xt76dj58d926 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt76dj58d926/data/mets.xml Lexington, Kentucky University of Kentucky 20040621 minutes English University of Kentucky Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, 2004-06-jun21ec. text Minutes of the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, 2004-06-jun21ec. 2004 2011 true xt76dj58d926 section xt76dj58d926 







      Minutes of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the University of
Kentucky, Monday, June 21, 2004.

      The Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of the University of Kentucky met at
1:00 p.m. on Monday, June 21, 2004, in the Board Room on the 18th Floor of Patterson Office
Tower.

      A.    Meeting Opened

      Mr. Steven S. Reed, Chair, called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.

      B.    Roll Call

      The following members of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees answered
the call of the roll: Marianne Smith Edge, James F. Hardymon, Steven S. Reed (Chair), JoEtta
Wickliffe, and Russ Williams, ex officio member. Dr. Robert P. Meriwether joined the meeting
by teleconference. The university administration was represented by President Lee T. Todd, Jr.

      Other members of the Board of Trustees and various new media were also in attendance.

      C.    Approval of Minutes

      Mr. Reed said that the Minutes of the June 24, 2003 Executive Committee meeting had
been distributed and asked for a motion of approval. Ms. Smith Edge moved approval. Her
motion, seconded by Ms. Wickliffe, carried without dissent.

      D.    Discussion Regarding the Performance Evaluation of President Lee T. Todd, Jr.

      Mr. Reed reported that the Governing Regulations require that the Executive Committee
evaluate the President of the University of Kentucky at the end of the academic year and prior to
the beginning of the new fiscal year. He provided background information about the evaluation
process.

      Mr. Reed explained that he had asked each member of the Board to provide a written
evaluation of the President's performance pursuant to prescribed questions that had been sent to
them. He said that any Board member could provide additional comments beyond the questions
given to them and noted that the written evaluations are confidential.

      Mr. Reed reported that he had reviewed the responses which were very thoughtful and
thorough. Pursuant to the Governing Regulations, he also solicited input from the University
Senate, Staff Senate, and Student Government Association. He said that he also asked President
Todd to prepare a self-assessment that would be taken into consideration, and he provided the
members of the committee a copy of the self-assessment statement.

      Mr. Reed reported that he met with President Todd to discuss the evaluation and his self-
assessment statement. He said that he was very pleased with the responses and input that he




 




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received from the Board members. He was also pleased with the Board's expression of love and
respect for the university, the Board's effort to see the university move forward, the Board's
realization that we are not perfect, and the Board's realization that this university has a special
place in the life and well-being of the Commonwealth. This evaluation contributes to the
university's success in accomplishing its mission. It allows for an honest assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses, and it allows the president to see how he is gauged by others. The
evaluation also allows an important time for each Board member to think closely and carefully
on matters of importance that the president should be judged on.

      Mr. Reed said that he had also heard from members of the public by way of e-mail and
telephone calls. The public input is very valuable to him, and he thinks it is very important for a
public university to have that input.

      Mr. Reed reviewed the agenda for the evaluation process. Following the committee's
discussion of the president's evaluation, he said the committee would discuss a bonus for
President Todd.

      Mr. Reed presented the Board's responses to the evaluation questions. Due to the
lateness of submissions, he said that he had them in draft summary and did not have a report to
give to the Executive Committee members.

      Dr. Meriwether interrupted and said that he had been asking Mr. Reed to have an
Executive Committee meeting for the last year on three separate occasions, and he only received
notice of this meeting an hour prior to the meeting.

      Mr. Reed apologized to Dr. Meriwether and said that he did not understand why he
received the notice of the meeting an hour prior to the meeting.

      Mr. Hardymon said that he was not on the Board last year and knows nothing about the
process except what Mr. Reed had told him and what had been done this year. From his
experience with other boards that he has served on, this is a process that board members take
very seriously. He thinks that it is important for the committee to hear from President Todd. He
asked if President Todd could speak about his evaluation before reviewing the Boards' responses
to the questions. Sometimes it is easier to hear from someone than to read paragraphs.

      Mr. Reed asked President Todd if he would prefer to give his remarks at the beginning or
go through the evaluation process and then give his remarks.

