New contract for Lake State faculty a done deal

Following is the continuation of an article about today's meeting of Lake Superior State University's board of trustees.

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************************* Hearing that the scholarship was just $2,600 from its $25,000 requirement to endow the scholarship, LSSU trustees at the meeting donated enough to bring the fund to within a few hundred dollars of the goal.

"The official accounting is being finalized, but it appears that the goal is very close to being reached," said Tom Coates, director of the LSSU Foundation.

During his report to the board, Coates noted that the Foundation board has a new chair who is familiar to LSSU: alumnus and former Board of Trustees member Chuck Schmidt of Rochester Hills.

He also said the foundation board recently heard from an auditor that had just completed a six-month study of the foundation and its practices.

The firm came back with 56 recommendations for the foundation in 10 different criteria.

"We can't do it all at once, but we will have an implementation team of board members and staff starting in to see what we can do in the short term to improve the Foundation and move forward, while looking at projects we can take on in the long term," Coates said.

McLain said he is very pleased to see the progress with the foundation.

"There has been a tremendous turnaround," McLain noted. "The consultant that came in gave the Foundation board a great platform to go on. Now we have a very good working plan to move the Foundation to higher level. I'm excited about it, and so is the foundation board."

During her regular report, LSSU Vice President of Finance Sherry Brooks introduced longtime LSSU staffer Georgiana Cox, who has been at LSSU for more than 30 years and has been instrumental in putting financial statements together to complete annual audits such as the one recently completed on campus.

Cox, who holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in business administration, has been praised by LSSU auditors for her work over the years.

Also in her report, Brooks noted that last year was a good financial year for LSSU and said the university's finances are moving into a positive trend that is not only good for the campus in general, but should be looked upon favorably when accreditation evaluators from the Higher Learning Commission visit campus next year.

In closing remarks, Trustee Cindy Dingell noted that even though the board was meeting a day after Veterans Day, it should observe a moment of silence in appreciation for the university's and the community's veterans.

McLain noted that he, Eilola and other LSSU representatives attended an annual Veterans Day observance at Sault Area High School which he called "the best I've ever seen . . . If you get a chance, you should attend that ceremony. It is an emotional one that includes every veterans organization from the area."

In other business, the board heard a report from Bruce Harger, director of LSSU Public School Academy operations, who said LSSU charter schools continue to perform above expectations and are seeing increases in enrollment.

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