• Relay for Life is (1) an overnight experience designed to celebrate cancer survivorship; (2) provides an opportunity for the community to grieve for those they lost to cancer and celebrate the lives of those who have survived; and (3) contains a luminary ceremony at the end focusing on a strong message of hope.
• In 2004, $75,000 was raised from 60 teams at Virginia Tech, representing many organizations. Regional and national recognition was received for the efforts at Virginia Tech.
• Laura made a requst for faculty to support students involved in the Relay for Life efforts. Relay for Life is scheduled for April 22, 2005. A fact sheet will be forthcoming.

• The charter initiative provides for flexibility in finances and allows the university a better opportunity to respond to issues that arise. In Virginia, dollars are appropriated in ways that provide little flexibility and results in a fragmented approach to running the university. Without a charter it will be difficult to be competitive because we will be constantly battling the state to get things done.
• There are no other charter initiative examples to follow but some similar approaches have been implemented under the term “compacts.”
• Jim feels that the president, provost, and executive vice president work as a team. When it becomes imbalanced it can be detrimental for the university.
• The ultimate authority in university matters is the Board of Visitors and we would be even more dependent on them under a charter initiative. The BOV wants to foster communication but they are political, appointed by the governor and this will not change.
• There will be no change under a charter initiative regarding 9 month and 12 month employees.
• Median income of families who send students to Virginia Tech is high and as a result VT is becoming more elitist. We are a land grant institution and as such serve all students. Concerns have been raised that the charter initiative will only attract students from wealthy families because tuition will increase significantly and there will be a lack of scholarship money available. It is the feeling of VT administration and the BOV that we have an obligation to maintain accessibility. Since we are a public, land grant university it distinguishes us from a private university because there is a fundamental belief that we should provide access for all students.

• Campaign priorities: academic excellence (chairs and professorships, faculty fellowships, graduate fellowships, libraries); undergraduate experience (study abroad, honors program, multicultural affairs, corps of cadets, athletics); research facilities; and community efforts.
• 2003 was the worse year of giving to higher education in 35 years. Large gifts are less common, but large gifts are still vital to reaching big goals.
• Changes in donor interests: unrestricted giving continues to decline and current restricted gifts are related to faculty research.
• We are doing very well in the campaign. Campus has not fully developed a culture of philanthropy. VT is a university in transition.
• Doing very well in deferred gifts. Bequest expectancies reflect a love of the institution, but not a desire to have an immediate impact nor affect change.
• We need to sharpen our message at the college level. We can do this by working with college development officers and strive to showcase faculty and seek opportunities to showcase faculty work. Also, faculty can (1) make attempts to be available to meet with major gift prospects; (2) refer successful alumni to the respective college development officer; and (3) educate alumni about the work of department. Keep college development officer in the loop about your program. Finally, athletic events bring back alumni each year. We need to get them involved when they are back for athletic events.

• No new information on business standards certification.
• Dean DePauw's graduate plan and agenda has the support of both VT administration and the BOV.
• Ben Davenport and Sandra Lowe from BOV will be at the January 2005 meeting.
• Send us agenda items for future meetings.

The following unedited reports were not presented, but were written by the respective Faculty Senate representatives to commissions or committees specifically for inclusion in the Faculty Senate minutes.

Commission on Research (Frank Gwazdaukas), December 9, 2004 Meeting

Melinda Cep, a senior dual major in Biochemistry/Animal Sciences presented a scheme for documentation of undergraduate research for use by the Research Division and as an aid for student recommendation letters. Tech would like to increase undergraduate research by 50%, but the starting point is not available. The form she presented would allow a permanent record of the student’s research, skills acquired, and a rating for reliability, motivation, leadership, teamwork, and identification of depth of skills acquired.

The commission discussed library needs and how to get the Library Committee to report to the Commission on Research. Additional funding was discussed and how to find a mechanism to alter information flow on library needs. Can changes in indirect cost distribution benefit the library? We need to find ways to increase funding for library efforts to support research Top 30 functions. A student sponsored suggestion was to have $10 per semester for the library included in student services fees. This would add approximately $.5 M to library support annually.

There was discussion on the Internet Technology Innovation Center and the Center for Human-Computer Interaction. Also, Dr. Pickering reported on the policy discussions of the Intellectual Properties Committee. Dr. Settle said the process of commercialization needs to have gaps/barriers identified and has to be made more faculty friendly. Currently the IP dissemination track to form a company is very high risk with low returns and does not credit faculty for P&T as opposed to presentation of research in journals/meetings.

University Athletic Committee report to the Faculty Senate (Frank Gwazdauskas), December 16, 2004 Meeting

Tim Parker, the NCAA Compliance Director, discussed the new NCAA recruiting guidelines associated with ‘official visits.’ The new guidelines include: 1) commercial transportation only (coach for air); 2) transport on campus (no limos); 3) lodging has to be standard for prospects and parents i.e., that has no special accessories or ammenities; 4) standard meals, like the West End Market; 5) host individuals need to be current student athletes; 6) no personalized recruiting aids, like banners or signs that welcome the prospect; and 7) establishment of written departmental policies for official visits by December 1, 2004.

Tennis Coach Jim Thompson provided insight into the men’s tennis program. His players have had the #1 or #2 QCA of all student-athlete teams for the last 6 years. His team community service project was with the Christmas Store this year. He said the move to the ACC is very opportunistic and will mean that he will have home and away matches with ACC teams now.

Megan Armbruster talked about student life programs and talked about personal development; the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee; career development; community outreach which involves participation as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity, the Women’s Resource Center, United Way, and the American Red Cross Blood drives to name a few; and academic excellence.

Joe Tront discussed the updates and revisions to the comprehensive action plan. Specifically, the athletic director is to maintain clear guidelines for student athletic behavior including expectations and sanctions for violations of the law.

Steve McMullin discussed the first ‘Huddle with the Hokies” colloquium and suggestions were made to improve the program and expand it to the basketball season. Rosemary Goss will assume the leadership role.

Chris Helms provided VT graduation rates with peer, ACC and Top 25 football schools. Tech ranked 6th in the Top 25 football rankings in student-athlete graduation rates and 3rd both in football and black football graduation rates. In the ACC the all student graduation rate for Tech is 5th (74%) and student-athletes ranked 7th (65%). The comparable values for all Division I schools are 60 and 62%, respectively. The 2004 graduation rate for football was 3rd (67%) for six peer institutions.

Jim Weaver said the press box demolition would be completed by January 1. We will get 1/6 of the revenue from the BCS appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

9. Vice President's Report (Susanna Rinehart):

• University Council: the first reading of the computer privacy policy went well.

• CFA:

  • A presentation of AdvanceVT regarding stopping or pausing the "tenure clock" because of circumstances (e.g. illness). Implementation has some drawbacks but still it needs to be publicized and encouraged to use when appropriate.
  • Undergradate SGA is interested in having faculty conduct mid-semester evaluations. The rationale is good, but they need to articulate the issue more carefully.
  • A pilot for electronic Faculty Activity Reports is being conducted in three units. There are still some complicated issued, but the more we are involved in the process the better.

10. New Business:

11. Meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m.