      President Todd indicated that he preferred to give his comments at the beginning and
began his remarks. The fact that the university has been cut approximately $70 million has been
a road block for him; however, he has been able to bring top people such as Dr. Michael Karpf
who was a major hire this past year, Dick Siemer, vice president for finance and administration,
and several others in significant positions. He said that he had written his comments in terms of
goals that he has tried to achieve. He presented the following goals and elaborated on each of
them:




 




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Goal I       Reach for National Prominence

One of the major objectives is to enhance the excellence and sustainability of the clinical
enterprise. UK recently opened the Linda and Jack Gill Heart Institute, hiring one of the
nation's top minimally invasive surgeon's David Moliterno, M.D. to serve as co-director.

The reorganization of the Medical Center has saved $2 million a year in recurring money.
About 88 jobs have been eliminated. The Medical Center is running as efficiently as it
did prior to those changes.

The College of Public Health was created in spring 2004. Public health is a big issue in
the state, and this is a significant opportunity for funding from the state.

Another goal was to increase the university's endowment to $500 million by 2006. As of
March 31, 2004, the market value of the endowment was $495 million.

UK is in the midst of a multi-pronged effort to revolutionize the university's information
system. The Board will be asked to spend quite a bit of money over the next several
years to revolutionize this system. This needs to be done in order to become a modern
university.

The university is working to strengthen its role within the National Association of State
Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), which is the top organization for
land-grant colleges. To that end, he has been named chair of NASULGC's Commission
on Outreach and Diversity. This appointment placed him on Board of Directors.

At the SEC level, he helped initiate an Academic Initiative Committee, along with
Gordon Gee of Vanderbilt University. A memorandum of understanding to form an
academic alliance with all SEC schools has been signed.

Goal II      Attract and Graduate Outstanding Students

The university has exceeded the target to improve the six-year graduation rate to 60
percent by 2006. UK's graduation rate is the highest in the state.

Freshmen enrollment has increased this year from approximately 3,700 students to
approximately 4,000. It is expected to be the best academic class the university has ever
had. This speaks well for recruiting efforts and marketing for undergraduates.

Four new dormitories will be built to accommodate the increased enrollment. One of the
dormitories will be for the arts. They will be state-of-the-art dormitories.

Goal III     Attract, Develop, and Retain a Distinguished Faculty

The university has added three more endowed chairs and eight endowed professorships.
UK now has 80 endowed chairs and 193 endowed professorships.




 




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The administration continues to work very hard on health care. Since becoming
president, the administration has not asked the faculty or staff to pay higher premiums on
their health care. Since 2000-01, when the increase was 15 percent, UK's health care
increases have been minimal compared to national and regional averages. UK's increase
in 2003-04 was only 6.1 percent because of a very proactive health literacy program that
was put in place to try to manage that.

Having space available is very important when trying to attract and retain faculty. The
Biomedical Biological Sciences Research Building (BBSRB) is on schedule. Salary is
also an issue with faculty.

Goal IV      Discover, Share, and Apply Knowledge

The university's goal for 2003 was to increase the federal research expenditures by $100
million. UK is 20 percent above that amount ($120 million). It is anticipated that the
federal research expenditures will increase to $140 million by 2006.

As of fall 2003, UK had already achieved one of its key indicators, increasing its
enrollment of postdoctoral scholar students from 232 to more than 275.

Goal V.      Nurture Diversity of Thought, Culture, Gender, and Ethnicity

The university had a 30 percent increase in African-American students last year.

The administration continues to work closely with the Commission on Diversity and the
Commission on Women. Sharon Turner was hired as Dean of the College of Dentistry,
and Angie Martin was promoted to Vice President for Budget and Planning. A new
position, Vice President for University Initiatives and Associate Provost for Multicultural
Affairs, has been created to be helpful in diversity.

Goal VI      Elevate the Quality of Life for Kentuckians

The Robinson Scholars program has 151 students enrolled at UK, and a new class was
announced recently. A capital campaign has been started to try to raise scholarship
money to keep that program going.

UK will be at the forefront in the battle against lethal disease. UK has received a $1
million federal grant to fight lethal cancers in eastern Kentucky. This federal grant was
secured by Congressman Hal Rogers.

