MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF TRUSTEES
CLARION UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
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
Ms. JD Dunbar
Mr. R. Lee James, Chairperson
Mr. Chris Myers
Mr. Larry Pickett
Mr. How ard Shreckengost, Secretary
The follow ing trustees w ere absent from t he meeting:
Mr. Ross Cioppa
Mr. James Kif er, Vice Chairperson
Ms. Donna Oberlander
Mr. Jeffrey Szumigale
The follow ing members of the University administration attended the
meeting:
Mr. Paul Bylaska, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Jocelind Gant, Assistant to the President for Social Equity and Assistant
Vice President for International Programs
Dr. Christopher Reber, Executive Dean, Venango Campus
Dr. Susan Turell, Associate Provost
Mr. Harry Tripp, Vice President for Student and University Affairs
Dr. Karen Whitney, President
II.

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 18, 2010
A motion w as made by Mr. Shreckengost , seconded by Mr. Myers,
that the minut es of the November 18, 2010 regular meeting of t he Council
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of Trustees be approved as distribut ed by mail. The motion carried
unanimously.
III.

COMMUNICATIONS
A.

Public Comments - None

B.

Report of Student Senate
President of Student Senate Ben Sturtz indicated that his group had
approved three new Recognized Student Organizations (RSO’ s), vot ed
on five supplemental budget requests, and mailed out budget packets
to all RSO’ s and Recognized University Organizations (RUO’ s). He
also announced that t he annual Reinhard Aw ards for student service
w ould be held on April 27.

C.

Report of Facult y Senate
Dr. Todd Pfannestiel, Chair, reported that in addition to its regular
business, including preparations for upcoming elections, Faculty
Senate w as becoming more involved w ith t he development of the
university’ s new Responsibility Centered Management budgeting
model. He not ed that Senate w ould use its existing committee
structures to assist the administration.

D.

Council Chairperson’ s Report
Mr. James reminded t rustees on the Council’ s Nominating Committee
(Jeff Szumigale, Chair; Sue Burns; How ard Shreckengost; and Lee
James), that the committee w ould need to prepare its recommended
slate of officers for next year prior to the Council’ s April 21 st 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 2011 PACT Conference w ould be held at
Edinboro Universit y on April 27-28.
Mr. James also thanked Mr. Myers for sharing his report on the
PASSHE student trustees’ meeting at the 2010 Fall PACT Conference
at Kutztow n Universit y.

IV.

REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT
A.

President

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Information Items
1.

Enrollment Update
Dr. Whitney report ed that Spring 2011 enrollment w as flat
based on the prior year but looking promising for Fall 2011. She
noted that the university w as considering structural
improvements to its financial aid operation, including how the
area is staffed.

2.

Briefing on Financial Planning
Dr. Whitney provided a condensed version of her present ation
to the university community on “ Funding Clarion Now and For
the Future.” She discussed the benefits of and timeline for
implementing a financial model based on Responsibility Cent ers
in order to promote disciplined financial decision making,
entrepreneurial activit y, shared fundraising, and account ability.

3.

Board Development
Dr. Whitney asked the Council if they w ould w ant a summer
retreat that w ould allow deeper discussion about RCM and its
benefits. Mrs. Burns suggested a joint retreat of the Council of
Trustees and Foundat ion Board of Directors.

4.

February Status Report on 500-Day Plan
Dr. Whitney shared copies of a report outlining progress on her
500-Day Plan. She highlighted her w ork on a collaborative
Department of Labor grant targeting dislocated w orkers and
adult learners and her discussion w ith Clarion Borough about
doing a joint master plan.

5.

Update on Searches
Dr. Whitney introduced Dr. Susan Turell, new Clarion University
Associate Provost, w ho began her new dut ies in the Division of
Academic Affairs on February 1. Dr. Whit ney also announced
that Dr. Todd Pfannestiel had been appoint ed as a Faculty
Fellow for Planning, Assessment, and Improvement (PAI) and
that he w ould assume his new role in summer 2011.

