MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES
CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
ROOM 204 CARLSON LIBRARY, CLARION CAMPUS
CLARION, PA 16214
7:00 P.M.
I. RECORDING OF ATTENDANCE
The meeting w as called to order by Mr. James, Chairperson, w ith the
follow ing Trustees present:
Dr. Syed Ali-Zaidi
Mrs. Susanne Burns
Mr. R. Lee James, Chairperson
Mr. James Kif er, Vice Chairperson
Mr. Kyle McMunn
Ms. Donna Oberlander
Mr. Larry Pickett
Mr. How ard Shreckengost, Secretary
The follow ing trustees w ere absent from t he meeting:
Mr. Ross Cioppa
Ms. JD Dunbar
Mr. Jeffrey Szumigale
The follow ing members of the University administration attended the
meeting:
Mr. Paul Bylaska, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Joseph Grunenw ald, President
Dr. Valentine James, Provost and Academic Vice President
Mr. Harry Tripp, Vice President for Student and University Affairs
II.

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 19, 2009
A motion w as made by Mrs. Burns, seconded by Mr. Kifer, that the
minutes of the November 19, 2009 regular meeting of the Council of
Trustees be approved as distributed by mail. The motion carried
unanimously.

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III.

COMMUNICATIONS
A.

Public Comments - None

B.

Report of Student Senate
President Heather Puhalla shared that St udent Senat e had held an inhouse retreat to review its mission and vision. She noted some
changes to the Senat e’ s election procedures and a proposal to
restructure the Clarion Student Association and its policies for student
organizations. Ms. Puhalla also provided an updat e on Haiti relief
efforts.

C.

Report of Facult y Senate
Dr. Laurie Occhipinti, Chair of Faculty Senate, reported t hat the
Faculty Author Series, a collaboration of the Senat e’ s Faculty Affairs
Committee and the University Libraries, had been extended anot her
year. She review ed additional Senate activities, including an
information literacy project designed to help students improve their
ability to find and assess information and a pilot program to move the
process for review ing curriculum proposals to an on-line format.

D.

Council Chairperson’ s Report
Mr. James indicat ed t hat the Council of Trustees report on President
Grunenw ald’ s performance for 2008 -2009 had been submitted to
Chancellor Cavanaugh and t hat confidential copies had been provided
to the trustees at their places. He called upon Mrs. Burns, Chair of the
Presidential Search Committee to provide an updat e on the search. Mr.
James reminded trustees on the Council’ s Nominating Committee
that the committee w ould need to prepare its recommended slate of
officers for next year prior to the Council’ s April 15 t h Council meeting.
He reminded all trustees to submit their Statement of Financial
Interests Forms to the State Ethics Commission by May 1. Mr. James
indicat ed that the Spring 2010 PACT Conference w ould be held at
East Stroudsburg University on April 21-22; Mrs. Burns distributed
copies of a PACT Conference survey and asked the trustees to
complete and return t he forms to Ms. Linda Min in the Chancellors’
Office.

IV.

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT
A.

President

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Information Items
1.

Enrollment Management
Dr. Grunenw ald reported higher than expected enrollment for
Spring 2010, noting an increase of more t han 300 FTE over last
year. He attribut ed t he increase to retention efforts, including
the Transitions program and improvement in the academic
performance of athletes and Greeks. He noted that the
university w as on t arget to mat ch its record enrollment of Fall
2009.

2.

State System Updat e
Dr. Grunenw ald review ed the Governor’ s proposed flat or 0%
increase in appropriation for the Pennsylvania State System of
Higher Education (PASSHE) for 2010 -2011. He indicated that
the university’ s budget planning w as being based on a minus
5% appropriation, a 4% t uition increase, and a 1.5% enrollment
increase. He not ed that Clarion’ s share of stimulus funds
received by t he PASSHE had been targeted for make-adifference project s that meet the funding criteria. He added that
scheduling of the projects w ould be done prudently t o ensure
that the university had the stimulus funds in hand before
releasing projects for bid.

B.

Academic Affairs
Action Item
1.

Approval of Proposed Bachelor of Science in Health Science
Dr. James provided background information on the proposed
Bachelor of Science in Health Science. He noted it w ould be a
primarily online degree completion program for w orking
professionals w ho had complet ed a formal, accredit ed
educational program in an allied health prof ession.
A motion w as made by Dr. Ali-Zaidi, seconded by Mr.
McMunn, to approve the follow ing resolution. The motion
carried unanimously.

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RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion
University, approve the proposed Bachelor of Science in Health
Science.
Information Items
1.

Extended Programs
Dr. James introduced Dr. Art Acton, Assistant Vice President
for Academic Affairs/Extended Programs, w ho provided a
present ation on the university’ s Distance Education and
Extended Studies programs. He shared data that revealed the
grow th in courses and enrollments in these areas, noting that
on-line programs in particular had seen dramatic increases at
both the undergraduate and graduat e levels over the last several
years. Dr. Acton also review ed the university’ s Dual Enrollment
program involving some 40 high schools and on-line Summer
School program. He project ed continued grow th in Distance
Education and Extended Studies courses, enrollments, and
revenue. He credited the faculty for their hard w ork and
involvement in developing courses and seeking their approval.

2.

