Everything Nac

OPEN MEETING NOTICE
Stephen F. Austin State University
Board of Regents Board Meeting and Committee Meetings
Nacogdoches, Texas
April 24 and 25, 2017
Meeting 310
Austin Building 307

The Board of Regents of Stephen F. Austin State University will convene a two-day Board Meeting and Committee Meetings according to the following agenda:

MONDAY, APRIL 24

8 a.m.

CALL TO ORDER IN OPEN SESSION

MEETING OF THE ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

(Scheduled for 8 a.m.)

Presentation and Committee Action on Agenda Items 11 and 12:

11. Curriculum Changes

12. Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policy Revisions

Academic Advising for Undergraduate Students 6.2

Concurrent and Dual Credit Enrollment Programs 6.9

Drug and Alcohol Testing 11.6

Employee Terminations and Transfers 11.10

Longevity Pay/Hazardous Duty Pay 12.13

Parking and Traffic Regulations 13.14

Public/Student Health 13.16

Research Enhancement Program 8.11

Selective Service Registration 11.26

Sick Leave 12.18

University Website 15.10

MEETING OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE

(This meeting will convene at approximately 8:30 a.m. or following previous committee adjournment.)

Presentation and Committee Action on Agenda Items 15 – 28:

15. Approval of Audit Charter

16. Acknowledge Receipt of Audit Services Report

17. Adoption of Fiscal year 2016-17 Summer Budget

18. Grant Awards

19. Fee Exemptions for Students Taking Online-Only and Off-Campus-Only Courses

20. Human Resources Applicant Tracking and Onboarding System

21. Debt Collection Services

22. Proposal to Increase Debt Service Budget

23. Aramark Agreement Amendment

24. Approval of Fees for Summer English Programs Sponsored by Office of International Programs

25. Purchase Exceeding $100,000 for Department of Biology

26. Astra Schedule Contract Renewal

27. Establishment of Alfred and Madeline Danheim Quasi-Endowments

28. Approval of Financial Affairs Policy Revisions

Check Cashing 3.7

Departmental Budgeting and Accounting Responsibilities 3.9

Gifts, Prizes and Awards 3.18

Purchase of Demonstrator or Used Equipment 17.18

Receipts and Deposits 3.26

Returned Payments 3.27

Report: Senate Bill 20

Report: NCAA Revenue Distribution Report

The Finance and Audit Committee meeting will recess to 1:30 p.m. on April 24, 2017.

MEETING OF THE BUILDING AND GROUNDS COMMITTEE

(This meeting will convene at approximately 10 a.m. or following previous committee recess.)

Presentation and Committee Action on Agenda Items 13 and 14:

13. Stephen F. Austin State University and the Fenway Group Corporate Partnership

14. Approval of Building and Grounds Policy Revisions

Firearms, Explosives, and Ammunition 13.9

Training and Certification of University Vehicle Operators 13.23

Vehicle Repair and Maintenance 16.34

Report: Fine Arts Project Architectural Update by Kirksey Architecture

Report: Current Construction

Report: Planned Maintenance

Report: Baker Pattillo Student Center Grand Ballroom and Pre-function Area
Renovation – Phase I Update

Report: Update on Griffith Fine Arts Carillon Bells Project

(At approximately noon, the committee will recess for lunch. The meeting will reconvene at approximately 1:30 p.m. in Austin Building, Room 307.)

CONTINUATION OF MEETING OF THE FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE

(This meeting will reconvene at approximately 1:30 p.m. or following adjournment of previous committee.)

Report: Richards Carlberg

EXECUTIVE SESSION

At approximately 2:30 p.m. or immediately following the prior meeting, the board will move to executive session for consideration of the following items:

Deliberations Regarding the Deployment, or Specific Occasions for Implementation, of Security Personnel or Devices. (Texas Government Code, Section 551.076)

· Update from chief information officer

· Security audits

Consideration of Individual Personnel Matters Relating to Appointment, Employment, Evaluation, Assignment, Duties, Discipline, or Dismissal of an Officer or Employee, including but not limited to the vice presidents and the president (Texas Government Code, Section 551.074)

Consultation with Attorney Regarding Legal Advice or Pending and/or Contemplated Litigation or Settlement Offers, including but not limited to reported complaints, procurement and contracting, Title IX, Courtnay Christensen v. SFASU, et al., and Timothy Duffer v. SFASU (Texas Government Code, Section 551.071)

Estimated adjournment: 4 p.m. The board will reconvene in open session and recess for the evening with no further action expected.

THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF A TWO-DAY BOARD MEETING AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS AGENDA:

TUESDAY, APRIL 25

9 a.m.

