Minutes
Board of Trustees of Illinois State University
October 23, 2009
The Board of Trustees convened at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, October 23, 2009, in the Old Main Room of Bone
Student Center, Illinois State University, Normal. Chairperson McCuskey called the meeting to order and
Trustee Maitland called the roll.
The following members were present.
Trustee Jay Bergman
Trustee Anne Davis
Trustee Bob Dobski
Trustee Betty Kinser
Trustee Joanne Maitland
Trustee Mike McCuskey
Trustee Geno Bagnuolo
A quorum was declared. Also present for the public session were:
President Al Bowman
Associate Provost Jan Murphy
Vice President for Finance & Planning Dan Layzell
Vice President for University Advancement Dianne Ashby
Assistant to the President Jay Groves
Board Legal Counsel Jane Denes
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Chairperson McCuskey: We need to approve the meeting Agenda. Trustee Davis so moved and was
seconded by Trustee Maitland. Motion made, seconded and vote recorded as all members present voting aye.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Chairperson McCuskey: We need to review and approve the Minutes of the July 31, 2009, meeting. Trustee
Dobski so moved and was seconded by Trustee Kinser. Motion made, seconded and vote recorded as all
members present voting aye.
CHAIRPERSON’S REMARKS
Good morning everyone, and thank you so much for coming today. I want to start by thanking the Campus
Communication Committee for organizing this morning’s discussion hour. I want to particularly thank Matt
Spialek for leading the discussion on Student Government Association initiatives. I know the entire Board
and everyone in the room was very impressed by our student’s leadership regarding the Monetary Award
Program (MAP) funding issue, and the many projects our students undertake to be an engaged part of the
campus and community. Our student’s role in shared governance is one we take very seriously—and I am
glad to see that our student body has such outstanding leadership. We also had the opportunity last night to
have a dinner at the President’s house with members of the Student Government Association, which was a
chance for the Board of Trustees to meet one-on-one with our students.
I also want to thank President Bowman for his leadership regarding the MAP issue. I know he spoke on
several occasions to our local and state legislative leaders to impress upon them the critical need to restore
funding for the second semester and to seek a long-term solution for maintaining this very important
program.
President Bowman also hosted an on-campus hearing for the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC)
several weeks ago, and many students, faculty and staff members from Illinois State and other area colleges
testified at that hearing. Trustee J.D. Bergman was a panel member at that hearing, and we thank him for his
participation on behalf of the University and the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
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We, of course, received the positive news last week that the House and Senate have approved spending
authority for second semester MAP funding, although the measure still awaits an identified source of
funding.
I want to thank everyone involved in planning last week’s Homecoming celebration. With more than 50
events throughout the week, Homecoming is indeed a special time at Illinois State—and it was great to see so
many alumni, faculty, staff, students and local residents at the many activities. I also want to congratulate
Dianne Ashby and Stephanie Epp for their leadership in bringing all of the Homecoming activities together,
culminating in a wonderful weekend and the Gala.
Now, I would like to ask the Trustees if they would like to comment on any activities they have participated
in since our July meeting.
Trustee Kinser: I do have to start off with recognizing the Mennonite College of Nursing – 90 years as well
as 10 years affiliated with Illinois State University. I went to the reception and was very impressed with the
attendance. I also want to note that I was very proud to be a member of the Board of Trustees when the
chairman did a lecture on Constitution Day. I learned a lot that evening. It was very informative and the
students were very responsive to his presentation. The other meeting I attended was a meeting with Judy
Curtis and the veterans at Illinois State. Illinois State was recognized as a Veteran-friendly university and that
is something that is very positive for ISU. I also attended the Alumni luncheon and it was great and very
informative. The opening of the show in the College of Fine Arts was very, very good. There were a couple
of alumni in that show from Los Angeles, so that is a really good show. The faculty show will be coming up
in the spring so that is another event to go to. Being from the College of Fine Arts I was very proud of their
representation at the Alumni luncheon. I am very proud to be at ISU and the strength of what I see happening
is stronger than ever and I have been here quite a while.
Trustee Dobski: Betty you kind of covered everything as far as Homecoming. I just got to go to the luncheon,
which was an excellent presentation recognizing all the accomplishments of ISU alumni. Again the formal
affair and the parade – Dianne and her staff did a great job with those. Other than that I am looking forward
to my Trustee-In-Residence visit with the Mennonite College of Nursing coming up in December. Being on
the Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, it was interesting last night at dinner with the
students to see that there is up and coming youthful people thinking about politics and getting involved. It is
interesting to see the activity and enthusiasm that all these young people have and the program that they
presented this morning has a lot of promise to it.
Trustee Bagnuolo: I just wanted to say I am looking forward to my Trustee-In-Residence visit with the
Student Affairs division. I also want to echo some of the remarks that have already been said. I want to
congratulate Alumni Relations and everyone involved with Homecoming. I also want to congratulate the
University Program Board because from a student perspective I know they put a lot their time in also. I also
want to congratulate the Student Government for the great job they have been doing so far, whether it be
their work on the Student on Patrol program, working towards MAP restoration, or their efforts to continue to
boost school pride.