UK has been instrumental in delivering innovative educational projects throughout the
state, such as the Morgan County Technology Center in West Liberty, Kentucky. This is
one of the lowest economic producers in the state. Operated by UK, the center offers
access to the most up-to-date computers and other technology that will help the region




 




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      develop. UK is working closely with the state and legislators in getting a company to
      come there.

      UK was able to get $1.3 million from the tobacco settlement money and has announced
      the beginning of the entrepreneurship center in the 19 most tobacco dependent counties
      where 30 people will be selected to be taught entrepreneur skills. That is one of the best
      uses of some of that agriculture tobacco settlement money.

      UK is present in Paducah with a $5 million earmark that Senator Mitch McConnell got
      for UK and the state of Kentucky. This project will focus on environmental research and
      the site cleanup of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. UK officials are working to
      recover and recycle contaminated materials, which can be used to develop various
      products.

      UK extension agents are working to improve the health of Kentuckians with the Health
      Education through Extension Leadership (HEEL) program. This is an effort which has a
      lot of potential and is moving well.

      UK has hired John Parks to be executive director at UK's Coldstream Research Campus.
      He was at the University of Illinois and Iowa State University overseeing their research
      parks prior to coming to UK.

      President Todd announced that he will be sending out a four-page paper where he will be
leveraging athletics success to enhance academic success. He mentioned the following athletic
improvements because athletics consumes some of his attention:

      The Women's Basketball program success in attendance -- going from 148 to 16 in
      the nation.

      The Golf Team completed its most successful season since 1947.

      Two of UK's athletic sponsors will sponsor a program called Class of Kentucky where
      sophomore students will be part of 30-second T.V. promotions. UK will track these
      students as they go through their career. This program will give exposure for high
      performers in the classroom, and it will not cost UK any money.

      President Todd then talked about some new innovations that lie ahead in 2004-05. He
mentioned the launching of the four-year graduation agreement that will involve about 12
academic majors and said that this is an effort to try to get students graduated in four years. He
reported that UK has added a winter intersession, and that will begin in 2005.

      He concluded his remarks by stating that there has been a lot going on this year, and he is
pleased with the progress that has been made, even in spite of some of the challenges that the
university has faced. A lot of time was spent in the legislative session. He thinks the platform is
healthier, and he feels good about it. He entertained any questions or comments.




 




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      President Todd was asked to elaborate on the following topics:

      - Four-year graduation program and the importance of graduation rates.
      - Coldstream Research Campus, economic development, and importance of hiring
           John Parks.
       - College of Public Health and its relevance in addressing Kentucky's Uglies.
       - Attract and graduate outstanding students.
       - Recent publicity regarding UK's ability to retain good faculty.
       - Endowed chairs and professorships.

       President Todd elaborated on each of them and also talked about a Top 20 business plan
that relates to HB 1 passed in 1997. He explained that the legislature set a goal but did not
commit a path to achieve it. The goal was to have 80,000 more students by the year 2020, but
the legislature did not commit the support for more faculty, facilities, etc.

      Mr. Reed referred back to the Golf Team accomplishments and commended Coach Craig
Brian for the outstanding performance of the Golf Team. He talked about the importance of the
team vying for the national championship against universities that traditional win and the
positive coverage in national golf magazines.

      He thanked President Todd for his self-assessment remarks and said it was very helpful.

      Mr. Reed said that he would review the summary of the Board's responses that he had
received.

      Dr. Meriwether said that he did not receive a notice about the meeting until an hour prior
to the meeting. He said that he had other previous business meetings that afternoon and patients
to take care of. He asked Mr. Reed if the committee could come to some conclusion about what
it would be voting on. He further proposed to Mr. Reed that the meeting is inappropriate and
does not need to go further. He said that he could not devote an entire afternoon to the meeting.

      Dr. Meriwether pointed out that he had asked Mr. Reed previously for Executive
Committee meetings in writing. He said that he knows that the Governor has also asked Mr.
Reed to call meetings of the Executive Committee, and those have not been called. He said, in
his opinion, the committee does not have anything to present to the Board. He proposed that the
meeting be adjourned and that it be recalled at a time when everyone is given proper notice.

