September 16, 2015 MEMORANDUM TO: Board of Trustees Vermont State Colleges FROM: Martha O’Connor, VSC Board of Trustees Jeb Spaulding, Chancellor SUBJECT: Notice of VSC Board of Trustees Meeting Attached are the materials for the Board of Trustees annual retreat and meeting, Tuesday and Wednesday, September 22 and 23, 2015 at the Lake Morey Inn and Resort, in Fairlee, Vermont. Directions to Lake Morey Resort: From points South: Take I-91 North to Exit 15. Turn left off exit ramp. Take first right (granite Lake Morey Resort sign on corner). Follow the golf course (on left) and take your first left onto Clubhouse Rd. Resort is on the right. From points North: Take I-89 South to Exit 7 (Berlin/Barre). Take Route 302 East through Barre to Orange. Take Route 25 South to Bradford. Take I-91 South to Exit 15 - Turn right off exit ramp. Take next right (granite Lake Morey Resort sign on corner). Follow the golf course (on left) and take your first left onto Clubhouse Rd. Resort is on the right. Follow this link to an interactive map: http://goo.gl/maps/zyZ7y. Another map is included on the next page. Information about the resort can be found here: http://www.lakemoreyresort.com. We look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday. cc: Council of Presidents VSCVermont State Colleges Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees September 23, 2015 Lake Morey Resort Fairlee, Vermont BOARD OF TRUSTEES Martha O’Connor, Chair (2/28/17) M. Jerome “Jerry” Diamond Chris Macfarlane (2/28/19) (2/28/19) Rep. Eileen “Lynn” Dickinson Rep. Jim Masland (2/28/16) (2/28/18) Kraig Hannum Linda Milne (2/28/17) (2/28/21) J. Churchill Hindes Heidi Pelletier, Secretary (2/28/21) (2/28/19) Rep. Tim Jerman, Vice Chair Michael Pieciak (2/28/18) (2/28/21) Rep. Bill Lippert, Jr. Benjamin Simone (2/18/16) (5/31/16) Karen Luneau, Treasurer Governor Peter Shumlin (2/28/17) (ex officio) Board Committees Education, Personnel Audit & Student Life Executive Linda Milne, Chair Kraig Hannum, Chair Martha O’Connor, Chair Lynn Dickinson, Vice-Chair Jim Masland, Vice-Chair Tim Jerman, Vice-Chair Church Hindes Lynn Dickinson Karen Luneau Karen Luneau Karen Luneau Heidi Pelletier Michael Pieciak Mike Pieciak Ben Simone Finance & Facilities Long Range Planning Church Hindes, Chair Jerry Diamond, Chair Chris Macfarlane, Vice-Chair Karen Luneau, Vice Chair Jerry Diamond Kraig Hannum Tim Jerman Church Hindes Bill Lippert Tim Jerman Linda Milne Heidi Pelletier Heidi Pelletier Board Meeting Dates September 22-23, 2015 Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT December 2-3, 2015 Vermont Technical College – Randolph Campus February 19-20, 2016 Johnson State College May 25-26, 2016 Lyndon State College July 20-21, 2016 Castleton University September 21-22, 2016 TBD VSC Chancellor’s Office Jeb Spaulding, Chancellor Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Thomas Robbins Vice President and General Counsel William Reedy Executive Assistant to the Chancellor Elaine Sopchak Chief Academic and Academic Technology Officer Yasmine Ziesler Chief Information Officer Dianne Pollak Director of External and Governmental Affairs Tricia Coates Director of Facilities Richard Ethier Director of Human Resources Nancy Shaw Director of Institutional Research Hope Baker-Carr Director of Payroll and Benefits Tracy Sweet Controller Deborah Robinson Meeting Agenda VERMONT STATE COLLEGES BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING September 23, 2015 12:30 p.m. Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, Vermont AGENDA A. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION 1. Approval of the Minutes of the July 23, 2015 p. 6 Board of Trustees Meeting 2. Adoption of Policy 211, Whistleblower Policy for Reporting p. 14 Fraudulent, Illegal or Improper Activities, and Approval of Revisions to Policy 210, Conflict of Interest – Employees 3. Approval of Policy 503, General Definitions p. 14 4. Endorsement of Grant Proposal p. 37 5. Establishment of Endowment p. 42 6. Approval of Policy 102 Final Proposal for Vermont Technical p. 46 College Master’s Degree in Software Engineering 7. Approval of Revised Board By-Laws p. 57 8. Approval of Revised EPSL Committee Areas of Responsibilities p. 67 9. Approval of Revised Nominating Committee Areas of Responsibility p. 72 10. Approval of Revised Trustee Orientation Materials p. 76 (Formerly Trustee Handbook) 11. Approval of Trustee Stipend & Expense Policy p. 95 12. Approval of Potential System Renaming Process p. 102 13. Approval of Hall of Fame Proposal p. 105 14. Personnel/Contractual Matters—Possible Executive Session p. 109 B. ITEMS FOR INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION 1. Report of the Executive Committee p. 110 2. Report of the Finance & Facilities Committee p. 113 3. Report of the Education, Personnel & Student Life Committee p. 120 4. Report of the Hall of Fame Planning Committee p. 134 5. Reports of the College Presidents p. 136 6. Other Business p. 220 7. Comments from the Public 8. Date and Place of Next Meeting Board of Trustees Meeting Wednesday December 2nd – Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 Hosted by Vermont Technical College, Randolph Campus Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Meeting 6 September 23, 2015 Items for Discussion and Action A. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION 1. Approval of the Minutes of the July 23, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting The Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees conducted a regular meeting Thursday, July 23, 2015 at the Office of the Chancellor in Montpelier, Vermont. The following were present: Trustees: Jerry Diamond, Lynn Dickinson, Church Hindes, Tim Jerman, Bill Lippert, Karen Luneau, Chris Macfarlane, Jim Masland, Linda Milne, Martha O’Connor, Heidi Pelletier, Mike Pieciak, Ben Simone Absent: Kraig Hannum Presidents: Joe Bertolino, Elaine Collins, Joyce Judy, Barbara Murphy, Dan Smith Office of the Chancellor: Tricia Coates, Director of External and Governmental Affairs Tom Robbins, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Bill Reedy, Vice President and General Counsel Elaine Sopchak, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor Jeb Spaulding, Chancellor Sophie Zdatny, Associate General Counsel Yasmine Ziesler, Chief Academic and Academic Technology Officer From the Colleges: Loren Loomis Hubbell, Dean of Administration, Lyndon State College Phil Petty, Academic Dean, VT Tech Lit Tyler, Dean of Administration, VT Tech Beth Walsh, President, VSCUP Jeff Weld, Director of Marketing & Communications, Castleton State College From the Public: Rachel Aragon, Channel 22 News Lola Duffort, Rutland Herald Wendy Koenig, Director of Federal & State Relations, UVM Samantha Montgomery, Field Rep, AFT Vermont Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Meeting 7 September 23, 2015 Items for Discussion and Action Chair O’Connor called the meeting to order at 10:00 and stated one agenda addition: that the Board set a date for an Executive Committee meeting to discuss the revision of the trustee per diem policy and trustee handbook. No action is anticipated to be taken at this meeting. A. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND ACTION 1. Approval of the Minutes of the May 21, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Trustee Pelletier moved and Trustee Diamond seconded the approval of the minutes. The minutes were approved unanimously. 2. Endorsement of the Strategic Decision to Become a More Comprehensive, Cohesive, Interconnected System with Multiple Distinct Institutions and Renaming Castleton State College to Castleton University Chair O’Connor reminded the Board that the Long Range Planning Committee has discussed this topic at length at multiple meetings, which other trustees and the presidents have attended as well. She asked Trustee Diamond to give the report of the Committee. Trustee Diamond thanked the trustees who are not members of the Committee who attended the meetings as well as Chancellor’s Office staff. He reminded the Board that the Committee’s work picked up where the strategic inquiry of last year left off. The Committee met three times to discuss the meaning of becoming a more comprehensive, cohesive and interconnected system and considered multiple types of systems. This discussion of the future of the system coincided with Castleton’s request to change its name. The Committee discussed three system models: multiple campuses under one name with a single accreditation (similar to Penn State); one system name with individual campuses identified by region, all individually accredited (like the California State system); and a system of individual schools with distinctive offerings working together Chair D(as in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education). A second consideration was how Castleton University would fit in any of the three options. The Committee consulted Dr. Aims McGuinness of NCHEMS and Dr. Michael Thomas of NEBHE for their analysis and guidance. The Committee decided the first two system options were not ideal for the VSC and the third option was the best fit, with a goal being students’ ability to access all the resources of each school in the system (“admit to one, go to five”). The Committee recommended to the full Board a resolution to achieve three things: commit to creating a more interconnected system, commit to renaming the system, and approve Castleton’s request to change its name. Vermont State Colleges Board of Trustees Meeting 8 September 23, 2015 Items for Discussion and Action Trustee Diamond reminded the Board that Castleton has had a significant expansion of graduate programs, plans a doctoral program, and plans to significantly increase its international student enrollment. He stated that it is the Committee’s belief that the carrying out of Castleton’s 2013 strategic plan would best be achieved by allowing the college to change its name to a university. He also noted that Castleton has provided the Committee and the Board with benchmarks against which to measure the decisions impact into the future, and emphasized that Castleton’s focus will remain on being a teaching institution. Trustee Macfarlane inquired about efforts to reduce costs. Chancellor Spaulding responded that CFO Robbins has been meeting with the deans of administration to look for additional opportunities to save by centralizing back office operations.