October 25, 2012
University Planning Council
Minutes for October 25, 2012
Present: Buffy Bagwell, Jeff Brown, Jessica Dunsmore, Shannon Earle, Jane Fernandes, Catherine Frank, Melodie Galloway, Eric Gant, Archer Gravely, Bill Haggard, Julie Heinitsh, Blake Hobby, Benjamin Judge, Gregg Kormanik, Ann Martin, Ted Meigs, Dave Peifer, John Pierce, Anne Ponder, Keith Ray, Christine Riley, Stephanie Watkins-Cruz, Christy Williams
Absent: Leisa Rundquist
Guests: Debbie Griffith, Cindy Berryman-Fink
UPC met on October 25 from 8:00 to 9:30 in HIG 104.
1. In the Chancellor’s update, she reported that since the last UPC meeting, our BOG liaison, David Powers, has visited campus and met with the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees. Mr. Powers was very active in BOT discussions and quite affirmative about UNC Asheville, our distinctiveness, and recent marketing efforts.
For Spring Commencement, she announced that we would have poet Nikki Giovanni as a speaker and present an honorary degree to musician Warren Haynes.
Chancellor Ponder reported that in a BOG panel presentation on strategic planning at individual UNC campuses, UNC Asheville was cited as a positive example. The BOG strategic planning process will not be completed in January as scheduled and will require an additional month or two.
We were fortunate to have BOG Chair Peter Han with us at the most recent Chancellor’s Briefing. He affirmed his appreciation and admiration for UNC Asheville and our mission. She noted that we are in turbulent budget times, but the BOG is trying to achieve stability.
Chancellor Ponder concluded her remarks by noting how fortunate we were to host both Vice President Biden and Michael Jordan on campus on the same day.
2. Dr. Frank and Ms. Berryman-Fink provided UPC with an overview of the Osha Lifelong Learning Institute’s (OLLI) recently completed strategic planning process. Dr. Frank noted that the former NCCR previous strategic planning efforts were primarily top-down and they wanted to develop more of a bottom-up process. The new planning process received input from listening sessions with OLLI participants, and interviews with fifteen committee chairs and key campus individuals. The new planning process was also informed by the Chancellor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on aligning the NCCR and campus and the opportunities created by the new endowment funding. The OLLI strategic planning process has generated seven major initiatives (see attached report):
- Committee operations
- Registration and pricing
- New venues and program delivery
- Alignment with UNC Asheville
- Research
- Civic engagement
- Economic sustainability
In response to a question about expected strategic plan outcomes, Dr. Frank stated that the plan calls for them to investigate new venues for delivering programs, increased OLLI-campus interactions, and greater community impact. She also spoke to UPC about efforts to achieve greater diversity among OLLI participants and reach out to the African-American community.
3. Ms. Griffith reviewed data issues related to the strategic plan benchmark on academic reputation. The current metric is based on the Admitted Student Survey which asks both enrolling and non-enrolling students to rate UNC Asheville’s perceived academic reputation. The most recent survey had a response rate of 17.4% for non-enrolling admits, thus it is hard to have a lot of confidence in the results. In consultation with Institutional Research, Ms. Griffith recommended that we replace this survey measure with the number of Fall freshmen applicants with SAT (or ACT equivalent) scores of 1,185 and higher as a measure of academic reputation. The applicant SAT data are a good indicator of academic reputation; as part of the student records system, it can be measured with near perfect accuracy. Chancellor Ponder asked Ms. Griffith to prepare a written proposal for UPC to consider in our next meeting.
4. Dr. Haggard reviewed the history of UNC Asheville’s smoking policy and current issues of concern (see attachment). The University first prohibited smoking in classroom and office buildings in 1993. In 2008, smoking was prohibited in residence halls. The first UNC Asheville campus smoking committee was created in 2007. In 2008, legislation was passed to prohibit smoking in all state buildings and establish smoking zones outside buildings. The 2009 campus smoking survey revealed a very evenly divided community on many issues. The current policy was implemented in January 2009. He recommended that we consider five changes to current policy.
- Return Tennant Park (Gazebo area between Library and Zeis) to a non-smoking area
- Find an alternative smoking area to replace Tennant Park
- Revisit enforcement issues
- Develop communication plan for smoking policy
- Consider reduction in smoking areas
Dr. Meigs distributed a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Surgeon General report on the health consequences of involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke. Chancellor Ponder stated that UPC would discuss this issue again in our next meeting.