The Executive Council met at 9 a.m. at 611 Allen Hall. Present were Dr. Donald Zacharias, presiding, Dr. Melvin Ray, Dr. Billy Ward, Dr. Rodney Foil, Larry Templeton, Ms. Leah Norman, Dr. Roy Ruby, Ms. Patsy Douglas, Dr. Leslie Bauman, Mike Richardson, Joe Farris, Charles Guest, and Mike White.

Mr. White presented prioritized recommendations of the Campus Planning and Development Committee for spring 1998 paving projects. The council endorsed the prioritization of the committee. The budget of $75,000 is expected to fund the top three projects: repaving Lee Boulevard from the YMCA to Magruder Hall; repaving the Dorman Hall parking lot; and repaving the shuttle connector road at the Forest Resources Building.

Dr. Zacharias reported on the November meeting of the Board of Trustees. New degree programs approved for Mississippi State were the bachelor's degree in construction management and land development and the Ph.D. in environmental toxicology. The board also approved the naming of the chemical engineering department as the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering; a timetable for the name change will be developed by the university. Action on the proposed Memorial Gardens and Arboretum was postponed.

Dr. Bauman reported that the Faculty Senate had endorsed the Statement of Values referred to the Senate, but suggested that the statement headed "Freedom of Inquiry" be expanded to "Freedom of Inquiry and Expression" and that the text be expanded to "allow others to explore and express information, ideas, and sources of insight different from their own." Ms. Douglas reported that the Staff Council had endorsed the statement. Mr. Richardson said the Student Association endorsed the statement, and would like to see it expanded and strengthened in the future. The council recommended approval of the statement with the changes suggested by the Faculty Senate.

Dr. Ruby said that an Executive Council tour of the Sanderson Center will be scheduled for the near future.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:05 a.m.