The Western New Mexico University Board of Regents members met in public session Thursday afternoon.

The first order of business was to determine the date of the next board meeting. It will take place the afternoon of Friday, Dec. 9, to coincide with graduation time to be announced.

President Joseph Shepard, who will be inaugurated Friday afternoon, gave his information report of what he has done since the last meeting.

“I have met with every department and many community members,” Shepard said. “I have also looked at university issues.”

He has set two major goals for WNMU within the next five years to grow the university to about 5,000 students, and the on-campus population by at least 1,000.

“A lot of the community members would like a true university town,” Shepard said.

He plans to reorganize the university to be more efficient, including looking at program effectiveness.

“We also need to become more visible in the market,” Shepard said. “We're the best kept secret.”

He announced he has hired a new vice president for student affairs and enrollment management. Isaac Brundage will arrive in Silver City in time for the inauguration.

Shepard commended Peggy Langford for her service in the interim position.

“We're also going to have to build new housing and upgrade what we have,” Shepard said.

At the next meeting, he plans to go through the university's finances.

“I'm business-minded, and I think the board should know about them,” Shepard said.

He plans to increase fundraising for the university.

Shepard announced the unveiling of a donated bronze sculpture at 9 a.m. Friday morning. Another small sculpture has been donated by Matthew and Connie Walsh.

“I am reaching out to alumni,” Shepard said, “and trying to meet a lot of them. I'm also reaching out to non-alums, because people donate for their legacy and want to make a difference for an institution.”

New scholarships are being instituted. “The university has received many donations in honor of my father who recently passed away.”

He said the inauguration is “about the coming together of the community.”

Shepard lauded the football team, which is 2-1 in the conference and stands in second place. “I'm equally proud of what they are doing out in the community.”

He addressed a situation that has been a point of contention in the community. When the charter bus carrying the football team to Fort Lewis College burned, without injury to any player, every bit of equipment and personal belongings on the bus went up in flames.

The Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce immediately donated the remainder of the Quail Ridge Fire funds to the university to replace equipment and belongings.

“I have turned it back to the chamber and asked them to bring it to their board and membership,” Shepard said. “If the transfer of funding is approved, we'll accept it.”

He announced Homecoming activities for Saturday, and said he is also proud of the other athletic teams, such as volleyball, cross-country, and tennis, which are “all doing well.”

“Our goal at the university is not to tap into our reserves,” Shepard said. “I would also like to see reports from the faculty and student senates and the foundation.”

Board Chairman Charles “Randy” Briggs talked about the revised version of the Regents' Manual.

He and Regent Jerry Walz met to go over changes, and Briggs said he made more changes after the meeting. He pointed out that some items in the manual belong in a university manual and not in that of the regents, because some issues should be dealt with by the university administration rather than the regents.

The revision was approved, with the understanding that some things should be moved to a university policy manual.

Regent Tony Trujillo called the manual a “working document.”

Shepard said the university policy manual will be looked at and some items from the regents' manual taken and put into the university manual. “Thanks for doing the work for us.”

Briggs said he believes the regents' manual should have in it not only what the regents do, but what they choose not to do.

Student Regent Kelly Clark agreed the document should be adopted, but “we will continue to clean it up.”

Regent Janice Baca Argabright said the new version was much easier to read.

In new business, Business Affairs Vice President Sherri Bays asked the regents to increase the budget for the Chino Building renovation, because of higher costs as a result of delays at the state level. “The bid came in about a half million more than was estimated, because costs of copper and metals increased.”

The budget for $2.893,200 was approved.

She also presented a budget for a telecommunications system upgrade.

“We bought the current telephone system in the 1990s as a used system from New Mexico Tech,” Bays said. “The project will replace the current phone system with Voice-Over Internet Protocol, VOIP. We will replace switches, will run fiber optics across campus and the system will have redundancy. We'll now have voice mail.”

The project is budgeted at $715,000 and is funded by a 2008 general obligation bond on the state level.

“Right now we're spending about $100,000 a year for phones,” Bays said. “This system will have reduced energy costs and should pay for itself in the medium term.”

Briggs asked about Wi-Fi on the campus.

Shepard explained the system would allow email on voice and voice on email. “It will also allow us to tie into increased bandwidth. We have had preliminary discussions with the town to expand our Wi-Fi into town to make it more of a university town.”

Bays' final agenda item was for approval of the research and public service project requests for fiscal year 2013, including athletic programs, the child development center, nursing expansion, web-based teacher preparation and instructional television.

“We asking for flat funding and did not ask for any increases,” Bays said.

She explained that the Higher Education Department makes a recommendation. “We will present a packet with further information, especially as the programs have all taken significant hits to their budgets. We also negotiate with the Legislative Finance Committee and the Department of Finance and Administration to keep funding whole.”

Following a brief discussion among regents about whether the economy was leveling off, Bays said the Legislature would likely have to address gaps in transportation and Medicaid.

“Even if the economy turns around, with Shepard's help, we will have to generate some of our own funding and bring in more students,” Bays said.

She serves on the higher education formula funding task force. She said a proposed formula has been presented, and a hearing will be held on it in November.

Shepard pointed out the Gov. Susana Martinez wants flat funding for higher education.

“I'll take flat funding,” Briggs said. “I think we can live with that.”

Virginia Huegel, Faculty Senate president, said the faculty might be concerned about policies, “but if they're going to be put somewhere else that's OK.”

“I have committed to the Faculty Senate that I will work on policies,” Shepard said.

Earl Montoya, Silver City resident, said the community is “very excited about Shepard and the way things have opened up. The community is looking forward to working with him, but they're impatient.”

Trujillo said the theme for the inauguration is “Transforming our future together. The community embraces the university when good things are going on.” To Shepard, he said: “We appreciate your openness and transparency.”

Briggs said he had brought a couple of checks for the Mustang Club.

Julie Morales, who serves as secretary to the board, said about 100 volunteers have helped with the inauguration events.

Trujillo said he is “under the magnifying glass for his financial reporting as a regent. I did not know I had to do that.” 

Briggs said he thought financial reporting was needed only when the regent came on board.

Walz suggested they all file tomorrow.

The meeting was adjourned.