McNeese State University

Call to Order
TJ Moore called the meeting to order at 2:40pm. Members present were TJ Moore,
Clayton Moreau, Morgan Verrette, Timothy Rye, Raphiel Heard, John O’Donnell,
Dr. Todd Furman, Dr. Nikos Kirtisis, Bill Mungai and Mike Graham. Others in attendance were Justin Daigle, Patrick Eustis, Chad Thibodeaux and Brenda Gallow.

Minutes
TJ Moore approved the 08FEB08 minutes by acclamation.

Old Business
The following TASC Proposals were reviewed:
College of Education ($52,599.00) – the committee reviewed and discussed. Tim Rye was concerned about the recent theft of projectors in Farrar. He would like to see some kind of security measures taken before TASC funds anymore projectors. Dr. Kirtisis agreed and said some type of security measure should be taken, but he does not feel the proposal should be penalized because of the thefts. He said the issue should be brought to the university to possibly look at increasing the frequency of police patrols and making sure not only the exterior doors are locked, but the interior doors are locked as well. Patrick Eustis stated the department that lost the projectors is purchasing the replacements themselves. They are not asking TASC to replace them. Patrick said he is researching to find some form of security measure he can present to the college for their review and use.
Dr. Todd Furman asked about the actual usage of the Promethian equipment in the classrooms. He feels this is a lot of money to spend if the Promethian boards, etc…are not being utilized in the classrooms for student instruction. There was a short discussion on the question of usage and training of the Promethian equipment. As a result, Dr. Furman motioned to table the bill and invite the Dean to come in and justify the proposal and answer questions from the committee. Morgan Verrette seconded. Thru further discussion, Dr. Kiritsis requested amending the motion to request the Dean come prepared with figures or a percentage of how the equipment is used, for what courses and to what extent is the technology used. In addition John O’Donnell requested to add instituting some type of training program to educate every teacher in the Education Department to be trained. TJ Moore restated the amendments to the motion…inviting the Dean of Education to come in with figures stating exactly what percentage of classes will actually use the Promethian boards as well as offering training for the Promethian system. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

College of Business ($41,893.00) – the committee reviewed and discussed. Dr. Furman motioned to accept Priority 1 ($21,420) of the proposal and bring in the Dean to justify Priority 2 ($20,473) and answer questions the committee may have. Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carriers.
T.J. asked for a motion to continue the meeting after 3:00pm. Dr. Furman motioned to extend the meeting until 4:00pm at the latest. John O’Donnell seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

College of Engineering ($50,937.00) – Dr. Kiritsis explained each item of Section 1
of the proposal. He answered questions from the committee. After a brief discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to accept the proposal as submitted. Morgan Verrette seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

College of Science ($49,644.00) – the committee reviewed and discussed. After a short discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to accept the proposal as submitted. Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

College of Nursing ($50,750.10) – the committee reviewed and discussed. After a brief discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to accept the proposal as submitted. Raphiel Heard seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

College of Liberal Arts ($45,294.06) – the committee reviewed and discussed. After a short discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to approve the proposal as submitted. John O’Donnell seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Other Departments
University Police ($13,318.00) – the committee reviewed and discussed. T.J. Moore expressed his concern about the University Police actually having a need for a camera system in the patrol vehicle. He felt TASC funding should be used for more hazardous issues, for example light and safety. He suggested possibly a wireless camera system for the police station to be able to see the dorm rooms to prevent break-ins, etc…and making sure every dark place on campus is lit up when students are walking to theirs cars after getting off work at 7or 8pm, or getting out of class at 8pm at night. John O’Donnell agreed. Morgan Verrette suggested not factoring light into the decision; this would be a facilities issue, not a police issue. John O’Donnell suggested utilizing a digital camera to take pictures of traffic violations, such as students parking in the wrong place.
Dr. Furman agreed with Morgan’s statement not to chastise the University Police for the campus lighting issue when they are not responsible for it. Instead, Dr. Furman asked if TASC could give the University Police money that could be better spent than this proposal’s request. Tim Rye said he would rather see security cameras in the parking lots instead of security cameras in the police vehicles. Morgan Verrette stated she believes there is a need for cameras in the patrol cars, because something more drastic could happen other than parking in the wrong spot. Clay Moreau added the camera could be used for visual documentation of an incident or altercation. Dr. Furman commented the cameras are not pro-active; they just help with prosecution after the fact. Mike Graham agreed but said the camera also helps to show if someone’s rights are violated. Bill Mungai stated the coverage is only for the small area right in front of the car. If anything happens out of the coverage area, the camera will not show it. After a little more discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to reject the University Police proposal. Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Mike Graham asked the committee if they want him to ask the University Police to submit another idea. The committee agreed and Dr. Furman requested Mike also ask
if the police have any type of storage facility or if they are amiable to storing student weapons. An example would be a student, not from this area, having a hunting weapon and not being allowed to keep it stored in a vehicle. Where could these guns be stored?

General & Basic Studies ($3,026.89 amended to $6,000.00) – the committee reviewed and discussed. Following a short discussion, Dr. Furman motioned to accept the proposal but amend the budget up to $6,000 for their stated purposes. John O’Donnell seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

Bookstore ($1,323.80) – the committee reviewed and discussed. Dr. Kiritsis wondered why the computer is located behind the counter; why does a staff member have to assist a student with Banners? He said the computer should be located where the students can retrieve their own information. Tim Rye suggested students could use Holbrook computers before going across to the Bookstore. Tim Rye also wondered why information for students’ PTA accounts could not be put on student banners for access. Mike Graham said it could be done but he would have to look into it to find some answers. As a result, Clay Moreau motioned to table the proposal until further discussion. Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and motion carries.

CITO Update
Mike Graham informed the committee the new CoTASCO has been identified. His name is Bobby Mclean. Mike said he has a ton of experience and he will be a good fit for this position, but Mike said the state has instituted a hiring freeze. He said we believe within the next few days we will get approval for the hire-ins. We have put in requests for exemptions and since we are self-funded we should be able to get these positions because we are within our budget.

Mike Graham informed the committee that Patrick Eustis will be offered a position with Information Technology. He will continue in TASC until Bobby can be brought in.

John O’Donnell asked about the telescope. Mike said he will bring that information with the big ticket stuff.

New Business
Patrick Eustis reported he received a call from ACC (located in Kirkman) asking the committee to supply them with paper. Tim Rye asked the difference between TASC and ACC. Mike responded Holbrook and the Library are funded entirely by TASC. The operating principle of the rest of the campus has been that TASC will provide the computer equipment, but the operations costs have to be absorbed by the colleges.
Chad Thibodeaux said in the past TASC does not purchase consumables. Dr. Furman said he thought TASC is constitutionally barred from purchasing consumables. Mike Graham agrees…TASC cannot purchase consumables.

Mike Graham said he received an inquiry from a Dean to ask the committee to have specialized software available in the Library or in a part of Holbrook. After some discussion, Dr. Furman asked Mike to survey the Deans for their interest and what kind of software they want.

CoTASCO Update
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The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 29 @ 2:30pm in the McNeese Room of the Library.

Mike Graham stated he will provide the necessary information for the next meeting but due to the Boards visit, he may not attend the next TASC meeting.

Tim Rye asked what would it take to possibly get Holbrook opened 30-minutes earlier.
He explained this would be to accommodate the students who need to print for an early morning class and Holbrook is not open. Mike said he will check and report back.

Adjournment
Raphiel Heard moved to adjourn and Tim Rye seconded. The committee voted to approve and the meeting was adjourned at 3:50pm.

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