PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 24, No. 15, Feb. 17, 2005

U-C Senate: Economic support a priority in 2005

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@uiuc.edu

Forging a new compact with state legislators, Illinois corporations and other constituents to garner greater economic support for the university will be a priority in 2005, according to plans articulated by the university’s new president, Joe White, interim chancellor Richard Herman told the members of the Urbana-Champaign Senate at their meeting Feb. 14. According to the compact, which will be articulated at the university level over the next six months, the three UI campuses “are really three universities” with distinct identities and should have “the opportunity to move forward within (their) own spheres,” Herman said.

One objective of the new compact will be increasing the amount of corporate-funded research. Of the $337 million of sponsored research at the Urbana campus, only 4 percent – approximately $13.6 million – is corporate-funded, Herman said. By increasing that amount, the campus will have opportunities to address pressing issues without distorting its basic values and, moreover, will be able to build greater support “outside of our walls.”

Relative to the FY07 budget and the upcoming public hearings before the state legislature, Herman said that the state is anticipating a deficit again for the coming fiscal year. Although the Illinois Board of Higher Education has asked for a slight increase in the UI’s appropriations, Herman said that “getting others to argue on our behalf is extremely important.” Administrators had hoped to present the legislature with a letter of support signed by 50 executives of Illinois companies but was unable to accomplish that objective.

Michael Grossman, chair of the Senate Executive Committee, reported that the SEC is continuing to meet with state legislators and had met with Sen. Rick Winkel on Feb. 14. The SEC also planned to meet with Rep. Naomi Jakobsson on March 7 and was in the process of scheduling meetings with Rep. Bill Black and Rep. Chapin Rose. The SEC also planned to meet with President White on Feb. 21.

Grossman reported that Lawrence Eppley, chair of the UI Board of Trustees, initiated a process whereby the observers from the three senates and the Senate Conference as well as the senate chairs will meet with the chair of the board’s Academic Affairs Committee before each board of trustees’ meeting to discuss the board’s agenda and issues relevant to faculty and academic matters. The group met with Trustee Ken Schmidt, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee, before the board’s January meeting in Chicago “and found the discussions valuable and encouraging,” Grossman said. “Every issue that we discussed was brought up at the board meeting the next day.”

The senate unanimously passed proposed revisions to the University Statutes that would give units the option of offering multi-year contracts to select non-tenure-track academic staff. Only appointments with the titles of teaching
associate, clinical associate, lecturer and instructor as well as professorial titles modified with the terms “research,” “clinical” or “adjunct,” would be eligible for multiple-year contracts. Contracts with academic professionals would not be eligible.

In presenting the proposed amendments, Joe Finnerty, chair of the University Statues and Senate Procedures Committee, said that the IBHE had recommended multi-year contracts in an April 2002 report on the status of non-tenure-track faculty. Finnerty said that he has been unable to quantify the number of peer IBHE institutions that offer multi-year contracts as yet but will continue researching the matter.

Finnerty said that the senates at UIC and UIS will review the amendments passed by Urbana and, if they approve them, the amendments will go to President White and the board of trustees for final approval. Herman thanked Finnerty and the other members of the senate who had helped refine the proposal and bring it to a vote.

Belden Fields, political science, expressed concerns about the IBHE’s Faculty Advisory Committee and its possible plans to lobby municipal chambers of commerce for support, per discussions at the Nov. 12, 2004,
FAC meeting as reported by Ken Andersen, Urbana’s FAC representative.
“The FAC should limit its role to offering IBHE its professional advice and leave the courting and lobbying to others,” Fields said.

Andersen responded that the report only reflected a wide-ranging discussion that occurred at the meeting and the FAC has not taken any action. Andersen, who said he concurred with Fields’ concerns, said “I don’t think it’s a matter to be alarmed about at this point,” but said he would report any developments to the senate.

In other business

• A new joint degree program involving the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Chicago School of Public Health was approved by the senate. The new program corresponds to societal concerns about bioterrorism and the spread of infectious diseases, particularly zoonotic diseases such as SARS, West Nile virus and monkey pox, and a growing demand for professionals trained in public health epidemiology. Students in the five-year program will earn the doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) degree and the master’s of public health (MPH) degree when they successfully complete both programs.
  
• Abbas Aminmansour, chair of the Educational Policy Committee, reported that approximately 50 people attended a public hearing to voice their concerns relative to a proposal to revise the academic calendar at the Urbana campus. The committee will consider the comments from the hearing, as well as those submitted by e-mail and letter, and will decide if changes are warranted and, if so, will forward its recommendations to the Senate Executive Committee.
  
• Herman reported that he had spoken with acting provost Jesse Delia, who was recuperating at home following heart surgery. Herman said Delia seemed to be doing well and “we look forward to his return.”
  
• Herman told the senate that David Daniel, dean of the College of Engineering, accepted the position of president at the University of Texas at Dallas and would be leaving near the end of the spring semester. Herman said he will seek to appoint an interim dean as soon as possible and commence a national search for a permanent replacement.
  
• The senate approved proposals to rename the department of veterinary pathobiology the department of pathobiology, and to rename the department of cell and structural biology the department of cell and developmental biology and rename the corresponding PhD degree accordingly.
  
• The senate approved a proposal revising the degree requirements for the bachelor of science degree in statistics within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a proposal revising the graphic design undergraduate curriculum within the College of Fine and Applied Arts.

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