1/6/06 Administrative Council
Meeting Minutes
In attendance: Dr. Claudia
Limbert, Dr. Sam Gingerich, Nora Miller, Dr. Bucky
Wesley, Patsy McDaniel, Mary Margaret Roberts, Anika
Perkins, Dr. Tom Velek, Melanie Freeman, and Elizabeth
Montgomery.
Absent: Perry Sansing and
Susan Sobley.
Dr. Claudia Limbert called the
meeting to order. She and Perry Sansing attended the IHL
President’s Council and Legislative Liaison meeting
yesterday. The $2,000 raise for state employees that was
announced in the newspapers yesterday has been approved
by the House. It stills needs approval of the Senate.
Also, Mississippi will receive $95 million to assist
students who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The
goal is to keep students in school. She encouraged
everyone to do everything they can to help students as
they register for classes for the spring 2006 semester.
MUW was recently ranked 53 of the 100 best values in
public colleges across America in the February 2006
edition of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. MUW
was the highest rated Mississippi university, moving up
a few notches from its previous ranking of 67. The
university needs to hold open houses for Martin and
Cochran halls now that they are complete and furnished.
Twelve emergency phones have been installed on campus,
and they should be operational by the end of the month.
The search committee for the Vice President for
Institutional Advancement has been formed with Dr.
Bridget Pieschel chairing the committee.
1.
The minutes from 12/2/05 were approved.
2.
General updates:
Melanie Freeman said the Director’s
Council has not met since the last Administrative
Council meeting, so she had nothing to report.
Mary Margaret Roberts reported that
the Office of Development is closing out the month of
December, which was a good month with two new
scholarships established and lots of gifts given. The
office is working on the next Annual Fund mailer, which
will be mailed to approximately 16,000 people and will
feature MUW’s Kiplinger ranking. The MUW Foundation
Board will meet February 9 in either Cochran or Martin
halls.
Dr. Tom Velek said the Faculty
Senate has not met since the last Administrative Council
meeting, so he had nothing to report.
Dr. Sam Gingerich announced that several
sections of the catalog are out for review. Once edits are
received, these will be incorporated and a second review of
the total document will be done in early February. The final
catalog should be ready for distribution by June 1. A
limited number of copies will be published, but there may be
CD‑ROM copies available and the catalog will also be online.
Decisions need to be made about the size of the printed copy
and whether it should be published every year or every two
years. Class schedules are being prepared for summer and
fall. As part of this process, class times are being
closely monitored with the goal of rolling the schedule each
semester. The schedules should be ready March 1. A committee
set the academic calendar for the next five years and tried
to make it match up with Mississippi State University's
calendar, but it has been discovered that MUW's graduation
will be the same weekend as Columbus' Market Street
Festival. The academic calendar will be looked at again. Dr.
Jim Fitzgerald has been selected for the Director of the
Culinary Arts Institute position, and Marty Brock will be
the new Director of Distance Education with her office
located in either Reneau or the library. The Nursing
Department is moving into Martin Hall and the employees are
very
excited. The open house for Martin Hall
could coincide with the IHL meeting and Homecoming in April.
Dr. Bucky Wesley mentioned that his
offices have moved into Cochran Hall and that it looks
great, especially the fourth floor wireless area. Two
orientation sessions for new students will be held in
Cochran Hall today. A Hearin Leadership event will be held
January 21-23. The Mag Chain ceremony is set for Homecoming
Weekend. Community Living will start interviewing for
student staff this month.
Elizabeth Montgomery said SGA will host
a dance marathon this semester to benefit St. Jude.
Patsy McDaniel reported that the
Valentine fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday, February 14
at the home of Dava and Stephen Imes. With Anika, she is
working on the new Statewide Conversations, setting up
alumni receptions, community college meetings, editorial
interviews and Rotary Club meetings for the Delta area,
Olive Branch/Southaven area, Tupelo and Meridian. New alumni
chapters are being formed in Kansas and Missouri/San Diego.
The Alumni Office is working on the next issue of Visions.
The Alumni Board’s winter meeting is set for February 24-25
in conjunction with the Southern Women’s Institute
Leadership Conference.
Nora Miller said Cochran and Martin
halls are ready. A new gravel lot behind Martin Hall is
opening. The final inspection has been done for the exterior
of the Physical Plant building on 11th Street.
The interior will be bid next week with construction set to
begin in March. Poindexter Hall is in the design development
stage with the project set to go to bid in March. Bond
funding will come up in this legislative session.
Approximately $500,000 is available for storm drainage and
street repair with engineers looking at the project to find
a long lasting solution. FEMA has reimbursed MUW $2.5
million for the Pohl and Stark buildings. Progress is being
made on the Fine Arts Building interior project. MUW and the
other universities are working with IHL on a system-wide
emergency response plan. We are now short only $1 in
appropriations.
Anika Perkins announced that the winter
issue of Visions was mailed during the Christmas
holidays. The next issue will come out the first week of
April. The Office of Public Affairs is working on an
economic impact study that will be produced in CD and
brochure formats. The press release about the emergency
phones on campus will go out today. |
