Board attendance: John Ramil, Board Chair; Paul Colee, John Frost, Carole Philipson, and Kelly Underhill, Members; USF President Judy Genshaft, and USF Lakeland Vice President/CEO and Board Corporate Secretary, Dr. Preston Mercer.

Call to Order and Introductions
Chairman Ramil called the meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. and thanked the administration, faculty and staff for a successful year. He welcomed Senator J.D. Alexander to the meeting and thanked him for his support of USF.

Senator Alexander congratulated everyone for their excellent work, and indicated that building the new campus will be beneficial to all of Florida, especially central Florida in providing quality education to residents. He thanked President Genshaft for her leadership and support of the regional campuses.

Dr. Mercer added his appreciation for Senator Alexander’s support and the Polk County Legislative Delegation. Dr. Mercer mentioned that USF just received the largest donation ever to build the Patel Center for Global Solutions. He reiterated that USF Lakeland is not only a regional campus but part of the USF system and shares in the excitement and expectation for this generous support.

President’s Report
President Genshaft thanked Senator Alexander for his continued support and thanked the USF Lakeland team for their hard work. She told the group that the $18.5M gift Dr. Mercer mentioned sets the bar for Tampa Bay. The gift is divided into endowment, operating and construction funds that will nearly double with the state match to $34.5M and further assurances from the donors to help raise funds for a $60M center. President Genshaft added that when USF moves into the Big East Conference this summer, it will put us in a higher-level peer group. The Patel gift also puts USF in a higher category.

Approval of Minutes
A motion was made to approve the minutes of the January 11, 2005 minutes. The motion was seconded and passed.

A motion was made to approve the minutes of the April 22, 2005 minutes. The motion was seconded and passed.

USF Lakeland New Campus Master Plan
Dr. Mackey thanked those that have worked hard on the draft master plan. The plan has been under development for the past 16 months by a steering committee comprised of a USF Lakeland Board member, a student, faculty, staff and community representative. Upon approved by the USF Lakeland Board, the draft master plan will be reviewed by the CDC (Campus Development Committee) and the UBOT Academic Campus Environment Workgroup. Then a three-month formal comment period will occur. Before the document is put out for external review, the steering committee will review all comments.

Dr. Mackey introduced Chris Flagg, project director of the consultant team and Vice President of Reynolds, Smith & Hills (RS&H ). Mr. Flagg introduced the core members of his team: Dr. Persis Rickes, Julie Perricone, project manager; and John Pehling, Vice President of institutional programs and director of design.

Mr. Flagg reviewed the development of the plan. (The presentation is attached and incorporated herein by this reference.) President Genshaft indicated that the campus needs to be a user-friendly campus that promotes dialogue and connectivity between students and faculty. She referred to the development in Sarasota of a horseshoe configuration which promised to be a user-friendly campus. She didn’t feel that the campus layout presented encouraged a student-friendly, community building design. Her concerns: how the buildings are placed; the wide expanse of green space (distance from building to building) with a campus core not producing faculty-student interaction; and access to the campus front door by a new student. A number of different building configurations were discussed to describe various “zones” of activity on the proposed campus. Mr. Flagg indicated he understood the concerns and told the group that the plan was preliminary and flexible. Carole Philipson supported the comments from President Genshaft wanting to make the campus a user-friendly campus, especially for that student who enters the campus for the first time.

Kelly Underhill felt that the student areas need to be closer to the academic areas, rather than so far removed from the center of campus. Mr. Flagg indicated that these areas could be shifted. Carole Philipson reiterated that, with the phased approach, it is important that the student services/support areas be moved closer to phase-one. Also, the library placed in the center of the large quad area of phase one would help move the student-centered areas closer together.

President Genshaft pointed out that the purpose of a master plan was a road map and not as a final product. Dr. Mackey suggested that the master plan could capture what the campus should look like and also clarify what would be the first set of buildings that would be constructed during phase one. Assignment of function of the buildings depicted on the draft master plan would not be done until after everyone has had an opportunity to view it and make comment. A variety of functions would have to be addressed in the first buildings of phase one and, as the plan is built out, assessment of functionality of each building will need to be addressed in the early part of the master plan. President Genshaft suggested more work with the master plan “footprint” was needed.

Chairman Ramil pointed out that one view was to build phase one for maximum visibility and then expand into additional phases. There was an attempt to preserve the trees and other vegetation on the site. This would produce a more spread out campus - in order to get a more concentrated building plan, adjustments could be made. He compared phase one of the plan to the USF Sarasota/Manatee campus. The development of the campus throughout the property will take many years and it is important to fully develop the connectivity with the early phases of the campus construction.

Dr. Mackey indicated that there is an agreement with the Williams Company to complete master plan and its development within one year of the signing ceremony, which took place on November 21, 2004. The timeframe for approval of the plan is built on that concept, taking into account the other necessary requirements internally and externally which can be accomplished if the master plan is approved for external review in mid-June. President Genshaft did not feel that the plan was ready for external review. The alternative according to Dr. Mackey would be to seek additional guidance internally and for that to occur an extension of the original deadline from the Williams Company would be required. All felt that getting an extension should not be a problem since the budget to be signed by the Governor included the $3.7M needed to move forward as soon as the master plan is approved. The President requested that a workshop be conducted to include the USF Lakeland Board members and others from the University administration to improve the master plan. She stated that building a new campus is a significant opportunity and wants to make sure that it is carried out so that all internal parties have an opportunity to review and comment. Chairman Ramil noted that with the 90-day review period, there is time for discussion and amendment before it is approved for external review.

Dr. Mackey welcomed direction from the Board. Chairman Ramil agreed with the President that delaying the timetable would be appropriate.

After further discussion, it was agreed that more time was needed to review and revise the plan by President Genshaft, members of the USF Lakeland Campus Board and others. The President requested that the Board members and Dr. Mercer work together and that a presentation be made to the President’s cabinet at the appropriate time. Chairman Ramil asked that contact be made with the Williams Company, if necessary, to request an extension beyond the November 21, 2005 date by which the Master Plan was to have been approved.
Upon completion of the internal reviews, the revised plan would be presented to the USF Lakeland Campus Board. Once approved by the USF Lakeland Board, the plan will go through the UBOT process for final approval. President Genshaft recommended that the USF Lakeland Board hold a workshop on the master plan before a formal presentation is made. Carole Philipson agreed.

The USF Lakeland Campus Board took no action regarding the draft master plan.

Having no further business, Chairman Ramil adjourned the USF Lakeland Campus Board meeting at 3:40 p.m., Thursday, May 23, 2005.

Minutes recorded and transcribed by Lorie Miros