer much needed flexibility. It was noted
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that this is not an entitlement program. On motion made and sec-
onded, the Retirement Incentive Program was approved.
The Guidelines for Media Access to Performers, Artists and
Speakers was presented and it was suggested that the media access
be negotiated during contract discussion.
The Report of Major Research Grants was presented. It
was noted that VCU faculty continue to be awarded external sup-
port for scholarly activity at a rate higher than the national
average. Funding for grants and contracts increased by more than
12% in 1990 totaling more than $71 million. Awards in excess of
$500,000 were highlighted.
The proposed reorganization for the Division of Continuing
Studies and Public Service was reviewed. The plan includes re-
vised and expanded responsibility for the Vice Provost; revised and
expanded responsibility for the Special Assistant to the Vice Pro-
vost; hire a Director of the Center for Public Service and incorpo-
rate professional continuing education; designate heads of all
autonomous units as directors; and revise reporting assignments of
directors and re-align and re-assign reporting relationships of
other professional staff. On motion made and seconded, the Report
of the Academic Policy Committee was accepted.
Mr. Siegel reported for the Ad Hoc Committee on the Com-
munity Initiatives. He stated that Dr. Trani's report covered the
work of the Committee. On motion made and seconded, the Report
of the Ad Hoc Committee was accepted.
Dr. Johnson reported for the Advancement Committee which
lacked a quorum and, consequently, did not meet. On motion made
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and seconded, the Minutes of a Meeting held July 18, 1990, were
approved.
Mr. Ferguson reported for the Audit Committee which met
earlier in the day. On motion made and seconded, the Minutes of a
Meeting held July 19, 1990, were approved. The remainder of the
Committee's report was made during executive session.
Mr. Farinholt reported for the Finance and Investment Com-
mittee which did not meet as scheduled. On motion made and sec-
onded, the Minutes of a Meeting held July 18, 1990, were approved.
Dr. Johnson reported for the Hospital Committee which met
on September 12, 1990. On motion made and seconded, the Minutes
of a Meeting held July 18, 1990 were approved.
The relocation of the MCVH Patient Accounting Department
was presented with a request for permission to establish a contract
to lease space for the relocation of the Hospitals' Patient Accounting Department from the Clinical Support Building. Since ther
was not a definite contract to approve, the request was postponed to
a later date.
The lease on the Child Care Center space was presented.
The lease is for 10,275 rentable square feet of space to accommodate
the MCV Hospitals' Child Care Center. The space is located at
2001 East Franklin Street and is owned by Tricor Development Compa-
ny. On motion made and seconded, the lease for the Child Care
Center space was approved.
The MCVH Nursing Clinical Ladder Program was present-
ed. The purpose of the MCVH Nursing Clinical Ladder is to pro-
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vide a clear pathway for career advancement in clinical nursing
which will contribute to a stable, experienced, and highly skilled
nursing staff. On motion made and seconded, the MCVH Nursing
Clinical Ladder Program was approved.
An update on the need to upgrade the Hospital Computer
was presented. Specific recommendations will be presented at the
next meeting of the Committee. On motion made and seconded, the
Report of the Hospital Committee was accepted.
Mr. Meador reported for the Property Committee which met
on September 12, 1990. On motion made and seconded, the Minutes
of a Meeting held July 18, 1990, were approved. The Committee re-
viewed the architect selection for the MCVH Steam Plant Replacement
Facility. The existing plant has deteriorated from over 50 years of
operation and geophysical shifts. Proposals were received from six
firms that qualified under the State selection policy. The contract
was awarded to Black and Veatch, Inc. The fee is $849,900, repre-
senting 5.31% of the construction estimate. In addition, the University has identified a maximum of $528,100 for extra services which
may be required of the design firm during the life of the project.
On motion made and seconded, the contract for the architect for the
MCVH Steam Plant Replacement Facility was approved.
