2024 WSU Board of Trustees Meetings

I. APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES, APRIL 10, 2025 – LABARCAII. CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENTSIII. FINANCE AND AUDIT REPORT – LOCKE

• FOUNDATION INVESTMENT REPORT

• INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REVIEW

• MILL LEVY BUDGET & YEAR TO DATE REVENUE & EXPENDITURES

• OPERATING BUDGET (BOT UNRESTRICTED)

• BOARD INITIATIVES BUDGET REVIEW

• REVENUE & EXPENDITURES-FINANCIAL PLAN REVIEW

IV. IDLE FUNDS POLICY – SCHLAPP/LOCKEV. DENTAL SCHOOL STUDYVI. ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS - SCHLAPPCURRENT OFFICERS:LAURIE LABARCA (CHAIR)CONNIE DIETZ (VICE CHAIR)MICHELLE LOCKE (ASSISTANT TREASURER)JUNETTA EVERETT (SECRETARY)OLIVIA KERSCHEN (ASSITANT SECRETARY)ANDY SCHLAPP (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)VII. BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARD - SCHLAPPVIII. WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY UPDATE – SCHLAPP/MUMAIX. AS MAY ARISEUpcoming BOT Meeting DatesThursday, September 25, 2025Additional EventsHeritage Gala – Thursday, October 9, 2025BOT Holiday Party – Friday, December 5, 2025

Friday, August 1, 2025, 8:00 am, John Bardo Center, WSU Campus, Wichita, KS 67260

In attendance were Laurie Labarca, Tracee Adams, Dan Rouser, Aaron Bastian, Keith Lawing, Kevin McWhorter, and Connie Dietz. Also in attendance were Andy Schlapp, Michelle Locke, David Miller, Olivia Kerschen, and Rick Muma.

Laurie called the meeting to order at 8:00 am.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes
Laurie asked for changes or additions to the minutes. Aaron moved to approve the minutes without changes, and Dan Seconded. Motion passed. Following the approval of minutes, Laurie reminded everyone that all members must sign a new Conflict of Interest statement and return it to Olivia Kerschen before next meeting.

Finance & Audit Report
Michelle reviewed the financial reports with the board. She reviewed the foundation investment report, infrastructure review, Mill Levy budget, YTD revenue and expenditures, Operating budget, Board Initiatives budget. No other discussions. Dan moved to approve reports, seconded by Aaron. Motioned passed.

Idle Funds Policy
Andy Schlapp and Michelle Locke presented the idea of drafting a policy, to be brought forward at the next meeting, that would allow the Board to invest idle funds in the future if the interest rate environment changes. They explained that at present, the spread between investment returns and the interest-bearing checking account is approximately the same, making immediate action unnecessary. However, having a policy in place would allow the Board to act quickly should the interest rate environment shift, potentially helping to retain additional revenue. Board unanimously agreed this was a good idea.

Dental School Study
It was noted that the Governor vetoed WSU’s request for $750,000 to support the Dental School project and the Kansas House sustained the veto. President Muma asked the Board of Trustees to help fund the study in an amount up to $750,000. This funding would cover the feasibility study as well as the initial steps in designing the buildings. After discussion, the board agreed to fund this amount with the understanding the FHSU would also help fund the study thus reducing the board’s expenditure. A motion to proceed with Phase II was made by Dan, seconded by Connie, all approved.

Election of New Officers
Connie Dietz requested to be removed from her role as Vice Chair and nominated Tracee for the position. There were no objections, and the nomination was approved. It was also noted that Nancy’s replacement will be appointed by the governor at a future date. All other officer roles will remain the same:

Current Officers for 2025-26 Year:
LAURIE LABARCA (CHAIR)
TRACEE ADAMS (VICE CHAIR)
KEVIN MCWHORTER (TREASURER)
MICHELLE LOCKE (ASSISTANT TREASURER)
JUNETTA EVERETT (SECRETARY)
OLIVIA KERSCHEN (ASSISTANT SECRETARY)
ANDY SCHLAPP (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Connie moved to approve, and the motion was seconded by Aaron.

Board of Trustees Award
President Muma recommended Kevin Strecker, CEO of Ascension Via Christi, for this year’s award. Board members were asked to confirm their comfort with this nomination so that President Muma can notify Mr. Strecker and the Foundation can proceed with event planning. It was discussed to have an earlier meeting on this topic in April to discuss potential candidates. The final decision will still be made at the July meeting. A motion to approve the award was made by Dan, seconded by Aaron, and passed.

