95-02-10: BOARD SETS CONDITIONS GIVING IMMUNITY TO HONOR SYSTEM LEADERS "Establishes New Joint Venture Corporation to Pursue Health Care Business, Extends Health Benefits to Part-time Medical Center Workers" The Board of Visitors extended its regular two-day meeting schedule, continuing in executive session Sunday, Feb. 5, to pass a resolution on the Honor Committee and draft an explanatory statement. The documents reaffirm the board's commitment to the Honor System and to student self-governance, but call for review of the system whose "procedural changes have constituted a good faith effort to perpetuate the System's virtues while addressing its potential flaws, but contribute directly to the Honor System's current dilemma," according to the statement. In the wake of ongoing controversy over the Leggett case, the board's resolution gives immunity to Honor Committee members who might face charges related to official decisions or actions, after they have consulted with the University's president or general counsel. If such proceedings are begun, they will be "neither authorized nor will be accorded any legal effect or implementation by the University." The resolution does specify that Honor Committee members may still be charged for personal misconduct, may still be dismissed for not fulfilling their duties or may still face disciplinary action for "intentional conduct which violates the rules of confidentiality, or which obstructs the operations of the Honor Committee." The resolution and statement are available on GWIS and will be reprinted in next week's issue. Board Approves Medical Center's Business Ventures After much discussion the Health Affairs Committee resolved Feb. 3 to grant the Medical Center authority to establish a joint venture corporation with the Health Services Foundation (HSF), in essence creating a non-profit foundation that can form for-profit as well as not-for-profit "partnerships with other organizations to provide health care services in the region." The next day the board agreed to a contract with the Birmingham, Ala., company HEALTHSOUTH for rehabilitative services. Last year the General Assembly authorized the Board of Visitors "to enter into joint ventures which support the mission of the Medical Center. This same legislation has served as the basis for capitalization of the Blue Ridge Health Alliance," said Dr. Robert W. Cantrell, acting vice president and provost of health sciences. The joint venture corporation would allow for speedier decision-making to take advantage of market opportunities, he said, and could include areas such as ambulatory surgery, wellness programs, home health care programs, satellite clinics, strategic alliances with other providers, managed care contracts and partnerships with other organizations for health services. "The corporation could develop and acquire primary care practices in this region, which would then refer patients to the Medical Center when necessary," Dr. Cantrell said later. He mentioned that other academic health care centers, such as the University of Michigan, and other hospitals including Martha Jefferson, are buying these practices, too. The Medical College of Virginia has already formed the same kind of corporation, noted Dr. Cantrell. The committee was reluctant to let go of $4 million in Medical Center funds for initial financing; HSF would put up $1 million. "If we purchase any subsidiaries, the hospital benefits on a four-to-one ratio," Dr. Cantrell explained. "This is a lot of money for just the Health Affairs Committee to decide," said Dr. N. Thomas Connally, chair of the committee. "Do we have to have this [joint venture] before April?" he asked. "Yes we do," replied Dr. Cantrell. "Where will the $4 million come from," board member Evans B. Jessee wanted to know. The money will come from hospital reserves, said Executive Director Michael J. Halseth and Chief Financial Officer Peter L. Munger, who added that the hospital has a $40 million surplus held in the state treasury. The committee hesitated to have only the Board of Visitors Executive Committee approving the details of establishing the corporation with HSF, including bylaws and composition of the corporation's board of directors, as it was written in the resolution. Committee members and Medical Center administration finally agreed to enlarge the authorizing group by adding the Health Affairs Committee. The full board will review the plans at its spring meeting. On Saturday, the board approved not only the new medical corporation, but the business partnership with HEALTH-SOUTH. One of the leading for-profit providers of outpatient rehabilitative services, HEALTHSOUTH will help build new orthopaedic offices in the McCue Center and provide physical therapy in sports medicine. The Medical Center will spend $750,000 as its share toward start-up costs. Running 46 rehabilitative hospitals primarily in the Southeast, including one associated with Vanderbilt University, HEALTHSOUTH designs as well as manages physical and occupational therapy services. "One possibility is they may help us build a neuromusculoskeletal center," said Dr. Cantrell later, where the company would then rent the space for their physical therapy service. The resolution on the partnership with HEALTHSOUTH empowers the Executive Committee "to approve binding contracts and other legal documents related to the joint venture in consultation with the President, the Vice President and Provost for Health Sciences, and the General Counsel." Establishing the business partnerships was part of a broader review of organizational models of academic health centers and privatization, which the board will consider more fully in April. "The governor has hinted that he's looking at privatization [of the public medical centers], said Dr. Cantrell. "We would like to study how best to characterize our structure. The worst possible outcome would be for the governor