Office of the President :: 2007-2008 President's Cabinet

President's Regional Advisory Board :: Minutes

PRESIDENT'S REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

September 13, 2007

Minutes

Present: Cain, Fowler, Hudson, Hyde, Jaso, LaCour, Leatherwood, Marshall, McGuill, Meyer, O’Connor, Rollins, Saxon, Thomas, Walker, Ward and Wu

Absent: Alcorn, Baynum, Clapp, Goodson, Jacob, McCrohan, Morales, Murphy and Schaefer

I.              Organizational Business

1. Approval of Minutes – Chair Susan Cain called the meeting to order. Ms. Cain pointed out the Board Survey Questions so the members could be thinking of their responses to the survey. Sara Meyer moved that the minutes from the July 10, 2007 PRAB meeting be approved as written and Linda Ward seconded the motion.

Motion Approved Unanimously

2. Ms. Cain introduced the new members, Ron Hyde, Janet Leatherwood and Arlene Marshall and asked each member to please introduce themselves and tell everyone a little about themselves.

II.                 President's Remarks – Tim Hudson, President

Dr. Hudson asked for the board's ideas and perspective of University of Houston-Victoria. He stated we are in the midst of growth and we have approximately 2800 students this fall semester, our largest enrollment ever. Through careful budgeting, we were able to move forward on raises for staff and faculty. UHV ranks above the average on the three faculty levels of salaries:

Keeping our salaries competitive is important in attracting and retaining outstanding faculty and staff.

Dr. Hudson discussed the following:

• UHV fared very well during this legislative session. The tuition revenue bonds we requested were fully funded and all special item requests were approved. Particularly important was the approval of our MSN request for 1.1 million over the next two years. Please thank Geanie Morrison for helping us move this special item through the legislative process.
• A marketing study has been completed on staff salaries. Qualified staff will receive equity, and merit raises were given to staff based on their evaluation. Raises of approximately 4.5% were given to staff.
• Tenure and promotion was 100%, which is a reflection of our quality faculty.
• UHV has taken program leadership in the undergraduate business and undergraduate criminal justice programs at the Sugar Land Teaching Center.
• The state legislature has appropriated $100 million for performance based funding. We do not know yet how this money will be awarded, but hopefully some of the variables will be growth, retention and graduation rate, and excellent performance in certain areas.
• Dr, Hudson has appointed an internal committee to explore the issue of a possible downward expansion and what that would mean for us as a university. We also will be working with Victoria College to collect data pertinent to the topic to inform conversations that will be ongoing with the college and community.

III.               UHV History and Future Directions – Margaret Rice presented a brief history of UHV starting as an upper level university (juniors and seniors and graduate work) in Fall 1973 with 350 students and 24 faculty. Today we have right at 2800 students, over 140 faculty positions and have granted approximately 10,000 degrees. Upper level universities were created and located closely to community colleges. Most of the upper level universities have become four year universities, adding freshman and sophomore levels. University at Houston-Clear Lake and University of Houston-Victoria, both part of the UH System, are the only remaining upper-level universities in Texas.

In 1994 faculty at UHV began delivering classes to students in Fort Bend County, leading the way for the establishment of the UH System teaching center in Sugar Land. In 2000, we became a part of the Cinco Ranch teaching center, in the Katy area of Fort Bend County.

UHV has been a leader in providing access to higher education through multiple delivery methods: face-to-face; interactive television and online.

Our goal is to be a "university of choice." We want to keep the characteristics that make us accessible to those in our region, while adding those qualities that create an environment to attract students statewide, nationally and internationally. This means outstanding faculty, nationally and internationally recognized academic programs and a richer campus life to such a level that students will choose UHV over other universities.

IV.              Budget Overview – Wayne Beran presented an overview of the FY2008 Plan and Budget Executive Summary to the PRAB members. (Attached is a copy.)

V.                 Athletics:  Moving Forward – Ashley Walyuchow presented the UHV Jaguars softball and baseball schedules for fall and spring to the Board. Ross Ashley and Austin Hitt, both pitchers for the baseball team, spoke to the Board about their backgrounds and how the Victoria community has embraced the athletic students and made them feel welcome.

VI.              Student Senate:  Going Places – Delores White, Student Senate President, spoke about the goals that Student Senate will try to accomplish. The Student Senate Office is now open for students to use. Welcome Back Bags were distributed to students at the beginning of the fall semester. Also "Meet The Leader Social" with the academic leaders is planned for September 17^th to exchange ideas. All student organizations are involved.

VII.            We Want to Hear From You:  Board Survey and Discussion

1. What would you like to learn by being on the PRAB?
1. Information regarding mission, vision and programs offered at UHV.
2. Information that will enable me to positively promote UHV in my community and with potential investors.
3. Educational direction and increase opportunities for people in our community.
4. A true working process of how the university operates and why it is successful.
5. How to raise the level of awareness about the broad benefits of attending and supporting the goals of UHV.
6. Goals for UHV over the next decade and programs available to encourage enrollment in UHV.
2. What do you hope to contribute to UHV through participation on the PRAB?
1. Support UHV to further develop/expand their Allied Health Program at the Sugar Land campus. To provide/support their development so that a majority of our employees will have access to further their education.
2. Input from Calhoun County with emphasis on future growth.
3. Letting community know about UHV and its education opportunities.
4. Build awareness of UHV and its Economic Development and Entrepreneurship Masters Degree from the practitioner's standpoint.
5. Ideas that assist in marketing the university to potential students in Karnes County as well as raising financial resources for its academic programs.
6. Help to increase the numbers attending UHV from DeWitt County; help to promote the value of an education at UHV and share information about UHV with groups in DeWitt County.
3. What changes, if any, in our meeting format would you suggest?
1. One field trip (lunch) a year.
2. Lunch and a Cinco Ranch field trip.
3. I like the "interactive" format.
4. Lunch and meeting format.

Susan Cain thanked everyone for their input and adjourned the meeting at 4:10 p.m.

Submitted by: F. Landry
Approved: 12/4/07