Board of Directors
The Association of University Architects
FALL BOARD MEETING
Pittsburg State University
8 November 2008
Attendees:
Board: / Eric King, PresidentKansas Board of Regents / Jay Bond, Vice President
California State University, Fullerton
Mary Cox, Treasurer
Virginia Commonwealth University / Andrew McBride, Secretary
University of Richmond
Tom Tillman, Past President
Auburn University
1.0 Call to Order
President Eric King called the AUA Board meeting to order at 8:12 am
2.0 Old Business
2.1 Minutes from the summer 2008 Board meeting, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Action: On motion made and seconded, the June meeting minutes were approved as written.
3.0 New Business
3.1 Treasurer’s Reports
3.1.1 Financial Report
Past Treasurer Jay Bond presented the following financial statements to the Board:
· 2008 Budget
· Statement of Net Worth as of 10-31-2008
· Financial Summary w/ Balances Forward and Transfers
Action: On motion made and seconded, the Financial Reports were approved as written.
Action: On motion made and seconded, all future Financial Reports to be presented to the membership during the annual business meeting will be posted on the AUA website one week prior to the conference and a message will be sent to all members via e-mail encouraging them to review the documents prior to the conference.
Action: In an effort to create a permanent mailing address for the AUA instead of it moving every year to the address of the new president, Mary will contact Karl Poythress, of Poythress, Hughett, Mathews & Galloway LLC, the accountants for the AUA to see if they will act as our permanent address. If that does not work out, Mary will contact the University of Oregon Conference Services department to see if we can use their address.
Action: In an effort to keep from changing where the monthly bank statements are sent every year, Mary will contact the First Bank of Boulder to determine if they offer free on-line statements. If PHM&G agrees to act as the AUA’s permanent address, the account will be changed to show the new address or that of U of O Conference Services.
Action: Given the substantial balance in the checking account, the Financial Task Force will look into rates and durations of CDs along with evaluating how much to deposit and make a recommendation to the Board during the spring board meeting.
3.1.2 Status of dues payments and conference attendance
Mary Cox reported that as of 10-31-2008 20 members still owe dues and that 19 members must attend the 2009 conference or risk being dropped from the membership.
Action: Mary will contact the University of Oregon Conference Service department to determine if past dues can be paid via credit card to make it easier for our members and follow up with those that are in arrears.
3.1.3 Non-budgeted Expenditures over $100
There were no non-budgeted expenses over $100.
3.1.4 Proposed 2009-2010 Budget and Dues
The proposed 2009-2010 Budget needs to be created and presented to the Board during the spring board meeting.
3.2 Membership Report
3.2.1 Membership Changes
a. Resignations
Susan Hobbes, has left the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has submitted her resignation.
Action: On motion made and seconded, Susan Hobbes’ resignation was accepted with regrets.
b. Requests for Affiliate Membership
The membership chair recommended the following list of people be offered affiliate membership:
· Edward Belbusti, previously from Vanderbilt University, has requested affiliate membership since he has taken a position with Skanska, USA
· Boyd Black, previously from University of Illinois, Chicago, has moved to the University of Chicago and has asked for affiliate membership since U of C is already represented by Steve Wiesenthal
· John Rishling, University of Texas, Austin, has stepped down as University Architect and has asked to be an affiliate member
Action: On motion made and seconded, Edward Belbusti, Boyd Black, and John Rishling were approved for affiliate membership. Andrew will contact Frank asking him to correspond with these new affiliate members regarding this decision.
c. Request by an Affiliate Member to be Reinstated as a Regular Member
Rob Jones, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, requested that the Board reconsider its previous decision from October 2007 disapproving his request to be reinstated as a regular member. During that meeting, the Board did not approve his request because it appeared that FLW School of Architecture did not meet the constitutional membership requirement that regular members be employed by “universities or four-year colleges”. Rob forwarded a letter from Victor E. Sidy, Dean of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, attesting to the fact that the school is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Universities offering both undergraduate and professional graduate degrees.
