University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate

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UC.08.04
February 25, 2008

University Senates Conference
December 5, 2007

University Senates Conference (USC) met in Urbana at the Illini Union with President White and Vice President Rao in the morning, and Interim Vice President for Technology and Economic Development James Weyhenmeyer during lunch.  Discussions focused on the Global Campus, support for faculty, and the Resource Summit.  A business meeting of USC followed in the afternoon. 

The meeting with President White and Vice President Rao included discussion of the following:

  1. Global Campus.  President White anticipates initiating a national search during the first half of 2008 for a leadership position in the Global Campus.
  2. Resource SummitThe December 6 meeting on resource allocation and its effectiveness was briefly discussed with agreement to share information after the actual meetings were held.  One possible outcome may be instituting external reviews of various units to assess resource efficacy.
  3. Support for faculty.  VP Rao is exploring options for providing discretionary accounts for faculty.  She is convening a group, including Legal Counsel, to investigate what would be required to provide faculty with this type of support.
  4. USC ST-61.  Proposed revisions to the Statutes, Article XIII, Section 8.a., General Provisions, Amendments.  VP Rao and the USC discussed views on amending the Statutes when there is a difference of opinion among the campus senates. 

The meeting with Jim Weyhenmeyer focused on issues related to intellectual property guidelines, and on a proposed Center for Drug Development. 

The business meeting included the following:

  1. Approval of the October 24, 2007 minutes and classification of Senate minutes.
  2.  Most of the discussion reflected on topics addressed with the President and Vice Presidents, future guests to invite to discuss topics of interest, reports from committee meetings, and status reports from each campus.
  3. GR-40.  Proposed Revisions to the General Rules, Article III (Intellectual Property) and Article V, University Property).  The Senates continue to discuss the policy statements and their impact on intellectual property rights. 

The meeting adjourned at 3:07 p.m.

Nancy P. O'Brien
USC Representative to UIUC Senate Executive Committee