Mr. Irving welcomed new Trustee Lynn Barrieau.

There were none.

Mr. Irving presented the president's goal performance assessment. He stated that there was considerable positive activity and much had been accomplished in the past year.  One of the items noted was the positive student enrollment numbers considering the challenges in today's environment. He commended the president and everyone involved. Mr. Connors noted the prominent positive article in the local paper regarding the universities current year's enrollment numbers.
 

President Lapidus highlighted the accomplishments of last year. He appreciated the Chairman's remarks in including the team that contributed to a successful year. The president emphasized that we have a strong leadership team and great faculty and staff and that's why we are doing so well. He noted that the NEASC report had been submitted and feedback was highly positive, that the university had a clean audit and that we continue to be fiscally conservative and responsible. On the academic side, he noted two living/learning communities in the residence halls. The academic component in the residence halls is based on the idea of bringing groups of people together that have common interests to stimulate more engaged students and higher performance. New programs on Cyber Security and Deaf studies were introduced.  He noted the purposeful effort to increase our international activity and stated that students this year come from 26 different countries. 

Incoming student enrollment was strong and he talked about the Student Success Collaborative as a means of being more intrusive in monitoring student success and identifying more proactively those that are faltering. He also introduced the CARE team concept which provides an opportunity to more holistically look at students who are encountering disciplinary problems. He stated that it not always clear why a student is getting into trouble, but by looking at all sides, we can help provide solutions allowing them be successful. He also briefly noted SARA and the Board of Higher Educations' support. This will open a lot of doors for the university with regard to distance education. He concluded by noting that many of his last years goals would continue to roll forward each year in support of the university strategic plan.

The president reintroduced the concept of a student part-time job website emphasizing student interest in a more traditional, vibrant seven-day-per-week campus experience.  In talking with students, we found many were going home to work on the weekends. If we could find similar opportunities here, they would consider remaining on campus. The president has discussed with the Mayor and the Chamber of Commerce the need for assistance with populating the website just for Fitchburg State students.

Steve Swartz, Assistant Vice President and Chief Information Officer presented a Power Point presentation. A discussion ensued.

The personnel actions were presented for informational purposes.

Mr. Irving informed the board that a Chair was needed for the Finance Committee. He asked for volunteers. The Committee list would be distributed and for board members to let him know which committees they would like to serve on.

Our International student population has increased. About 42% of our incoming freshman are first generation college students. Our underrepresented population continues to increase. 

The residence halls are nearly 100% occupied. We brought Simonds Hall on-line this fall as part of our housing portfolio and it was the fastest housing option to fill.  Students continue to indicate that they want to live in residence halls. It is nice to see the pattern that students want to stay on campus. We will continue to monitor the trend.

It was busy year recruiting for personnel. We have many new faculty and staff and we will continue to access need. We have begun assessing needs for next year and reviewing the few searches that were not successful. Recruiting was exceptionally large this year because of the early retirement program.  

We also hired three new Deans, a Vice President of Student Affairs and an Executive Director Marketing and Integrated Communications.  These  individuals were introduced.

Administrative positions that are currently undergoing searches include the Director of Admissions, the Dean for the Business Department, and the Director of the Library.

The contracts for all three bargaining groups have expired. The Governor and the Department of Administration and Finance were slow to release financial parameters for bargaining. The Governor announced the parameters on August 30th, so we are hoping there will increased activity at the bargaining tables . All three groups are scheduled to meet soon. The president stated, that he had indicated to the faculty and staff that he was highly supportive of salary increases and people should be compensated fairly. He said the faculty and staff do a good job. The Council of Presidents was proactive in their support as well.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), as far as we can tell, will impact one student. It was emphasized that the campus remains committed to diversity and will do its best to protect our students and employees. There are currently Senate and House bills in the Massachusetts legislature being reviewed to protect these students. The COP has sent a recommendation in support of those bills. 

We have worked on the infrastructure this summer that included work on the townhouses, and the chiller project. The goal is to soon have air conditioning in all of the historic buildings. We are hoping by next year the project will come to fruition.

The Theater Block renovation on the second floor will soon begin. The game design and idea lab will be the first phase. The Landry Arena is now being rebuilt as a multi-purpose recreational center. It will have Astroturf and a strength and conditioning area. Our current weight room is at capacity. The Landry Arena should be done sometime in early January 2018.

The university purchased a property at 66 Day Street to be converted to a  day care center. This project is consistent with the strategic plan and will provide a service to the greater community and a working laboratory for our education majors similar to the McKay campus. In the interim, the property will be leased to the Montachusett Opportunity Council (MOC). 

We will begin conducting a branding exercise soon.  As we continue to develop a destination campus it is important to tighten the brand and its supporting imagery. The exercise will begin focus groups' research designed to better understand perceptions from a broad range of constituents. 

Freedom of speech is an important topic in light of recent activities in Virginia and Boston. One of our students helped organize the Free Speech Rally in Boston. The president provided background.

The students have moved in and classes have begun. By all accounts, it was a smooth opening.

The annual Conflict of Interest Statements were presented for completion.