to sell our Medical Center to some big conglomerate," Dr. Cantrell warned. "Do you have any reason to think he is seriously considering that move?" Mortimer M. Caplin asked, to which Dr. Cantrell responded, "No comment." Mr. Munger said he didn't think it would happen. "We are not keen on dividing the hospital from the Board of Visitors, but we are interested in becoming more flexible and freer from state controls," Dr. Cantrell said. "Let's just remember the history of the medical school -- we have the hospital to accomplish teaching and research," said Dr. Connally, whose board term ends this month. "We have to make sure the decisions keep to those primary objectives, and that we have a bigger responsibility here. We are the last resort for poor people. That's our moral role." Medical Center to Give Part-Time Health Care Professionals Health Insurance Coverage Part-time health care professionals (HCPs) employed by the Medical Center will get health insurance coverage under the Qualchoice plan as a workplace benefit effective March 1, pending approval of the idea by Secretary of Education Beverly Sgro. Hospital officials want to offer the benefit as an incentive to get full-time workers to switch to part-time status. The hospital now staffs to meet peak patient census times but could shift to staff according to the average patient count if it had the flexibility of more part-time workers, according to Dr. Robert Cantrell. A shift of roughly 20 employees from full- to part-time would generate enough savings to offset the cost of extending the benefit to the formerly uncovered group, he said. Every additional shift of 20 employees would result in $400,000 annual salary savings for the hospital. Officials estimate the total possible savings to be about $1 million. The Medical Center now employs roughly 1,900 workers. A substitution of 100 part-time HCPs for 100 full-time HCPs would amount to a 2.5 percent reduction in its full-time equivalent employment. Milton Airport Declared Surplus Acting to keep itself party to future discussions of the possible uses of U.Va.'s Milton airport property, the board declared the 172-acre tract to be surplus. Located near Shadwell on the Rivanna River, the old airport was identified in a 1994 report by the state Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee as among state-owned properties that could be put up for sale. The state has the authority to declare the land surplus without the University's consent. By acting first, the University has set in motion a process ensuring it some involvement in the property's final disposition. According to state rules, the land must first be offered to other state agencies. Should none want it, it is next available for sale or lease to local governments. Should no local government desire it, it may be sold outright. Bought in 1939 for $17,900 for use as a "flying field" (it includes 90 acres of level floodplain), it is believed to be part of the 5,000 acres farmed by Mr. Jefferson and may include the sites of his water-powered manufacturing enterprises. The remains of a batteau, a shallow-draft boat used in river transport, was uncovered nearby and an Indian village site is suspected to exist near the end of one runway. One of U.Va.'s principal concerns in what becomes of the area is to ensure that potential archaeological values are appreciated, President John T. Casteen III told the board. The airport's hanger is now used by the University's recycling program and to store the folding seats set up at graduation. A radio-controlled airplane club uses the old runways and law enforcement agencies have a firing range on part of the land. A 1993 study of the tract by the city and county governments and U.Va. recommended it be used for passive recreation. It could serve as the southern terminus of a riverside trail proposed to start at the reservoir and include the city's Riverview Park, said Leonard W. Sandridge, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Law School Residential College Proposed The law school is considering establishing a residential college, funded by private gifts, said Colette Capone, vice president for management and budget, at the Building and Grounds Committee meeting Friday afternoon. Five existing Copeley apartment buildings across from the law school at the corner of Massie Road and Arlington Blvd. would constitute the framework for the college, she said. There would be no physical renovations in the two-bedroom units, but the bedrooms, now doubles, would become singles, reducing the number of residents from the current 292 to 146. The project, however, would entail adding a new parking lot, sidewalks and lighting, as well as a new lawn and more than 100 trees. Plans allow for a future student activities center for the college's residents. "As far as I know, there's not another law school in the country that has a residential college with integrated social and educational programs," said U.Va. law professor Glen O. Robinson, who spoke in Dean Robert E. Scott's absence. "The project creates a $3 million naming opportunity," said Ms. Capone. There is a prospective donor, according to Mr. Robinson. The renovation of the Lady Astor Tennis Courts, to be funded by the maintenance reserve, would call for demolishing all 15 courts beginning this month and installing six post-tension concrete courts by June, said Ms. Capone. Campaign Goals on Target Vice President for Development Robert D. Sweeney updated the External Affairs Committee Feb. 3 on the status of the University's $700 million capital campaign. "In December, the University experienced the largest single month of giving in its history -- $14 million was raised," said Mr. Sweeney. Year-end totals for gifts and grants amounted to $231 million, 33 percent of the campaign's goal, he said. "In terms of our goals for the number of target donors and dollars, we are very much on track in the