Chair, 1999

August 4, 1999 Minutes

Chair Jane Stine called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.  She then introduced Interim Chancellor William McCoy to provide opening remarks.

Interim Chancellor William McCoy said it was good to meet with the Forum again, although he regretted the circumstances that put him in this position.  He pledged to work to have open communications at the University and to keep the University on track.  McCoy said that it is very difficult to lose a leader of the strength of Michael Hooker, but he would try to communicate the vision of the University to which we all subscribe.

McCoy will work on a number of important projects during his tenure, including the capital and repair and renovation needs of the campus.  He noted that there have been calls for significant enrollment growth and the campus must plan for this enrollment growth.  McCoy will also give attention to the impending new financial campaign, working in concert with Matt Kupec and his staff.  He emphasized the importance of carrying out this project with the right timing, and noted that a significant period of time has been devoted to the planning work and case study of the campaign.  This effort has distilled various ideas into a more concrete plan to accomplish the campaign’s goals.  He looked forward to working with Chair Jane Stine and her colleagues on the search committee for the new chancellor and on the financial campaign.

McCoy stated that as he looked forward to working through the next several months, he considered the Employee Forum very important to his plans.  He wanted to hear the Forum’s views on a variety of issues and interact with respect to these issues.

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Chair’s Report

In the interest of time, the Chair elected to skip her report.  However, she urged delegates to attend a meeting of the Board of Trustees and the chancellor’s search committee on August 26 at 3 p.m. asking for staff input on the chancellor search.  She hoped that a great number of delegates could attend the Board meeting.  The Chair had talked to Linwood Futrelle and other former chairs for their input on this request for comments.  Delegates and other Employees interested in this opportunity for comment should feel free to involve themselves.

The Chair noted that this search was the first time that staff have been represented on the Chancellor’s search committee.  She had felt from the beginning a true part of the group, citing Richard Stevens and Ann Cates in particular for going out of their way to welcome her.  The Chair anticipated that there would be a number of lengthy meetings facing the search committee.