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SC.08.08

University of Illinois Board of Trustees
May 22, 2008 Meeting Report

The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois held a regularly scheduled meeting at 10AM on May 22, 2008 at UIC with Chair Larry Eppley presiding. 

Chair Eppley began the meeting with introductory comments and recognizing the three new Student Trustees.  Host Interim Chancellor Eric Gislason of UIC welcomed everyone and gave his campus report.  Chancellor Richard Herman of Urbana-Champaign reported on establishment of a sustainability council with the goal of reducing energy consumption on the U-C campus by 10%.  The council’s membership included students, faculty and staff.

During the Public Comments portion of the agenda, four students from UIC expressed concerns about the Tuition Differential (TD) rates at UIC.  Students stated that the TD rates are high and have caused financial difficulties for students.

Under Update: Plans and Priorities, UIC Dean of Pharmacy reported on the January ’08 fire that caused serious damage to their building, but added that the building is now open and operational.  Trustee Shah asked if the college had conducted a life safety assessment and taken steps to avoid such incidents in the future.  The Dean responded yes.

Chet Gardner, Special Assistant to the President, offered an update on the status of the Global Campus (GC).  He noted that 42 students enrolled at start of May/June term and that 60 nursing students had been provisionally admitted for September ’08 and beyond.  Further, he stated, that 22 minority nursing graduates of City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) have been provisionally admitted.  Gardner added that 198 applications had been received for nine programs in September.

Gardner stated that tuition revenues for the year were $500K less than budgeted because the Global Campus was four months behind schedule in accomplishing its enrollment goals.  Despite this, he added, GC will end the fiscal year with $2.5M under budget.  According to Gardner the bottom line is: “Global Campus has achieved its major operational goals for FY 2008 and the focus has now shifted to launching more programs and enrolling more students in FY 2009.”  According to Gardner’s presentation, the GC will spend $6.57M in FY 2008 drawing $3.90M from Board authorized line-of-credit and end the year with $2.55M untapped credit balance.  He projected a $5.95M gap between FY 2009 revenues of $4.78M and expenditures of $10.73M.  He requested from the Board $3.40M increment line-of-credit increasing total financing authorization to $9.85M.  This item was approved later in the day.  Chair Eppley thanked the GC for its user-focused approach in establishing a gateway for GC and on-line programs offered at Illinois and asked Gardner to let the Board know if our internal structure causes any impediments in achieving the goal of the gateway.  Hard copies of presentations given at the meeting on the GC are available for viewing at the Senate Office.

During a discussion on budget, President White stated that despite higher tuitions, we still have a gap in our budget due to lower than expected state funds.  He added that the administration is concerned about academic quality of the university and noted that the university will reallocate funds to the extent possible to ensure quality.  President White added that this solution cannot continue for long.

Two presentations were given under Buildings and Grounds Committee report by architectural firms on preliminary design of the following Urbana-Champaign projects: Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory and Illinois Fire Service Institute Learning Resource & Research Center.  Board members asked questions about the designs under consideration.  Emphasis was placed on sustainable design and LEED® rating of all future buildings on campuses.  Questions were asked of the firms on additional resources needed to design more sustainable buildings.  Firms were asked to come up with an analysis of the additional resources needed for more sustainable designs.  Approval of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory project will take place at a future meeting.  This project requires $23M with $900,000 from university funds and the remaining from Capital Development Board. 

The preliminary design of the $9M Fire Institute project was approved pending submission of a report to the Board by the architectural firm on sustainable design options and their estimated additional costs, if any.

Other Urbana-Champaign related items voted on by Board include the following.

  1. Appoint Interim Dean, College of Law
  2. Additional Sabbatical Leaves of Absence, 2008-2009 05.
  3. Establish the Master of Science in Agricultural Production with a Concentration in Professional Science Masters, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the Graduate College
  4. Establish the Master of Science in Bioenergy with a Concentration in Professional Science Masters, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences and the Graduate College
  5. Establish the Master of Science in Taxation, College of Business and the Graduate College
  6. Establish the Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training, College of Applied Health Sciences
  7. Reorganize the African American Studies and Research Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  8. Reorganize the Program for the Study of Religion, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  9. Redesignate the Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Speech Communication, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  10. Redesignate All Degrees in Agricultural Engineering, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, College of Engineering, and the Graduate College
  11. Eliminate the Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences in Bioengineering, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
  12. Establish the Center for Human Resource Management, Institute for Labor and Industrial Relations and the College of Business, Urbana, and the College of Business Administration, Chicago
  13. Establish University Related Organizations for Research Programs in Singapore
  14. Approve Preliminary Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2009
  15. Approve Fiscal Year 2009 Internal Financing Program for Global Campus
  16. Approve Fiscal Year 2009 Agreements for the University of Illinois Alumni Association and the University of Illinois Foundation
  17. Award Contract for Renovation and Expansion of Intramural Physical Education Building, Phase II
  18. Amend Professional Services Agreement for Phase I of the Memorial Stadium Phased Development Plan, Division of Intercollegiate Athletics
  19. Employ Architect/Engineer for Life Safety and Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Remediation, Foreign Languages Building
  20. Employ Architect/Engineer for Huff Hall North Addition
  21. Employ Architect/Engineer for Electrical and Computer Engineering Building
  22. Intergovernmental Agreement with Urbana School District 116 to Provide Assistance for Dependents in University Family Housing
  23. Delegate Authority to Execute an Annexation Agreement with the Village of Savoy

Respectfully submitted,
Abbas Aminmansour
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Senate Observer