RECONVENE BOARD MEETING IN OPEN SESSION

Call to Order and Pledge to the Flags

Invocation

Installation of Chair-Elect

Special Recognitions

Board Action on Agenda Item 1:

Approval of Board Minutes from January 23, 2017, January 25 and 26, 2017, and March 10, 2017

Presentation and Board Action on Personnel Items 2 – 10:

Approval of Faculty Appointments

Approval of Staff Appointments

Approval of Changes of Status

Promotions

Promotion

Tenure

Development Leave

Regents Professorship for 2017-2018

Retirements

Committee Reports and Board Action:

Academic and Student Affairs Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Items 11 and 12):

11. Curriculum Changes

12. Approval of Academic and Student Affairs Policy Revisions

Academic Advising for Undergraduate Students 6.2

Concurrent and Dual Credit Enrollment Programs 6.9

Drug and Alcohol Testing 11.6

Employee Terminations and Transfers 11.10

Longevity Pay/ Hazardous Duty Pay 12.13

Parking and Traffic Regulations 13.14

Public/Student Health 13.16

Research Enhancement Program 8.11

Selective Service Registration 11.26

Sick Leave 12.18

University Website 15.10

Building and Grounds Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Item 13 and 14):

13. Stephen F. Austin State University and the Fenway Group Corporate Partnership

14. Approval of Building and Grounds Policy Revisions

Firearms, Explosives, and Ammunition 13.9

Training and Certification of University Vehicle Operators 13.23

Vehicle Repair and Maintenance 16.34

Finance and Audit Committee (Report and Board Action on Agenda Items 15 – 28):

15. Approval of Audit Charter

16. Acknowledge Receipt of Audit Services Report

17. Adoption of Fiscal year 2016-17 Summer Budget

18. Grant Awards

19. Fee Exemptions for Students Taking Online-Only and Off-Campus-Only Courses

20. Human Resources Applicant Tracking and Onboarding System

21. Debt Collection Services

22. Proposal to Increase Debt Service Budget

23. Aramark Agreement Amendment

24. Approval of Fees for Summer English Programs Sponsored by Office of International Programs

25. Purchase Exceeding $100,000 for Department of Biology

26. Astra Schedule Contract Renewal

27. Establishment of Alfred and Madeline Danheim Quasi-Endowments

28. Approval of Financial Affairs Policy Revisions

Check Cashing 3.7

Departmental Budgeting and Accounting Responsibilities 3.9

Gifts, Prizes and Awards 3.18

Purchase of Demonstrator or Used Equipment 17.18

Receipts and Deposits 3.26

Returned Payments 3.27

Reports:

President

· Upcoming Dates

· Commencement

· Regents Confirmations

· Appointment of New Regents

· Student Regent

Faculty Senate

· Faculty Accomplishments

· Resolutions

· Policy Review Process

· Current Sub-Committee Work

· 2017-2018 Faculty Senate Session

Student Government Association

· Archie McDonald Speaker Series

· Week of Reflection

· SGA Accomplishments

· Election Results

Appointment of Board of Regents Committees for 2017-2018

ESTIMATED ADJOURNMENT OF BOARD MEETING (approximately 10:30 a.m.)

Where appropriate and permitted by law, Executive Sessions may be held for the above listed subjects (Section 551.071). Possible action may be taken in Open Session on matters considered in Executive Session. Further details regarding the posted agenda are available for public review in the Office of the Board of Regents, Austin Building 308, Telephone (936) 468-4048.

The Stephen F. Austin State University Department of Government will host a lecture featuring Bill Whittle at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Dugas Liberal Arts Building, Room 102. Whittle’s lecture is titled “The Implications for Liberty in the Wake of the 2016 Election and President Donald J. Trump.”

Whittle began his career as a freelance television editor and has worked with The Discovery Channel, The History Channel and NBC. He has written for National Review Online and the Daily Wire and is a frequent contributor to Breitbart news.

In addition to serving as video producer for PJ Media, Whittle is co-founder of the film production company Declaration Entertainment, which released its first film, “The Arroyo,” in 2014. He narrates for The Blaze, a multi-media network founded by conservative pundit Glenn Beck. Whittle’s work for PJ Media includes “LunarPalooza,” a three-part series celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1969 moon landing.

“Bill Whittle is a noted conservative pundit and blogger,” said Dr. Donald Gooch, assistant professor in SFA’s Department of Government. “He was instrumental in the early days of the Tea Party and can offer the SFA and Nacogdoches communities his perspective of the 2016 election and the prospects for the near future.”

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Department of Government at (936) 468-4408.

College Choice, an independent online publication dedicated to helping students find the right college, recently ranked Stephen F. Austin State University eighth among the best 15 schools in the nation for its online bachelor’s degree in special education.