Trustee Maitland: I just want to say that I attended the State of the University Address and I always find that
quite invigorating and I believe we really feel the unity at that particular event and it’s always a full
auditorium. Some of these things have been repetitious but I also attended the College of Nursing celebration
and that was a very nice event. I want to congratulate the College of Nursing on winning the Homecoming
decorations again – they are getting quite competitive I understand. I also attended the dedication of the Will
Robinson/Doug Collins statue and that is just a fabulous sculpture. I also attended Dr. Schoenwald’s
retirement reception who I worked with often since I am on the Civil Service Merit Board. I served as an
honorary coach at a volleyball game and then also the Homecoming events – Alumni Distinguished Awards
luncheon, Hall of Fame breakfast for the athletes, the parade and tailgating. It was very nice to see such a
response and support for Homecoming.
Chairperson McCuskey: It seems like forever since I made that speech on Constitution Day. That was a lot of
fun because those of us who deal daily in the Constitution forget that there is a Constitution Day and so it
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was nice that the University took time to celebrate it and I was honored to be the speaker. One of the things
that you forget about ISU is how you develop as a person, as an athlete and that it is a dramatic change from
high school to college and that was really focused on by Doug Collins at the dedication when he talked about
the fact that his junior year at Benton High School, he was not good enough to start. Then he came to ISU
and working with Coach Robinson and three years after his junior year he is in the Olympics – he’s an All
American. And the son of Will Robinson Jr, who is college professor, brought up the fact that his father said
his highest accomplishment was not the fact that he coached numerous NBA players including Doug, but the
fact that over 300 of his athletes had graduated from college. So one of the things that Homecoming and all
these events that we go to brings is the dramatic change in the lives of the students who come to this
university and how the university really is the developmental stepping stone for great things. When we meet
with student leaders we can see and feel the change and the growth that is coming about. So that is really the
culmination of a lot of these events is the recognition and reminder of what a great university this is.
Trustee Davis: Thank you. I did my Trustee-In-Residence with the College of Fine Arts and I would like to
start with thanking Dean Major and the faculty and staff for a very informative as well as entertaining visit.
In spite of the issues that our College of Fine Arts has regarding the inadequate space as well as the lifesafety issues, I was very, very impressed with the flexibility of our faculty and staff and how they have
adapted the existing space that they have in order to meet out student’s needs. I enjoyed visiting some of the
classes where I could see firsthand our investments in technology and how our students are kept on the
cutting edge because of the investments that we have made in technology. I am hopeful that the state will
keep on track in terms of funding for capital development because we all are aware that with our College of
Fine Arts there is certainly the need for construction of a new building. I am also looking forward to the 40 th
anniversary for our College of Fine Arts and I know that is going to be a grand celebration. In regards to our
Homecoming festivities I would like to again echo what other Board members have said to Dianne Ashby
and Stephanie Epps and all who worked on our Homecoming activities. You did an outstanding job. I tell
you each year you just set that bar higher and higher. The crowd was a great, the enthusiasm was just out of
the world and the Redbird spirit was off the charts.
Trustee Bergman: I will be doing my Trustee-In-Residence a little later this semester. I have also been at a
number of events including the black tie event the evening of Homecoming. I have attended our home
football games this year as well as when we went to Eastern and the University of Illinois.
I would like to make several comments about MAP but from a different perspective. And that is why MAP
was ultimately approved, what we can learn from it and what does the future hold. Last July the Governor
signed the appropriations bill that appropriated a little over $200 million, about half of what was requested
for the MAP funding. The question at the time that was circulated among some higher education people – is
ISAC who distributes the money going to distribute half of it each semester or all of it the first semester?
Some of us heard from the chairman of ISAC that they were going to give it all out the first semester. In early
August there was a meeting attended by the members of the Board of Higher Education, including myself,
representatives of ISAC, representatives of the Illinois Community Board and also representatives of the
Student Advisory Board to the IBHE. At that meeting we decided that this was going to be a crisis for the
students in Illinois and the only way we could do something about that was to generate enough publicity to
convince the legislature and the Governor to fund the second semester. Also during that meeting the concept
of having public hearings came up. Without going further into the details of what happened, I can tell you
that just about every higher education constituency, those that were in the meeting and the others, actually
put some effort to publicize the problem that we had. In other words, for once just about every constituency
in higher education was actually out working towards the same goal. ISAC had a number of hearings around
the state including one here at ISU. The Board of Higher Education wrote guest editorials and letters to the
editor and many were published throughout the state. Public universities were asked to generate as much
publicity as possible through activities on their campuses and many did. I live in northeastern Illinois so that
is the publicity I hear and I know that John Peters who is the president of Northern Illinois University had
something in the news almost every week about it. The for-profit schools actually went out and hired a PR
firm to generate news about this. The private universities – the non-profits – the vast majority had events to
generate publicity or did other things to reach members of the legislature. A week ago tonight Lori and I
were out to dinner and a trustee from a prominent private university came up to me and thanked me for the
guest editorial that I wrote that ran in one of the Chicago papers and I asked him what his school did to
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promote MAP. Well they have a lot of clout and they had a breakfast for legislators from their area and had
students come and tell them what MAP funding meant to them. Basically my opinion is that the Governor
seen a steam roller coming with MAP because of all the publicity that was being generated and decided he
either had to drive the steam roller or get run over, so he started having town hall meetings also. Anyway, by
the time the legislature met there was so much publicity that was generated by all the different constituencies
that in my opinion didn’t have much choice but to pass the funding.
