Hoskins resigned as the director of the Center For the Arts after the university attempted to fire her June 12, 2012.
Photo submitted

BY: WESLEY ROBINSON
wesley_robinson28@mymail.eku.edu

Eastern released the remainder of the documents regarding the termination of Debra Hoskins. The records revealed human resource policy violations, falsification of records, unethical use of university procards and alleged sexual harassment during her time as Center for the Arts director.

More than 700 pages of reports, university audits, investigations, emails and other correspondence detailed the university’s reason for attempting to fire Hoskins June 12, which was blocked by the Center for the Arts Community Operations Board. Hoskins resigned shortly thereafter.

Among allegations:

• Retained personally identifiable credit card information, discovered at a March 20, 2012 inspection of the Center’s ticket box office.

• Falsified invoices for events using incorrect flat rates.

• Procard transactions May 20, 2011 to Dec. 31, 2011 of which nearly halfwere made by other than Hoskins, totaling $14,564.

• Using the procard for unauthorized meals nearly a quarter of which were not for potential donors or sponsors as is university policy.

• Hoskins offered a Center business manager position to someone before the job was officially posted.

• Overpayment on Center events including the Jerry Seinfeld event (at least $13,588) and the Manheim Steam Roller Event (at least $6,803).

In an April 17 ruling, Madison County Circuit Judge William G. Clouse Jr. ruled the privacy agreement between Hoskins and the university did not federal law requiring state funded institutions to disclose most of the documents related to her tenure as Center director and subsequent termination of employment at Eastern. Hoskins could have further appealed the decision but elected not to.

The records redacted the names of students and other university employees who could potentially be harmed by the documents being released.

Peter Baniak, editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader said the law has supported the Herald-Leader’s request for the records and is pleased they have been released. The documents sought by the Herald-Leader related to her tenure as director of the new $33 million facility, which opened last year.

Previously withheld documents were released in March included in the documents internal audit report, which detailed the mishandling of credit card information, complimentary tickets, the underpayment of acts performing at the Center, overpayment of service contracts, issues with the Center’s procard and the sale and storage of alcoholic beverages.

Earlier this year, the university and Hoskins released some of the documents concerning her tenure, many of which highlighted concerns about the center’s questionable handling of customer’s credit card numbers and information from her former employer, Centre College’s Norton Center for the Arts in Danville.

“We are pleased that the records which we originally asked for under the open records act have now been released,” Baniak said.

As for the nature claims and reports of the records, Baniak has a different outlook:

“We’re going to let the records and our reporting in the newspaper speak for that,” Baniak said.

Most of the allegations against Hoskins had been revealed prior to the documents release late Wednesday, but the allegations of sexual harassment and instructing students to falsify time cards were brought to light.

Hoskins was being placed on unpaid leave for a week after violating the university’s sexual harassment and non-discrimination policies, according to one document.

Also among the documents is paperwork signed by Hoskins certifying completion of sexual harassment training on Jan. 3, 2012.

Hoskins former administrative assistant Brigid Gatlin said Hoskins instructed her to do her sexual harassment and discrimination training because she did not ‘have the time to do so’ in a document Gatlin submitted outlining “countless” occurrences of sexual harassment.

Gatlin also said Hoskins was inappropriately referring to administration, harassing students and using her procard to make unapproved purchases as well as changing receipts.

Hoskins denied all allegations of sexual harassment and said she did not know about university policies in regards to other issues in which she was accused.

The Herald-Leader reported that Hoskins is the director of the Grand Theatre in Lancaster which is set to open soon.

The Board of Regents approved tuition increases, housing rate increases and voted to keep miscellaneous salaries the same at Tuesday’s meeting.

All measures had been recommendations prior to the Board’s vote.

Undergraduate tuition will be increased 2.95 percent, just below the Council on Postsecondary Education’s cap of 3 percent. Graduate tuition rates, which are not bound by the CPE recommendation, will go up 3.4 percent.

President Doug Whitlock said while increases to higher education institutions will affect students, universities are fortunate to have governor Beshear in office because his cuts to higher education have not been as severe as other state-funded areas because of his dedication to education.

Jennifer Lowe, a senior middle grade education major from Monticello, cited a couple of reasons for the tuition hike not being good for students.

“We [as students] struggle as it is, plus I commute,” Lowe said.

The Board also approved a hike of resident hall rates by 5 percent as well as average increases of 3 percent on meal plans.