University Update
President Rick Muma talked about the progress on the at the Wilkins practice facility and the east side of university stadium. The biomedical campus is currently on budget and on schedule to meet the Spring 2027 operational goal. Rick also reported on enrollment numbers, sharing that international enrollment has declined by 20%. While the enrollment forecast does not project significant growth, this trend is consistent with what other universities are experiencing given the current environment.

Next board meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2025, and will take place in multipurpose room in the new Wilkins practice facility.

Meeting adjourned.

Olivia Kerschen

1. APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 9, 2025 – DIETZ

2. FINANCE AND AUDIT REPORT – MCCARTHY SNYDER  -- FOUNDATION INVESTMENT REPORT  -- FY 2025 BUDGET TO ACTUAL AS OF END OF MARCH

   • • MILL LEVY

     • BOARD OPERATING

     • BOARD INITIATIVE

                -- FY 2026 BUDGET

• • • MILL LEVY

    • BOARD OPERATING

    • BOARD INITIATIVES

    • MILL LEVY BUDGET NARRATIVE

                -- REVENUE & EXPENDITURES- FINANCIAL PLAN REVIW           III. WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY UPDATE – MUMA           IV. AS MAY ARISE

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Upcoming BOT Meeting DatesThursday, July 10, 2025, 8-10:30 am, Club 95 BoardroomThursday, September 11, 2025, 8-10:30 am, Club 95 Boardroom

Thursday, April 10, 2025, 8:00 AM — Shocker Success Center, MR 101, 1845 Fairmount Street, Wichita, KS 67260

In attendance were BOT members, Nancy McCarthy Snyder, Junetta Everett, Tracee Adams, Dan Rouser, Aaron Bastian, Dan Rouser, Keith Lawing, Kevin McWhorter, and Connie Dietz. Also in attendance were BOT Staff, Jeff DeGraffenreid, Andy Schlapp, Michelle Locke, David Miller, Olivia Kerschen, and Rick Muma.

Connie called the meeting to order at 8:00 am.

Approval of Board Meeting MinutesConnie Dietz asked for changes or additions to the minutes. Andy moved to approve the minutes, and Dan Seconded. Motion passed.Finance & Audit ReportMichelle Lock was introduced to the Board as the interim Assistant Treasurer for the Board. Michelle reviewed the financial reports with the board. She reviewed the foundation investment report, infrastructure review, Mill Levy budget, YTD revenue and expenditures, Operating budget, the Board Initiatives budget. The board also reviewed the FY 26 Mill Levy budget and discussed the new funding levels. There was discussion around priorities and ability to change priorities going forward. After the discussion the board was comfortable with budget priorities and funding levels. The next step is to get city and county approval for the Fy 26 budget before it is submitted to KBOR. No other discussions. Dan moved to approve reports, and the FY 26 Mill Levy budget, seconded by Aaron. Motioned passed.University UpdateRick Muma and Andy Schlapp gave an update on the construction that is happening round WSU, as well as enrollment projections (forecasted to be flat or down a little due to graduate and international students decreasing).

Rick provided an update of budget requests around the top 3 priorities:

• Priority #1 & 2: Affordability and Talent Pipeline – The request for $14.4M for need based aid was not approved in legislative budget sessions but &5.5M of the $6.4M requested was approved for student success.

• Priority #3: Economic Development - $5M was requested to do a feasibility study and design phase for Kansas’ first dental school. This was not funded by legislation.

• Andy provided some updates around disruptive technology and how it can be leveraged for good by refining the search tools and prompts to get much more targeted and accurate information.

Next board meeting is scheduled for July 10, 2025, and will take place in Club 95 Board Room.Meeting adjourned.Olivia Kerschen

Board Assistant Secretary

1. BOT AUDIT – BRUUN & FORVIS

2. APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES, JULY 20, 2023 – LABARCA

3. FINANCE AND AUDIT REPORT – MCCARTHY SNYDER

   1.  FOUNDATION INVESTMENT REPORT

   2.  INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS REVIEW

   3.  MILL LEVY BUDGET & YEAR TO DATE REVENUE & EXPENDITURES

   4. OPERATING BUDGET (BOT UNRESTRICTED)

   5. REVENUE & EXPENDITURES-FINANCIAL PLAN REVIEW

   6. BOARD INITIATIVES BUDGET REVIEW

   7. AUDIT SERVICES RFP

4. BY-LAWS UPDATE – SCHLAPP & DEGRAFFENREID

5. WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY UPDATE –MUMA,

6. AS MAY ARISE

Upcoming BOT Meeting Dates:

1. Thursday, January 9, 2025, 8-10:30 am John Bardo Center, Rm 164

2. Thursday, April 10, 2025, 8-10:30 am John Bardo Center, Rm 164

3. Thursday, July 10, 2025, 8-10:30 am John Bardo Center, Rm 164

4. Thursday, September 11, 2025, 8-10:30 am John Bardo Center, Rm 164

Additional Events:

1. October 29, 2024 – Heritage Gala (Board of Trustees Award presented) 5-8 pm, Beggs Ballroom (RSC)

2. December 6, 2024 – Board of Trustees Holiday Party 5:30-7 pm, TBD

Tuesday, October 15, 2024, 8:00 am — Club 95 Boardroom, 1937 N. Oliver Street, Suite A300, Wichita, KS 67208

In attendance were Laurie Labarca, Nancy McCarthy Snyder, Kevin McWhorter, Keith Lawing, Junetta Everett, Tracee Adams, Dan Rouser, Jeff DeGraffenreid, and Connie Dietz. Also in attendance were Andy Schlapp, Troy Bruun, Olivia Kerschen, and Rick Muma.

Laurie Labarca called meeting to order at 8 a.m.

Troy introduced Matt Cash from Forvis to review the audit findings. Findings were a clean audit with no deficiencies. After the review, there were no questions from the Board.Dan moved to approve reports, seconded by Nancy. Motioned passed.Approval of Board Meeting MinutesLaurie Labarca asked for changes or additions to the minutes. Keith moved to approve the minutes and Junetta Seconded. Motion passed.Finance & Audit ReportNancy McCarthy Snyder asked Troy Bruun to review the financial reports with the board. He reviewed the foundation investment report, infrastructure review, Mill Levy budget, YTD revenue and expenditures, Operating budget and the Board Initiatives budget. Dan inquired as to how the city/county has changed over the years. Andy provided a brief history regarding how expenditures and priorities have changed. Throughout the history of Mill Levy the city and county have asked the board to modify the mill levy budget to meet the changing needs of the Community and University. Today we are focusing on university projects that can grow the economy. A request was made for WSU Foundation to visit at a future meeting so we can learn more about WSUFAE benchmarks and rate of return. Also, during Mill Levy review, Keith suggested it would be helpful for Board members to have talking points around historical story of how Mill Levy came about, and its use and what the Board of Trustees role is around it. No other discussions.Kevin moved to approve reports, seconded by Dan. Motioned passed.Review of By-Law UpdatesAll changes were reviewed. One additional correction to the by-laws was to remove gender references (i.e. chairman) and to delete Article IV, Section 4. Motion to approve the changes to new By-Laws by Junetta, seconded by Connie. Approved.University UpdateRick Muma gave an update on what is happening at WSU. Rick Muma also gave updates on Fall enrollments at WSU and how declining high school graduation rates could affect WSU in the future. Also discussed that the search for a new Provost is still underway. The Board asked Rick to talk about new article claims of plagiarism. The Board was comfortable with his and the Universities response to these allegations. The Board agreed to write a letter of full support of President Muma. The letter will be sent to KBOR and a copy to the Governor.Next board meeting is scheduled for January 9, 2025. Olivia Kerschen will be sending out a calendar invite with location and details.Meeting adjourned.Olivia Kerschen

