Regent Williams thanked the drafters for their hard work and stated that he was happy with the final draft of the contract.

Regent Gilmore stated that he was pleased with the terms of the contract.

Regent Lysonge addressed the issue of the retention bonus. He stated the retention bonus shall not be paid annually but shall be deferred until the third anniversary of Dr. Brown's start date, which will allow the Board to properly evaluate the new president before the retention bonus is paid. He stated that such a process was not undertaken sufficiently in the past and that this contract as a whole represented an improvement in presidential contract terms.

Regent Reddy also thanked the drafters for their hard work and stated that he was pleased with the contract.

Action Item: Regent McFayden made a motion to approve the proposed contract between the University and Dr. M. Christopher Brown II, as described by Regent Lysonge and previously circulated to the Board, and to authorize the Board Chairperson to sign the contract on behalf of the University. The motion was seconded by Regent Reddy. Chairperson Bearden called for a vote and the motion passed on a vote of 6-0.

Regent Gilmore stated that, in light of the successful completion of the contract, he believed it would make sense to change the April 21 meeting date to a date after the new president is on campus.

Regent Reddy and Regent Williams stated that they agreed that the April 21 meeting date should be changed to allow the new president time to arrive on campus and participate in the meeting.

Action Item: Regent Gilmore moved to change the date of the April 21 regular Board Meeting to a date after May 15, with the specific date to be arranged by the Secretary to the Board on a date acceptable to a majority of Board members and President-elect Brown. The motion was seconded by Regent McFayden. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0.

No closed session was held.