SC.06.10
September 25, 2006

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign Senate

SC.06.10 Senate Observer’s Report on the Board of Trustees Meeting, April 11, 2006

The Board of Trustees convened at 9:00 a.m. at the Illini Union on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. After roll call and introductions, four of the regular Agenda items were presented as approved: a Resolution to honor the Orange Krush Student Organization at UIUC for their service and charity work; the Approval of a Legacy Scholarship Fee for Fiscal Year 2007; a Memorial Resolution for Thomas A. Murphy, former member of the UI Foundation Board of Directors; and the Award of the Board of Trustees’ Distinguished Service Medallion to James J. Stukel.

Chancellor Herman of UIUC gave an audio-visual presentation on recent honors and initiatives on the Urbana-Champaign campus that emphasized illustrious faculty and student achievements, interdisciplinary collaborations, program awards, and community service.

At the Public Comment segment of the Meeting, two student representatives spoke on the following issues: 1) anti-Chief community members called for the University to retire its mascot following the NCAA’s recent ruling against it; and 2) members of the Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (TAM) department at UIUC asked Board members not to approve the proposed merger of TAM with the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

Chair Lawrence C. Eppley called a Meeting of the Board as a Committee of the Whole. 1) Review of the Strategic Plan (discussion topics included the role of international diversity in finding a balance between student selectivity and in-state accessibility). 2) Tuition, Fees, and Financial Aid (the Student Trustee from UI-Springfield registered her disagreement with the tuition increase and application of an assessment fee to the Springfield campus).

Trustee Niranjan S. Shah, Chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee called its Meeting. Ratio Architects presented design plans for the 38,000-square-foot Conference Center on the Urbana campus. Gene Robinson, professor of entomology, and Tim Kerestes, directior of operations and facilities, reported on the progress of the Institute for Genomic Biology Building, whose construction on the Urbana campus should be completed by the end of July 2006. Trustees also discussed preliminary budget estimates for modernizing the UI-Chicago Hospital building.

After an Executive Session and lunch, the Board reconvened to approve the following Regular Agenda items:

• Appoint Michael B. Bass as ex-officio Representative to Municipal Clerk Training Institute Committee

• Appointments, New Hires, Non-reappointments, and Sabbatical Leaves of Absence for the three campuses, 2006-07

• Approved appointment of five administrative positions at UI-Chicago and one at UI-Springfield

• UI-Chicago: Establish Center for Structural Biology, Establish PhD in Communication, and Eliminate B.S. and M.S. in Medical Laboratory Sciences

• Approved Tuition Rates for Academic Year 2007: at UIUC, per-semester tuition for new students who are Illinois residents will increase by $333 to $3, 854.

• Approved Room and Board Rate Changes (UIUC undegraduate campus housing 7.5% increase), Student Fees (UIUC + 4.3%), and Student Health Insurance Fees (UIUC undergrad +7.5%, grad +11.3%) for Fiscal Year 2007

• Approved Academic Facilities Maintenance Fund Assessment ($250 per semester at UIUC) in order to establish a new funding source for deferred maintenance needs of over $6 million.

• Approved Legacy Scholarship Fee ($15 per semester at UIUC) to provide scholarships based on need and merit

• Designated Dr. Nikhil Bhatt Sinus Surgery Laboratory in the Eye and Ear Infirmary, Chicago

• Amended The General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedures to extend the naming of endowed buildings to include corporate as well as individual donors

At the suggestion of Board Chair Eppley, the trustees agreed to form a task force to investigate energy consumption and conservation measures for its buildings in consultation with UIC’s Energy Resource Center. Eppley acknowledged Trustee Niranjan Shah as a recipient of the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor and Chancellor Richard Herman for being named to the Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.

Andrea Goulet, Senate Observer