Highlights from the Board of Regents Meeting, Feb. 6–7, 2020
Highlights from each Board of Regents meeting will be reported in the Pacific Insider to inform the campus community of the board's actions and major discussions. The board plays an important strategic role as the governing body of the university, responsible for the quality and integrity of the education provided to students and the financial sustainability of the university.
The chair and chair-elect of the Academic Council, the president and president-elect of the Pacific Alumni Association and the president and vice president of the Associated Students of the University of the Pacific are recognized as non-voting liaison representatives to the board and provide a report at each meeting.
President Designate Christopher Callahan attended the meeting as part of his onboarding process before he officially joins Pacific July 1.
Regents hold plenary session on enrollment
Interim President Maria Pallavicini, Interim Provost Michael Hunter Schwartz; Vice President, Business and Finance Ken Mullen; and Vice President, Enrollment Management Roberta Kaskel led a board discussion on undergraduate enrollment trends nationwide and at Pacific, including increased competition for fewer students over the next 10 years, and how these trends impact the university’s budget. They described how Pacific is responding, including creating and updating academic programs and implementing initiatives to increase enrollment yield and student retention.
Funding request approved to expand CAPS and Services for Students with Disabilities
The regents approved Strategic Investment Fund (SIF) proposals to expand Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). Reflecting a nationwide trend, in the past five years, the number of students seeking mental health services through CAPS has increased by 681% on the Stockton Campus and 246% on the Sacramento Campus. Similarly, the number of students living with disabilities who attend college continues to grow nationally. In the past five years, the number of students SSD serves has increased 54%.
As a result of the approved funding, CAPS will increase staffing on all three campuses and adopt an expanded service model that uses outreach, preventive care, community wellness and expanded services to improve overall student well-being. SSD will increase staffing and expand its services to all three campuses with centralized oversight. It will also enhance the use of technology and facilities to help staff better serve students.
Presentation on website redesign project
The board was updated on the status of the university’s redesign website project which is anticipated to be completed by September. The project goal is to develop and maintain a user-centric marketing website that engages users—particularly prospective students and their influencers—and distinguishes Pacific’s brand in a growingly competitive market. The project also includes development of a microsite (a focused collection of webpages) to engage admitted students in support of 2020 undergraduate yield.
Athletics presentations: student-athlete academic integrity and fundraising priorities
Athletics Director Janet Lucas delivered two presentations. The first was on policies and practices to ensure the academic integrity of student-athletes. The university has implemented several processes to ensure compliance with the NCAA, which ended Pacific’s two-year probation in September. Pacific’s student-athletes continue to excel academically: in fall 2019, 42 student-athletes received a 4.0 GPA and 103 were named to the Dean’s Honor Roll. Lucas also updated the board on the Athletics fundraising campaign. Recent successes include updates to the Alex G. Spanos Center and the Aquatics Center. Future fundraising priorities include a new soccer stadium and new and enhanced scholarship endowments.
New board officers named and member terms renewed
The regents named their new officers for FY21 and re-elected other regents for additional three-year terms. Effective July 1, the new board officers are: Chair, Norman Allen (two-year term); Vice Chair, Gary Mitchell; Treasurer, Mary-Elizabeth Eberhardt; and Secretary, Andrea Lynn Hoch. Regents re-elected from July 1, 2020–June 30, 2023 are Norman Allen, Charles Berolzheimer, Virginia Chan, Paul Dassenko, Mary-Elizabeth Eberhardt and Janet Y. Spears.