While the big news at the June 17 Board of Visitors meeting was the announcement of President James V. Koch's impending resignation, along with a report that the capital campaign had exceeded its goal and a groundbreaking ceremony for the Ted Constant Convocation Center, the board did manage to turn its attention to other university business.
Board members unanimously approved the 1999-2000 operating budget and plan, which reflects a budgetary increase from $229 million last year to $236 million for 1999-2000.
"The general fund is increasing, which is always good news," said David F. Harnage, vice president for administration and finance. "The university will rely less on tuition and fees." Old Dominion continues to lead its peer group in terms of efficacious expenditures, Harnage pointed out to members of the board's Administration and Finance Committee. The university spends less than 10 percent in overhead, Harnage said, and 62 percent of Old Dominion's funding goes toward instruction.
The committee also heard reports about the arrival of the university's new supercomputer this summer. "This acquisition puts Old Dominion in the same category as major research laboratories and federal laboratories," Harnage said. The supercomputer, which can handle 22 billion instructions per second, will be available to faculty in the fall.
In other action, the board endorsed stiffer fines beginning this fall for Old Dominion students who drink alcohol illegally.
According to revised minimum discipline standards, first-time offenders would receive at least a $50 fine and a year's probation, as well as a mandatory alcohol abuse prevention workshop. For underage offenses, parental notification will be required. The new policies initially were passed by the board's Student Affairs Committee.
Second-time offenders will receive at least a $100 fine and additional workshop time and/or counseling. Third-time offenders face at least a one-semester suspension and parental notification.
Students who run afoul of university guidelines also will face swifter justice if found guilty of an alcohol-related offense. E-mail, as well as regular mail, will be used to notify students of charges against them and in cases of parental notification. Students are eligible for a prehearing conference, where they have the opportunity to plead guilty and waive their right to a full hearing of their case. Students who don't attend their hearings are ineligible for appeals. All hearings are to be closed to the public.
The committee also revised the composition of the hearing panel, cutting its membership to a faculty and a student representative, as well as a chairman. The panel formerly had been composed of three faculty and three students and a chairman.
The number of students drinking illegally is rising, according to a survey released by the committee. Sixty-four percent of respondents to a survey in 1995 said they drank illegally, while nearly 66 percent said they drank illegally in a similar study this year.
In a possible sign that the university's alcohol awareness policies are filtering down to the students, nearly 81 percent of students said this year they knew about the university's alcohol regulations. Sixty-eight percent said they knew of the policies in 1995.
In other matters, the board:
