Minutes of the
NIU Board of Trustees
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

February 21, 1996

VERIFICATION OF APPROPRIATE NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING

Chair Siegel asked Parliamentarian Ken Davidson for verification of appropriate notice of public meeting. Mr. Davidson confirmed that all proper notices had been prepared and posted.

Before going into Executive Session, Chair Siegel stated to the members of the press that the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees is different from the Board of Regents in that it will meet from time to time between meetings of the full Board and has full authority to act for the entire Board on all nonpolicy matters. Actions related to these matters do not have to be ratified by the full Board, he said.

Chair Siegel let the assembly know that a five-minute time limit would be imposed on presentations coming before the Board unless it is decided later to extend them. That does not include questions and further explanations in response to questions.

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Chair Siegel then asked for a motion to close the public meeting to conduct an Executive Session to discuss the following subjects authorized by the Illinois Open Meetings Act: personnel matters as generally described under Section 2(c)(1) of the Open Meetings Act, including compensation of the University President; collective bargaining matters as generally described under Section 2(c)(2) of the Open Meetings Act; and risk management matters as generally described under Section 2(c)(12) of the Open Meetings Act. Trustee Moser moved to close the meeting for an Executive Session per the cited provisions of the Open Meetings Act; Trustee Boey seconded. The motion was unanimously approved on a roll call vote. Chair Siegel declared the meeting closed.

PUBLIC MEETING RECONVENED

The public meeting was reconvened by Chair Siegel at approximately 1:12 p.m. Recording Secretary Mimms conducted a roll call of Trustees. All Board members were in attendance. Parliamentarian Davidson gave verification of appropriate notice of public meeting.

There being no minutes to approve, the Chair turned to the recommendations of the President of the University.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY

Agenda Item 5.a. - IPHEC Recommendation and Associated Resolutions

The Chair announced a revision of the proposed IPHEC Resolution by substituting two pages on Item 5.a.

President La Tourette presented two items dealing with the Illinois Public Higher Education Cooperative which is a cooperative that makes mass purchases for the benefit of the universities involved. This is a resolution which allows NIU to participate in that organization. The President recommended approval as amended. Secretary Myles moved for approval and was seconded by Trustee Boey. The motion to approve both the Delegation Resolution, as amended, and the Affiliation Resolution passed.

Agenda Item 5.b. - Collective Bargaining Agreement

President La Tourette then presented a recommendation to approve a contract bargained with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge #86, and asked for the Board's approval. Trustee Moser moved for approval and was seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion passed.

Agenda Item 5.c. - Transitional Authority for Personnel Transactions

The next item presented by President La Tourette was the Transitional Authority for Personnel Items, which outlines procedures for personnel transactions to guide the institution during the interim period until the Board's new regulations are approved. These procedures will be incorporated in the regulations dealing with personnel and are expected to be presented to the full Board at the April meeting. Secretary Myles moved approval and was seconded by Trustee Boey. The Transitional Authority for Personnel Transactions passed.

Agenda Item 5.d. - Self-Insurance Fund Recommendation

The last item in the President's Report was the recommendation on the Liability Self-Insurance program. A Liability Self-Insurance Plan was established at the Board of Trustees' January 3 meeting. President La Tourette recommended that initial funding for the Liability Self-Insurance Plan be set at an approximately 95+% level of confidence for the period January 31, 1996 through January 30, 1997. He further recommended that the University experience with the fund be reviewed annually by the President to determine if adjustments to the level of funding or additional contributions to the plan are required. Board approval was requested. Trustee Boey moved for approval and was seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion carried.

RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CHAIR OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Agenda Item 6.a. - University Advisory Committee Approval

Chair Siegel presented a proposal for a University Advisory Committee from the University Council and the Steering Committee of the University Council. The Advisory Committee would provide the Board with input and the perspectives of faculty and staff on matters being considered by the Board. Dr. Larson was asked to nominate three faculty members for the committee.

Secretary Myles asked how this would differ from the Joint University Advisory Committee (JUAC). Chair Siegel said they differed greatly in that JUAC dealt with multiuniversity issues and with reconciling them. He explained that the University Advisory Committee (UAC) would be more heavily weighted toward the academic community and would also work with the working committees of the Board. Secretary Myles asked about faculty reaction to the proposal. Dr. Larson stated that the University Council endorsed the proposal unanimously.

Chair Siegel was advised by Parliamentarian Davidson that this action would have to be formally ratified at the April meeting. For purposes of moving forward and involving the University Advisory Committee in our upcoming Committee meetings, Chair Siegel said, the committee can be endorsed now subject to formal ratification. The Chair then asked for a motion to endorse the proposed University Advisory Committee as set forth in Chair's Report Item 6.a. Vice Chair Moser moved to endorse the University Advisory Committee. Secretary Myles seconded the motion. The motion passed.

OTHER MATTERS

Chair Siegel gave the following tentative meeting dates: February 27 for the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee; March 7 for the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee; March 19 for the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee; and April 17 for the next Board Meeting.

An announcement was made by Chair Siegel regarding the African American Leadership Conference coming up April 10 through April 12. He stated that some very interesting people will be here with interesting messages and encouraged the Trustees and others present to try to attend some part or all of the conference.

One other item mentioned by Chair Siegel was monies transferred from the Board of Regents scholarship fund. He indicated that at some point in the future the Trustees should look into establishing something similar for the Board of Trustees.

Regarding the issue of presidential compensation, Chair Siegel stated that the Board must set presidential compensation at NIU at a level that will allow NIU to be competitive when recruiting faculty and other administrators and, in the future, when recruiting new presidents. He said that the Board needed to ensure that our current president is being fairly compensated compared with other CEO's at comparable institutions with comparable years of experience.

Three issues were considered. First, the level of presidential compensation at NIU does not reflect the institution NIU has become in the last 15 years. The salary no longer compares favorably to salaries at other institutions and, in many instances, NIU's salary lags considerably behind the salary levels set for presidents at much smaller and less complex schools. Second, this particular president has not had a salary adjustment in more than a year and a half. During the same period, every other NIU employee received market and merit adjustments, the presidents of other former Board of Regents schools received substantial salary adjustments, and the average presidential salary increase at universities throughout the Midwest increased substantially. Third, the President has taken on duties which were formerly handled by a System Chancellor.

The Board asked the University's Human Resource Services staff to analyze these issues and to present us with information on comparable salaries. Based on the information they were able to collect, it appears that the president's compensation at NIU lags behind the compensation of comparable chief executives by as much as 32%. It was noted that this information shows that faculty salaries at NIU, while lagging in many areas, have not lagged as significantly as the presidential salary when compared with the same institutions.

In light of the factors mentioned above, the Executive Committee discussed presidential compensation. Chair SiegeI asked for an appropriate motion based upon Executive Session discussion. Vice Chair Moser moved to adjust the President's compensation effective March 1, 1996 to an annual salary level of $160,000. Trustee Boey seconded the motion. The motion carried. Chair Siegel directed President La Tourette to undertake a similar study of faculty and staff compensation at Northern Illinois University and to provide the Board with appropriate updates on that study at a future meeting of the Board.

President La Tourette said he was pleased that the Board has been concerned about faculty and staff compensation. He said he and his staff will move forward, using an analysis similar to that employed by the Board, to look at faculty and staff salaries and to develop plans to make those salaries more competitive.

There being no further business, Chair Siegel asked for a motion to adjourn. Secretary Myles made the motion and Vice Chair Moser seconded. The motion carried.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:40 p.m.



Respectfully Submitted,


Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary