Advancement Committee Meeting June 6, 2024

The Advancement Committee met on Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 12:30 p.m. in Room 201 of the Freeman Center with Chair of the Committee John Lawson, presiding.

Present from the Committee

John R. Lawson, Chair
Regina Brayboy
William Estrada
Lindsey Carney Smith, Esq., Rector
Ron Tillett

Absent from the Committee

C. Larry Pope

Present from the University

William G. Kelly, President
Jennifer Latour, Chief of Staff
Brian Puaca, Faculty Senate Representative
Adelia P. Thompson, Vice President for University Advancement, External Engagement and the Arts

Others Present

Ashleigh Andrews
Bob Colvin
Vidal Dickerson
Chip Filer
Jim Hanchett
Sarah Herzog
Kenneth Kidd
Spencer McDonald
Kyle McMullin
Deborah Roundtree
Sevrin Vandevender

At 12:34 p.m. Chair John Lawson called the meeting to order and welcomed everyone present. Chair Lawson called for a motion to approve the minutes from the April 18, 2024 Advancement Committee meeting. Mr. Ron Tillett provided the motion, seconded by Mr. Will Estrada. The minutes were unanimously approved. Mr. Sevrin Vandevender was the student speaker and shared about his experiences in research at CNU. President Kelly presented Mr. Vandevender with a challenge coin.

Closed Session

At 12:47 p.m. Chair Lawson called for a motion to enter closed session under Freedom of Information Act § 2.2-3711 (A)(9) Gifts, Bequests and Fundraising. Mr. Tillett provided the motion which was seconded by Mrs. Regina Brayboy and the committee went into Closed Session.

Return to Open Session

At 1:16 p.m. Chair Lawson called for a motion to enter Open Session which was moved by Mrs. Brayboy. Mr. Estrada seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous vote of the Committee.

The Committee returned to open session at 1:16 p.m. and Mr. Tillett read the certification language: The Advancement Committee of Christopher Newport University certifies that, to the best of each member’s knowledge, (i) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under this chapter were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and (ii) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion by which the closed session was convened were heard, discussed or considered by the Committee.

Mr. Tillett asked the Committee Members to certify that only public matters were discussed that were identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was called, Chair John Lawson, Mrs. Regina Brayboy, Mr. William Estrada, Rector Lindsey Carney Smith, and Mr. Ron Tillett certified to the above through a roll call, by Ms. Roundtree.

Ms. Adelia Thompson then presented Resolution 2: Gift Acceptance Policy. After discussion, Chair Lawson called for a motion to approve Resolution 2: Gift Acceptance Policy which was moved by Mr. Tillett. Mr. Estrada seconded the motion and the motion passed by unanimous vote of the Committee.

Chair Lawson called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Estrada and seconded by Rector Lindsey Carney Smith. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:19 p.m.