      Dr. Meriwether explained that he has grave concerns about the university. He had
expressed those concerns to Mr. Reed and has now expressed them to the Governor in writing.
He noted that Tuesday will be his last attendance at a Board meeting. He said that he had no
intention of allowing a vote to go forward to present a raise, extension of contract, or anything
else without a major upheaval at the Board meeting. He said that he did not wish that to happen.
He was not there to be confrontational, but he cannot take a full day out of a neurosurgery
practice and business practice to listen to talk about the Golf Team. He reiterated that he would
like to adjourn the meeting and have no recommendation go to the Board.




 




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      Mr. Reed confirmed with Dr. Meriwether that his request was in the form of a motion.
He asked for a second to Dr. Meriwether's motion, and there was no second. Having heard no
second to the motion, Mr. Reed said that he did not need to address the legality of the motion
being made by someone telephonically. Mr. Reed informed Dr. Meriwether that the meeting
would continue, and Dr. Meriwether was welcome to continue with the meeting.

      President Todd said that it was not his expectation to talk about a contract extension in
any way and noted that it was not an agenda item.

      Mr. Reed said that the agenda has five items, and contract extension was not one of them.
The committee had not planned to go into the extension of a contract, a new contract, or a raise.

      Dr. Meriwether asked Mr. Reed to review the items on the agenda, and Mr. Reed
reviewed the agenda items.

      Dr. Meriwether briefly stated his position in as far as President Todd's performance the
past three years. Many of the things that President Todd brought up needed to have been done,
and they have not. The Medical Center is near a crisis. Athletics continues to be an eyesore in
the SEC and makes the front page of newspapers for all kinds of infractions or partial infractions.
The program is on probation. He said that he does not see that any improvement has been made
in that regard. The suggestions by the current Board chair about coaching in the football arena
were salient and good, and they were not followed up on.

      As far as retention, UK has gone from a school of 76,000 students when he joined the
Board to a school of 26,000 students and has lost a great deal of influence within the state. UK
lost Lexington Community College for no apparent reason. All the negotiations were done
behind the scenes and out of knowledge of the entire Board. UK had two action letters from the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) that are currently pending. The last letter
threatened suspension or probation because of excessive postgraduate students being used for
teachers. Those are all facts delivered from Dr. Robinson at SACS. Dr. Meriwether said that he
had gotten letters with difficulty from President Todd confirming some of this information.

      Based on his comments, he said that he does not see any reason to be considering a bonus
much less anything else for President Todd at this point in time.

      Dr. Meriwether reiterated that he could not sit all afternoon listening to Mr. Reed talk
about the Golf Team. Since Mr. Reed does not see fit to tell him when meetings are scheduled
and since he did not have an agenda, this was the best he could do. He said he would hang up
and let the committee continue with their meeting.

      Mr. Hardymon identified himself and asked Dr. Meriwether to remain on the phone. He
proceeded to ask Dr. Meriwether to read President Todd's self-evaluation document before the
Board meeting on Tuesday. Mr. Hardymon said that he may be one of the few on the Board who
has been through a yearly evaluation process. He noted that he does not go through it anymore;
however, he did experience a yearly evaluation for 10 years. He believes that there are minuses




 




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and pluses with the process. He asked Dr. Meriwether to look at the document and see if he had
any comfort in some of the positives as he thinks about the negatives in the next few hours.

      Dr. Meriwether said if he had the document he would be glad to look at it.

      Mr. Hardymon asked that the document be faxed to Dr. Meriwether and a follow-up call
be made to ensure that the fax was received.

      Mr. Reed said that it is important to state for the record that the announcement of the
meeting was provided to each Board member by way of e-mail for those who had e-mail, by way
of fax for those who do not have e-mail, and by federal mail for those who do not have e-mail
and fax. He confirmed with Peggy Way that this was her understanding as well.

      Ms. Smith Edge said that she had the e-mail from June 16 regarding the announcement of
the meeting. Prior to that time, she was also called and informed that everybody had been
contacted or was in the process of being contacted. She said that she knew before the June 16
announcement that everybody's schedules worked, and the meeting would be held.