The project plans for the MCV Campus Parking Deck were
presented. This project provides for the construction of a seven
level (318,200 GSP) parking deck. The deck will provide approxi-
mately 1,080 parking spaces for University faculty and staff. The
budget for this project is $9,773,600 or $6,550 per parking space and
$31.19/GSF for retail space. On motion made and seconded, the
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project plans for the MCV Campus Parking Deck were approved. On
motion made and seconded, the Report of the Property Committee
was accepted.
Mrs. Epps reported for the newly formed Student Affairs
Committee. During the upcoming year, the Committee will be reviewing admissions policies, retention rates, financial aid, enrollment
projections, athletics and minority and international student activi-
ties. A major issue for the Committee will be the civility document
currently being prepared. On motion made and seconded, the Re-
port of the Student Affairs Committee was accepted.
Dr. Moore stated that Mr. Roger Gregory was unable to be
at the Board meeting due to the recent death of his father-in-law.
Mr. Whitworth reported for the Nominating Committee. The
following were nominated: Mr. Eric M. Lipman, Vice Rector; Mr.
James B. Farinholt, Jr., Secretary; Executive Committee, Mrs.
Rozanne G. Epps, Mr. Jack H. Ferguson, Dr. Harry I. Johnson,
Jr., Mr. Richard L. Meador, Mr. F. Dixon Whitworth, Jr., and Mr.
Alan L. Wurtzel. On motion made and seconded, the officers and
members of the Executive Committee were unanimously elected.
On motion made and seconded, the Board convened into
executive session to discuss certain personnel matters involving the
performance of identifiable employees or faculty of VCU, and to
discuss the evaluation of performance of departments or schools of
VCU where such matters regarding such individuals might be affect-
ed by such evaluation including Faculty Appointments and Changes
in Status, Full and Consultative Hospital Privileges, School of
Dentistry Clinical Faculty Reappointments, Audit Reports of individu-
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ally identified departments and/or schools, and to discuss the in-
vesting of public funds including the Quarterly Investment Report,
and to discuss legal matters, active and recently resolved litiga-
tion, and probable litigation with its attorney, and to discuss
matters relating to gifts, bequests, and fund-raising activities
including a Report of New Major Commitments for the Period of June
1, 1990, to July 31, 1990, approval of Naming Proposals, and a Cam-
paign Report as authorized by Section 2.1-344 a(1), a(6), a(7) and
a(8) of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Following executive session, the following Resolution was
approved by roll call vote :
Virginia Commonwealth University hereby certifies that, to the best
of each member's knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully
exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were discussed in the executive meeting to which this certification resolu-
tion applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were
identified in the motion convening the executive session meeting were
heard, discussed or considered by the Board of Visitors of Virginia
Commonwealth University.
Roll Call Vote : Ayes Nays
Dr. French H. Moore, Jr. (Rector) X
Mrs. Nina F. Abady X
Dr. Thomas J. Berenguer X
MRs. Rozanne G. Epps X
Mr. James B. Farinholt, Jr. X
Mr. Jack H. Ferguson X
Mr. Roger L. Gregory Absent
Dr. William E. Holland Absent
Dr. Harry I. Johnson, Jr. X
Mr. Eric M. Lipman X
Mr. Richard L. Meador Absent
Dr. Clifton L. Peay X
Mr. Stuart C. Siegel X
Mr. Clarence L. Townes X
Mr. F. Dixon Whitworth, Jr. X
Mr. Alan L. Wurtzel X
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Vote :
Ayes: 13
Nays: 0
ABSENT DURING MEETING: 3
ABSENT DURING VOTING: 3
Following executive session, on motion made and seconded,
the Board accepted the Report of the General Counsel; approved
Faculty Appointments and Changes in Status; approved Full and
Consultative Hospital Privileges; approved School of Dentistry Clini-
cal Faculty Reappointments; accepted the Report of New Major Commit-
ments; approved Naming Proposals; accepted executive session com-
mittee reports; and accepted the Report of the President.
The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m.
Approved:
French H. Moore, Jr., Rector
