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Minutes
Urbana-Champaign Senate Meeting
December 6, 2004

A regular meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate was called to order at 3:10p.m. in Foellinger Auditorium with Interim Chancellor Richard Herman presiding.

Approval of Minutes

12/06/04-01The minutes of the November 1, 2004, Senate meeting were approved as written.

Senate Executive Committee Report

Senator Michael Grossman (ACES), Chair of the Senate Executive Committee (SEC), reported on the following activities of the SEC and other items related to today’s agenda:

· Our campus hosted the annual CIC Faculty Senate Leaders Conference on November 12-13.Faculty/staff representatives from almost every CIC institution were in attendance.I would like to thank SEC Vice-Chair Mary Mallory and the entire Senate Office staff for their superior efforts at organizing and running the conference, and thanks to Richard Herman, Larry Mann, and CIC Associate Director Russ Snyder for their support of this important event.

· At a special November 29 meeting, the SEC agreed upon faculty names to share with the Chancellor as possible members of a group charged with considering the educational effectiveness on campus, as requested by the North Central Association (NCA) after its spring 2004 “focused visit”.

· The Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures (USSP) has brought forward for Information and First Reading statutory revisions commonly known as multi-year contracts (SP.04.03).There is an erratum to this proposal distributed at the door which clarifies some of the language in lines 50-51.USSP expects to present these revisions to the Statutes for Second Reading and action at the February Senate meeting.

· There is a Committee of the Whole (COTW) discussion about the Campus Master Plan on today’s agenda.Steve Rugg, Vice President for Administration, will follow Professor Henrique Reis, Chair of the Senate Committee on Campus Operations, in presenting remarks to this session.

· Tellers for today’s meeting are Senators Robert Rich (LAW), Tom Conry (ENGR), Jason Plummer (LAS), and Bill Willamson (LAS).

Chancellor’s Remarks

Chancellor Herman announced a new privately funded program, Illinois Promise, that is designed to provide grants to academically eligible students from families at or below the poverty line.

Questions/Discussion

There were no substantive questions.

Consent Agenda

The Presiding Officer announced that, absent the objections of any senator, the following proposals were approved by unanimous consent:

12/06/04-02EP.05.10*, Proposal to Transfer the Bachelor of Arts Degree, with a Major in Music, to the School of Music in the College of Fine and Applied Arts,

12/06/04-03SC.05.06*, Deadline for Filing Nominations for the Faculty Advisory Committee.

Proposals for Action

12/06/04-04Dr. Herman presented for action CC.05.05*, Nominations for Membership on Standing Committees of the Senate.Senator John Prussing (ENGR), Chair of the Senate Committee on Committees, moved approval of the slate of nominees on both CC.05.05 and its addendum (CC.05.05A) distributed at the door.Senator David Lange (ENGR) nominated Mark Clark for one of the faculty vacancies on the Educational Policy Committee (EP).There were no additional floor nominations and nominations were declared closed.Senators Jason Plummer and H. F. Williamson distributed ballots and reported the following vote totals:Mark Clark 46, Tom Conry 55, Bob Rich 66.

12/06/04-05By voice vote, the slate as presented was approved.

Proposed Revisions to the University Statutes

12/06/04-06The Chancellor presented for First Reading and Information SP.04.03*, Revisions to the Statutes, Articles IX and X, to provide optional multi-year contracts, and related dismissal procedures, for certain academic staff.Senator Joseph Finnerty (BUS), Chair of the Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures (USSP), briefly described the background of this measure and reminded senators to pick up a copy of the erratum page that was distributed at the door.This proposal will return to the Senate for second reading and vote at the February 14, 2005, meeting.

Reports for Information of the Senate

Richard Herman presented the following reports for information:

12/06/04-07AB.05.01*, Update on the Academics of Student Athletes at the University of Illinois,

12/06/04-08SC.05.07*, Report of the November 11 BOT Meeting.

Committee of the Whole Discussion

Senator Grossman moved that the Senate convene as a Committee of the Whole (COTW) for purposes of discussing the campus Master Plan.

Professor Henrique Reis, Chair of the Senate Committee on Campus Operations, provided introductory remarks including the importance of faculty input into this campus initiative that will affect campus life for years to come.

Stephen Rugg, Vice President for Administration, began by advising senators that the Master Plan is being updated to integrate a variety of facility-related planning efforts that have been under way on campus during the past year.

These include projects for the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, such as the replacement of the Ice Arena with a new facility on Florida Avenue that would be funded with a mix of campus resources, donations and city funds. The existing ice arena and Huff Hall could be converted to academic use if donors were secured.

Administrators are exploring renovating or replacing Family Student Housing in Orchard Downs by either rebuilding at the current site near Florida Avenue and Race Street or constructing new facilities near First Street and Windsor Road.

In the next few years, renovations likely will be needed at the Peabody Drive and Gregory Drive residence halls as well; construction of a shared dining center may begin next spring.

The Board of Trustees recently designated the area bounded by First Street, St. Mary’s Road, Fourth Street extended and Windsor Road for the next phase of development of the South Research Park. The updated Master Plan will likely propose the creation of a state surveys campus at the research park, freeing up sites on the core campus for other uses. Amenities are being considered that would make the park more pedestrian friendly, attract more people to the area and help recruit tenants, including a hotel, a restaurant and a conference center.

Concern was expressed that none of the proposed construction would replace older academic facilities in the core campus.Chancellor Herman responded that Lincoln Hall renovations are a priority and that the campus needs to find a way to restore other deteriorating buildings.

Senators asked about pedestrian safety/traffic congestion along St. Mary’s Road because of additional development. Rugg said administrators are considering the impact development would have on traffic in the area and whether St. Mary’s Road should remain a thoroughfare if those facilities are built. The research park expansion would be in a grid pattern that could accommodate public transportation.

Rugg was asked if the university is considering any revenue-sharing mechanisms that would benefit local schools.Retail opportunities will offer revenue-sharing mechanisms for the university and the cities of Urbana and Champaign, he replied. The Chancellor added that this could increase the tax base and provide benefits such as improved quality of life to Champaign, Urbana and Savoy.

The Senate approved a motion to rise and report, for purposes of exiting the Committee of the Whole discussion.

The meeting was declared adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Robert C. Damrau, Senate Clerk
*Filed with the Senate Clerk and incorporated by reference in these Minutes.