MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES
CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
NOVEMBER 15, 2012
108 EAGLE COMMONS
CLARION CAMPUS, CLARION, PA 16214
7:00 P.M.
I. RECORDING OF ATTENDANCE
The meeting was called to order by Mr. Kifer, Secretary, with the following
Trustees present:
Dr. Syed Ali-Zaidi
Mrs. Milissa Bauer
Mrs. Susanne Burns
Ms. JD Dunbar
Mr. James Kifer, Secretary
Mr. Randy Seitz
Mr. Howard Shreckengost, Acting Vice Chairperson
Mr. Jeffrey Szumigale
The following trustees were absent for part or all of the meeting:
Mr. R. Lee James, Chairperson (arrived at 7:45 p.m.)
Ms. Donna Oberlander
The following members of the University administration attended the meeting:
Mr. Peter Fackler, Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Ronald Nowaczyk, Provost and Academic Vice President
Dr. Karen Whitney, President
Mr. Kifer, Council Secretary, indicated that Council Chairperson Lee James
would be arriving late to the meeting due to his attendance at a required meeting
in Harrisburg for newly elected State Representatives. Mr. Kifer welcomed and
introduced three new members of the Council—Mrs. Milissa Bauer, Mr. Randy
Seitz, and Mr. Darren Young. Mr. Kifer noted that Mr. Young, who had been
appointed by Governor Corbett as Clarion’s Student Trustee, was attending the
meeting as an observer since he had not yet received the oath of office and other
required paperwork from the Governor’s Office.

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II. Special Election – Acting Vice Chairperson
Mr. Kifer indicated that due to the fact that Mr. Larry Pickett’s term on the Council
had expired on October 1, a vacancy existed in the Council Vice Chairperson
position. Mr. Kifer noted that an election would be held to fill that vacancy and he
invited nominations from the floor.
A motion was made by Dr. Ali-Zaidi, seconded by Mr. Seitz, that Susanne
Burns be elected to serve as Council Acting Vice Chairperson.
A motion was made by Ms. Dunbar, seconded by Mrs. Burns that Howard
Shreckengost be elected to serve as Council Acting Vice Chairperson.
A motion was made by Ms. Dunbar, seconded by Mr. Szumigale to close
the nominations.
The election for Acting Council of Trustees Vice Chairperson was conducted
through a show of hands with the following results:
Susanne Burns
Howard Shreckengost

2 votes
5 votes

Mr. Kifer congratulated Mr. Shreckengost and thanked him on behalf of the
Council for his willingness to serve in the Acting Vice Chair role. In the absence
of Chairperson James, Mr. Shreckengost took over as presiding officer of the
meeting.
III.

Minutes
A motion was made by Mr. Szumigale, seconded by Mrs. Burns, that the
minutes of the September 19, 2012 regular meeting of the Council of Trustees be
approved as distributed by mail. The motion carried unanimously.

IV.

COMMUNICATIONS
A.

Public Comments - None

B.

Report of Student Senate
Clarion Student Senate President Sara Dickson reported that the Student
Senate sponsored Equity Banquet and Awards event had attracted over
300 attendees. She noted that former Trustee Larry Pickett had served as
keynote speaker for the evening. Ms. Dickson also reported on the
Clarion Student Organization’s freeze of its appropriation account that
provides funds to student organizations due to the loss of revenue related
to the 7.3% decline in enrollment.
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C.

Report of Faculty Senate
Faculty Senate Vice Chairperson Dr. Stephen Johnson provided a brief
report in the absence of Dr. Ellen Foster, Senate Chairperson, who was
attending a conference. Dr. Johnson discussed his group’s activities,
including a review of Faculty Senate bylaws, approval of a proposed
university statement on equity and diversity, examination of General
Education Council recommendations on student learning outcomes, and
planned participation in university budget discussions.

D.

Council Chairperson’s Report
Mr. Shreckengost thanked trustees Sue Burns and Lee James for
representing the Council at the Fall 2012 Pennsylvania Association of
Councils of Trustees (PACT) Conference at Millersville University. Mrs.
Burns, who serves as PACT Secretary, reviewed the tentative schedule
for the Spring 2013 PACT Conference at the Harrisburg Hilton on April 1617. She noted that national speakers would be featured. K. Whitney noted
that the Harrisburg location provided an excellent opportunity for trustees
to chat with legislators and tell the Clarion University story. Mrs. Burns
reminded trustees that the Fall 2013 PACT Conference would be hosted
by Clarion University on October 9-10.
Mr. Shreckengost reminded trustees that Winter Commencement was
Saturday, December 15. He also reminded trustees that President
Whitney’s 2012-2013 performance evaluation would be a triennial (or
formal) evaluation for which the Chancellor’s Office would be appointing
an external consultant.

