A meeting of the Executive Committee of the Purdue University Board of Trustees convened at 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, in Stewart Center, Room 326, on the Purdue University campus in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Committee members present in person or by means of electronic communication pursuant to the Electronic Meeting Policy were: Michael Berghoff, chair (conference call); Gary Lehman, vice chair (conference call); JoAnn Brouillette (conference call); Sonny Beck (conference call); and Vanessa Castagna (conference call).
Officers and administrators in attendance were: Steve Schultz, general counsel; Chris Ruhl, chief financial officer and treasurer; and Kim Weldy, executive assistant in the Office of the Board of Trustees.
Pursuant to Article V, Section 1, of the Bylaws, during intervals between meetings of the Board, and subject to such limitations as may be required by law or specifically imposed by action of the Board, the Executive Committee has the authority to exercise all powers of the Board.
I. ROLL CALL
Chairman Berghoff called the meeting to order, conducted roll call and confirmed a quorum of the Executive Committee was present for two orders of business.
II. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION RELATED TO SECURITY CLEARANCE MATTERS
Chairman Berghoff began by stating that supporting materials from Steve Schultz, general counsel, had been sent to members of the Committee in advance of the meeting. He observed that the materials included a resolution required for the University’s security clearance under federal regulations, noting that a similar resolution has been adopted and updated occasionally by the Board since 2011, as University faculty have worked on research opportunities related to national security and other topics requiring a clearance. Chairman Berghoff shared that, given the importance of Purdue’s research in these areas, and in light of recent leadership changes, the existing resolution requires updating to reflect those within University management who have responsibility for handling classified information.
On Chairman Berghoff’s request, Mr. Schultz explained that the resolution actually serves two purposes: it identifies the senior managerial group of individuals having the necessary clearance and delegates to them the responsibility for handling classified information, and it excludes from those responsibilities the other members of the Board and senior officers who do not have those clearances. Chairman Berghoff noted that the Board hopes and expects these opportunities to increase as projects are launched under the National Security and Technology initiative and Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI)—both of which were included in the Purdue Moves 2.0. After further discussion and upon a motion duly made by JoAnn Brouillette and seconded by Gary Lehman, Kim Weldy, executive assistant in the Office of the Board of Trustees conducted the roll call vote. As evidenced by that vote, the Executive Committee, acting on behalf of the full Board, unanimously approved the Resolution Related to Security Clearance Matters. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.
III. APPROVAL OF ACTIONS RELATED TO NAMING OPPORTUNITY
Chairman Berghoff turned to the second agenda item, noting that the Committee had also received a memo from Mr. Schultz on this topic. Chairman Berghoff then observed that a generous gift from the White family had been announced over the past weekend, resulting in the naming opportunity the Committee is now pleased to consider. Specifically, he stated that the Committee has been asked to approve, on behalf of the full Board, a proposal to name and designate the undergraduate program within the reimagined Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business as the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute, as reflected in a recommendation from the University Naming Committee consisting of Provost Wolfe, Treasurer Ruhl, and Vice President Matt Folk.
Chairman Berghoff explained that, as part of this action, there is a proposal to redesignate the graduate and executive programs within the School of Business as the Krannert Graduate Institute, noting that the full Board had declared its intention at its February stated meeting to retain the “Krannert” name for these programs, while signaling the possibility that they could receive another academic unit designation in the future. Chairman Berghoff noted that the proposal now before the Committee will serve to distinguish the undergraduate and graduate programs within the School under the respective White and Krannert names, while designating them with parallel unit references as “institutes.”
Against that backdrop, Chairman Berghoff proceeded to recite the resolution to give effect to this proposal, which reads as follows (the “Resolution”):
RESOLVED, that the undergraduate degree program and the graduate and executive degree programs within the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business be, and hereby are, named and designated as the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute and the Krannert Graduate Institute, respectively.
Chairman Berghoff called for a motion to approve the Resolution and to authorize the officers to move forward with related actions to give it effect. Proper motion was then duly made by Vanessa Castagna and seconded by Gary Lehman. He then asked for additional comments or questions. There being none, Kim Weldy, Executive Assistant in the Office of the Board of Trustees conducted a roll call vote on the proposal. As evidenced by that vote, the Executive Committee, acting on behalf of the full Board, voted unanimously to approve the Resolution and to authorize actions related thereto. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.
IV. ADJOURNMENT
By consent, the meeting adjourned at 8:18 a.m.