1 Call to Order 2 Report of the Chair 3 Report of the President Presiding: Report of the Student Trustees Chair 4 Roland H. Bauer Approval of Minutes February 14, 2018 5 Board of Trustees 6 Report of the Finance & Administration Committee Report of the 7 Academic Issues & Student Success Committee 8 Consent Agenda Vote 9 New Business Next Regular Meeting: April 18, 2018 10 Student Union, Room 339 11 Adjournment THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON BOARD OF TRUSTEES Meeting Minutes Wednesday, December 6, 2017 Student Union, Room 339 Board Members Present: Roland H. Bauer, Chair Lewis W. Adkins, Jr. William A. Scala Olivia P. Demas, Vice Chair Joseph M. Gingo Warren L. Woolford Alfred V. Ciraldo, M.D. Vice Chair Ralph J. Palmisano Student Trustees Present: Zachary D. Michel Joshua E. J. Thomas Advisory Trustee Present: Sandra Pianalto Staff Officers of the Board Present: M. Celeste Cook, Secretary; Vice President & General Counsel John J. Reilly, Assistant Secretary; Associate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel Administrative Officers Present: Matthew J. Wilson, President Dr. Rex D. Ramsier, Senior Vice President and Provost Nathan J. Mortimer, Vice President, Finance and Administration/Chief Financial Officer Others Present: (See Appendix A.) REGULAR BUSINESS MEETING OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mr. Bauer called the meeting to order at 7:35 a.m., and the Board adjourned into executive session on an 8-0 vote for the stated purposes of—considering employment and compensation of public employees pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(G)(1), considering real estate matters pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(G)(2) and reviewing for collective bargaining sessions pursuant to O.R.C. 121.22(G)(4). The meeting returned to public session at 11:05 a.m. on an 8-0 vote. REPORT OF THE CHAIR Mr. Bauer congratulated two Akron Zips athletic teams for their impressive performances during their fall seasons. He said that the Men’s Soccer team, led by Head Coach Jared Embick and his staff, would be returning to College Cup competition after a thrilling victory over Louisville on Friday, December 1, thanks to the winning penalty kick of Niko de Vera. The Zips would face two-time defending national champion Stanford on Friday, December 8, in Philadelphia. 6 December 2017 Board Minutes – Page 2 Mr. Bauer said that the Zips Football team, under the leadership of Head Coach Terry Bowden and his staff, had achieved a winning season both overall and in the Mid-American Conference with 7-6 and 6-2 records, respectively. The team took Akron all the way to Detroit for the MAC championship game on Saturday, December 2. He said that, although Toledo had taken the title, it was a hard-fought game by the Zips, who never quit. Deservedly, Zips Football would return to postseason play to take on Florida Atlantic University in the Boca Raton Bowl on Tuesday, December 19, in Boca Raton, Florida. On behalf of the entire Board, Mr. Bauer offered hearty congratulations and best wishes for postseason endeavors of the student-athletes, coaches and support organizations of both teams. 2017 Ohio Trustees Conference Mr. Bauer reported that the annual Ohio Trustees Conference had been held at Columbus State Community College on Thursday, November 9. Student Trustees Zachary Michel and Joshua Thomas, Board Secretary Celeste Cook and Executive Director of Government Relations and the Alumni Association Willy Kollman had joined him in attendance. The conference had included a welcome by Ohio Department of Higher Education Chancellor John Carey and presentations by members of his staff as well as by representatives of Ohio Auditor Dave Yost on higher education topics such as affordability and efficiency, board fiduciary expectations and accountability, and risk management, to name a few. A presentation by Ernst & Young representatives had focused on definition of and investment in higher education outcomes and attainment. Mr. Bauer said that the 2017 Trustees Conference program, handouts and presentations are posted to the Ohio Department of Higher Education website, and he urged anyone with an interest in Ohio’s public universities to explore the information that is available there. Faculty Senate and University Council Mr. Bauer thanked Board members Warren Woolford for attending the Faculty Senate meeting of November 2 and Olivia Demas for attending the University Council meetings of November 14 and December 5. He said that their participation as Board liaisons to those groups is meaningful to the University’s shared governance process and is appreciated deeply. Mr. Woolford and Mrs. Demas commented briefly on the respective Faculty Senate and University Council meetings that they had attended. Mr. Bauer then made the following statement: “Along those same lines, I want to thank all of you, my colleagues on this Board of Trustees, for your continued support of our University in so many ways throughout the year. Your commitment to the rigorous Board and Committee schedule is substantial in itself. However, your additional involvement—such as attending meetings of the Faculty Senate, University Council and Boards of the University of Akron Research Foundation, Hower House and Alumni Association; the annual Ohio Trustees Conference; sporting events; fundraisers; and community events—is invaluable and further demonstrates your personal dedication to the success of The University of Akron. Please accept my deepest gratitude.” 