BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR FRANCIS MARION UNIVERSITY
Francis Marion University
Ervin Dining Hall – Hendrick Room
Thursday, June 23, 2022 – 3:30 pm – 3:56 pm

 

Presiding:
Mr. Robert E. Lee, Chair

Present:
Mr. Jody Bryson
Mr. William W. Coleman, Jr.
Mr. H. Paul Dove, Jr.
Dr. H. Randall Dozier
Mr. R. Tracy Freeman
Mrs. Patricia C. Hartung
Mr. Kenneth W. Jackson
Mr. Stephen N. Jones
Mr. Floyd L. Keels
Mr. George C. McIntyre
Mr. Mark S. Moore
Dr. J. Kevin O’Kelly

Others Present:
Dr. Mark Blackwell, Vice Chair of the Faculty and Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Mr. Darryl Bridges, Vice President for Finance and Facilities
Dr. Fred Carter, President
Dr. Courtney Clayton, Dean of the School of Education
Mr. Lee Daugherty, Director of Alumni Affairs and Annual Giving
Mr. Ralph Davis, Director of Facilities Management
Mr. Chris Day, Morning News Reporter
Mr. Daniel Dukes, Legislative Liaison
Mr. Larry Falck, Director of Multimedia Services
Dr. Karen Fries, Secretary of the Faculty and Associate Professor of Education
Dr. Karen Gittings, Dean of the School of Health Sciences
Mr. Glen Gourley, Chair of the Faculty and Professor of Theatre Arts and Speech – Directing
Mr. Murray Hartzler, Director of Athletics
Dr. Christopher Kennedy, Vice President for Student Life
Dr. Peter King, Provost
Dr. Jennifer Kunka, Associate Provost for Advising and Professor of English
Dr. Sharon O’Kelley, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Dr. Hari Rajagopalan, Dean of the School of Business and Professor of Marketing
Dr. Cheri Richardson, Director of Institutional Planning
Mrs. Elizabeth Shefton, Executive Assistant to the President
Mrs. Lauren Stanton, Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Mrs. Allison Steadman, Associate Provost and Associate Professor of Theatre Arts – Costume Design
Mr. John Sweeney, Vice President of Communications
Dr. Charlene Wages, Vice President for Administration and Planning
Ms. Demetra Walker, Dean of the Library
Dr. Alissa Warters, Vice President for Enrollment Management

Mr. Lee called the meeting to order at 4:30 pm, and then he asked Mrs. Shefton to call the roll.  Mr. Lee then stated for the record that media notification was made in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act, and that a quorum was present.

Mr. Lee brought the minutes of the March 3, 2022 and April 21, 2022 meetings before the board for approval.  Dr. Dozier made a motion that the minutes be approved, and Mr. Freeman seconded the motion.  The minutes received unanimous approval by the board.

Executive Affairs Committee:

Mr. Lee presented to the board Resolution 09-22 for the Naming of the Dr. John G. Rae III Freshwater Ecology Center, which comes from the committee with unanimous approval.  Mr. Lee made a motion that the resolution be approved, and Mr. Moore seconded the motion.  The resolution received unanimous approval by the board.

Mr. Lee presented to the board Resolution 10-22 for the Naming of the Teresa McDuffie Computer Lab, which comes from the committee with unanimous approval.  Mr. Lee made a motion that the resolution be approved, and Mr. Moore seconded the motion.  The resolution received unanimous approval by the board.

Academic Affairs and Accreditation Committee:

Mrs. Hartung gave the following report from the committee meeting:

  • Resolution 11-22 to Affirm Free Speech and Academic Freedom was presented to the board, which comes from the committee with unanimous approval.  Mrs. Hartung made a motion that the resolution be approved, and Mr. Moore seconded the motion.  The resolution received unanimous approval by the board.
  • The university received full approval for the mission statement, from CHE.
  • The forestry program is anticipated to start Fall 2023.
  • Prof. Glen Gourley will complete his tenure as faculty chair on June 30 and Dr. Sharon O’Kelley will take over as the new faculty chair.  Dr. Mark Blackwell was re-elected to serve as vice-chair and Dr. Karen Fries was re-elected to serve as secretary.
  • International programs are picking back up with plans to host 10 exchange students on campus and have three FMU students travel abroad, this fall.

Mrs. Hartung concluded his report.

Development and Alumni Committee:

Mr. McIntyre shared the following report with the board:

Foundation:

  • The Education Foundation Scholarship Reception was held on March 22, 2022 for the first time in two years.
  • The Education Foundation Annual Golf Tournament was a well-attended and successful event.
  • The Foundation received a generous anonymous gift to the First Generation Fund and a generous unrestricted gift.
  • The Foundation has received the following endowed scholarships:
    • Dr. William Lloyd Birch Endowed Scholarship
    • The Honorable Robert Claude Scott, Jr. Endowed Memorial Scholarship
  • Dawn Fenimore started as the Steven F. Gately Gallery Coordinator on June 1.
  • Steven F. Gately Gallery will be hosting an exhibit by Amiri Farris titled “Converge” on July 15th.
  • The Performing Arts Center will host Orleans on July 15th and the Fabulous Thunderbirds on August 19th.
  • The Center for the Child has maintained steady enrollment numbers.
  • Local Government Leadership Institute are finalizing plans for the 2022-23 year.
  • The Fred R. Sheheen Non-Profit Leadership Institute will start up in September.