What does the future look like? It’s the feeling of some of us that we could be in the same boat next year
because of the dire financial problems of the state. The IBHE met earlier this month to discuss the situation
and the idea that came out is that we need a dedicated source of funding be it tax or a fee where the money
that comes in goes into a segregated account used for MAP. Since this is the first time that all of the
constituencies got together to work for something, we discussed forming a committee consisting from
representatives from each of these higher education groups to identify potential sources of funding that we
could use and then try to convince the legislature to pass the necessary legislation. That is as far as it has
gotten – that was a meeting a couple of weeks ago. I will have an update at our next meeting. I would like to
pass on that Don McNeil, the chairman of ISAC and Andy Davis, the executive director thanked me for
ISU’s cooperation in the ISAC hearing and I told him I had almost nothing to do with it, but that I would pass
it on. So those of you who were involved in the ISAC hearing, publicity and setting it up, please accept the
appreciation of those two gentlemen for all the work that you have done. I also would personally like to
thank Jay Groves for helping me with some of the work that I did with respect to publicizing the problem on
behalf of the IBHE. That concludes my comments.
PRESIDENT’S REMARKS
I want to add my thank you to Matt Spialek, and to all of our students who made their voices heard regarding
the MAP issue. Although a funding source for second semester MAP funds must still be approved, I
appreciate that our lawmakers made the program a high priority on the first day of the fall veto session last
week. Our own University data demonstrates the importance and success of the MAP program—showing
that students who receive the support have retention and graduation rates on par with the rest of our student
population. Financially, the restoration of MAP funds would have a very positive impact in our spending
flexibility. I announced to the campus community in August that the State’s budget challenges, combined
with our need to invest in Illinois State students, forced us to forgo a salary increment process associated with
the new fiscal year. As the state begins to address its budget issues during the winter months, my goal is to
still offer a modest salary increase retroactive to January 1, 2010.
I want to echo Trustee McCuskey’s praise for everyone involved with Homecoming, and thank the thousands
of alumni who returned to campus for the many Homecoming activities. I know that our alumni came back
to a very warm welcome and it was great to watch a sea of red move throughout the campus and
community—so thank you all very much for your planning and participation.
I want to formally introduce our Vice President for Finance and Planning Dr. Dan Layzell to his first Board
of Trustees meeting. Dan came to us in September from the University of Illinois, where he served as
Associate Vice President of Planning and Administration. Dan has hit the ground running and is taking on a
variety of initiatives while getting to know the University Community—so welcome Dan.
You also know by now, that our Vice President for University Advancement, Dianne Ashby, has announced
she will retire in May after serving Illinois State for 18 years—the last five as Vice President. Dr. Ashby has
set an example for excellence in every area she has worked at Illinois State, and even in this challenging
economy, has made our fundraising and friend-raising efforts very successful. A national search for Dr.
Ashby’s successor will begin immediately through our governance processes.
I am pleased to announce that at one o’clock this afternoon, we will break ground for a new child-care center
that will provide an excellent option for the children of Illinois State faculty and staff members. You are
welcome to attend the groundbreaking, which will occur at the corner of Main and Harris Streets in Normal,
which is very near to the University Cinemas. The child care center is a partnership between Illinois State
and Illinois Wesleyan Universities and BroMenn Healthcare. The center will be owned and operated by
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Rogy’s, and our partnership will oversee curriculum through a Parent Advisory Board, Faculty Advisory
Board and an Oversight Board. I want to thank our child care center committee and particularly Dr. Jan
Murphy for all of their work to make the long-standing desire for a child care center a reality.
As we approach the end of October, student recruitment for the fall 2010 class is already in full swing. We
have welcomed impressive numbers of prospective students and their families to several on and off campus
events, and we expect another strong applicant pool, both in terms of number and quality. We will see those
larger numbers despite the fact that we are entering a period where the population of high school students is
trending downward.
Complementing the excellent work of our Admissions and Enrollment Management staffs is a new edition of
what we call our view book. I would like to compliment everyone who was involved in putting this
publication together. The photographs are absolutely stunning. The style and content is very attractive to
students who are interested in Illinois State.
