NSU-LEESVILLE/FORT POLK

FACULTY/STAFF SAFETY MEETING

DATE:             October 19, 2004

                        1:00 p.m.

 

CALLED TO ORDER BY:      Dr. Larry Monk, Executive Director

                                                NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk

 

Present:  Pamela Bailey, Joyce Barnes, John Byrd, Glen Cooley, Catherine Eaglin, Brenda Foote, Terry Isbell, Martha Koury, Patricia Martinez, Brian McCarthy, Judith McNeely, Larry Monk, Paralee Norman, Corinne Pearce, Joe Pope, Kendall Remsing, Marion Skiles, Kathleen Smith, Leeann Sticker, Tommy Tilley, Betty Westerchil, Melba Wied, Rhonda Wood.

 

 

Absent:  Hilda Brown, Juanita Darby, Debbie Hickman, Allisen James, Linda Nichols, Linda West

 

 

Notes:

 

  1. Dr. Monk thanked everyone for a smooth Fall 2004 B-Term Registration. He said that it was because the faculty and staff were doing their job very well and he really appreciated us.

 

  1. Monk shared the following statistics he picked up from a workshop he had attended:

“Change Is Constant”

·        1st electronic computer in 1946 had 19,000 vacuum tubes, weighed 30 tons, took up 1800 sq. ft. of space, and ran only five days before it needed to be repaired.

·        Today the power of information technology has increased by 32 orders of magnitude that are 100 octillion times.

·        In 1972 there were only 150,000 computers in the world, 2003 one company alone had 100,000,000 (100 million).

·        United States Postal Service delivered a record 180,000,000,000 (180 billion) pieces of mail last year but there were easily over  100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) email.

·        Fiber Optics allows us to deliver 1,000,000,000,000 (1 thousand trillion) bits per second.  This is equivalent to every issue of the Wall Street Journal ever printed delivered in one second.  We do not have this on our network.

 

  1. Monk said that registration numbers were up.  Counts show NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk as of yesterday 916.  Tommy Tilley pursued the numbers a little further.  He had someone query the system to find out anyone who was taking at least one class in Leesville.  He found that there were 1,011 students take at least one class on this campus.

 

  1. Monk said that he appreciated everyone who wrote grants for this campus.  He asked everyone who wrote a grant to share with the group the details of their grant.

 

Dr. Larry Monk Grant Proposal was an Electronic Interactive Message Board – Board will give update information to NSU students and prospective students.  Tommy and Dr. Monk would like to expand the capabilities of the Electronic Board to include registration on line using a touch screen.

 

Juanita Darby’s Grant Proposal was Updated License for Microsoft Office so that it can be put on all of the computers for the students in the labs.

 

Juanita Darby & Paralee Norman’s Grant Proposal was funding of two Smart Boards, to include a symposium, projector, and screen.

 

John Byrd’s Grant Proposal was New Chairs to replace the kitchen chairs in room 5.

 

Tommy Tilley suggested submitting a lap top and portable projector to be used for recruiting and retention purposes.  It could be used when faculty and staff speak at schools, groups, and organizations on and off campus.

 

            Monk said that we were not going to get everything funded but hopefully we will get some of our grants funded.

 

  1. Last time we talked about what we wanted from the pot of money available to us.  It appears that we have gotten enough money to get most of what we wanted.  When Monk can see it in the budget then he can start spending.  Items included registration and general advising workshop, workshop for advising of the BGS program, staff member’s customer relations training, Kendall will become certified for course in rape prevention, enough money to make some of our classrooms smart.

 

  1. Minutes from our meetings have been posted on the NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk Website.  Our Technology Plan is also posted on our Website.  Those who write grants should review our Technology Plan.