James Street, vice president of administration, said the new residence hall would not be completed until the last week of August. Weather delays prevented the contractors from putting up drywall as quickly as they would have liked on the third floor’s north wing will not be completed in time. As a result about 50 students will be displaced until the third floor of the hall is completed. Students will be given the option to stay in Telford Hall at a pro-rated cost if necessary.

The Board voted to keep salaries for regular, part-time and student employees the same as the 2012-2013 year.

The Board approved a change in admissions standards to fight enrollment decreases. The change will allow admission of students with either a 2.5 GPA or an ACT score of 20. The old standard was a grade point average of 2.0 and an ACT score of 18 to be accepted into Eastern.

The Board heard recommendations from university officials to set next year’s agenda at the last meeting before the fiscal year ending meeting in June. Other issues included negotiating the contract with incoming President Michael Benson as well as a closed session to discuss undisclosed issues relating to the Strategic Task Force and reallocation programs.

Board Chair Craig Turner said the task force has done a tremendous amount of work to outline a feasible plan and said the university will do a better job with planning in the future.

“The task force timeline brought one thing to light,” Turner said. “This is a process that should be ongoing.”

Turner said the university wanted to solidify its plans going forward and talks with Benson daily to ensure they are on the same page.

“He is well aware of everything we have been discussing and the progress that we are making,” Turner said. “I think Dr. Benson has a very good understanding [of what we must do].

Whitlock suggested to the board that the 21 members of the strategic task force be allowed to use the buyout options. The decision paved the way for Street to take a buyout.

“I was planning on retiring at 60 anyway, which is not that far off and the Voluntary Buyout Program was a viable option,” Street said.

Street said his last day will be at the end of June.

Turner said The Board did not set a date for its next meeting, which will approve the final budget for the 2013-2014 year.

The Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force recently addressed concerns regarding the Voluntary Buyout Program (VBP), Enhanced Retirement Transition Program (ERTP), Staff Reduction in Force Program (RIF), and the Tuition Waiver program changes.

A draft of proposed changes and updates was sent to President Whitlock, President-Elect Benson and Board of Regents Chair Craig Turner.

An email released by The Provost’s Office listed May 6 as the final day for faculty to apply. The statement also listed May 13 as date of notification of acceptance for the VBP and May 20 as the deadline for revoking application and acceptance to the VBP.

According to the email, individuals and work units will be notified of position changes, restructuring and reorganization, within the next two weeks. Once the May 20 deadline for withdrawing participation in the VBP has passed, supervisors will begin their final reorganization plans.

“Until the VBP is concluded and reorganization plans are finalized, we are unable to identify who will be subject to a RIF,” the email said.

Janna Vice, co-chair of the Strategic Budget Reallocation Task Force, said changes were made to the Tuition Waiver Program to make it more generous than initially proposed after receiving feedback from faculty and staff.

“We discussed a compromise that’s still helpful and beneficial to the employees and families as well as to the reallocation ethics,” Vice said.

Vice said the initial Tuition Waiver changes were set to save $1 million for reallocations, while the proposed changes, which increased eligible hours from six per term to nine per term, will still save the university $500,000.

Vice said the initial proposal required all applying to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), while the new proposals do not. Vice said the new plan is set to begin on July 1.

The changes bumped credit hours of waiver per term from six to nine, Employees may transfer hours to a dependent, spouse, or sponsored dependent for a total of 27 credit hours per academic year. Employees are eligible to take up to 18 of those hours, limited to six hours per term.

The Tuition Waiver no longer covers non-credit bearing courses.

For more information or questions regarding the VBP or RIF visit Eastern’s Human Resource Website or call 859-622-5094. For information or questions regarding reallocations email the Task Force at BudgetTaskForce@eku.edu.

Eastern will cut funding to Model Lab causing the $500 tuition increase for the 2013-2014 academic year. Another $500 increase will be charged the following year.
Photo by David Rigel

BY: KASEY TYRING
progress@eku.edu

The future of Model Laboratory School is no longer in jeopardy.

Model could have been closed as a result of the strategic budget cuts said James Dantic, Model’s director.

The Board of Regents approved $500 tuition for the 2013-2014 school year with an additional $500 increase the following year.

“As both a Model parent and Model educator, I don’t want parents to pay anymore than they must,” Dantic said. “The increase in tuition will place a greater financial burden on parents to send their children to Model. The challenge in this tuition increase is that it comes without a reciprocal increase in programs, resources, facility enhancements or staff.”

By raising the tuition by $500 the first year, Eastern will be saving about $350,000. The increase in the 2014-2015 year will save the university another $350,000. The two tuition increases would replace more than half the $1.2 million Eastern gives Model every year.

“There are two fundamental ways to balance a budget that is costing the University a nominal $1.2 million: raise revenues or cut expenses,” James Street co-chair of the strategic reallocation task force said. “It appeared that some elasticity existed in the Model tuition while there wasn’t a source elsewhere in the Model budget to cut significantly and keep the school operational as an asset to the College of Education.”

Eastern students log more than 10,000 undergraduate study hours each year for more than 20 different departments of the university.

While the required tuition increase is a much better outcome than shutting the school down completely, Dantic said the decision presents challenges to Model families because it compares Model to private schools.

“Model is probably more ‘public’ than other public schools in Kentucky due to its additional responsibilities beyond [Pre-Kindergarten] through 12 instruction in providing EKU undergraduate experiential and educational requirements associated with their university coursework.” Dantic said. “We need to be careful about avoiding any perception that we are a private school based upon a narrow interpretation of student tuition which only funds a portion of our budget.  Though our parents pay tuition, Model should not be considered a private school any more that EKU would be considered private due to the tuition which it requires of its undergraduate and graduate students.”

Like private schools, Model families pay tuition. Unlike private schools, Model must abide by federal and state regulations for public schools and the teachers must be licensed by the state. Model is also required to test student performance by state assessments.

Street said Model does not pay for their building or utilities so Eastern is not leaving Model on its own.

Malcolm Frisbie, a member of the board of regents at Eastern, sends his children to Model.  He believes the tuition increase will be tough for parents but Model will still be worth the extra money.

“With two children enrolled at Model the proposed tuition increase there will hit us pretty hard, but Model has wonderful teachers,” Frisbie said. “The opportunity for high school students to easily work EKU classes into their schedules is very beneficial. And the learning community that Model faculty and parents have created is great. Even at the higher tuition level, Model will remain an educational bargain.”

As the Police Beats report more thefts, EKU Police wants students, faculty and staff to help prevent burglaries.

Between Jan. 1 and April 19, EKU Police has responded to eight second-degree burglary cases and three third-degree burglary cases, said Lt. Brandon Collins. Four of the second-degree cases were closed by arrest, three are unsolved and one was dismissed because it was an unfounded case. One of the third-degree cases have been closed by arrest, the other two remain open.

Collins said “solvability factors” determine how long it takes to solve a case. Such factors include whether there are suspects named by the victim, witnesses to the crime and serial numbers or identifiable markings.

“We work cases that have active leads first,” Collins said. “We will go back a few months after the others are reported to see if any new leads are available before we close them due to no solvability factors.”

EKU Police Chief Brian Mullins said negligence is the primary reason for most of the cases. He offered a common tip to students, faculty and staff: Don’t leave valuables unattended, lock offices and remove all valuables from vehicle and report suspicious activity.

“Just call us, even if you’re wrong [about a potential crime occurring] it’s OK, it’s what we are here for,” Mullins said. “Without a question, always report.”

Textbooks, smartphones, laptops and backpacks are some of the more commonly stolen items on campus. Mullins said more thefts happen toward the end of the semester because it’s easier for thieves to identify valuables when students are moving things from the dorms to their cars and leaving them unlocked for convenience.

Mullins said reporting that items have been stolen as quickly as possible helps police recover items, along with having identifiable information like serial numbers readily available.

“It’s hard to recover some of the [stolen property], but it does happen that we find it and the quicker we know about it the quicker we can work on finding it,” Mullins said.

He also said in order to press criminal charges or file with insurance it’s necessary to have some information about the stolen items or crime available.

“You’re not going to walk down to the county attorney’s office and file misdemeanor charges,” Mullins said. “If you’re going to do any kind of an insurance claim, you’re going to have to have some kind of documentation.”

Mullins said the biggest help the university community can provide alerting police to all potential issues.

“We get out and patrol and we try to be seen, but we can’t be everywhere,” Mullins said. “We depend on students, faculty, staff, everybody on campus. If you see something suspicious report it.”

Grand Campus at Yorick Place is still under construction but nearing completion. The project began in August 2010 and complex will be open to new Residens by Aug. 1.
Photo by Jordan Burke

BY: CHRIS McGEE
progress@eku.edu

Students eligible to live off campus will soon have an alternative to dorms and apartments away from Eastern.