6 December 2017 Board Minutes – Page 3 Fall 2017 Commencement Ceremonies Mr. Bauer said that Fall 2017 Commencement Ceremonies would take place on Saturday, December 16, at E. J. Thomas Performing Arts Hall at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. He asked that Trustees who were planning to participate in the stage party for any of these ceremonies please advise the Board office as soon as possible. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT (See Appendix C.) REPORT OF THE STUDENT TRUSTEES Mr. Thomas introduced student Daniel Danford (see Appendix D). Mr. Danford offered remarks to the Board regarding his University of Akron experience. He received a commemorative clock from Trustees. Mr. Thomas reported on two recent campus activities: • Undergraduate Student Government had hosted an inaugural Student Leadership Summit at the end of October with over 100 student leaders in attendance representing the numerous student organizations on campus. Student leaders learned more about USG’s mission this year, “Uniting UA,” and how they could contribute to those efforts to build a stronger community on Akron’s campus. • Zips for Haiti, a UA student organization, would be sending 11 Akron students and one faculty member to assist at a school in Haiti from December 16 through December 23. Akron students would teach English to the Haitian students and work on numerous service projects for the school. The J. M. Smucker Company had matched donations toward that effort. Mr. Michel reported on the Adopt A Classroom outreach by student nonprofit group Akron Hope: • In accordance with Akron Hope’s mission to bring the community and University together, the third-annual Adopt A Classroom holiday outreach would provide over 1,000 new, wrapped gifts for students of three elementary Akron Public Schools, to reach 44 classrooms and a total of 923 students. Gifts would be wrapped in the Student Union ballroom that evening and be delivered personally by volunteers on December 13 and 14. ACTION ITEMS Mr. Bauer said that, because the Board uses a consent agenda, it would hear reports for each committee and would wait to hold one vote for all actions on the consent agenda. The Board would then vote on actions not listed on the consent agenda immediately after they were raised. All of the action and informational items in the Board materials had been discussed in detail during committee meetings that were held on Wednesday, November 29. 6 December 2017 Board Minutes – Page 4 CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES (“Board of Trustees” Tab) presented by Chair Bauer By consensus, the proposed action to approve the minutes of the October 11, 2017 Board meeting was placed on the consent agenda. RESOLUTION 12-1-17 (See Appendix B.) REPORT OF THE FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE presented by Committee Chair Scala • Personnel Actions recommended by Mr. Wilson as amended (Tab 1) RESOLUTION 12-2-17 (See Appendix B.) ACTION: Scala motion on behalf of Committee, passed 8-0. • Investment Report for Three Months Ended September 30, 2017 (Tab 2) OPERATING FUNDS The Operating Funds totaled $241.7 million at September 30, 2017 and posted a blended rate of return (ROR) of 1.2 percent, approximating $2.5 million, for the three months ended September 30, 2017. Cash and Fixed Income PFM and JPMorgan Chase each manage a portion of the Cash and Equivalents portfolio, while PFM also manages the Short- and Intermediate-Term Fixed Income Investments portfolios. Cash and Fixed Income portfolios totaled $186.4 million at September 30, 2017. The Cash and Fixed Income portfolios achieved an overall three-month ROR of 0.5 percent, or $0.6 million. Long-Term The Long-Term investments managed by Legacy totaled $55.3 million at September 30, 2017 and achieved an overall three-month ROR of 3.5 percent, or $1.9 million compared to benchmark of 3.7 percent. The operating funds were within the University’s prescribed asset allocation requirements at September 30, 2017. ENDOWMENTS The Endowments totaled $68.1 million at September 30, 2017 and posted a blended ROR of 2.9 percent, or $1.9 million, for the three months ended September 30, 2017. The September 30, 2017 market value increased $2.4 million from June 30, 2017. The largest contributors to that change were the realized and unrealized gains of $1.8 million and gifts of $1.5 million offset by endowment distributions of $1 million. 6 December 2017 Board Minutes – Page 5 Pooled The Pooled Endowments managed by Cambridge totaled $61.5 million at September 30, 2017 and achieved an overall three-month ROR of 3.1 percent, or $1.7 million [$61.5 million balance at September 30] compared to the policy benchmark of 4.2 percent.