UC.02.10
September 30, 2002

University Senates Conference
July 25, 2002

University Senates Conference (USC) met in Chicago at the Student Residence Hall with President Stukel and Vice President Gardner in the morning. A business meeting of USC was held in the afternoon.

The meeting with President Stukel and Vice President Gardner included discussion of the following topics:

- Review of the Vice Presidents. USC discussed with President Stukel the job accomplishments of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Vice President for Economic Development and Corporate Relations.

- Commercialization of technology. An article in The Chronicle of Higher Education regarding how universities are doing in their efforts to commercialize technology was discussed. President Stukel said that he expects the U of I's ranking to improve now that OTM is processing disclosures in a timely manner.

- ST-30, Severe Sanctions Other than Dismissal. President Stukel congratulated the faculty for completing this item, which was approved by the Board of Trustees on July 18.

- Budget planning. President Stukel discussed the importance of having a budget strategy for FY03 and FY04. Salary increases for faculty and staff will be given priority in the FY04 budget request. Other priority areas will be repair and renovation, deferred maintenance, and new program dollars.

- Tuition Planning. Vice President Gardner indicated that the university-wide Tuition Planning Committee would report in November. The committee is setting the stage for the next decade and will articulate high priority areas.

The business meeting began with Professor Thomas Conry presenting plaques to the following USC members whose terms were ending: Professors Kal Alston, Frank Kopecky, Marcellus Leonard, and Moneim Zaki. Professors Gordon Baker and Terry Weech were not at the meeting to accept their plaques. The following matters were addressed:

- Approval of the June 24, 2002 minutes.

- Discussion of future guests to address University issues of concern.

- ST-30, Severe Sanctions Other than Dismissal/ST-51, Faculty Advisory Committee. Both items were removed from the agenda with the agreement that a letter would be sent to the senates indicating that both items require implementation by the senates.

- ERP-related academic policy issues. The Conference has requested that each senate identify the action taken to resolve each issue.

- UI-Integrate Committees. USC decided to work with Professor David Ruzic to make sure USC was represented on UI-Integrate Committees -- Faculty Advisory Committee and Steering Committee.

- ST-47, Revisions to the Statutes - Multi-Year Contracts for Full-Time Non-Tenured Faculty. Professor Edwin Herricks, chair of a USC task force to consider this issue, is working with the campuses to determine the magnitude this will have in terms of the number of employees who would be affected.

- OT-161, Non-Tenure-Track Faculty Appointments. Professor Donald Marshall, chair of a USC committee to consider this issue, recommended that the provosts be involved in establishing a permanent, ongoing mechanism for oversight and supervision that involves faculty members and non-tenure-track instructors within each unit to monitor the use of non-tenure-track instructors.

- OT-185, Domestic Partner Benefits. Professor Kal Alston commented on the report she gave to the Board of Trustees on July 18.

The next USC meeting will be September 24 in Urbana.

Submitted on behalf of Nancy O'Brien by Connie Sailor, USC Admin. Secretary