V.

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT
A.

President
Information Items
1.

Introduction of Interim Vice President for Finance and
Administration
Dr. Whitney introduced Mr. Peter Fackler, Interim Vice President for
Finance and Administration. She noted that Mr. Fackler would
serve in his new role for 20 months as a replacement for Mr. Paul
Bylaska, who had been granted a professional development leave
and would be transitioning to a new role as administrative fellow in
the Provost Office.

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Dr. Whitney noted Mr. Fackler’s extension experience in university
finance and administration that included positions at Bates College
in Lewiston, Maine; Alfred University, Alfred, NY; West Chester
University of Pennsylvania; and the School of Visual Arts in New
York City. She further noted that Mr. Fackler had an undergraduate
degree in economics from Duke University, MBA from the
University of Michigan, and had done post-graduate study at
Teachers College, Columbia University; and Harvard’s Institute for
Educational Management.
2.

Entrepreneurial Efforts
Dr. Whitney reported that university representatives had
participated in a recent PASSHE webinar on new opportunities
under the Higher Education Modernization Act, signed by Governor
Corbett. She noted that the legislation would enable PASSHE
faculty, staff and students to be more entrepreneurial by providing
them with greater opportunities to work directly with businesses to
develop commercial applications for inventions they might develop
in the course of their research. She further noted that Clarion
University was already a leader in entrepreneurship thanks to the
work of its Barnes Center for Biotechnology and Business
Development.

3.

Strategic Planning Update
Dr. Whitney shared that the university’s divisions had been working
on their strategic plans, which would be presented to the Council of
Trustees in July 2013. She noted that the divisional strategic plans
would help to inform the identification of priorities for the university’s
upcoming capital campaign.

4.

Risk Management Assessment Project
Dr. Whitney provided an update on the university’s participation in a
2011-2012 Risk Assessment Project facilitated by the PASSHE
Office of Internal Audit and Risk Assessment. She noted that the
administration was preparing a written response to a summary of
top risks within the divisions as perceived by Clarion University
employees who had participated in the assessment process.

5.

AGB Membership
President Whitney sought input from the trustees on the usefulness
of the university’s membership in the Association of Governing
Boards (AGB). She noted that in addition to its printed publications,
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the AGB maintained a robust web site. She distributed information
to the Council members on accessing the site and its resources
and asked them to forward their feedback to Ms. Linda Campbell.
B.

Academic Affairs
Information Items
1.

Enrollment and Retention Update
Dr. Nowaczyk reported that applications for Fall 2013 were up 37%
over the previous year. He further reported that accepted
applications with paid deposits were up on both the Clarion and
Venango campuses. He shared copies of a chart on variables that
drive enrollment and discussed the notion of “value proposition” in
attracting prospective students and their families.
In reviewing retention efforts, Dr. Nowaczyk noted that at the
completion of pre-registration, 500 Clarion undergraduates had not
yet registered for Spring 2013, 260 of which were found to have
had financial holds. He indicated that students experiencing
financial problems were being encouraged to work with Student
Accounts personnel.

2.

Efforts to Balance FY12-13 Budget
Dr. Nowaczyk reported that he had been working with the deans on
a plan to cover FY12-13 deficits in their units with loans from the
Provost’s responsibility center. He also noted his collaboration with
deans, department chairs, and faculty on additional steps to
address the deficits through the reduction of temporary faculty,
scheduling modification, program moratorium, and the development
of new programs.

3.

Report on Barnes Center for Biotechnology Business Development
(BBDC)
Dr. Nowaczyk introduced Ms. Cindy Nellis, Associate Director of
the Clarion University Small Business Development Center (SBDC)
and Mr. Fred Maroni, Chief Operating Officer at Clarion Research
Group (CRG). Dr. Nowaczyk noted that both organizations were
housed at the university’s Barnes Center for Biotechnology
Business Development (BBDC).
Ms. Nellis reviewed the work of the SBDC, noting that in 2011 it
had assisted over 800 clients with either start-up or existing
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businesses. She indicated that the Center’s consultants provided
services to a 10-county area in addition to offering seminars,
workshops, and special programs. She also discussed the new
Entrepreneurial Leadership Center that encourages innovation and
entrepreneurship through curriculum and training options for
students, staff and faculty across disciplines.
Mr. Fred Maroni discussed research projects underway at CRG
related to bone growth, hormone salivary diagnostics, and
venipuncture. He stressed the importance of developing relations
with the university’s faculty to help them bring innovative ideas to
market.
4.