Action: On motion made and seconded, Rob Jones’ request for the Board to reconsider its previous ruling was not approved. Andrew will contact Frank asking him to correspond with Rob regarding this decision and to remind him of his right to appeal this decision to the membership during the annual meeting.
d. Requests for Emeritus Status
No requests for emeritus membership were presented.
e. Changes in Institutional Employment
No member employment changes were presented.
f. Necrology
No deaths were reported.
g. Other membership Issues
None were presented.
3.2.2 New Membership Applications
a. Pending New Members (Membership Requires Conference Attendance)
The following list of people are pending new members subject to conference attendance and final approval by voting members:
· Ken Howe, Southeast Louisiana University – Approved June 2006
· Joe O’Hara, Occidental College – Approved March 2007
· Thomas Trutter, University of Connecticut Health Center – Approved June 2008
Action: On motion made and seconded, Ken Howe’s offer for membership will be rescinded if he does not attend the 2009 conference. Andrew will contact Frank Zwart, Membership Chair, asking him to correspond with Ken Howe regarding this decision.
b. Requests for Membership
The membership chair recommended the following list of people be offered membership subject to conference attendance and final approval by voting members:
· Bob Ellard, University of Calgary
· Gerard (Jerry) Gager, American University
· Keith Loiseau, Vanderbilt University
· Stanley Love, Baylor University
· David Rea, University of Texas, Austin
Action: On motion made and seconded, Bob Ellard, Jerry Gager, Keith Loiseau, Stanley Love and David Rea were approved for pending new membership. Andrew will contact Frank asking him to correspond with the new pending members regarding this decision.
3.2.3 2008-09 AUA Roster and Directory
Mary reported that she has updated and coordinated the most current membership directory and roster with Frank Zwart and will forward copies of them to Andrew. Hard copies of the directory are printed and circulated to members who do not have the computer capabilities to access the information online.
Action: Andrew needs to fix the dates of the San Diego and Pittsburgh conferences to ’89 and ’99 respectively and make sure the Attendance/Dues matrix is included in the Roster & Directory before January 2009. The final document needs to be sent electronically to Jay so that he can send hard copies along with the Newsletter to emeritus members who do not have the computer capabilities to access the information online. Also, Andrew needs to coordinate the updating of the online Roster & Directory with Joe Bilotta, Information Technology Committee Chair.
3.3 Annual Conference 2008
Jay reported that the financial information has been collected from the 2008 Annual Conference at West Virginia University. The actual income versus expenses left the AUA with a positive balance of approximately $10,000. Jay will contact the University of Oregon Conference Services staff and asked them to forward the balance to Mary for deposit.
3.4 Annual Conference 2009: University of Saskatchewan
3.4.1 Review of Program
The board reviewed the program, agreed that the Saskatchewan team is making good progress and recommended no changes.
3.4.2 Review of Projected Budget:
The projected budget appeared to be reasonable; however, given the current financial crisis the Board is concerned that many institutions will curtail travel for their employees. At this time, the conference fee is expected to be $675 which is the same as last year.
Action: On motion made and seconded, the Board is directing the Program Committee to reduce the conference registration fee for regular members from $675 to $575 in an effort to encourage attendance during this unprecedented financial crisis. The Board acknowledges that a conference deficit may occur, but given the substantial amount of cash on hand, it feels that a deficit is affordable. Jay, as Board liaison to the Program Committee, will share this information with the committee.
3.4.3 Other Conference Issues:
The board is very concerned about how expensive conferences have become and discussed the pros and cons of reducing conference expenses. One expense that may possibly be reduced is the number of staff sent by the University of Oregon Conference Services department to the annual conference. Prior to 2004, all conferences were planned and managed by the host institutions. Many of the daily activities were coordinated by staff of the host at no cost to the conference. Another important issue is that we do not over commit the number of rooms we will guarantee.