      Mr. Hardymon said everybody has different ways of operating. The Board has Peggy
more or less to catch up with the members' ways of operation and do the best she can. He stated
that she does a great job for him. He said it was unfortunate that it came out this way, but he was
sure there was something there.

      Mr. Reed continued with the meeting and provided a summary of the Board's responses
to the following categories:

      Institutional Agenda
      Academic Leadership
      General Management and Planning
      Fiscal Management and Budgeting
      Fund-Raising
      Internal Relationships
      External Relationships
      Decision making and Problem Solving
      Other Perspectives

      The summary of responses follow:

      - The university has made much progress, and it appears to be in good shape.
      - It is moving in the right direction in terms of reaching Top 20 status.
      - President Todd seems to have been able to attract and retain some very competent
           managers, and he has also retained and promoted some excellent in-house staff.
      - Considering the state of the economy, President Todd appears to be trying very hard to
           hold the entire academic structure of the University together.
      - One of the first achievements by President Todd was having the Board look at various
           Committees, their structure, and membership.




 




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       - He should be commended for the three-year Strategic Plan that allows the university
           to measure itself and adjust as it goes through 2006.
       - The recent push to develop a business plan to reach Top 20 demonstrates leadership
          ability to look at the large picture in terms of achievable and non-achievable goals.
       - President Todd has been resourceful in using every available technique to find savings,
           make savings, and reallocate savings to help the budget situation.
       - President Todd has surrounded himself with staff who seem to be giving good fiscal
           advice. He is to be commended for the administrative staff he has put together
           and their competence
       - President Todd continues to look to athletic donors for donations to support academic
           programs.
       - President Todd raised the capital campaign goal to an unprecedented amount which
           shows ambition and drive.
       - The 10-year endowment has already reached the $500 million mark. He has done a
           great job with fundraising efforts.
       - President Todd is highly visible around the state through speeches and community
           visits.
       - The Board must want, must have, and must desire a very strong working relationship
           with the Governor and legislative committees. The Board must keep an eye on that.
       - Faculty morale is a concern.
       - The weekly updates and briefings were noted and characterized as very helpful.
       - The visibility of President Todd and the First Lady was noted.
       - The effectiveness in the business community was commented, especially the town/gown
           relationship and moving the business school downtown.
       - President Todd has responded well to crisis, including athletics, Lexington Community
           College, and the economy.
       - There is concern about the university getting top heavy in administrative staff and
           whether the faculty are getting the same kind of emphasis for resources that upper
           level management people seem to be getting.
       - President Todd has good vision, an understanding of the university and the big
           picture, and great ideas.
       - President Todd seems to be relying on key people which is noteworthy rather than
           micromanaging everything.
       - President Todd listens to Board members and values opinions of others as he tries to
           balance the pieces of the puzzle to keep moving the university forward.

      Ms. Smith Edge commented that the university is not going to meet all the set goals, but
the numbers speak for themselves on the university moving forward.

      Mr. Williams pointed out that President Todd is in a three-year plan, and it is hard to
evaluate an executive when there are long-term plans that are in process. President Todd's self-
evaluation is good because it touches on all the goals of the Strategic Plan and shows where the
university has moved. President Todd's continued commitment to UK in not losing momentum
is not lost on the people who work at the university.




 




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       Mr. Reed praised President Todd for his commitment to reach the Top 20 status. This is
a very valuable commitment. The Board cannot give up that hope, and it will not.

       Mr. Hardymon said that in evaluating a leader you need to start polite and be positive.
He always asks two questions for his own self comfort: is he or she smart or if he or she is good
to the people around them? There is not much the Board can do as a body if a person really does
not have the basic capabilities. There is not anything the Board can do if a person tries to do it
all by themselves in a big organization. He said that he looks at those two things at the top of the
list.
       Mr. Hardymon explained that as he sees the process, it will not be positive or negative. If
there is negative, next year the Board will check and see how much progress has been made on
the negative. He said, in his opinion, there is a good court with President Todd's capabilities and
with his ability to surround himself with good people. The more President Todd can delegate to
others, the better off he will be and the better off the Board will be.

