YSU Board of Trustees summary, June 7, 8 and 14.

Youngstown State University
Board of Trustees
Thursday and Friday, June 7 and 8,
and Wednesday, June 14, 2017

The YSU Board of Trustees approved a fiscal year 2018 operating budget, appointed a new associate provost for Student Success, reorganized the Beeghly College of Education and elected Leonard Schiavone as the next chair of the board during three days of meetings June 7, 8 and 14 on campus.

The Board conducted a series of committee meetings, followed by its regular quarterly meeting. The following is a summary of actions taken and reports given during the meetings. For more details, see full texts of the resolutions and policies.

President’s Report
President Jim Tressel said the 2016-17 academic year was filled with many achievements, including the second largest graduating class in YSU’s history, improvements in student retention and increasing numbers of students living on or near campus. “A lot of work by many, many people, and we are looking forward to carrying that momentum into next academic year,” he said.

Faculty Presentations
Christina Saenger, assistant professor, Marketing, talked about her research priorities, which include (e)word-of-mouth and consumer self-concept, social media and interactive advertising, and branding and memory. She also told the board about the many activities of Marketing students, including 50 students earning Hootsuite social media certifications and 83 students involved in real world marketing projects.

Carla  Simonini, associate professor, Foreign Languages and Literatures, talked to the board about the Italian program at YSU, which she called “very small but very important.” She said the program, which averages about six to 11 majors at any given time, is one of only two such programs at public universities in Ohio. She also said she leads an annual study abroad trip to Italy and is editor of the journal, Italian Americana.

Student Presentations
Monique Frank, a senior Social Work major, shared with the board her experience of going back to college at the age of 40. “I cannot say enough about how this experience has helped me grow as a person,” she said.

David Mouse, a junior Vocal Performance major, shared with the board information about the Dana Chorale’s performance tour this spring to South Korea. He said the group had several performances at eight locations across the country. “It was a wonderful experience for me and the chorale,” he added.

Staff Presentation
Christina Hardy, director of Career Services, reported to the board results of the latest graduate survey.

Academic and Student Affairs

Actions
Approved a resolution to modify the policy on Intercollegiate Athletics Programs – Student-Athletes. Modifications include listing current board committees, updating language and aligning the policy with the university’s new numbering system.

Approved a resolution to modify the policy on scheduling intercollegiate athletics and university sponsored and recognized student organization activities during final exams. The policy was expanded to include all student activities, beyond athletics.

Approved a resolution for a policy on student travel. The policy governs student travel for off-campus activities and events. Provost Martin Abraham said the need for the policy came about as the result of expanded study abroad opportunities for students.

Approved a resolution to grant emeritus status to the following faculty:  James Andrews, Physics and Astronomy; Annette Burden, Mathematics and Statistics; C. Susan deBlois, Educational Foundations, Research, Technology and Leadership (posthumously); Renee Eggers, Educational Foundations, Research, Technology and Leadership; Jacek Fabrykowski, Mathematics and Statistics; George McCloud, Communication; Philip Munro, Electrical and Computer Engineering; David Porter, Politics and International Relations; Sueann Rendano, Nursing; David Stout, Accounting and Finance; Bonnie Thompson, Nursing.

Approved a resolution to modify the appointment of graduate assistants, graduate research assistants, graduate assistant interns and teaching assistants. The major change is the addition of the position of graduate research assistant, which will typically be a 12-month appointment. All other assistantships are typically two-semester appointments.

Approved a resolution to create a new university policy regarding a Student Complaint Process. While policies already exist through the Student Code of Conduct for complaints that apply to academic and grading grievances, disability accommodations, harassment or discrimination, university admission decisions or disciplinary actions. This policy allows for an effective complaint process and allows the university to collect and track complaints. Kevin Ball, associate provost, said the policy and process are important to be in line with standards from the Higher Learning Commission.

Approved a resolution to authorize recommendation of candidates for honorary degrees. The candidates are reviewed and recommended by the Academic Events Committee of the Academic Senate, the Provost and the President. Recommendations include Bill Bodine, Alan Brass, William E. Brown, Pamela Browner White, Laurie Brlas, Sophia Brooks, Barbara Brothers, Paul Brubaker, Marla Mitchell-Cichon, James Cossler, Garry Daichendt, Harold Danko, Larry Davis, Denise DeBartolo-York, John Guffey, Joe Hamrock, Ron Jaworski, Don Lewis, Shirley M. Martin and Brian Wolf.

