The UNCP Board of Trustees met from Feb. 16-17 to evaluate new developments and to be updated on the state of affairs at the university.
The board consists of 13 members appointed by The UNC Board of Governors. Kellie Hunt Blue, who graduated from the university in 1993, serves as chair, while Adm. Michael Holmes ’72 is the elected vice chair.
Six committees are available for members of the board to participate in. The committees cover all aspects of the university’s operations and range from educational planning and personnel to student life and athletics.
Each committee met individually throughout the course of the two days. During those sessions, administrators presented information to their respective board members about information relevant to the group’s subject. For example, Director of Athletics Dick Christy presented an update on his department’s strategic planning progress as well the recent success of sports teams at UNCP.
Christy reported that the strategic plan is roughly 75 percent completed. The department anticipates restarting the strategic planning process in May.
Christy also provided the board with an update on the status of the men’s soccer team, which was cut at the beginning of the year due to budget issues. Many of the athletes who were on the team have been in contact with other programs about transferring, according to Christy. He acknowledged interim coach Bennie Bardales for being a facilitator of that process, helping the players organize tryouts, meetings and other events required for them to continue their collegiate soccer career.
A couple of the main points discussed in the finance and administration committee included the continued development of the new Student Health Services Building, as well as the status of the campus bookstore.
The university is moving toward contracting out the bookstore’s operations. According to Vice Chancellor Steven Arndt, risk will be decreased and space utilization will improve within the store as a result.
On the topic of sustainability, Arndt announced that UNCP became the first school in the UNC system to lower its energy consumption by at least 40 percent since 2002.
In the board’s general session, members of UNCP’s Model United Nations team presented on about their accomplishments and the program’s overall importance to the UNCP community. The team has been asking for Chancellor Robin Cummings and other administrators at the university to reconsider their decision to cut their budget recently.
All meetings of the Board of Trustees are open to the public except for when legal matters, such as the disclosure of confidential information mandate a closed session. The next meeting of the board will take place on April 20-21.
#news #aroundthecampus