The Harrisburg Internship Semester (THIS) Program Report
Dr. Barry Sweet, Clarion coordinator for The Harrisburg Internship
Semester (THIS) Program, briefly described the internship through
which students have the opportunity to work with a state agency
and also complete a major research paper while earning 15 credits.
Dr. Sweet introduced Sharon Moser, a philosophy major, who
spoke to the trustees about the value of her THIS experience with
the State Board of Probation and Parole and her plans to apply to
law school.

C.

Finance and Administration
Information Item
1.

Report on Campus Crime Statistics
Mr. Fackler introduced Ms. Glen Reid, Chief of the Clarion
University Police, who provided a power-point presentation on the
university’s reporting of campus crime statistics for the Uniform
Crime Report and Clery Report. She reviewed a breakdown of
various crimes reported and indicated that the university’s numbers
were very good. In response to a question from Trustee Dunbar
regarding trends in the data, Chief Reid indicated that domestic
disputes and violence seemed to be on rise. She noted that she
referred students who needed help with conflict management to the
Dean of Student Life Services. Trustee Shreckengost asked if the
University Police received special training to deal with domestic and
sexual offenses. Chief Reid indicated that her officers trained with
local agencies related to prevention and services for sexual assault
and domestic violence. She also indicated that the University
Police would be looking at outreach services for returning veterans.

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2.

Status of Facilities Report
Mr. Fackler introduced Mr. Ric Taylor, Director of Facilities Planning
and Management, who provided updates on the Facilities Master
Plan, Becht Hall renovation into a comprehensive student services
center, Tippin Gymnasium construction/renovation project, and
Rhoades Center brickwork repair.

E.

Student and University Affairs
Action Item
1.

Certification of Foundation Compliance with Board of Governors
Policy 1985-04, University External Financial Support
Mr. Michael Keefer, CEO of the Clarion University Foundation, Inc.,
reported that for FY11-12, the Foundation had provided nearly $5.5
million in support to Clarion University, while the University had
funded the Foundation $723,871 in support of its operation. Trustee
Dunbar applauded the return on investment for the university.
A motion was made by Ms. Dunbar, seconded by Mr. Kifer,
to approve the following resolution. The motion carried
unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion University
of Pennsylvania, upon recommendation of the President, hereby
certifies that the Clarion University Foundation, Inc., complies with
the Board of Governors Policy 1985-04.

Information Item
1.

Fund-raising Report
Mr. Keefer reported that the Clarion University Foundation, Inc. had
raised a total of $1.1 million in private support during the first
quarter of FY12-13, an increase of $700,000 over the previous year
first quarter. He further reported that the Foundation was recruiting
four new development officers.

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VI.

REPORT OF COMMITTEES
A.

Finance Committee
Action Items
1.

Approval of the Finance Committee Report
A motion was made by Mrs. Burns, seconded by Ms.
Dunbar, that the following resolution be approved. The motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion University,
approve the Finance Committee report for November 15, 2012.

2.

Approval of Change in Procurement Approval Procedure
Mr. Fackler presented a recommendation from the Trustees
Finance Committee that the university’s procurement approval
procedure be modified to align with new state legislation that had
increased bid limits for project contracts and for contracts awarded
by PASSHE Presidents.
A motion was made by Mr. Szumigale, seconded by Mrs.
Burns, that the following resolution be approved. The motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees Finance
Committee review and approve Clarion University contracts and
purchases of $35,000 and above and that the Finance Committee
submit a report to the full Council of Trustees of all purchases over
$18,500 at each regularly scheduled Council meeting.

VII.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None

VIII.

NEW BUSINESS - Call for Executive Session

The trustees entered into executive session at 9:12 p.m. to discuss personnel issues
and returned to public session at 9:35 p.m.

IX.

ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.

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Respectfully submitted

_________________________
James Kifer, Secretary
Council of Trustees

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