New construction, academic programs up for review, and the university mission statement were among the topics discussed April 21 at the Board of Trustees meeting.
Director of Facilities Planning Tom Mayo presented a campus master plan that will go into effect during the next decade. Mayo cited the 2.25 percent projected growth rate for FGCU in his presentation, making the argument for new academic buildings near parking garage 1. The update also includes plans for a special events deck in North Lake Village, a performing arts center near the Arts Complex and a fitness center in South Village.
Afterwards, BOT Chair Dudley Goodlette introduced 10 academic programs under review, which include journalism, sociology and music performance for undergraduates, and criminal justice and computer information systems for graduates. Goodlette was quick to clarify that the idea for such a “stress test” was originally mandated by the Board of Governors, but that the BOT decided to conduct a review voluntarily later on. According to the BOG, the trustees “will determine if programs with students who do not graduate on time or get jobs should be closed.”
“At our next meeting, we will be taking a deeper dive into gathering additional data and information about these programs,” Goodlette said. He pointed out that the process for determining the programs to be reviewed is automatic and does not necessarily mean any programs will be cut.
One of the final items on the agenda was the FGCU mission and vision statement. The discussion was actually a follow-up to last week’s ad hoc Committee on FGCU Strategic Plan meeting, in which certain members of the BOT reviewed the university statements and talked about whether or not they still truly reflect FGCU today.
However, some attendees of the meeting took issue with the whole process, including professor Morgan Paine.
“I just don’t think this revision process should be a wordsmithing project for a handful of board members,” Paine said. “The board has the right to approve or reject the statements, but not to draft them. Their focus is more on business outside the academy.”
The next BOT meeting will take place May 12.