Approved a resolution on duplicate program reporting. The Ohio Department of Higher Education requires that universities file a progress report on duplicate programs, indicating the elimination and collaboration with partner institutions for course and program sharing. YSU’s report includes three programs labeled “Targeted for Deletion.”

Approved a resolution to reorganize the Beeghly College of Education to promote synergies among graduate and undergraduate programs in the college. Among the changes: The Department of Educational Foundations, Research, Technology and Leadership will be eliminated; the Department of Counseling, Special Education and School Psychology will be renamed the Department of Counseling, School Psychology and Educational Leadership; Special Education programs and faculty will move to the Department of Teacher Education; Programs and faculty in Educational Foundations will move to other departments.

Approved a resolution to grant tenure to Coskun Bayrak, the new chair of the Department of Computer Science and Information Systems. The resolution says that the faculty of the department agreed to seek outside the university to identify a new chair. Applications were accepted, faculty and the Provost’s office reviewed credentials and Bayrak was appointed. Bayrak is a professor in the Computer Science Department at the University of Arkansas-Little rock.

Reports
Ball updated trustees on the progress for re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission. Ball said the HLC Steering Committee on campus is drafting the university’s criterion statements this summer. Those drafts will be shared on campus this fall for feedback. There also will be a process to educate the campus community about the HLC method. Ball said the committee has identified a handful of challenges with some of the criteria, including evidence of long-term financial planning, a student complaint policy and process, a part-time faculty evaluation process and increasing the knowledge of the university’s mission across campus. The HLC evaluation team will visit campus next spring.

A report was presented updating progress in the Student Success Cornerstone of the university’s 2020 Strategic Plan. The major problem area identified in the report is the minority student graduation rate, which has remained steady over the past four years at 12.6 percent. The 202 goal is 25 percent. The report says that it is critical that more programming and energies are focused on this population. Otherwise, identified as strengths include faculty development, student internships, the creation of the Center for Career and Academic Advising, and online programs.

Provost Martin Abraham and Chet Cooper, chair of the Academic Senate, updated the activities of the YES Excellence Steering Committee. Abraham and Cooper co-chair the committee. YES was formed to address issues identified in a campus climate survey that showed concerns with shared governance and communications on campus. Abraham said the committee put together a draft of a document that defines shared governance on campus and circulated it to campus for feedback. The draft eventually will go to the Academic Senate for endorsement and then to the Board of Trustees for approval, he said. Cooper said the document will be the “overall guiding principle on how we act and react to each other on campus.”

Abraham reported that Martha Pallante, chair of the Department of History, is the new associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, and that Greg Moring, chair of the Department of Art, is the new associate dean in the College of Creative Arts and Communication.

Gary Swegan, associate vice president for Enrollment Planning and Management, said enrollment for the fall semester is “very, very strong” overall at this point, including freshmen applications, admitted students and housing. He said that he is “comfortable” that enrollment numbers will be up for the fall semester but said there remains much work to do over the summer.

Institutional Engagement

Actions
Approved a resolution to accept 982 members into Alumni Relations and 1,252 members into WYSU for the first three quarters of fiscal year 2017.

Approved a resolution to modify the deadly weapons restrictions policy. Changes align the policy with new state law.

Reports
Ross Morrone, director of Marketing, reported on branding and marketing efforts of the Office of Marketing and Communications for fiscal year 2017, including the success of the “Y and Proud” brand message and a program to help engage and eventually enroll students through the university’s new website. The new site has specific funnels designed for both internal and prospective users. Thus far, the results are good, Morrone said – 21 percent increase in mobile traffic, 21 percent increase from Google and a 48 percent drop in the bounce rate. There have also been significant increases in social media activity, with 30 million impressions on Facebook, 2 million on Twitter and nearly 290,000 on Snapchat. Morrone also reported that YSU’s $387,000 annual marketing budget is considerably less that other public universities in northeast Ohio – Kent, 41.5 million; Akron, $1.07 million; and Cleveland State, $1.17 million.

YSU Police Chief Shawn Varo reported on the Mahoning County Consolidated Radio System.

YSU Foundation President Paul McFadden reported that the Foundation received in the third quarter of fiscal year 2017 933 new gifts and pledges totaling $1.8 million, $838,185 in pledge payments and two new planned gifts commitments totaling $70,000. He also reported the Foundation’s development goals and objectives for fiscal year 2018: Acquire $15 million in cash and cash pledges, acquire $5 million in planned gift commitments, and successfully launch the public phase of the Macte Virtute capital campaign.

Finance and Facilities

Actions
Approved a resolution to combine the purchasing policy and the purchasing limits for competitive selection policy into one policy.

As a result of the above action, approved a resolution to rescind the purchasing limits for competitive selection policy.

Approved modifications to the policy on the display of posters and other printed materials on campus.

Approved the fiscal year 2018 annual operating budget. The $175.9 million budget projects a 2 percent increase in enrollment, flat state funding, no increase in undergraduate tuition rates, strategic additions in faculty and staff positions, nearly $1 million more in student scholarships and no across-the-board changes in wages pending the final outcome of labor negotiations with the faculty and classified staff unions. Neal McNally, vice president for Finance and Business Operations, said the budget was developed with the assistance of the Budget Advisory Council, consisting of faculty, staff, students and trustees, as well an input received during 16 “town hall” meetings that President Jim Tressel held through campus. Much of the YSU budget is based on actions yet to be taken by state lawmakers on Ohio’s two-year budget. Tressel noted there has been much discussion in Columbus about a tuition guarantee program in which universities sets tuition for an incoming class of freshmen and keeps tuition at that level for four years for those students. Also in the budget is $8 million in student scholarship funds, including a $500,000 increase in Scholarships for Excellence and a $350,000 increase for Graduate Premier Scholarships. In addition, scholarship support from the YSU Foundation is expected to increase to $8.1 million in fiscal year 2018.

Approved changes to tuition and fees for the 2017-18 academic and fiscal years. The resolution freezes tuition for in-state undergraduate students. The state budget, which must be approved by June 30, limits tuition increases for Ohio public universities. If the state budget includes a tuition increase, YSU is likely to approve the nominal increase in tuition the legislation allows. If not, YSU will freeze tuition for a fourth consecutive year. “We will know on June 30,” McNally said.

YSU in-state undergraduate tuition will remain the lowest among public comprehensive universities in the state. With a full-time undergraduate tuition of $8,317 a year, YSU’s cost will be nearly $1,500 below the state average. Meanwhile, trustees approved a $5 per credit hour tuition increase for students in the 22-county Affordable Tuition Advantage region in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Even with the increase, however, YSU’s tuition remains lower than the in-state rate at Pennsylvania public universities across Western Pennsylvania. YSU currently enrolls approximately 1,000 students from the region, a 24 percent increase in the past six years. Also, trustees agreed to a 3 percent tuition increase for in-state graduate students and 4 percent increase for graduate students in the Affordable Tuition Advantage region. The budget also includes a $40 increase in the universities transportation fee, to $155 per semester. McNally said the fee, which is used for long-term campus parking needs, is significantly lower than similar fees at other universities. In addition, the budget creates a new career services fee - $1.75 per credit hour for freshmen and sophomores and $2.75 per credit hour for juniors and seniors. Trustees had previously increased room and board charges by 1.1 percent.

Approved a resolution to transfer $300,000 from the Kilcawley Plant Reserve fund to the Kilcawley Center Annex fund to purchase furniture for the old bookstore space. The campus bookstore will move in July from Kilcawley Center to a new Barnes & Noble bookstore on Fifth Avenue. The old bookstore space be renovated to include recreational and lounge space for students, including billiard tables, ping pong and a computer gaming area. The Office of Student Activities and offices for the Student Government Association will also be relocated to the old bookstore space.

Approved a resolution authorizing the purchase of the former Mahoning County Misdemeanant Jail as the home of YSU’s proposed Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Center. The property at 360 W. Commerce St., only a block from the YSU campus, is owned by the county. The resolution authorizes Tressel to negotiate and purchase the property. MVICC will be a shared-use facility, leveraging high value advanced manufacturing assets among students from career centers, community colleges and YSU, offering entrepreneurial support services and providing regional manufacturers with a collaborative environment for workforce training, product development and advanced manufacturing research.

Approved extending the agreement between the university and the YSU Foundation for 90 days, until Sept. 30, while a successor agreement is negotiated.

Reports
McNally presented a Budget to Actual report summarizing year-to-date actuals compared to budgets in standard account categories. “Expenses, overall, are tracking as expected,” he said. Compared to the prior fiscal year, total revenues for the nine-month period ending March 31 were approximately $2.2 million or 1.7 percent greater, while total expenses were approximately $259,000 or 0.2 percent higher than last year. Tressel said all divisions have shown great restraint in spending, especially in personnel.