Board Assistant Secretary

1. APPROVAL OF BOARD MEETING MINUTES, APRIL 11, 2024 – LABARCA

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENTS

3. FINANCE AND AUDIT REPORT – MCCARTHY SNYDER

   1. FOUNDATION INVESTMENT REPORT

   2. INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT REVIEW

   3. MILL LEVY BUDGET & YEAR TO DATE REVENUE & EXPENDITURES

   4. OPERATING BUDGET (BOT UNRESTRICTED)

   5. BOARD INITIATIVES BUDGET REVIEW

   6. REVENUE & EXPENDITURES-FINANCIAL PLAN REVIEW

4. REVIEW OF MILL LEVY BUDGET MEETINGS WITH CITY AND COUNTY – SCHLAPP/MUMA

   1. UNIVERSITY STADIUM

   2. WBC PHASE II

5. REVIEW BY-LAWS - DEGRAFFENREID

6. ELECTION OF NEW OFFICERS - SCHLAPP

   1. CURRENT OFFICERS:

      1. LAURIE LABARCA (CHAIR)

      2. CONNIE DIETZ (VICE CHAIR)

      3. NANCY MCCARTHY SNYDER (TEASURER)

      4. TROY BRUUN (ASSISTANT TREASURER)

      5. JUNETTA EVERETT (SECRETARY)

      6. OLIVIA KERSCHEN (ASSITANT SECRETARY)

      7. ANDY SCHLAPP (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

7. BOARD OF TRUSTEES AWARD - SCHLAPP

8. WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY UPDATE – SCHLAPP/MUMA

9. AS MAY ARISE

Upcoming BOT Meeting Dates

• Thursday, September 12, 2024, 8-10:30 am

Additional Events

• Heritage Gala TBD

• BOT Holiday Party TBD

Thursday, July 11, 2024, 8:00 am; John Bardo Center, Room 164, 1815 Innovation Blvd. Wichita, KS 67208

In attendance were Laurie Labarca, Nancy McCarthy Snyder, Kevin McWhorter, Keith Lawing, Junetta Everett, Tracee Adams, Dan Rouser. Also in attendance were Andy Schlapp, Troy Bruun, Olivia Kerschen, Werner Golling and Rick Muma.

Laurie Labarca called meeting to order at 8:00 am.

Andy introduced Olivia Kerschen and thanked all who helped compose the previous minutes with the departure of Susan Johnson.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes

Laurie Labarca asked for changes or additions to the minutes. Keith Lawing, Tracee Adams and Nancy McCarthy Snyder offered 3 changes to the minutes. Keith moved to approve the minutes and Dan Rouser Seconded. Motion passed.

Conflict of Interest Statements

Laurie asked that everyone sign these and return them to Olivia Kerschen.

Finance & Audit Report

Nancy McCarthy Snyder asked Troy Bruun to review the financial reports with the board. He reviewed the foundation investment report, infrastructure review, Mill Levy budget, YTD revenue and expenditures, Operating budget and the Board Initiatives budget. Nancy also said that Troy would be bringing new financial documents that will be more in line with our audit documents to future BOT meetings. Keith Lawing inquired about the cash that is not available for Board Initiatives. Cash not spent for Scholarships, Interns, Business and economic research, city and county government services stay in their respective funds until spent. All other unspent funds roll over to university strategic initiatives. We also keep 2.9 million in reserve for cash flow.

Keith Lawing moved to approve reports, seconded by Junetta Everett. Motioned passed.

Review of Mill Levy Budget Meetings with City and County

Andy Schlapp gave an update on meetings – he has met with all County officials, the city manager’s office and a few City council members. The meetings went well. We are working to schedule meetings with the remaining city council members. Both City and County elected officials are generally supportive of the university stadium project and Wichita Bio Medical phase 2 project.

Review of By-Law Updates

There were a few questions about some wording. Since the Board did not have a redlined version, it was decided to hold off on approving updated bylaws until the next meeting. Olivia Kerschen will send out the Red Line version of the bylaws so everyone can see what changes were made. Feedback should be sent to Olivia.

Election of New Officers

Andy Schlapp mentioned that Junetta Everett, Tracee Adams and Kevin McWhorter’s are being reappointed to the board 2024. Nancy McCarthy Snyder noted that she will only serve one more year. The suggestion was made that we send out a list of each officer’s role, duties and expectations ahead of the meeting before elections. Keith Lawing asked that we appoint a nominating committee next year. Historically, this has been done. Dan Rouser motioned to retain officers for another year, Tracee Adams seconded, motion passed.

Board of Trustees Award

Andy Schlapp nominated Jill Docking for this award since she has been instrumental in Wichita Biomedical Campus. Kevin McWhorter suggested that for next year, we start compiling a list of possible nominees throughout the year and send them out before the nominating meeting. It was agreed that the nominating committee being assembled could also address the Award’ nominee. Dan Rouser motioned to nominate Jill Docking, Junetta Everett seconded, motion passed.

University Update

Rick Muma gave an update on what is happening at WSU. Rick Muma also gave updates on Legislative programs funded stating it has been collectively one of the most successful outcome in the history of WSU. Muma updated current and future construction projects. Discussion focused on Phase 2 of Wichita Biomedical Campus and what that will look like. Also discussed WSU Stadium and the plan going forward. P11 building should be completed soon, and we plan to hold the next meeting in that space. Also discussed that the search for a new Provost has begun. This will be Werner’s last meeting, as he is retiring on August 9th. They are conducting interviews in the next few weeks to backfill his position.

Next board meeting is scheduled for September 12, 2024, but Olivia Kerschen will be looking for new dates to reschedule due to multiple conflicts.

Meeting adjourned.

Olivia Kerschen
Board Assistant Secretary