Grand Campus at Yorick Place, an apartment-style housing alternative for students, is near completion. Construction began in August 2012 and is scheduled to be completed by July 31 in time for the beginning of the move-in period on Aug. 1.

The apartments are fully furnished with appliances and furniture such as a couch, love seat, coffee table, entertainment stand and bar area with stools. As another added feature, each unit will be equipped with a full-size washer and dryer.

The apartments will have Internet access and cable.

The housing will cost between $540 to $545 a month.

Taylor Armistead, project manager for Grand Campus, said interest in the apartments is high.

“We’ve had a lot of leases completed,” Armistead said. “But there are still a lot of openings.”

Armistead also said there are model units open for students to come and get a preview.

“Students just need to call and make an appointment if they want to see a unit,” Armistead said.

Armistead said construction is currently taking place on the clubhouse area, which will be home to the computer lab, fitness center, tanning beds, pool, lease office and 24-hour emergency maintenance.

“The management company that is in charge of the project has constructed 50,000 units across the United States,” Armistead said.

Armistead said she would like to see Grand Campus to replace traditional dorms.

“I’d love for it to, but I know it won’t due to housing restrictions for incoming freshmen,” she said.

Students interested in seeing one of the model units should call 859-625-0050 or visit Grand Campus’ website at grandatyorickplace.com for more information.

University housing officials discussed next year’s issues ranging from the housing budget to talks about removing phone lines at the final Residence Life Council (RLC) meeting of the semester.

Kenna Middleton, director of university housing, addressed the members of RLC about next year’s estimated budget. Eastern’s Board of Regents sets the final residence hall room rates.

University housing’s expected revenue will be approximately $16 million next year.

Middleton said most of the housing budget is allocated to utilities, maintenance, salaries and a $2 million dollar catastrophic event fund.

“There’s money that’s non-negotiable that we have to spend,” Middleton said. “The money that is negotiable for student input is very small.”

Middleton spoke about RLC legislation as well, including some of the fees that RLC wished to pass based on student support, such as the laundry, movie channel, and green initiatives fees. Middleton said no changes would be made because the rate increase for the 2013-2014 academic year has already been sent to the President’s Office and onto the Board of Regents at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester before RLC passed legislation in the middle of the semester. The Board approved the 5 percent increase suggested by housing, which did not include any of the RLC fees.

“We plan in October for the following year,” Middleton said. “I have to turn in those rates first thing spring semester.”

Representatives from the Student Government Association (SGA) were also in attendance. SGA President Madelyn Street, said students need to be informed when university housing makes the decisions that affect them.

“We feel like we’re being left out of the process,” Street said. “Then we feel like we’re being left in the dark.”

When it comes to decisions inside the residence halls, especially Living Learning Communities (LLCs), housing attempts to bring in as many students as possible, said Jill Petrey, area coordinator for university housing.

“LLCs have focus groups,” Petrey said. “We bring in students at any given point that we can.”

Housing officials are looking to the future with the new residence hall set to open in the fall and renovations for Martin Hall set to begin this summer.

Middleton said the Martin Hall renovations would be a two-year summer project, with $600,000 budget each summer.

“If we spend $600,000.01, we have to send it to a state Cabinet for approval,” Middleton said.

Middleton said that next year $800,000 has to be cut from the budget. One way housing hopes to do that is to get rid of landline telephones from residence hall rooms.

Housing is currently working with the IT Department to determine if the removal of landlines would be cost-effective. Middleton said the cost of landlines totals about $300,000 per year. Middleton added that if the cost savings were minimal housing would keep the landlines.

Middleton also addressed the issue housing is facing because of competition with new apartments near campus, but thinks campus is still a viable option. Middleton cited higher retention rates and a higher five-year graduation rate as reasons to stay on-campus.

“You can get an apartment off-campus, but on-campus offers some amenities,” Middleton said.

To get in on the growing trend of students using iPads, The Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities(OSID) is beginning a new pilot program starting this fall.

“The EKU Student Government Association has technology grants that are funded by the tech fee that students pay,” said Teresa Belluscio, the director of EKU Disabilities Office. “I sent in the grant request, and was granted five new iPad’s for this project.”

The OSID serves students with various types of disabilities including learning disabilities; ADHD, mental health disorders, head injuries, brain tumors, visually impaired students, mobility impairments, and those with chronic diseases.

Belluscio said the idea for the project came from students in OSID who said certain iPad applications helped them in their classes.

