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SC.06.11
September 25, 2006

University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign Senate

SC.06.11, Report on the Board of Trustees Meeting, May 11, 2006

The meeting convened at 10:00 a.m. at the Student Center West on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus.  After roll call, introductions, and a review of the agenda, Chair Lawrence C. Eppley stated that the Urbana campus would award its 500,000 degree.  Trustee Kenneth Schmidt subsequently recognized the student trustees from all three campuses and presented each with a certificate of appreciation.  President B. Joseph White stated that he was in the process of developing plans should a pandemic strike in Illinois.  He indicated that the three chancellors are in charge of developing plans for their respective campuses.

The primary agenda item for the morning session, plans for healthcare facility development on the Chicago campus, included a PowerPoint presentation and discussion of need.  Presenters noted that the current emphasis on out-patient care and demand for intensive care service left them with a shortage of facilities.  Trustee Niranjan Shah said he was concerned about financial obligations since the estimated cost of $470M to complete the facility was not readily available.  The presenters emphasized that they were not requesting approval for that amount but for the Certificate of Need which would cost less than $7M.  Several trustees were concerned that the architectural design, which included a tower, would make construction an “all or nothing” endeavor, and the overall cost was far more than the Board could handle.  President White said he would like to pursue the Certificate of Need mindful of Board concerns.

At 11:30, the Board met in Executive Session, broke for lunch, and reconvened again in Executive Session until 2:30.  At 2:45 the meeting of the Board resumed to discuss the architectural plan and timeline for the renovation of Memorial Stadium on the Urbana campus.  The architects emphasized their mission was to renovate, provide an updated structure, maintain the historical integrity of the stadium, and provide an enhanced game day experience for fans.  The project will address the remodeling of restrooms to exceed industry standards and will include the addition of suites atop the west side of the stadium.  New concessions will be located throughout the stadium and tickets will be collected outside the gates to enable fans to walk around the inside and outside of the structure more easily.  Construction will begin at the end of the 2006 football season.  Chancellor Richard Herman and the Board thanked Athletic Director Ron Guenther, who was in attendance, for his considerable efforts in raising the funds necessary for the successful completion of the project.

At 3:05, the Board discussed the regular items on the agenda.  Related to the Urbana campus, the following items were addressed:

 

In other business, Trustee Frances Carroll expressed concern that no African American contractors submitted bids for new projects on the Chicago campus and wanted to know if they had been encouraged to bid.  President White said he appointed an energy task force from all campuses to address the energy supply and demand problem that was the result of higher energy prices.  He also stated that the next 66 acres of the Research Park on the Urbana campus had been allocated.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Kim C. Graber
Senate Observer