campaign. We're where we should be," Mr. Sweeney said. The University has received 334 commitments of at least $100,000, he said. Forty-five donors have pledged $1 million and two have pledged $10 million or more. The Nucleus Fund stage of the campaign, when large gifts are solicited, will culminate at the kickoff Oct. 6, 1995, he said. Development fund-raisers expect to raise an additional $50 million during the next eight months. Board member W. L. Lyons Brown Jr. asked if the campaign's goal has been set too low. "I'm concerned about ratcheting up the targeted figure," Mr. Sweeney replied. However, if contributions exceed projections over the next 90 to 120 days, campaign officials might consider increasing the goal, he said. Also, the possible addition of two new projects would require adding $45 million to the campaign's goal, he added. The groundwork is being laid for October's kickoff festivities, reported Senior Vice President Ernest H. Ern. A press conference is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6. The following day President Casteen will give a State of the University address to an audience of 800 to 1,000. That evening a gala dinner and program emceed by U.Va. alumna and Today Show anchor Katie Couric will be held under a tent on the Lawn, he said. Drug-Free Dorm Discussed As a measure to "counter the drinking culture" at U.Va., Vice President for Student Affairs William Harmon introduced the idea of drug-free housing in the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee meeting Feb. 3. Conversation has begun among the offices of the Dean of Students and Residence Life, the Institute for Substance Abuse Studies and the housing division about creating a residence hall in which all members, regardless of legal drinking age, would pledge to abstain from alcohol and other drugs. Drug-free zones are already successful at the University of Michigan and the University of California at Berkeley, where demand for such rooms exceeds availability, Mr. Harmon said. When asked about his experience, President Casteen called a similar program in Connecticut "very successful" when it was students who initiated the option. Citing a Harvard study of 140 college campuses, Mr. Harmon said that 19 percent of college students were frequent alcohol "bingers" -- having five drinks more than once a week. Sober students are twice as likely to be abused by intoxicated peers and have their study and sleep habits interrupted, he said. After board member Robert G. Butcher Jr. voiced concern about making such distinctions between dorms, Mr. Harmon acknowledged the alternative "may send an erroneous statement about our other residence halls," and also said students may have less interest in the idea than parents. Board member Patricia M. Kluge asserted that the honor system should be sufficient for regulating students' abuse of alcohol. A survey to determine student opinion will be the next step in the ongoing discussion. The University will implement the Federal Direct Student Loan Program (FDSLP) for 1995-96 as an alternative to the Federal Family Education Loan Program. FDSLP should simplify the lending process by reducing both paperwork and waiting periods for funds. The program will allow U.Va. to eliminate manual processing of 16,000 yearly loan checks, and will also increase cash flow by the direct crediting of funds to students' accounts. Responding to a concern from W.L. Lyons Brown Jr., Director of Financial Aid Wayne Sparks noted the University can withdraw from the program without penalty if it does not meet expectations. The Department of Student Health is considering realignment with the Health Sciences Center, mainly to consolidate accreditation processes. Benefits of this action would also include enhanced collaborative efforts, better health care access for students and improved opportunities for health care providers. "It would only change as an administrative reporting structure," said James C. Turner, director of student health. And in athletics, Interim Athletic Director Craig Littlepage announced that "things have never been better," noting that the graduation rate of U.Va. athletes tops 90 percent and that men's soccer captured its fourth consecutive NCAA title. He also reported that Scott Stadium will be prepared for resurfacing with real grass beginning March 1.  New Honor Committee Chair Jason Robinson reacted to the board's statement [see page 2], calling it a "mutual, bilateral effort" to revamp the system. He then reporting that the committee has reviewed 37 cases since August: 14 were dropped, nine were accepted for trial, four were held and eight are under investigation. Of cases tried since August, the committee recorded seven not guilty and four guilty verdicts, one mistrial and recommended three psychiatric evaluations. Four defendants left the University admitting guilt.  The board selected Matthew W. Cooper, a second-year law student and 1993 graduate of the College, as the new student board member to replace Allison S. Linney, whose term ends April 8.  The University's total endowment stood at $653 million on the last day of 1994. Its growth from $487 million in 1990 to $641 million at the end of the 1994 fiscal year is darkened slightly by a slip in the quasi- endowment (that part of the endowment directly controlled by the University) as a percentage of the total endowment, from 60 percent to 56 percent. Mr. Sandridge called the drop "a bad trend."  Thanks to a 99 percent occupancy rate, housing fees for the 1995-96 school year could be held to the same amounts for the second year in a row. U.Va.'s housing charges are $100 below the state average and constitute a "market advantage," Mr. Sandridge said. U.Va.-owned housing, not including married student units, can accomodates 6,135 students.  In addition to the Board's statement and resolution on the Honor System, faculty actions and new professorships will be