One of these students is Julia Brumfield, 22, special education major from Nicholasville.

“I talked to Teresa about the apps that helped me in my classes,” Brumfield said. “My handwriting is sloppy, so it’s easier to take notes on my iPad. The iPad has features like the Voice Reader that can read my books to me and the Blackboard App so I can keep up with assignments and grades.”

Belluscio said she hopes to organize student meetings and invite students, who already have iPad’s, to discuss how iPads help them. She said iPads, granted to the department, would be given to students that apply for the project.

“Students will get the iPads at the beginning of the semester and keep them until the end,” Bellusio said. “We’ll have get-togethers and do app reviews of the ones that are directly affecting their learning.”

Belluscio said one of the apps she plans on having the students try is called Pages. The app helps a student take notes, put pictures within documents, and organize them by class. Another app she would advise students to use is Dragon, which would help students who need assistance with writing or typing. The Dragon app uses voice recognition to transfer verbal notes to typed notes.

“Maybe a student isn’t a fast typist, or has a disability that prevents them from writing very well, or maybe they can’t spell the best, being able to say your notes and the phone type it will be much faster,” Belluscio said. “This is what this program is intended for, to help these students learn better.”

Any of the 600 students in the OSID program can apply to be a part of the iPad pilot project by going to the OSID webpage or office and filling out the iPad Loan Form. The form is due May 31.

The temperature outside may have dropped, but the competition heated up inside middle Powell Wednesday night for Residence Life Council’s RLC annual Eastern Cup Challenge.

Six teams representing Clay Hall, Combs Hall, Dupree Hall, Martin Hall, Palmer Hall and Sullivan Hall were vying for the title and the trophy. Sullivan Hall won the overall championship with 65 points. Martin Hall came in second with 55 points and Clay Hall rounded out the top three with 40 points.

Each team had to participate in events like spin the bat, corn hole, sponge races, three-legged race and tug of war. The team from Sullivan Hall won three events and placed in three other events. The Martin Hall team was the defending champions having won the event for the last two years.

Melissa Sterling, 20, forensic science major from Normal, Ill., said she enjoyed competing with friends.

“I enjoyed watching it [the three legged race] because our team was so far ahead,” Sterling said. “I liked participating in the Eastern Cup Challenge with some of my best friends at EKU.”

Jennifer Naumovitz, 20, forensic science major from Lebanon, N.J., who also competed for Sullivan Hall said her favorite event was the sponge races. She said participants had to relay a small sponge back and forth between teammates and fill a red Solo cup with water.

Sterling mentioned a close finish that led to a playoff to determine the winner.

“We had to beat them [Martin Hall] twice in the sponge races,” Sterling said.

Kelsey Basham, 19, criminal justice major from Elizabethtown, was one of the participants for the team representing Clay Hall.

“It was fun, I had a blast,” Basham said. “We came with a team of all girls and still placed third.”

Brandon Mandigo, vice president of RLC, said that this year’s event had more allure than last year.

“It was better than last year,” Mandigo said. “We only had two residence halls last year. It was actually a competition this time.”

Naumovitz also said the event was better, noting increased participation this year.

“I liked that there was more participation,” Naumovitz said. “I liked how there was some Residence Hall Coordinator participation.”

A student reported the theft of his Samsung smartphone valued at $500 from the Moberly Building. The student said he attended class in the upstairs workout room and he had left the phone inside one of the storage cubbies. When he returned for the phone, it was missing.

A student reported the theft of her iPhone valued at $200 from the Crabbe Library. The student said she left the phone in the library at 1:30 p.m. When the student returned for the phone at 2 p.m., it was missing. She tried to locate the phone using the Find my iPhone app, but said the phone had already been turned off.

April 28

Shawn Philpot was charged with public intoxication after police responded to an incident outside McGregor Hall at 1:13 a.m. An officer responded to a complaint against Philpot at 12:50 a.m. and advised him to stay in his room because he had been drinking.  Philpot left McGregor Hall and was reported to have caused a disturbance on campus. The officer issued a field sobriety test, which Philpot failed. He was taken to Madison County Detention Center for his own safety.

Dylan Broaddus was charged with driving while intoxicated after an officer stopped him at the intersection of Kit Carson Drive and Madison Drive at 3:44 a.m. Broaddus was driving without his headlights on. During the stop, the officer detected a strong odor of alcohol and issued a field sobriety test. Broaddus failed the field sobriety test and was taken to Madison County Detention Center for his own safety.