MEETING DATE: November
15, 2007
PERSON PRESIDING: Mike
Felts
REGULAR MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: C.
Christian, M. Felts, A. Rodriquez, M. Moore, S. Below
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: C.
Riley-Tillman, D. Dosser, N. Boyce, N. Mize, Nick Floyd, B Congleton, J Newby,
T Metcalf, G. Overton
OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE:
Agenda Item: October Minutes
Action Taken: The October minutes were approved.
Agenda Item: Report
from David Dosser
Action Taken David suggested that
we may want to advise all faculty about our meetings through the ECU announce
system. While this was thought to be a
good way to get our information to the faculty it was decided that we would use
the faculty senate meetings to disseminate our information.
David also discussed a suggestion he received from Professor Levine
regarding raising the academic standards for the ECU basketball team in order
to avoid APR sanctions in the future. It
was noted that this was an understood and valid suggestion from the faculty,
but the problems with the APR related to basketball were driven by retention
issues and not GPA issues. Thus, a more
difficult GPA standard for basketball could be unfair and was really not
warranted based on the variables that drive the APR.
The last item David discussed concerned questions he receives from
faculty concerning athletes receiving services that regular students don’t
receive. It was noted that while all
students receive benefits to assist them with academics (computer labs, tutors,
etc.) the reality is that athletics do receive some benefits not afforded to
the non-student-athlete. The consensus
was that this is a reality that must exist in some form as we ask student-athletes
to travel during the school week on behalf of the University.
Agenda Item: Report of
Athletics Director
Action Taken: Nick Floyd provided a
general update on the athletic teams. He
noted that the lost to Marshal was difficult and did have some impact on the
staff as they were gearing up to possibly host the conference championship and
that that now may not happen (and with the win by UCF on 11/24 it was no longer
a possibility). However, they felt like
the football team would be going to a bowl game. Basketball has also started and they are
anticipating good things.
Nick met with the SGA and discussed the athletic portion of the student fee. The athletic department requested a $0 fee increase this year. However, they did request that the $70 Minges debt fee that was rolling off this year continue to be collected and to be redirected for future improvements if approved by the Board of Governors. The SGA approved this reallocation. This would amount to approximately $1.4 million a year. This along with a fundraising program going in place will help fund some new facilities including a new soccer complex, new softball fields, additional courts that can be used by volleyball and women’s basketball, along with other smaller projects. Discussion ensued concerning possibly locating these fields where the current intramural fields are behind the Belk building, but that would require that the current intramural fields be relocated to the new “North recreational facilities” during its first phase. All of these projects are preliminary.
Agenda Item: Gender Equity Issues
Action Taken: Nick discussed
many issues with gender equity and Title IX compliance. Nick presented financial and participation
data concerning both men’s and women’s sports.
Title IX requires ECU to place as much emphasis on women’s athletics as
is placed on men’s. Nick’s report
demonstrated that ECU is striving to stay in compliance with Title IX. The
2002-2207 ECU Gender Equity Plan was also distributed. It was proposed that another five year plan
be prepared, since we will now have available student fees for future
improvements and NCAA accreditation will occur at ECU soon. David is requesting that this accreditation
occur during the same time when we have the SACS accreditation
Agenda Item: Graduation Rate Report
Action Taken: Nita Boyce provided the ECU graduation rate reports. After review of the data there was nothing unusual that needed to be reported.
Next Meeting: TBD
Submitted by: Cal Christian