College Choice used several factors to rate the schools, including academic quality, return of investment, academic reputation, tuition, acceptance rates and early-career salaries. Additionally, in order to qualify, institutions were required to hold local accreditation, and SFA’s online program is accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Dr. Frank Mullins, director of SFA’s special education bachelor’s completion program, credits the program’s faculty members with this accomplishment.

“Our faculty members are dedicated and committed to ensuring continuous program improvement, which is the hallmark of our online programming,” Mullins said. “We produce graduates who are ready from the first day of their careers to teach and improve learning experiences for students with disabilities.”

SFA’s Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies with a concentration in special education and early childhood through 12th grade special education teacher certification allows students to complete a degree online. Through this program, students also engage in extracurricular activities and research related to meeting the needs of students with disabilities. The program maintains a low student-to-teacher ratio, ensuring students receive attention and support from experienced faculty members who are certified to teach online.

As part of SFA’s robust distance-learning program, the bachelor’s degree in special education allows paraprofessionals working in Texas public schools and other qualified individuals who have completed at least 45 hours at community colleges to transfer to SFA and complete their degree online. Paraprofessionals can earn a Texas teaching certificate while remaining in the schools and classrooms where they work. Students in this program also will spend one semester student teaching full time.

“I feel these non-traditional, pre-service teacher candidates have the best of both worlds: full-time jobs in our field where they are supported by their principals and special education directors in tandem with their online coursework with our faculty members here at SFA,” said Dr. Kathleen Sheriff, online program coordinator at SFA. “They graduate with three certifications, which makes them highly qualified.”

For more information, visit http://www.sfaonline.info/specialeducation.

20th anniversary – Master of Social Work program

Stephen F. Austin State University School of Social Work

2 – 4 p.m. Monday, April 24

School of Social Work Building, 420 E. Starr Ave.

With a mission to prepare students to become effective leaders in the social work profession, SFA’s MSW program opened in 1997 with a ceremony that took place on April 11, 1997. The initial MSW program graduated 15 students; today, there are more than 100 students in the program and courses are taught on the SFA campus and in The Woodlands.

All graduates, current students, faculty, community partners and field supervisors have been invited to this event. There will be presentations on the history of the program, an award ceremony and a reception.

If you need additional information, please contact:

Dr. Emmerentie Oliphant

Professor and Director MSW Program

School of Social Work

Stephen F. Austin State University

P. O. Box 6104

Nacogdoches, TX 75962-6104

936 468 4020

oliphante@sfasu.edu

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Skin of Our Teeth” provides a study in “how we move forward through the problems of life with optimism and courage,” according to Jack Heifner, playwright-in-residence at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The SFA School of Theatre’s cast and production team for Wilder’s “funny, touching, sensible and absurd” play is learning that very lesson. From summoning the courage to develop multi-faceted characters to hanging a record number of lights in W.M. Turner Auditorium, everyone involved with “The Skin of Our Teeth” is beginning to understand Wilder’s vision as the play comes to life.

The play’s dramaturg, Marie Phillips, a junior theatre student from Lewisville, explains that Wilder wanted audience members to “see that there is a duality to humanity; we are both grand and faulty. We shall achieve, struggle, overcome and repeat.” That universal theme is evident both on stage and behind the scenes as students prepare for this large-scale production that features a 20-member cast, extensive scenery and multiple costumes and props, according to Heifner, the play’s director.

Maggie Strain, theatre education major from Port Aransas, describes her character of Sabina and Wilder’s play as both having “tremendous depth.” The maid to the Antrobus family, Sabina cycles between the different roles of unobliging family maid, temptress, and dedicated war follower and then eventually back to the role of maid, Strain said.

“Many if not all of the roles I have played throughout my career have been comedic characters,” Strain said. “This isn’t to say that Sabina isn’t funny from time to time, because I find great humor in her character. But she is so much more than that. For the first time I find myself being able to work on monologues that break my heart to deliver, and I have had to muster a new type of courage for seductive scenes.”

Between the play’s three acts, each character undergoes “colossal growth and change,” Strain said. The show is a play within a play, and the actors are playing both characters in the production and characters putting on the production.

“I have never had to play a character that is in such constant flux, and yet, is always the same,” she said. “To add to the complexity, not only am I playing Sabina, but often times I play the actress playing Sabina, Miss Somerset, who repeatedly stops the play in an effort to get what she wants.”

Sunnyvale junior Maddie Collins is stage managing the play, which she describes as “by far, the biggest show I have ever worked on.” It’s her job to communicate the director’s notes to designers, as well as act as a liaison between the director and actors, making sure everything runs smoothly and is organized.

“There are a lot of moving parts in this show, and it has been full of new experiences,” Collins said. “This show has put more pressure on me than ever to stay organized and get things done.