       Ms. Wickliffe said that she had been pleased with President Todd's ability to recognize
when someone is not in the right position, to make that adjustment, and to make it quickly. He
has done a very noble job in handling the difficult situations.

       Mr. Williams said that President Todd's executive team is "top notch." One thing in a
good leader is consistency between the abstract and the concrete. President Todd had done this
in business and now has done it in academia. He has placed emphasis on the whole concept of
data driven decisions that Dr. Connie Ray and the staff in the Office of Institutional
Effectiveness and Research provide. The administration can now get the data it needs to make
the decisions that are needed and not act hastily until all the facts are gathered. This has been a
major achievement.

       Mr. Williams then pointed out that President Todd had to also make some adjustment
with the transition of a new governor and a whole new administration, new philosophy, and new
attitude toward higher education in Frankfort.

       Mr. Reed said that he would like to mention the commitment of $1 million a year for the
next 10 years by athletics to academics. UK is one of the few, if not the only one, where
athletics has given $1 million to academics. This is an indication of President Todd's effort for
management and budgeting, to have one help the other in leveraging.

       President Todd announced that he would be doing a series of white papers, and one
would be on athletics and academics. These white papers will be mailed to other universities and
legislators. UK is only one of 40 in the nation to break even and make money in athletics. There
is only one university in the state of Kentucky that breaks even in athletics. He noted that a lot
of the universities use general fund dollars to run their athletics programs.

       Mr. Williams mentioned the establishment of the vice presidential for outreach and
associate provost for multi-cultural affairs position. He said that he likes it when the city, the
university, the horse park, and Keeneland get together as a community and go to the legislature




 




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and the governor with common interests. President Todd has taken a good lead in making sure
that the coalition is strong and makes the community better.

      Mr. Reed said that the evaluation responses were not surprising. They were very
consistent. He noted that there were some individualized suggestions and said that he would
give those to President Todd later.

      Mr. Reed said that the faculty is concerned, and perhaps the Board can do something to
help faculty morale by letting them know of their importance to the university. He said he
sensed a cry for something, whether it be increased visibility by the president or increased
visibility by the Board. It was pointed out that there needs to be ways to increase presence and
influence with the legislature and the Governor's Office, considering a third of the university's
funding comes from the state and helps determine faculty salaries.

      Ms. Smith Edge said that the Alumni Association has been more than agreeable to help,
and they are looking at an advocacy program to promote this particular issue of improving
communication legislatively.

      President Todd announced that a policy position had been added, and that Bill Swinford
is in that position. Mr. Swinford was Chief of Staff for President Tom Layzell at the Council on
Postsecondary Education. He will help with reviewing policies prior to legislation being written.

      Mr. Hardymon asked if Mr. Reed's comments were included in those given.

      Mr. Reed replied that his comments were included.

      Mr. Harydmon asked Mr. Reed if there were enough responses to feel like there is a good
cross section of the Board.

      Mr. Reed said that he felt very good about that. He was encouraged by the
responsiveness of the Board, not only just from their individual perspectives but even letting him
know that they had consulted with either their constituencies or others. It was a very engaged
process, and it seemed to take a lot of value. He felt the Board considered this very important
and took it very seriously.

      Mr. Hardymon said that he hoped when Mr. Reed and President Todd finalize the points
mentioned that the two or three things summarized that needs work on are brought out. This will
allow the Board to see what improvements have been made and what remains for improvement
next year.

      Mr. Reed agreed with Mr. Hardymon and said it would be important to do that. The
Board as well as President Todd will have to do something to make sure faculty know how
important they are as well as increasing presence and influence in the state legislature and with
the Governor.




 




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      Ms. Smith Edge suggested that it might be advantageous for the Board to receive a
management review statement from President Todd prior to the evaluation process next year.
She explained that it was more of a system comment rather than the individual evaluation
comment.

      E.    Discussion Regarding Consideration of Bonus for President Lee T. Todd, Jr.

      Mr. Reed said that the next item on the agenda is the discussion regarding consideration
of a bonus for President Todd. He gave some background information about the bonus and
reminded the Board that the bonus criteria had been discussed in the past. President Todd's
contract calls for him to be eligible for a bonus consideration up to $100,000 an