THE CITADEL BOARD OF VISITORS BOARD RETREAT MINUTES 6-7 OCTOBER 2011
The Citadel Board of Visitors held a retreat at the Santee Cooper Wampee Training and Conference Center located in Pinopolis, SC on 6-7 October 2011.
The following members were present: Colonel Douglas A. Snyder, Chair; Colonel Glenn D. Addison, Vice Chair; Colonel Allison Dean Love; Colonel W. Thomas McQueeney; Colonel Fred L. Price, Jr.; Lieutenant Colonel Ben W. Legare, Jr.; Lieutenant General W. Michael Steele; Colonel Dylan W. Goff; Lieutenant General John B. Sams, Jr.; and Colonel Tecumseh Hooper . Also in attendance were Lieutenant General John W. Rosa, President, and Mr. Stephen C. Tobias, Chairman, The Citadel Foundation.
Voting members absent: Colonel James M. McQuilla.
Colonel Myron C. Harrington, Jr., Board Secretary, stated that the meeting was in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act in that notice had been posted 24 hours in advance in Bond Hall and local media sources were notified at the same time by fax means.
A quorum was present.
The purpose of the retreat was to foster Board camaraderie and to brainstorm issues critical to the continued overall success of The Citadel. No action items were considered.
On the afternoon of 6 October the External Affairs Committee held an informal session to receive a brief from Colonel Cardon B. Crawford, Director of Governmental and Community Affairs.
Colonel Crawford discussed the Governor’s Accountability Based Funding Model and how it impacted the college.
A session facilitated by Mr. W. Glen Brown, Vice President for Human Resource Management, Santee Cooper, was first on an informal agenda for 7 October. This session was to review a Board survey to determine Board structure and self-improvements to enhance Board effectiveness.
Following are the results of that session:
Question: What one goal should the BOV accomplish during the next nine months to make our decision making process more effective? 1. Study the current long-standing committee structure to determine if it should be updated/changed to help the Board more effectively support the college’s strategic plan and ongoing challenges. Board of Visitors Retreat Minutes 6-7 October 2011 Page two
2. As discussed on August 31 by the Strategic Planning Committee, we need to better align our
committee processes and committee meeting structure to match that of our BLUEprint and
strategic initiatives.
3. Understand that after a “decision” one should implement - another word for “implement”
is “act.” The BOV frequently fails to act after it has made a decision.
4. Always keep The Citadel as the highest beneficiary of any process.
5. Establish a formal Board member evaluation process.
6. Consider continuing education on Board effectiveness.
7. Consider continuing education on fundraising.
8. Develop a more detailed Board member orientation process.
9. Focus on the structure of our meetings. We should limit debate on each issue to five
minutes per speaker. Each BOV member should be called to speak on each issue before the
Board in order of preference according to their tenure on the Board. If a member chooses
not to speak on an issue, he/she should be allowed to yield their time to another member.
This system would ensure that certain members do not monopolize debate on any given
issue and would avoid any friction caused by the chair’s failure to acknowledge a member’s
wish to speak or from one member interrupting or speaking over another member.
10. Shaping operations for SC legislature. Per BCG and BOV discussions, develop a detailed
BOV plan to improve Citadel communications with the SC legislature, e.g., expectations for
the caucus on behalf of The Citadel, expanding the caucus to include non-alumni members,
interaction with key legislative leadership, support from the executive branch (Governor
and Secretary of Education). The purpose is to communicate the uniqueness of a Citadel
education and what we do for the State of SC, support for a bond bill to include deferred maintenance and Capers Hall, and Citadel support/success for Governor’s four public education initiatives. Board of Visitors Retreat Minutes 6-7 October 2011 Page three
Process Highlights: Board Transition (operational focus to strategic focus) 1. Meetings (when, how often) – l 2. Committee Structure - llll 3. Board Effectiveness - lll 4. Taking Actions (after decisions are made / implementation) – llll 5. Processes Aligned with Strategic Plan – llllll 6. BOV Composition: Recruitment/Selection Process (skills/talent/experience) – llllllllll a. Identify desired BOV composition (e.g. more closely mirror private model?). b. Confirm (change, expand?) purpose of BOV in consideration of other boards. c. Perform a gap analysis regarding current BOV vs. desired BOV in terms of composition, size, etc. Bring this to legislative caucus. d. Understand what BOV is currently able to do given its composition, and ID roadblocks (determine input needed (e.g. CAA)). e. Develop a matrix of skills, experience, other factors to use in BOV recruiting. f. Consider supplementing BOV: Advisory, Ad-Hoc, etc. g. Acquire more BOV choice in selecting BOV members. Determine legal requirements to get this done. h. Ask Legislature to change/enlarge BOV; expand the use of our caucus. i. Determine relationship of BOV with CAA & TCF.
Steps to implement: BOV Executive Committee oversees initial efforts. 1. Identify potential Board consultant(s) within alumni or former Board members to provide services (pro-bono?). a. Could serve as advisor to identify and evaluate AGB’s scope of work, data, recommendations. b. Executive Committee report to BOV in January 2012.
2. Contact /utilize AGB to assess BOV, collect data, and provide recommendations. a. Contact other institutions to identify potential college board best practices. b. Executive Committee contact AGB and report to BOV in January 2012. 3. Create a timeline for the evaluation, with final recommendations to be provided in June 2012. Board of Visitors Retreat Minutes
6-7 October 2011
Page four
Items/issues that were points of conversation in the open session follow:
Honorary Degrees: Colonel Addison reiterated the necessity to do due diligence of those nominated to ensure worthiness for the honor.
Requested that nominations be forwarded to him by Homecoming Weekend, 12 November.
Nominations to be discussed at the December meeting (Candlelight Service).
Nominations to be finalized at the 27-28 January 2012 meeting.
President’s goals:
Colonel Legare recommends that the Board provide President with Board-developed strategic goals at each annual meeting. Colonel Legare also strongly recommended that the Board host a legislative social event in Columbia on the weekend of the Carolina-Citadel game (19 November 2011).
It was suggested the Board of Visitors, the Directors of The Citadel Foundation, and the Directors of The Citadel Brigadier Foundation hold periodic joint sessions.
Requested that General Elzey’s operational/structure brief be scheduled for the January 2012 meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Myron C. Harrington, Jr. Colonel, USMC (Retired) Secretary to the Board of Visitors