McNeese State University

Call to Order
T.J. Moore called the meeting to order at 2:24pm. Members present were
Morgan Verrette, Raphiel Heard, Clayton Moreau, John O’Donnell, Bill Mungai,
Dr. Todd Furman, Dr. Nikos Kirtisis and Dennis Stutes.
Member absent was Timothy Rye.
Others in attendance were Bobby McLean, Chad Thibodeaux and Brenda Gallow.

T.J. Moore read a Thank You note from Mike Graham expressing his thanks to the
TASC Committee for all their efforts.

Minutes
T.J. Moore approved the 18APR08 minutes by acclamation.

CITO Update
Dennis Stutes updated the committee on the Dial-up. He reported the only option for Dial-up is to extend the contract for another month or more if needed at a cost of $7,250/month. Any other type of service would have to be put out for bid. Bobby McLean said he only received 8 replies concerning the cutoff of the dial-up internet with all replies asking what would replace the dial-up.

Dennis Stutes reported there is approx. $250,000 to spend on Big Ticket Proposals.

Old Business
After further discussion regarding the Dial-up service, Clayton Moreau motioned not to continue to fund Dial-up Internet. John O’Donnell seconded. The committee voted to approve. Motion carries.

Big Ticket Ideas/Proposals
Biology ($76,211.00) – The committee had a short discussion. Dr. Todd Furman motioned to reject the Biology proposal. Morgan Verrette seconded. The committee voted to approve. Motion carries.

Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology ($55,436.76) – the committee briefly discussed this proposal. Dr. Todd Furman stated the proposal is more of a maintenance proposal that should have been submitted as part of the college proposal.
Dr. Furman motioned to reject the Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology proposal. Raphiel Heard seconded. The committee voted to approve. Motion carries.

Performing Arts/Visual Arts ($118,941.00) –.Dennis Stutes reminded the committee there was no pricing for the V-Drill software and the color printer. Raphiel Heard said there is a printer that can be used. Dr. Todd Furman stated this is another maintenance issue. Dennis Stutes disagreed and said this request revamps the lab into something totally different than what it was. Clayton Moreau motioned to approve the Performing Arts/Visual Arts proposal. John O’Donnell seconded. Raphiel Heard asked about approving the V-Drill software pricing without having an actual dollar amount. Dr. Kirtisis asked what else is on the table for review. He wondered if the money left after approving this proposal would automatically go to the remaining proposal still open. Dr. Furman said all proposals should be reviewed first and then prioritized before making a decision on which to fund. After this discussion, the committee voted 4 members (yea) to 3 members (nay) to approve this proposal. Motion carries.

Dennis Stutes reported there is now approx. $131,000 left to spend.

College-of-Engineering ($268,000) – Morgan Verrette moved to spend the remaining approx. funds of $131,000 on the College of Engineering Proposal. Clay Moreau seconded. Dr. Furman asked Dr. Kiritsis if there would be any waste products that would have to be discarded. Dr. Kirtisis said the funding awarded would not be enough to purchase the Continuous Distillation Pilot Plant, but this particular unit has no waste. Again Dr. Furman reiterated his thoughts about the importance of prioritizing all proposals first before spending any money. Dr. Furman asked Dr. Kiritsis if the remaining money would be useful. Dr. Kiritis responded absolutely. He will discuss with his staff and together they will decide what the best action will be to take.
Dr. Kiritsis said he is very appreciative with the funding that he is receiving. After a bit more discussion, the committee voted to approve allotting the remaining money
(approx. $131,000) from the big ticket items to the College of Engineering.
Motion carries.

Dr. Todd Furman motioned to extend the meeting. Raphiel Heard seconded. The committee voted to approve. Motion carries.

T.J. Moore asked the committee if they wanted to define what “Big Ticket” is in order to give the following TASC committees specific guidelines. Bobby McLean said it is not maintenance or business as usual. He said it should be something that makes something significantly better. John O’Donnell said maybe there should be a dollar amount attached to it. Dr. Furman disagreed saying something could come up that is fantastic yet could also be cheap and Morgan Verrette stated some of the funds could be spent and still have remaining money. Dr. Todd Furman said in past years the TASC committee always wanted the future TASC committees to have the freedom to be fluid and respond to the needs of the university at that time. He said whoever is here next year will hopefully act in the best interest of the university and consider big ticket items that make fundamental, profound improvements to the university. Dr. Furman thinks the “big ticket” idea should be left ambiguous and up to the judgment of the current TASC committee to act in the best interest of the students as they see it at that time. Bobby McLean suggested guidelines for submitting a big ticket proposal. Dr. Furman agreed and said he wants something that puts students on the forefront of current technology first, in whatever field, and at the same time makes a name for McNeese.

Raphiel Heard suggested setting a precedent for future TASC members at the first meeting of the semester; a letter can be read stating what has been done in the past. The current TASC members can then vote to follow or not to follow the suggestions, giving the current committee flexibility and at the same time informing the members of what has been done. After a little more discussion, Dr. Todd Furman motioned to draft a letter to the next TASC committee, stating what the current TASC committee thinks and what the next committee ought to consider. Morgan Verrette seconded. The committee voted to approve. Motion carries.

New Business
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CoTASCO Update
Bobby McLean reported business as usual. He said the orders are coming in from the proposals and they are getting ready to make deliveries.

Adjournment
Morgan Verrette motioned to adjourn the meeting. Clay Moreau seconded.
The committee voted to approve and motion carries. Meeting adjourned at 3:10pm.

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