It will be a large task to match the fall 2009 class in both quantity and quality. Illinois State University’s
enrollment grew 2 percent to 20,856 students for the 2009-2010 academic year, our highest enrollment in 7
years. The enrollment total includes 3,033 new freshmen and 1,926 new transfer students. Graduate
enrollment increased slightly to 2,512. Our freshman composite ACT is a new record, 24.3, with a high
school grade point average of 3.4. More than 400 of our students scored 28 or better on their ACT and 165
scored 30 or better. The retention rate for fall 2008 new freshmen returning in fall 2009 increased to 84.9
percent, up from 83.4 percent last year—and for the first time in our history, our graduation rate hit 70
percent. The numbers for students from underrepresented groups is also impressive. Enrollment of African
American students rose 18 percent, while Hispanic student enrollment jumped 34 percent. The retention rate
for African American students increased from 73.3 percent to 80.7 percent, and the rate for Hispanic students
increased from 73.2 percent to 77.9 percent.
This success comes at a time when the University is implementing many of the recommendations that came
to us from two university committees I formed in fall 2008 to study ways to further improve the campus
environment for underrepresented groups. Here are just of few examples of the many initiatives we are
putting into place as announced in my State of the University Address in September.
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We will continue to expand retention programming such as Project Success and Success 101.
University College and the Julia Visor Academic Center received a $30,000 gift from Archer
Daniels Midland Corporation in support of these initiatives for this fiscal year, in particular for the
expansion of Success 101, a program that helps students make a smooth transition to the University
and to college-level coursework.
The Office of Admissions has added a second counselor who resides in the Chicago area and
replaced two open counselor positions with staff fluent in Spanish.
Admissions also created a brochure in Spanish outlining important facts and the benefits of
attending Illinois State as well as an e-mail address where family members can communicate in
Spanish with members of our staff.
We are also in the process of creating a Spanish version of our college affordability guide.
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The two Chicago-based Admissions Counselors visited over 20 community based organizations
during the summer months and provided services to the groups that ranged from navigating the
college selection process to application workshops.
We also offered transportation to campus for these groups to attend specific programs such as You
Can Do ISU, which provides information regarding financial aid as well as life on the Illinois State
campus. The initiative attracted more than 300 students from low income/educationally
disadvantaged areas throughout the state.
And just this month, the Media Relations Department began a monthly faculty and staff e-newsletter
entitled Identity: Valuing Our Diversity. The publication features profiles of faculty teaching,
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research and service, the efforts of our support staff, and news of university programs and events
that center on race, ethnicity and the LGBT community. Also included will be issues pertaining to
the concerns of those with special needs and other underrepresented groups.
I also announced during my September address that I have asked Vice President Layzell to work in
collaboration with the Board and with Vice Presidents Everts, Ashby and Adams to undertake a revision of
our Campus Master Plan. It has been almost nine years since our original plan was written, and since then,
the transformation on and around our campus has been dramatic.
There have also been a number of changes in the external environment that point to the need for a new plan
to guide the future development of the campus, including the state fiscal climate, laws concerning fire safety
and development of new technologies, to name just a few. These changes present a much different planning
environment for Illinois State University than when the 2000 Master Plan was developed. Again, the process
will include full campus consultation and input from citizens of the greater community—and we will be
looking to the Board for leadership as we begin this important process.
In terms of current construction, Illinois State is celebrating the completion of several major projects. The
expansion of the South University Street Parking Deck opened in August. This addition addresses parking
needs associated with current activities as well as the anticipated increase of activity in the south area of
campus due to the new Student Fitness and Kinesiology/Recreation Center.
Also in August, students moved into the newly rehabilitated Manchester Hall. This was part of the project to
renovate the East Campus Residence Complex. Earlier this semester, we held a formal dedication of the
complex, and just last week, we dedicated a portion of Manchester as the Marilyn Boyd International House.
Two newly renovated laboratories and a classroom in the Ropp Agriculture Building also welcomed students
in August. This project created an agricultural research lab, an agricultural preparation lab, a Smart
Technology Teaching Lab, two offices and a drafting classroom. As part of the University’s Long-Range
Plan, these new spaces will aid the Agriculture Department’s efforts to consolidate programs into one
building.
Meanwhile, if you have driven up Main Street lately, you may have noticed that the Student Fitness &
Kinesiology/Recreation Building is really shaping up. Contractors are installing the metal siding, the glazing
over the 2nd floor bridge, and the fixed windows as they work to get the 170,000 sq-ft building enclosed
before winter weather sets in. A companion project to replace the roof on the existing McCormick Hall
structure begins this week and should be completed by late November.
Life-Safety Improvements have been completed in Stevenson Hall and contractors have begun working in
Turner Hall. With the completion of the project this coming summer, two of our most heavily used
classroom and office buildings will have new and upgraded life-safety, mechanical and electrical, and
plumbing systems as well as new energy-efficient windows.