 

  1. Monk was told to inform the group that Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) and Northwestern State University has entered into an agreement.  BPCC will be on Northwestern’s campus in the Fall 2005.  Students who want to go to Northwestern but do not meet the standards can go to Northwestern enroll as a BPCC student and enjoy all of the benefits of a college life.  Once they have 12 hours of core credit courses they can transfer to Northwestern.  The fact that they are a BPCC student instead of a Northwestern student will be invisible.  They can live in the dorms, go to the games, go to intramural activities, etc...  Their I.D. cards will look just like the Northwestern I.D. cards.  There are many concerns particularly the loss of students.

 

Tilley asked if students can take remedial at NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk.  Monk said that if a student needs two remedial classes they can not take remedial classes at the Leesville Campus.  If a student’s ACT shows that he needed one remedial the student can take classes at NSU-Leesville.  There are exemptions from the rule if a student is 25 years, or Servicemember Opportunity College (SOCED) students are exempt from the rule.

 

All entering freshmen must meet the new rules. 

 

  1. Grade Change audit taking place on main campus.  There are a high percentage of grade changes occurring.

 

  1. Monk asked if anyone was having problems with grade and attendance reporting.  Hilda Brown expressed problems she was having with attendance being wiped out of the system after instructor had entered.

 

  1. Hilda Brown shared report on Faculty Senate.  Any suggestions needing implemented please refer them to Hilda.  She said that there was concern that there were no faculty committees though out the university that did not have faculty represented.  There may be a change in the faculty evaluation.  Emails can be sent to Hilda or Ben Rushing on concerns of office hours, flexible hours, etc.

 

  1. Monk distributed handout on a one page concept for the NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk Outdoor Classroom & Walking Trail.  The Orchid Foundation gave him several contacts that may be interested funding our Outdoor Classroom and Walking Trail.

 

  1. Dr. Monk introduced the video “The Great Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941, The Winfield Story”; Executive Producer is Dr. Don Hatley, Northwestern State University’s Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.  The video will be in his office if anyone would like to view it.  Dr. Hatley donated it to the Leesville Campus.  Monk has been toying with the idea that since our land across butts with the land the military donated for a military cemetery we should be able to capitalize on this opportunity.  He would like to set up a visitor’s center on NSU-Leesville/Fort Polk’s property.  He took the idea to Dr. Hatley and he was excited about the idea.  Monk will be meeting today with Silver Senator James C. Myrick to present his idea. Myrick claims to be the #1 mover to get the cemetery at Fort Polk.  Myrick’s titles are very impressive. 

 

We have scheduled a meeting on October 26 with Dr. Webb, Dr. Scheffler, Dr. Hatley, Dr. Abney, Dr. Gilcrease, Rep. John Smith, Mayor Schefkoff, President of the Vernon Parish Police Jury, Senator David Kane, Col. McClung (Fort Polk Military), Mr. Roy Bethel (Fort Polk Military), to brain storm the idea of a Visitor’s Center on NSU property.  We would take an oral history of all veterans, we want veterans to tell their stories, family members to provide pictures, information about various conflict and we want it in a format that visitors would just touch the screen and be entertained and informed.  Information would be housed in the Chester Creighton Owen Building and there would some way to retrieve it wirelessly. 

 

Mac Barnes and John Byrd have created a pathway through the woods next to the parking lots.

 

  1. Monk expressed his appreciation of Terry Isbell for his extraordinary achievements this month.  Terry while teaching his work load of five classes, filled in on three classes for someone who stopped teaching in the middle of the semester, then filled in for someone who was sick teaching one class.  Isbell also found replacements for the teacher who left and then had to fill in for one of the replacements whom got in a car wreck. 

 

  1. Pat Martinez asked what enrollment we needed before we could get another building at NSU-Leesville?  Dr. Monk said enrollment needs to be at 1200.  Discussion continued with the faculty and staff expressing their feelings as to how the total enrollment was determined.

 

  1. Mr. Monk encouraged the faculty and staff to get with Betty Westerchil and help promote the university through visiting the radio to conduct interviews and signing up for the NSU-Leesville Speakers Bureau.

 

  1.  Pam Bailey asked that instructors with A Term Final Grade Rosters should only turn in the Class Record Books to her.

 

  1.  Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.