UP.98.02
March 30, 1998
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate
UNIVERSITY PLANNING COUNCIL UIUC CAMPUS MEETING
9:00 AM, February 5, 1998, 500 Swanlund Administration Building, UIUC.
(Final; Information)
Walt Tousey reported on the problems some of our Asian students are having paying out-of-state tuition since several of the Asian economies have fallen on hard times. About 200 are in trouble, most of them being Korean students. There is a $0.5 to $1 million potential problem that may be recurring.
Larry Faulkner intends to complete all budget discussions by April 10 and to create a report for the Interim Provost and his successor. Faulkner also will try to advance the Promotions and Tenure cases to clear the decks by April 13. Appeals will rem as the only P&T business after that date.
Roger Martin commented on NCSA space. At some future date, the campus will support a request for a new building to house NCSA. It cxould be located on the site of the old BMRL and perhaps be arranged as a long-term lease. There are new State legal li mits on allowable lease durations.
The new ACES library project will move ahead. There were discussions of a new Alumni Center, but there is no funding yet. The talk was of a large (ca. 50,000 sq. ft.) building to be located south of Levis and the new Admissions Building.
Charles Colbert discussed a probable fire station - parking structure combination to be located west of Bevier. The ACES library and a new greenhouse on the horizon will eliminate many existing parking spaces.. Another possible parking deck project woul d be a two-level structure mostly underground between Commerce West and Huff Hall. It would have quadrangle-like open space on top.
The issue of faculty workload policies was brought up. Tina Gunsalus is assigned to work with the Senate on this. Each unit must come up with its own workload policy.
Steve Rugg discussed some points in the state budget request for the university. A new Mechanical Engineering Laboratory addition and remodeling project may be authorized in the state's capital budget for higher education. The General Assembly want to have a very short budget session ending by May 22.
The NSF is sponsoring another round of STC (Science and Technology Center) requests, and the campus expects to support all of the approximately 12 such proposals from this campus. However, it is likely that only one or two of them will be funded.
Legislative hearings on affirmative action are possible in the fall. Sylvia Manning discussed UI-Online. Her office has funded proposals in Math. and Rehab. and has received other well-done proposals. There is a current RPF from her office. Dick Alkire discussed serious discussions among some of the deans and other faculty who are most interested in a coordinated biotechnologies/bioengineering thrust on campus. These discussions are proceeding, and substantial funding proposals to private f oundations are likely. This thrust is likely to have educational aspects that the UIUC Senate must be involved in. Alkire also discussed the RTMO and its new director. Finally, he reported meeting IBHE's Keith Sanders and being very favorably impressed by him. Alkire is hopeful that the relations between UIUC and IBHE will be improved and strengthened by Sanders' presence.
R. Linn Belford