Meeting Minutes of the
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
of NORTHERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY
June 17, 1999

Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee
Committee Vice Chair Myron Siegel reported that the Committee recommended the approval of a new minor in Productivity within the B.S. in Technology, the transfer of tenure and tenure-track location for faculty in the College of Education in accordance with their reorganization plan, new tenure appointments, and a pretax parking program through employee payroll deduction.

Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee
In the absence of the Committee Chair, Dr. Williams gave the report for the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee, which met on June 1. The Committee received reports and presentations on the implementation of the financial and work order systems, financial transactions and active capital projects; an update on the FY00 budget, and a federal grant allowing the university to hire six new police officers. