University Council MINUTES

March 4, 2020

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM

SUB 233

Printable minutes

Members:

Waded Cruzado, Daniel Adams, Kenning Arlitsch, Eric Austin, Sreekala Bajwa, Taylor Blossom, Janelle Booth, Matt Caires, Jason Carter, Leon Costello, Chris Dobbs, Ariel Donohue, Dan Edelman, Tracy Ellig, Chris Fastnow, Stephanie Gray, Jeannette Grey-Gilbert, Brett Gunnink, Alison Harmon, Debby Haynes, Robert Hawks, James Joyce, Chris Kearns, Greg Kegel, Ilse-Mari Lee, Terry Leist, Bob Mokwa, Chris Murray, Kim Obbink, Craig Ogilvie, Kellie Peterson, Mark Ranalli, Nicol Rae, Sarah Shannon, Royce Smith, Emily Stark, Glen Steinhoff, Dan Stevenson, Cody Stone, Michael Trotter, Amber Vestal, Susan Wolff

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  1.   Call to Order
      President Waded Cruzado

      President Cruzado called the meeting to order at 8:30am.

  2.   Approval of Minutes for February 5, 2019
      Printable Minutes

      Ilse-Mari moved to approve the minutes; Terry Leist seconded and the minutes were approved unanimously.

  3.   University Wide Information/Announcements

     Incident Response Management Team is meeting today for the first time.  Dean of Students Matt Caires and         family welcomed Avonlee Ryann Caires on February 29, 2020.

  4.   Public Comment

      President Cruzado welcomed public comment. There was no public comment.
  5.  Old Items

    A.  Personal Transportation Devices Policy
         Kellie Peterson, Legal Counsel

                Kellie recommended adoption.  They changed title from Personal Mobility Device to personal transportation                      devices policy amended and the policy passed unanimously.

        VI.  Informational Items

            A.  Know Your MSU: Virtual Reality at MSU and the Montana Reality Lab
                 Jonathan Hilmer and Coltran Hophan-Nichols, University Information Technology

                6 virtual reality workstations located in Cheever Hall.  Film and Architecture classes have utilized the space.                        Engineering classes are also using the space for class projects.  The utilization of the lab space is completely                      full and very popular. Please visit www.montana.edu/vr for additional information.  They are booking classes                    for this coming fall semester.  Open House will be held of March 11.  There has been incredible collaboration                    with UIT, College of Arts and Architecture, Research, and the Renne Library.  Trotter, Alison Harmon and                            Deborah Haynes asked questions to the presenters and received great feedback.

            B.  Census 2020
                  Kayla May and Andrea Nault, University Communications

                  Kayla and Andrea shared an amazing personalized MSU student campaign to let
                  them know every student who is at MSU on April 1 should complete the census form so that all Cats Count!                        This is targeted to students as well as faculty and staff so they know the importance of the census count that                    occurs every ten years.  Visit www.montana.edu/census2020 for additional information. 

            C. Scholarship Awarding Task Force
                  Chris Kearns, Vice President for Student Success

                  Dr. Kearns shared the committee is examining our philosophy and best practices so we have a balanced                            approach. 

             D.  Romney Oval Update & Snow Load Monitoring
                    EJ Hook, Director, Facilities Services

                  EJ Hook shared the Romney Oval conceptual design.  Trees and geofields will be in the oval, so they need to                      remove some trees and will add several more to replace what was taken down.  For safety purposes, most                        of the tree removal will occur over Spring Break.  The geothermal sustainability is great for the reduction of                        energy use on campus.   MSU’s energy strategy: Reduce, Reclaim, Renewable (ex. solar, geothermal, storage,                      etc). 

                  SnowCats Rooftop Snow Measurement and Monitoring.  Two sensors are on top of the SUB roof to monitor                      snow load and depth.  They use drones to fly over four buildings across campus.  They use photos for                                viewpoint and precise position to calculate distance on buildings.

          VII. Updates

                 Susan Wolff hosting region 2 science fair.  Night out for Science event on March 28.  In April they are hosting                     College Research Day.

                 MSU Northern is working on virtual reality technology across their campus, as well.  Northern’s                                             groundbreaking  for new sports complex on March 16. 

                  MSU Billings has increased head count for second semester in a row.  They are signing a MOU with the                                University of North Texas next week with pathways to medical schools in Texas.

                 President Cruzado announced NCUR March 26-28 on campus.  Women’s’ basketball team championship of
                 the Big Sky Conference.  They are the #1 seed in the NCAA coming up in Boise. 

                 President Cruzado thanked everyone for participating in the MSU Giving Day campaign.

         VIII.  Public Comment

                 There was no public comment.

 NOTE:  The next University Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, August 12, 2020, from 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM via Webex.