“Along with learning new things myself, I have two assistant stage managers who are learning so they can manage Mainstage plays in the future,” she said. “By teaching and explaining things to them, I am learning more about how to delegate and work closely with other people. Because ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ is such a big show, it has been difficult keeping everything organized. It has challenged me to be proactive about the possible problems that could arise, as well as problem solve on the spot.”

Hutto senior Brittney Tennis is an assistant to guest lighting designer Luis Ramirez. Tennis answers inventory questions, updates changes to the light plot, and acts as the liaison between Ramirez and the play’s lighting team. It’s different from her previous duties as a production intern at The Long Center in Austin and as a master electrician for the Georgetown Palace Theatre in Georgetown where she was responsible for hanging, circuiting and focusing lights, and in charge of crew calls.

“I am more involved with the production side and helping the director’s vision come alive onstage,” Tennis said. “One the of the challenges that this play presents is the fact that we have 195 lights hanging in the air right now. We have never had this many lights hanging in Turner Auditorium, and it has been a new experience for all of us involved.”

Strain describes “The Skin of Our Teeth” as “one of those plays where knowing the history and context in which it was written gives it all the more meaning.” A product of its time, the play was completed two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Phillips, the dramaturg, has given the play “tremendous meaning and has shown me the importance of a play’s origins,” Strain said.

“The messages and themes in this play are so beautiful and powerful it brings me to tears nearly every day in rehearsal,” Strain said. “It isn’t often a play has such a profound effect on me. This play is about starting over; it’s about family, loss, courage, love, forgiveness in the face of hate, feminism and war. And it’s about us; it’s a play about the human race.”

“Thornton Wilder really wanted the audience to see and understand that even though disastrous things are happening in the world,” Tennis said, “we as humans will always find a way to survive and keep on going.”

The play is appropriate for anyone and all ages, Heifner said, but the subject matter may not interest someone younger than a teenager. He suggests the play would be rated PG13. There is no offensive language.

“The Skin of Our Teeth” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, April 25 through 29, in W.M. Turner Auditorium in the Griffith Fine Arts Building on the SFA campus. Single tickets are $15 for adult, $10 for senior and $7.50 for student/youth. For tickets or more information, call the SFA Fine Arts Box Office at (936) 468-6407 or visit www.theatre.sfasu.edu.

The biennial outdoor exhibition and competition Sculpture For All – SFA – will open with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22, in the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University.

Sculpture for All is a joint partnership project that brings together faculty, staff and students from the SFA School of Art and the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s SFA Gardens. It features the works of 10 artists selected from a pool of hundreds of sculptors from across the nation who submit their work to the competition.

Several of the participating artists will attend the opening reception to answer questions and take part in guided tours throughout the gardens. Juror Dewane Hughes, professor of sculpture at The University of Texas at Tyler and president of the Texas Sculpture Group, will announce the winners during Saturday’s event.

“I am honored to be part of this round of Sculpture For All,” Hughes said. “It is a great national exhibition filled with work from extremely talented sculptors.”

“This exhibition offers something for everyone,” said Jeff “Jeffie” Brewer, assistant professor in the SFA School of Art and organizer of Sculpture For All. “Dewane Hughes did a great job selecting a wide variety of work varying from whimsical to serious, and everything in between.

“It has been fascinating to watch spectators in the garden as they discover the new sculptures,” he added. “Joe Barrington’s ‘Message for Mankind’ has really been a crowd favorite so far. People will come to the arboretum with what appears to be the sole purpose of taking a selfie with this piece – a large skull with a raven perched on top. It’s pretty awesome!”

Since the first SFA–Sculpture For All exhibition in 2014, thousands of visitors have enjoyed a wide variety of sculptures nestled throughout the SFA Gardens, including the Mast Arboretum and Mize Azalea Garden on the university campus. Dozens of groups, classes and civic organizations representing all ages have been led on educational tours throughout the exhibit. Sculpture For All brings national recognition and publicity to SFA, helping to build brand awareness for the school, as well as aiding in recruiting both students and faculty members.

“Watching people actively pursuing and interacting with public art makes all the work worthwhile,” Brewer said.

The collaborative project’s ongoing fundraising goal of $20,000 allows for the continuation of the outdoor exhibition, providing funds for the sculpture installation, stipends, prizes, insurance, promotions, catalogs and other necessary expenses for the 24-month exhibition period. Donations can be made at: https://www.sculptureforall.com/donate

“Thanks to all of our generous donors and amazing partners, Sculpture For All continues to be a huge success,” Brewer said. “It could not happen without this support. With community involvement, art will continue to bloom throughout the SFA Gardens.”

For more information on Sculpture For All 2017-2019, visit www.sculptureforall.com.