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Council of Trustees Chairman James suggested that the agenda
be reordered to allow a presentation from t he auditors, w ho had
traveled to the meeting from State College, PA. The follow ing
Information Item w as moved from the Finance and
Administration portion of the agenda:
B.

Finance and Administ ration
1.

Auditors’ Report for Year Ended June 30, 2010
Mr. Bill Kelly of ParenteBeard review ed his firm’ s audit of the
university’ s financial statements for the year ended June 30,
2010. He noted that the university’ s assets had increased from
$94 to $98 million due, in part, to federal stimulus funds that
had been received. He further noted that liabilities had also
increased ow ing in large part to uncompensated absences and
post-retirement benefits. Mr. Kelly summarized the university’ s
finances as having a good solid year and he commended efforts
to hold the line on expenses.

B.

Academic Affairs
Action Item
1.

Revised 2011-2012 Academic Calendar
Dr. Turell present ed a request to approve a revised 2011 -2012
Academic Calendar. Mr. Sam Puleio, Assistant Vice President
for Computing Services, noted that the revision had been
needed to align t he university’ s calendar w ith the PASSHE
Common Calendar. He explained that the Spring 2012
semester start date had been changed to Monday, January 23,
and that all relat ed dates w ould slide f orw ard one w eek.
A motion w as made by Dr. Ali-Zaidi, seconded by Mr.
Myers, to approve the Revised 2011 -2012 Academic Calendar.
The motion carried unanimously.

Information Items
1.

The Harrisburg Internship Program
Dr. Turell introduced Dr. Barry Sw eet, Clarion University
coordinator for The Harrisburg Internship Program (THIS). Dr.

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Sw eet introduced student Mark Liberto, w ho related his
internship experiences during the Fall 2010 semester w ith the
PA Bureau for Historic Preservation, w hich identifies and
protects the architect ural and archaeological resources of the
state. Mr. Liberto thanked the trust ees for their continuing
support of THIS.
2.

New Natural Gas Concentration in Venango AAS-IT Degree
Venango Campus Executive Dean Chris Reber announced that
the campus w ould be launching a new concentration in natural
gas in its Applied Technology area that w ould fit w ell w ith the
grow ing Marcellus Shale industry. Professor Bill Hallock, Chair
of the Department of Applied Technology, review ed the
proposed curriculum, noting that it integrat ed technical credits
provided by Precision Manuf acturing Institute of Meadville w ith
leadership and career development courses provided by
Venango Campus.
Mr. James not ed the potent ial benefits of t he Marcellus Shale
industry for the area and asked about the efforts of some
Clarion campus groups that appeared to be w orking against the
industry. Noting the public nature of the university, Dr.
Whitney said it w as a place of ideas and open to a variety of
view points. Dr. Rachelle Prioleau, Dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences (CAS) indicat ed that her faculty support ed the
Venango proposal. She not ed a February 28 t h panel
present ation sponsored by CAS that w ould present the full
spectrum of thought on the natural gas industry and invited the
trustees to attend.

3.

Trustee Ali-Zaidi Report on Visit to Grunenw ald Cent er for
Science and Technology
Dr. Ali-Zaidi distribut ed copies of a report on his visit to the
Grunenw ald Cent er for Science and Technology and meetings
w ith Dr. Kurt Regester of the Department of Biology, Dr. Vasudeva
Rao Aravind of the Department of Physics, and Dr. Chunfei Li of
the Department of Physics. Dr. Ali-Zaidi proposed a collaboration
of PASSHE universities including Clarion, IUP, Slippery Rock, and
Edinboro in securing an electron microscope to help increase
enrollment in the sciences, mathematics, and science education.

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C.

Finance and Administ ration
Action Item
1.