Action: The Board recommends that the Program Committee poll the membership around the first of the year to determine how many members and guests are still planning on attending the conference so that an appropriate number of rooms can be reserved. Jay will share this information with the Program Committee. Also, Jay will contact Colin Tennent to see if he has any staff that can help coordinate the daily conference activities. If staff is available, Jay will then contact the University of Oregon Conference Services department and let them know that local staff will be available so that only one U of O staff member will need to attend the conference.
3.5 Annual Conferences: Future
3.5.1 2010 Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland
The board reviewed an outline program for the week prepared by Jim Miller along with information on the proposed conference hotel, the Inn at the Colonnade (Doubletree). The theme will be “Good Design - Selling It to Our Clients”. The Board agreed that Jim is making good progress on planning and recommended one change: The hotel room rate of $179 to $209 (before tax) per night may be a bit too expensive. Are there any other hotels that may be less expensive?
Action: Eric will give Jim suggested names for a program committee and Mary will be the Board liaison.
3.5.2 2011 UCLA, Duke University, Georgia Tech/Emory, and MIT:
The Board agreed that the 2011 conference should be hosted somewhere in California. A decision on where was tabled until the spring board meeting.
Action: Jay will contact Jeff Averill, UCLA, to determine if he is still interested in hosting a conference. Jay will also contact his fellow Californian members to determine if there is any other institution willing to host the 2011 conference.
3.5.3 2012 and Beyond:
The Board recommends that a semi-rural location somewhere in the Midwest be considered for the 2012 conference. It is important to offset expensive urban locations with less expensive semi-rural locations where a likely conference surplus can help subsidize the cost of the more expensive urban conferences.
3.6 Committee and Task Force Reports
3.6.1 Case Studies (Bob Unrath)
All members that served on the committee last year have agreed to serve again this year. A possible theme that the committee will consider is Project Disasters, Lessons Learned. The possibility of expanding the number of case studies to be presented will also be discussed. Tom Tillman will continue to order the plaques and Mark Runge will design and purchase the golf shirts as incentives. Bob asked if golf shirts could be presented to everyone that submits a case study submission. No action was taken by the Board.
3.6.2 Information Technology (Joe Bilotta)
No updates.
3.6.3 Professional Practice/Continuing Education (Ted Weidner)
No updates.
3.6.4 Sustainability Task Force (Anna Wu)
The Sustainability Resource Matrix has been updated and ready for posting on the AUA website. The committee plans on surveying the membership to find out the number of staff dedicated to sustainability and where they report along with asking if design guidelines have evolved to incorporate high performance building strategies.
3.6.5 Heritage/Preservation Task Force (Tom Contos)
Twelve members have expressed interest in serving on this taskforce. A possible goal will be to prepare a presentation on approaches to understanding and balancing the value of historic cultural resources vs. the need for renewal and change on college campuses.
3.6.6 Financial Task Force (Boone Hellmann)
The Financial Task Force was formed in August 2008 by President King and charged with making recommendations to the Board regarding financial issues. Nine issues were addressed; some of which were reported in the Treasurer’s report. Please refer to the Financial Task Force’s recommendations attached to the end of these minutes. The Board agreed with all of the recommendations except for the one recommending a reduction in the annual dues. The Board believes that the annual dues is reasonable. Instead, the Board believes that a good use of the excess cash reserve is to subsidize conferences, especially those in expensive urban locations, so that the cost is stable from year to year.
3.6.7 Nominating/Distinguished Service Award (Tom Tillman)
Tom presented his recommended Nominating/ Distinguished Service Award committee:
· Tom Tillman
· Irwin Lefkowitz
· Frank Zwart
· Dana Cunningham
· Frank Gorman
· Mary Cox
3.7 Newsletter
Jay reported that he is prepared to finish and publish the newsletter no later than January 2008.
4.0 Other Business
4.1 Contracts and Insurance
4.1.1 Conference Planner, Univ. of Oregon Conference Services
The board reviewed the contract with the University of Oregon and agreed to continue using their services.
4.1.2 Conference Hotel, Bessborough Hotel
The Board reviewed the contract with the hotel, which was signed earlier this year, to determine when we need to contact the hotel to review the number of rooms held in reserve for the conference.