The Harrisburg Internship Program
Dr. James introduced Dr. Barry Sw eet, Clarion University
coordinator for The Harrisburg Internship Program (THIS). Dr.
Sw eet introduced Mr. Shane Bailey and Ms. Danielle McCauley,
w ho relat ed their respective internship experiences during the
Fall 2009 semester w ith the PA Department of State and the
Center for Rural Pennsylvania. Each described the benefits of
the program and thanked the trustees for t heir support . Trustee
Oberlander not ed that the THIS program and the contributions
of its interns are very respected in Harrisburg.

3.

New Academic Requirements for High School Graduates to
Enter PASSHE Universities
Dr. James outlined new requirements to be implemented in
2013 for high school graduates w ishing to enter PASSHE
universities. He indicated that the PASSHE view ed the changes
as one w ay of reducing the need for remedial courses after
students matriculated.

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4.

Academic Strategic Planning
Dr. James provided an updat e on his division’ s development of
an academic strategic plan. Noting that the university is
currently in its fourth year of implementing its five-year strategic
plan, Dr. Grunenw ald noted the importance of having a revised
academic plan in place around w hich the new president can
begin the assembly of other critical plans.

5.

Program Moratorium
Dr. James noted that due to declining enrollments, the B.S. in
Applied Mathematics and the B.A. in Social Psychology had
been placed in morat orium.

C.

Finance and Administ ration
Action Item
1.

Approval of Capit al Program Submissions, 2011 -2012
Mr. Bylaska indicated that the Capit al Program Submissions,
2011-2012 w ere the same as last year’ s submissions and
continued to reflect university f acility priorities.
A motion w as made by Mr. Pickett , seconded by
Mrs.Burns to approve the follow ing resolution. The motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion
University, approve the 2011-2012 Capital Program
Submissions to the State System of Higher Education.

Information Items
1.

Auditors’ Report for Year Ended June 30, 2009
Mr. Bill Kelly of ParenteBeard review ed his firm’ s audit of the
university’ s financial statements for the year ended June 30,
2009. He discussed t rending in university assets, liabilities and
debt and confirmed t hat ParenteBeard had encountered no
difficulties during the audit and had found no significant
deficiencies in the university’ s internal controls. Mr. James
thanked Mr. Kelly and his associate Mr. Rick Bair for their

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services, w hile Mr. Bylaska acknow ledged the good w ork of Mr.
Mark Angel, Coordinator of Budget and Accounting and his
staff. Mr. Bylaska also acknow ledged the impact of a peer
financial counselor program administered by Mr. Dave Hogue,
Director of Business Services, that had helped to reduce past
due balances for student accounts.
2.

Budget Update
Mr. Bylaska noted a possible modest surplus for the current
fiscal year resulting from the Spring 2010 enrollment increase.

3.

Status of Facilities Report
Mr. Bylaska review ed projects on the Status of Facilities report
attached to the trust ees’ agenda.

D.

Student and University Affairs
Action Items
1.

Approval of Proposed 2010-2011Room and Board Rat es
Mr. Tripp review ed a proposed residence hall increase of 4%
and a proposed meal plan increase of 5% f or 2010 -2011 based
on increases in personnel, utility, and operating costs. He also
review ed current room and board charges at other PASSHE
universities, noting that even w ith the proposed 2010-2011
increases, Clarion w ould rank among the low est in the System
for room and board.
A motion w as made by Mr. Shreckengost, seconded by
Mr. McMunn, to approve the follow ing resolutions. The motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLVED, by the Council of Trust ees, Clarion
University, that room rates be set as follow s, effective w ith the
Fall semest er, 2010:
Double Room Semest er
Double Room Summer Session
Double Room Summer Weekly
Single Room Semester
Single Room Summer Session

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-

$2261
$ 754
$ 151
$2897
$ 965

Single Room Summer Weekly

-

$ 193

RESOLVED, by the Council of Trust ees, Clarion
University, that board rates be set as follow s, effective w ith the
Summer I semester, 2010:
19 Standard
19 Meal Flex
14 Meal Flex
10 Meal Flex
5 Meal Flex
Block 175 Flex
Block 75 Flex
Summer Session
Summer Weekly

-

$1072
$1324
$1285
$1043
$ 748
$1236
$ 779
$ 356
$ 71

semester
semester
semester
semester
semester
semester
semester

Information Items
1.

Fund-raising Report
Mr. Tripp reported that private support to t he Clarion University
Foundation, Inc. stood at $2.4 million for t he fiscal year as
compared to a little under $2 million last year at this time.

V.

REPORT OF COMMITTEES
A.

Executive Committee
Mr. James reported t hat the Executive Committee had met on
February 9, 2010, and that copies of the minutes from that session
w ould be mailed to the trustees.

B.

Finance Committee
A motion w as made by Mr. Kifer, seconded by Mr. McMunn,
that the follow ing resolution be approved. The motion carried
unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion University,
approve the Finance Committee Report for October 13, 2009 to
November 17, 2009.

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VI.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None

VII.

NEW BUSINESS - None

VIII.

ADJOURNMENT - The meeting w as adjourned at 8:57 p.m.
Respectfully submitted

_________________________
How ard Shreckengost ,
Secretary
Council of Trustees

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