Approval of Capit al Program Submissions, 2011-2012
Mr. Bylaska indicated that the list of Capit al Program
Submissions, 2011-2012, that w as Attachment A to the
trustees’ agenda, w as the same list they had review ed in
February 2010, w ith some costs adjusted f or rates of inflation.
In response to a question from Mr. Shreckengost about changes
made to the Tippin renovation and expansion project, Mr.
Bylaska not ed that st aff had been asked to narrow the scope of
the project to propose a f acility that w ould have a greater
chance of being approved. He further noted that the
university’ s existing gym may be allow ed to remain to serve as
a practice facility. Mr. Bylaska indicated that projects listed on
the Capital Program Submissions w ere in priority order and that
$120 million in state funds w as available t o address capital
needs across the PASSHE.
A motion w as made by Mrs. Burns, seconded by Ms.
Dunbar, 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.

Budget Update
Mr. Bylaska indicated that he had nothing f urther to report on
the university’ s budget beyond inf ormation shared earlier by
President Whitney. He noted that t he Governor’ s proposed
FY2011-2012 budget w ould be unveiled in March.

2.

Status of Facilities Report
Mr. Bylaska review ed projects on the Status of Facilities report
attached to the trust ees’ agenda. He noted a loss of $600,000
to $1 million in Key93 funds to address deferred maintenance
needs. He also not ed plans to bring forth a proposal at the April

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Council meeting that w ould help fund facilities projects at
Venango Campus, including the ground w at er problem there.
D.

Student and University Affairs
Action Items
1.

Approval of Proposed 2011-2012 Room and Board Rat es
Mr. Tripp recommended a residence hall room increase of 4%
for 2011-2012 based on assumptions that included a 10%
increase in benefits, a more than 70% increase in retirement
costs, and a slight increase in utilities. Likew ise, he
recommended a 4% increase in students’ meal plans to meet
expected increases in utilities and operating costs. Mr. Tripp
present ed data that show ed that w ith the proposed increases,
Clarion w ould rank 8 t h among PASSHE schools in combined
room and board rat es w hen comparing costs for a double room
w ith a 19-meal plan w ith flex. He noted that the university w as
expected to rank even low er in overall room and board costs
once its sister institutions introduced their new rates.
A motion w as made by Ms. Dunbar, seconded by Mrs.
Burns, to approve the follow ing resolution. 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, 2011:
Double Room Semest er
Double Room Summer Session
Double Room Summer Weekly
Single Room Semester
Single Room Summer Session
Single Room Summer Weekly

-

$2351
$ 784
$ 157
$3013
$1004
$ 201

A motion w as made by Mr. Shreckengost, seconded by
Mr. Pickett , t o approve the f ollow ing resolution. The motion
carried unanimously.
RESOLVED, by the Council of Trust ees, Clarion
University, that board rates be set as follow s, effective w ith the
Summer I semester, 2011:

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19 Standard
19 Meal Flex
14 Meal Flex
10 Meal Flex
5 Meal Flex
Summer Session
Summer Weekly
Block 175 Flex
Block 75 Flex

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$1115
$1371
$1330
$1078
$ 772
$ 370
$ 71
$1279
$ 804

Information Item
1.

Fund-raising Report
Mr. Tripp reported that just under $1.9 million in private support
had been raised by the Clarion University Foundation, Inc. for
the fiscal year to date. He not ed the amount w as less than a
year ago due to few er large gifts.

V.

REPORT OF COMMITTEES
A.

Executive Committee
Mr. James reported t hat the Executive Committee had met on
February 8, 2011, 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 Ms. Dunbar, seconded by Dr. Ali-Zaidi,
that the follow ing resolution be approved. The motion carried
unanimously.
RESOLVED, that the Council of Trustees, Clarion University,
approve the Finance Committee Report dated September 14, 2010.

VI.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None

VII.

NEW BUSINESS - None

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VIII.

ADJOURNMENT - The meeting w as adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted

_________________________
How ard Shreckengost , Secret ary
Council of Trustees

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