 | Board of Visitors minutes July 27, 2007 |  |
SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS
July 27-28, 2007
The Board of Visitors of the University of Virginia met, in retreat, on Friday and Saturday, July 27, and 28, 2007, at The Hotel Roanoke in Roanoke. W. Heywood Fralin, Rector, presided over all sessions.
John O. Wynne, Daniel R. Abramson, A. Macdonald Caputo, the Honorable Alan A. Diamonstein, Ms. Susan Y. Dorsey, Thomas F. Farrell, II, G. Slaughter Fitz-Hugh, Jr., Ms. Glynn D. Key, Austin Ligon, Vincent J. Mastracco, Jr., the Honorable Lewis F. Payne, Warren M. Thompson, E. Darracott Vaughan, Jr., M.D., and Carey J. Mignerey were present.
Gordon F. Rainey, Jr., participated by telephone.
Present as well were John T. Casteen, III, Leonard W. Sandridge, Alexander G. Gilliam, Jr., Paul J. Forch, Arthur Garson, Jr., M.D., Ms. Carol Wood, and Ms. Jeanne Flippo Bailes.
Ms. Patricia M. Lampkin, Ms. Colette Sheehy, Robert D. Sweeney, Craig K. Littlepage, Milton Adams, George Stovall, Benjamin Y. Cooper, IV, Ms. Julie Caruccio, Justin Watkins, and Keith D. Vanderbeek, were present for portions of the Retreat.
Charles W. Steger, the President of Virginia Tech, was present briefly on the morning of July 28th, as a special guest.
The Retreat began at 12:10 p.m., on Thursday, July 27th.
The Rector opened the first session with general remarks on what he sees as the Board goals over the next two years, goals that will be his during his term as Rector. Implementation of the plans to be proposed by Messrs. Wynne and Caputo special committees will be important, and there will be a continuing emphasis on diversity. The Board must continue to focus on the Capital Campaign and make sure that it will exceed expectations, with the opportunity to raise perhaps $4billion, $1billion over the present Campaign goal.
Particular emphasis, he said, must be placed on the College, the "backbone of this University and we must focus on providing the necessary resources for it to be the best it can be, preparing our students for a global economy."
He went on to say that as specified in the University's long range plan, there must be a strengthening of the focus on research, a focus which includes support for graduate students, faculty, and the need for new facilities.
The University must expand on its successes at The University of Virginia at Wise to provide educational opportunities for more students; these efforts are vital to the economic well being and development of Southwest Virginia.
The Rector said that support for the principles of diversity, and improvement of diversity at the University, "must be at the top of our list of goals." He noted that the long range plan for the University, soon to be finished, must be implemented and not allowed to languish.
Work must be done, too, on identifying a successor to Mr. Sandridge.
Finally, the Rector emphasized the proper role of the Board: the President and Mr. Sandridge are charged with running the University on a day to day basis, with the Board providing advice and oversight.
Mr. Diamonstein remarked, however, that the Board should not be a "rubberstamping" body. The Rector agreed, but said there should be a balance between the role of the Board on one hand and that of the administration on the other.
Mr. Wynne stressed the importance of developing, soon, criteria for priorities.
The Board then heard a presentation on planning, as is being developed by the Special Committee on Planning. Ms. Sheehy, Messrs. Adams and Stovall, Dr. Garson, and Mr. Wynne, the Committee Chair, all participated.
Following this portion of the Retreat, the President and Mr. Sandridge, the Chief Operating Officer, commented briefly on their annual reports.
Among other topics, the President noted his concerns about the low rate of participation in mathematics courses by incoming students. He pointed out the correlation between this and low enrollments in science courses.
Mr. Rainey, National Chair of the Capital Campaign, and Mr. Sweeney discussed the possibility of raising the Campaign goal, as suggested in the Rector's opening remarks. The Rector proposed that the Campaign Executive Committee consider the matter and make a recommendation to the Board.
On motion, the Board went into Executive Session at 2:30 p.m.
That in connection with the University Capital Campaign and beyond, the Special Committee on Foundations go into Closed Session to discuss and to further consult with the General Counsel, seeking his continued legal advice and guidance in the matters of gift development and coordination of fund-raising activity, costs and expenditures with University-Related Foundations, as provided for in Section 2.2-3711 (A) ( 4), (6), (7) and (8) of the Code of Virginia.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -The Board resumed in Open Session at 3:40 p.m., and adopted the following resolution certifying that its discussions in Executive Session had been conducted in accordance with the exemptions permitted by the Virginia Freedom of Information Act:
That we vote on and record our certification that, to the best of each Board member's knowledge, only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements and which were identified in the motion(s) authorizing the closed session, were heard, discussed or considered in closed session.
The Board then held a short business session, during which the following resolutions were adopted:
| Board of Visitors minutes July 27, 2007 | |