The Watterson Commons Renovation is underway. In order to continue to provide dining services to
students, this project will be completed in six phases. All six phases of this project are expected to be
completed by December 2010. This project provides for the renovation of major electrical, plumbing and
ventilation systems on both floors of the structure for all kitchen, serving, dining, and storage spaces. For
regular updates on all projects, you can visit the University’s home page and look for the Construction
Updates link.
We are off to another busy year of fundraising and fund administration. This month, we received $2.4
million from the George and Martha Means Trust. In keeping with the desires of our donors, the funds will
be distributed to the following areas:
 George and Martha Means Center for Entrepreneurial Studies: This endowment was
established in 1999 by George and Martha Means to support faculty, students, and program
development in the Entrepreneurial Studies program.
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Douglas Ridgely Professor of Geography: This endowment was established in 2000 to honor
Professor Ridgley, who was an early leader in the development of geography in the U.S. and served
as chair of the department at Illinois State Normal University.
George R. Means Scholarship in Geography: This scholarship provides financial support to
students in the Department of Geography-Geology.
Margaret Means Scholarship Fund in Geography/Geology: This enables students in the
Department of Geography-Geology to prepare for a career of teaching or service. And finally,
The Dora Munson Scholarship in Family Consumer Sciences: This scholarship provides
financial support to students who are pursuing careers in education to teach in either a traditional
school setting or in non-school learning settings.
We have also received the first $1.2 million of a significant trust that will provide one of the largest
endowments ever bestowed on a College of Education to support student scholarships. I will have more to
report at future board meetings. These gifts, of course, mean a great deal to the institution and they will have
a direct impact on faculty resources and student learning.
Grant activity among our faculty is also off to a great start for FY2010. As of Oct. 16, we are at $13.4 million
in awards. This is 42 percent ahead of where we were in FY09 and 12 percent ahead of our FY08 banner
year. Submissions are also up significantly in dollar amounts submitted due to several very large projects.
Our faculty have submitted over double the dollar amount so far this year as they did in the FY08 banner
year—so we are looking very good. I want to thank Scott Sakaluk and Rod Custer for their important work
on these initiatives.
Prior to the first home football game this season, the Illinois State Athletics Department unveiled the Will
Robinson-Doug Collins statue in front of Redbird Arena. Not only does this magnificent sculpture add to the
campus scenery and history, but it was created by one of our own, Lou Cella, a 1985 Illinois State alumnus.
The Redbirds went on to win the football game that day, and with the homecoming victory over Indiana State
last Saturday, head coach Brock Spack has already won more games this season than last year and has the
program moving in the right direction. In addition, it appears that the ISU women’s soccer team is on pace to
capture its third Missouri Valley Conference championship in head coach Drew Roff’s three years.
The Redbird basketball seasons are right around the corner. In fact I believe there are only 20 single season
tickets left in the lower bowl of Redbird Arena. Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger recently announced an 11game television package with Comcast Spotlight. This agreement will bring Redbird men’s basketball games
into the homes of over 1.5 million Comcast subscribers in the Chicago-land area. The games will also be
seen in Rockford, Springfield, Bloomington-Normal, Peoria and LaSalle-Peru. A total of 19 games will be
televised regionally or nationally this season.
The Athletics Department has also introduced and implemented ticket scanners to their venues. As one of
just a handful of NCAA Division I programs with this technology, the department is beginning a rewards
program for Red Alert members, since attendance can be calculated, and patrons now have the ability to print
tickets online, which will minimize will-call window lines.
That takes care of my initial comments this morning. I would now like to call the spokesperson of the
Campus Communication Committee, Dr. Fazel to the podium for a report.
CAMPUS COMMUNICATION COMMITEE
Good Morning. The Campus Communication Committee would like to thank Student Government
Association President Matt Spialek for his presentation about the student lead initiatives, including their
efforts for the restoration of MAP funding and the reestablishment of Student on Patrol. Their impressive list
of accomplishments shows that student government is a vital part of the ISU community.
We are extremely pleased that the Illinois State Legislature has voted to restore $205 million in funding to
the Monetary Assistance Program and commend both President Bowman and the student leaders for their
efforts in attaining that goal. We will be even more pleased when a revenue source is identified for funding
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the program.
Even in the current challenging economic environment we are very excited about a number of very positive
developments on campus. Of particular note is the ground breaking this afternoon at 1:00 pm for the new
faculty and staff child care center that is a joint project with BroMenn Medical Center and Illinois Wesleyan
University. This project will not only supply our faculty and staff with a first-rate child care option near
campus, but will also be a learning environment for our early childhood education students. We also applaud
last week’s opening of the Marilyn M. Boyd International House which provides social, educational and
cultural programs, with international and American students working together to promote cross-cultural
understanding. We offer our strong support for President Bowman’s diversity initiatives and encourage the
Board of Trustees to also support the $1.5 million in the FY2010 operating budget request earmark for
improving diversity at ISU.
We offer a warm welcome to Dr. Dan Layzell, our new Vice President for Finance and planning. He has
large shoes to fill in replacing Dr. Steve Bragg, but we are confident that he is more than up to the task. We
look forward to a long and fruitful working relationship with him.
Finally, we congratulate the entire campus for an extremely successful Homecoming week. The week saw
52 separate events, which covered everything from parades to football, to the Great Urban Race. It was a
fabulous week of celebration for the University and its alumni.
Now I would ask Mr. Phil Adams to the podium to provide a legislative update.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Mr. Adams: Good morning. The last three days of the veto session start October 28 and the primary filing
date begins Monday and runs through November 2. So by the retreat, we will know who has filed for statewide and who has filed for various House and Senate primary races. The primary was moved to February 2,
so there is not a great deal of time between the last filing date and that election. Unfortunately, the state’s
financial situation continues to deteriorate. The state-wide unemployment average has now gone over 10%.
We will be looking with the rest of the higher education community at the November-December receipts.
They are the two major sales tax months. We need to have a surprise following those two months because at
this point the deficit is growing rapidly. You will read that the payment cycle is up to something like 67 days,
but it is important to remember that is 67 days after those bills hit the comptroller’s office. Without question
there are tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars in bills sitting in agencies that are just not being turned in.
Hopefully we will get a pleasant surprise in the second quarter in terms of revenues. I think that the intention
of the House/Senate leadership for my perspective, unfortunately, is to try to limp through until the general
election before a general tax increase of any kind. I don’t know if that means we are not going to have an
attempt to pass the cigarette tax that was proposed or maybe some other smaller tax increases sometime in
January or perhaps in March. The requirement for an effective date once we get into January goes back to a
simple majority, so the two parties in control of the House and Senate will not have as difficult a time
generating the votes they need to pass something like that. But if they are going to hold off on any income or
general sales tax item until November, it is going to get to be very hard sledding and the possibility of some
type of give back in this current fiscal year certainly is out there and I think that we are fairly confident that
we have planned for it. A lot of work has gone into it, most from Dr. Layzell’s area, but I think we are in a
better position to deal with whatever economic situation we get handed to us from Springfield.
In terms of veto action, obviously the big, most important item was restoration of MAP. I agree with Trustee
Bergman – I think the press coverage and the number of editorials and articles was really overpowering. It is
an item that is so important to every sector of higher education that we got a lot of cooperation that you don’t
normally see. We got a lot of intense personal contact and the students did a spectacular job – there were a
large number of them the day of the vote – but they were active long before that. They did a lot of the ISAC
and IBHE meetings as well as some personal contact with members. I had several of our students talk to me
about who they should talk to and perhaps what the message might be. I know they were very active and I
think personally that is what pushed it over the top. Obviously we could be back in this situation next year. I
am not one who believes that. They may take the $200M out of the overall budget that we get but I think they
will be very hesitant to not fund that program in the future. The members I talked to didn’t like the feeling of
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having that many editorials and personal contacts on this topic. We may end up losing some of that money
out of our base budget but I think that program is going to be here.
I mentioned at the last meeting that we have the amendatory veto of the purchasing act changes. We have
been trying to get some relief in that area. I am not confident that is going to happen. They will be passing a
trailer bill, Senate Bill 1272, and I think the only real relief we are going to get is postponing the effective
date to July 1, which will give us some time to deal with the many changes. It is going to be a new way of
doing business and it’s going to be a challenge to the departments and a major challenge to our purchasing
people as we try to deal with this entire new act that dramatically changes how we are going to be purchasing
things.
There is one other item in the veto session. It is a House bill that the Governor vetoed. The House has already
accepted it and the Senate is going to accept it and it creates a requirement that we establish an identity
protection policy and there will be some reporting involved. I know that Dr. Layzell has talked about it and
we think that actions that we took in the past in terms of switching from the old social security numbers to
our new ID’s puts us in pretty good shape already. There just may be some fine tuning.
President Bowman: Back to the MAP issue. If nothing else the conversation about MAP allowed members of
the General Assembly to learn more about one of the state’s most effective programs. Illinois has been
recognized nationally for the level of support it provides to students from low income families. This is
probably one of the state’s most effective programs because the vast majority of students who get MAP
grants ultimately graduate.
Mr. Adams: I think a lot of the members understood that it was an important program and that it was
substantial but what they didn’t realize is the number of students in their own districts that participate. We
had a chart that we distributed to everyone in the House and Senate that showed them exactly how many
students in their district were receiving MAP, and probably more importantly the average loss in the second
semester for those students in those districts. It gets down at some point to a substantial political decision.
Let’s take a local district – Senator Brady has 2400-2500 students in his Senate district alone who participate
in that program. They have parents, grandparents, friends and that is a lot of people to have unhappy when it
gets down to election time. The average loss for those students was going to be something like $1400 each. I
think that got their attention in a way they hadn’t seen before. The other thing that Trustee Bergman
mentioned that had a major role – there aren’t many topics or issues where we are going to align and work
really closely with the privates and this is one of them. They just have access that we are not going to have. If
you can bring Loyola and DePaul into play, you can get access to some of the major players that is very
difficult for us to get on an on-going everyday basis. The president and I have discussed the situation at
Elmhurst. It’s an expensive place - $43,000 tuition but a third of their student body gets MAP. Then you have
another sector of that part of higher education that are not at that end of the tuition scale who are very
dependent on it. The MacMurrays of the world and some of the smaller downstate privates – so when you put
all those together and throw the community colleges into the mix – it’s very important politically and it got
attention and that is why we got the money back.
Trustee Dobski: I just want to clarify – is there a change in student loan applications as of January to say only
federal loans or something of that nature?
Mr. Adams: I don’t think so.
President Bowman: Well assuming the President signs the bill that you are referring to, it would shift all
lending to a federal loan program and then the savings would be used to expand the PELL grant program. I
don’t believe the bill has the President’s signature yet.
Mr. Adams: But it would not reduce the pot.
REPORTS
I have three reports for you this morning. With your approval, Trustee McCuskey, I will move to these
reports.
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Report 2009.10/4000.02: Promotions, Tenure and Sabbatical Leave Report
Promotion, tenure and sabbatical decisions that take effect in FY2010 are completed in the fall and spring of
FY2009. This report outlines the application and review process for those decisions. Also provided in the
report are summary data on this year’s applications, rank distribution over the past decade for tenured faculty
and lists of the FY2010 changes in status. Just as an aside I will point out that there has obviously been a shift
away from full time tenured faculty positions across the United States and we have maintained level staffing
in the tenured faculty ranks.
Report 2009.10/4000.03: Oral English Proficiency Report
In 1986, the Illinois General Assembly moved to require that University governing boards ensure the oral
English proficiency of all personnel providing classroom instruction. Illinois State immediately put a
mechanism in place to comply with the legislative action.
Information about our policies and procedures is distributed to all students each semester in the Class
Registration Directory. During the 2008-2009 academic year, no complaints were filed about the English
speaking ability of instructors at Illinois State.
Report 2009.10/1000.03: Affirmative Action Plan
The FY2010 Affirmative Action Plan is a document that expresses Illinois State University’s commitment to
achieving equal opportunity in employment, as well as a representation of the University’s affirmative duty
to provide a positive multi-cultural experience to our students, faculty and staff members.
Represented in the plan, that is included in your packets, are the University’s efforts to increase the visibility
of employment opportunities to traditionally underrepresented groups, educate faculty and staff on the
recruitment resources and funding available to assist in the advertisement of employee vacancies, highlight
the advancements and setbacks in our efforts and set forth expectations for improvements. I would like to
thank our Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity, Ethics and Access, Shane McCreery, for preparing
this report.
ACTION ITEMS
There are three resolutions for the Board’s consideration this morning. With your approval, Trustee
McCuskey, I will move to them now.
Resolution 2009.10/27: FY2010 Internal Budget
The Illinois Board of Higher Education, as part of its accountability efforts, requires that the Board of
Trustees review and approve a line-item internal budget each fall. The specific line-items are provided by the
IBHE and match those in our appropriation bill.
Also included in this item is a summary of FY2009 projected and actual revenues. Summary tables provide
budget and expenditure information by sources of funds. I would like to point out a few of the more pertinent
features in this report.
Table 1shows that actual revenues from all funds sources in FY2009 are about $4.1million less than
estimated, due in part to a $2.1 million budget in rescission in FY2009. Table 1 also shows that we are
projecting about a $16 million increase in revenue in FY2010— a 4.9 percent increase over what was
generated last year.
Most of that increase will come from tuition revenue increases, while the proportion of the University
operations and grants that is funded from State appropriations is expected to continue to decline. Less than
25 percent of the total estimated institutional revenue will come from State appropriated funds in FY2010.
Table 2 shows that 43 percent of our resources are spent on the core functions of instruction, organized
research and public service. When academic support is added—a category that includes Milner Library—the
proportion reaches 50 percent. As of today, the state has not released American Recovery and Reinvestment
Funds and has not provided guidance for expending the funds.
It is expected the University will receive instructions by the end of October, and it is expected these funds
will be directed to personnel costs. Assuming the stimulus funds are released in a timely manner, these
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resources will free up general revenue and income funds previously committed to salaries, and the University
will be able to address other high-priority needs, such as deferred maintenance.
