BOARD TO ANNOUNCE DECISION ON NEW PRESIDENT BY SEPTEMBER MEETING; APPROVES BUDGET FOR 2000-2001
The Old Dominion University Board of Visitors will announce its choice of the university's next president at or before the board's September meeting, it was announced Thursday afternoon.
Edward L. Hamm Jr., board rector, said at the board's June 15 meeting that the announcement would be made "at the latest at the September meeting, and hopefully before." The board met in executive session for several hours on the matter before returning to its open sessions.
The board unanimously approved the 2000-01 operating budget and plan, which reflects a budgetary increase from $236 million last year to $237.8 million for the next fiscal year.
In his presentation to the board, David F. Harnage, vice president for administration and finance, noted the university will spend less than 10 percent in overhead while 62 percent of funding will go toward instruction and academic support.
According to Harnage, the budget educational priorities include faculty support for the newly created e-commerce program, University Professor awards, new faculty positions in the departments of Music and Chemistry and Biochemistry, the Teacher Training in Technology program, Northern Virginia Higher Education Center and distance learning.
Additionally, funds were allocated to renovate classrooms with new digital technologies, update technology equipment and computers at TELETECHNET sites and establish three new Information Technology Program (IT Pro) instructional computer labs.
The budget includes raises of 3 percent for faculty and 3.25 percent for staff. Harnage also announced that test pilings would be driven at the site of the new Constant Convocation Center by the end of July.
The board elected the following officers for 2000-01: Lawrie Falck Rollison, rector; Hamm, vice rector; and Elizabeth W. Atkinson, secretary.
In other action, the board approved the Academic Affairs Committee's recommendation on faculty, administrative, TELETECHNET site director and emeritus appointments, as well as its recommendation of a policy on Copyright Ownership and Royalty Rights for Technology-based Instruction.
The new policy was enacted to address the rights of faculty and the university as they relate to technology-based instruction. Developed by a joint committee of faculty and administrators, the new policy is based on practices that have developed as a result of TELETECHNET and distance learning instruction.
The policy states, in part, "Net revenues received from the sale of courses (e.g., royalty payments to the university) will be distributed equally among the college, faculty member and Academic Technology Services, 33 1/3 percent to each."
William R. Brown, professor of educational curriculum and instruction, and Carl O. Helvie, professor of nursing, were granted the title of emeritus, effective June 1, 2000, and the board also approved granting the title of emeritus posthumously to Joseph M. Marchello, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
At the Academic Affairs Committee meeting, it was announced that the following faculty have been promoted to the rank of professor effective with the start of the 2000-01 academic year:
*Mark Butler, biological sciences;
*Michelle Kelley, psychology;
*David Keyes, mathematics and statistics;
*Berhanu Mengistu, urban studies and public administration;
*Edward Neukrug, educational leadership and counseling; and
*Michael Pearson, English.