Alumni:

  • Alumni Affairs hosted the following successful events:
    • Alumni Awards
    • Biology Alumni Reception
    • Chemistry Alumni Reception
    • School of Business Alumni Reception
    • Commencement Receptions

Mr. McIntyre concluded his report.

Finance and Facilities Committee:

Mr. Jones shared the following information from the committee meeting:

Finance:

  • Resolution 12-22 for University Budget Approval was presented to the board, which comes from the committee with unanimous approval.  Mr. Jones made a motion that the resolution be approved, and Mr. Moore seconded the motion. The resolution received unanimous approval by the board.

Budget Summary:

  • Revenue and expenditures reflect the trends of recent years.
  • University staff continue to apply federal relief funding under the American Rescue Plan. The remaining funds will be expended during the coming year, with the bulk going to students with exceptional financial needs.

Mr. Jones concluded his report.

Student Life and Athletics Committee:

Dr. Dozier gave the following committee report:

Student Government Association:

  • SGA President, AJ Leggette, is working at orientations to reach incoming students.
  • Fall elections will have three students running for SGA President.
  • Next semester, SGA plans to change their structure to make it less formal and work on more outreach events.

Student Life:

  • Food Truck Thursdays continued to be successful through the Spring Semester.
  • Held a very successful Arts International Festival on April 9th with a great community turn-out, many international foods, bands, and dance groups.
  • The Student Life Awards program on April 12th was a success.
  • Ended the Spring semester with the Summer Sendoff (Block Party); which included a cardboard boat race, the Greek Games, and lots of other fun activities for the students.
  • Student Life is hard a work planning the welcome week events; which includes the First Friday Festival on August 26th.
  • Appreciation was given to Student Health and the COVID Response Office for the way they have managed the process.  Numbers continue to be the lowest in the state among our sister institutions.

Athletics:

  • The softball team received a bid to the NCAA National Tournament, for the third time.
  • Softball player, Ashton Patterson double major graduated with a 4.0, was Academic All-American, 1st team all-conference and Conference Carolinas Scholar Athlete of the year.
  • The golf team had one of their best seasons, placing second in the conference tournament.  The regular season included five top 6 finishes in nine events; which included winning our tournament at Hilton Head.
  • Women’s basketball ended their season 18-13 after advancing to the championship game of the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
  • Men’s basketball Head Coach Gary Edwards was named the recipient of the 2022 Jack Bennett Man of the Year Award from College Insider, Inc.
  • FMU student-athletes were named to the Swamp Fox Honor Roll, including 30 students with a 4.0 GPA.  47 student-athletes were named to the D2 Athletic Directors Association Honor Roll, with at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA after two years of school.
  • The Athletic Auction was a success, raising a record $37,398.

Dr. Dozier concluded his report.

President’s Report:

Dr. Carter made the following comments during his report:

  • The approval of the mission statement allows the university the ability to develop doctoral programs within certain professional areas.  The university can develop up to five programs within those areas.
  • Appreciation was expressed to the trustees for passing the following resolutions:
    • Resolution 09-22 for the Naming of the Dr. John G. Rae III Freshwater Ecology Center
    • Resolution 10-22 for the Naming of the Teresa McDuffie Computer Lab Resolution 03-22 for Naming of the Steven F. Gately Gallery
    • Resolution 11-22 to Affirm Free Speech and Academic Freedom
    • Resolution 12-22 for University Budget Approval
  • The university goes into the next year in good shape financially.  There is an additional $6.2 million in unallocated operating contingency that will serve as an operating surplus.  There is $17.1 million in capital maintenance reserve funds going into next year.  On the private side, there is $7.4 million in the Development Foundation and the Educational Foundation has right at $47 million in assets.
  • Over the next three to four years the university will bring forward baccalaureate programs in the environmental sciences and environmental studies and a baccalaureate program in forestry. The education department will add programs in Montessori studies and autism. In addition, we will bring forward a doctoral program in occupational therapy and a doctoral program in psychology.
  • There a three fully-funded buildings in the pipeline.  The business/education building will begin construction this fall.  Next summer construction will begin on the Floyd Medical Consortium building downtown; as well as the new forestry building.
  • Planning on the third engineering program will begin after the mechanical engineering program goes through their accreditation review, this fall.
  • The next Board of Trustees Meeting will be the retreat held on August 4, 2022.  At this meeting the staff will bring planning assumptions for the strategic plan and a preliminary draft of the capital development plan for the board to refine and revise.
  • Acknowledgements were made to John Sweeney and Lauren Stanton for their work on the Chairman Leatherman book.

Dr. Carter concluded his report.

Unfinished Business:
None

New Business:
None

Executive Session:
None

Mr. Lee adjourned the meeting at 3:56 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Floyd L. Keels

Secretary