Table 3 provides another look at how our revenue is spent. This table shows that almost 55 percent of our
resources are spent on personal services and benefits. It underscores how people-intensive a University is—
and this is just an average. The proportion of our instructional area is closer to 72 percent. Contractual
services, the second largest category, include our utility expenditures. Another $3.1 million will go back to
the Illinois Department of Central Management Services for Group Health Insurance. I ask your approval of
this resolution.
Chairperson McCuskey: Is there a motion for approval? Trustee Dobski so moved and was seconded by
Trustee Davis. Motion made, seconded and vote recorded as all members present voting aye.
President Bowman: As a point of information I would like to mention that the entire tuition increase this year
has been consumed by the shortfall in the state’s funding for Veteran’s grants and Veteran’s and National
Guard tuition waivers.
Chairperson McCuskey: Do we ever expect that to return?
President Bowman: We hope but in this budget climate I don’t think we will see it in the short term.
Trustee Bergman: Well there has been some negative talk about the funding. If you are looking at Table 1
you see American Recovery and Reinvestment Funds - $4.6M. That, as President Bowman said, is part of the
stimulus funds. We only have that this year – we won’t have it next year.
President Bowman: Our spending plan for this year presumes that those dollars likely will not be there.
Resolution 2009.10/28: FY2011 Appropriated Budget Request: Operating and Capital
Each year at this time the University asks the Board to approve its appropriated funds operating budget
request and its capital appropriation request to the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
For FY2011, Illinois State is seeking an additional $8.7 million in state appropriated funds to support core
programs and services, an increase of 10.2 percent over the FY2010 appropriation. We have requested $4
million for salary increases, which represents 3 percent of the appropriated funds personal services base.
As you know, maintaining new and existing facilities is critical to the University and our needs continue to
increase. Our backlog of deferred maintenance on campus exceeds $450 million and it is in the state’s best
interest to protect their investment in state-built facilities.
While our Capital Request addresses some of the larger rehabilitation needs, there are numerous smaller
projects for which resources our needed. The FY2011 request includes $2.5 million in deferred maintenance
funds, which is about one percent of the general revenue deferred maintenance backlog.
In addition, we are requesting just over $641,000 to support the Mennonite College of Nursing Doctoral
Program. The state estimates that by 2020, Illinois could be facing a shortage of over 21,000 nurses. Many
students interested in becoming students are turned away from Illinois nursing programs each year because of
faculty shortages—and our program is designed to address that shortage.
We are also requesting an additional $1.5 million to help recruit and retain students from underrepresented
groups. Indicators tell us that the state’s population will grow significantly more diverse over the next
decade, and the ability to recruit and retain students from these groups will become even more central to our
mission.
On the capital side of the equation, we request $192.6 million in state appropriations for FY2011, plus $1.5
million for a Capital Renewal project.
The capital projects include the Milner Library Rehabilitation, Mennonite College of Nursing Building,
College of Education Facilities Rehabilitation and Williams Hall renovation. Information about each project
is in your packet.
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The capital renewal project is the Capen Auditorium Rehabilitation. Located in Edwards Hall, Capen
Auditorium is the largest assembly room on campus, seating over 700. Although the space has undergone
modest improvements over the last decade, it is in need of major renovation. Again, a short description of the
project is in your packet. I ask your approval for this resolution.
Chairperson McCuskey: Do we have a motion to approve? Trustee Davis so moved and was seconded by
Trustee Bagnuolo. Any discussion?
Trustee Bergman: Mr. Chairman, because this involves the IBHE please note that will abstain on this vote.
Chairperson McCuskey: The secretary will so note. Motion made, seconded and vote recorded as all
members present but one voting aye and one abstaining.
Resolution 2009.10/29: Authorization for a Sustainable Solid Waste Management Program
The University’s desire to shift solid waste removal from a fee per container rate to a fee per tonnage rate
offers us a financial incentive and will make us better stewards of our environment. The proposed agreement
with Allied Waste adds to the University’s pledge to reduce its environmental impact, while at the same time,
conserving financial resources related to the collection of solid waste. I ask your approval for this resolution.
Chairperson McCuskey: Is there a motion to approve? Trustee Bagnuolo so moved and was seconded by
Trustee Kinser. Motion made, seconded and vote recorded as all members present voting aye.
Chairperson McCuskey: I would now entertain a motion to move into Executive Session for the purpose of
considering the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific
employees pursuant to 5ILCS, Section 120/2 (c)(1); collective negotiating matters between the University
and its employees, 5ILCS, Section 120/2 (c)(2); litigation which has been filed and is pending before a court
or administrative tribunal, as allowed in 5ILCS, Section 120/2 (c)(11); and the purchase or lease of real
property as allowed in 5ILCS, Section 120/2 (c)(5). Is there a motion to move into Executive Session for
those purposes? Trustee Davis so moved and was seconded by Trustee Kinser. Motion made, seconded and
vote recorded as all members present voting aye.
We will now move into Executive Session. At the close of Executive Session, the Board will reconvene in
public session solely for the purpose of adjournment. Thank you all for coming today.
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