Rich White, director of Planning and Construction, updated the board on campus construction projects, including Wick Avenue improvements, the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Fifth Avenue, roofing upgrades on Jones Hall, and renovations to Meshel and Ward Beecher halls.

Board Vice Chair Leonard Schiavone shared with information with the board about news reports out of Dayton concerning Wright State University’s financial crisis and how the WSU Board of Trustees was unaware of the severity of the situation. “It’s a cautionary tale,” he said, emphasizing that it is the trustees’ fiduciary responsibility to ask questions and pay close attention to the financial workings of the university.

University Affairs

Actions
Approved a resolution to approve personnel actions for intercollegiate athletics staff and coaches.

Approved a resolution to modify the resignation/exit interview policy. The changes standardize the notification period with other employee categories to a two-week period. The revised policy also establishes that the university is not obligated to rescind a resignation. It also allows for the voluntary completion of an online exit interview form.

Approved a resolution to modify the policy on the employment of students. The policy was modified to change the eligibility requirement for student employment from one course at three credit hours to two courses at a minimum of six credit hours. Students must be enrolled for at least six credit hours and for a minimum of eight weeks during the summer.

Approved a resolution to grant emeritus status to the following staff: Ronald Chordas, associate provost for University Outreach and executive director of PSI Center for Urban and Regional Studies; John Doneyko, head athletic trainer, Athletics; Eva Gucwa, coordinator, Bookstore; Lynn Haug, retail operations manager, Kilcawley Center; Jerry Slocum, head men’s basketball coach; Jacqueline Taylor, research economist, Center for Urban and Regional Studies.

Approved a resolution to appoint Claire M. Berardini as the new associate provost for Student Success. An independent consultant at Albright College in Reading, Pa., Berardini previously was an executive consultant at Noel-Levitz and dean of Student Success and First-Year Experience at Alvernia University in Reading. She replaces Mike Reagle, who resigned the position earlier this year. Berardini will leader the Division of Student Success, including Career and Academic Advising, Testing, Center for Student Progress, First-Year Student Services and the Student Counseling Center.

Approved a resolution to approve multi-year contracts for 17 executive level and administrative officers. In committee meetings, Trustee Ted Roberts made a motion to delete the part of the resolution that provides raises ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 for five of the officers. The motion failed. Roberts voted against the resolution.

Approved a resolution to ratify personnel actions, including 19 appointments, three separations, six reclassifications, six promotions, and one salary adjustment/position audit.

Reports
Elaine Jacobs, associate director of Athletics, reviewed with the board NCAA rules for boosters, staff and friends. She shared with the board a pamphlet that outlines the do’s and don’ts of NCAA compliance.

The board also went into closed, executive session to discuss litigation, personnel and collective bargaining.

Miscellaneous

Memorials
President Jim Tressel presented and the board approved the following memorials:

• Student Sheila Colleen Fennell of Greensburg, Pa., 19, died in a car accident Friday, May 27.
• Jordan Bobin of Wampum, Pa., 17, died in a bicycling accident Monday, May 22. He was a senior at Mohawk high school and planned to attend YSU in the fall.
• Emeritus Professor of Teacher Education Randy Hoover, 71, died Monday, Sept. 19, 2016. He served as a YSU faculty member for 30 years before retiring in 2013.
• Emeritus Professor Robert “Bob” Beebe, passed away on Wednesday, April 5, 2017. Beebe was the founding chair and professor of the first doctoral program at YSU, the Department of Educational Administration. He retired in 2015.
• Carol Susan deBlois, associate professor of Education Administration Research and Foundations, died Feb. 12, 2017. deBlois had served YSU for 30 years.
• Emeritus Professor Robert J. Sorokach Sr., passed away on Friday, June 9, 2017. Sorokach joined the faculty of YSU as a professor of Mechanical Engineering in 1961 and became the chair of the Industrial Engineering in 1968, retiring in 1996.
• Kristen A. Brennan, 61, wife of Brian Brennan, assistant university archivist, passed away Thursday, May 25, 2017.

Election of Board Officers
Approved the following board officers for the 2017-18 fiscal year:

• Leonard Schiavone, chair.
• Dee Crawford, vice chair.
• Franklin Bennett, secretary.

Meetings
The board set the following meeting dates and times:

• 10 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017
• 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017
• 10 a.m. Thursday, March 15, 2018

Adjournment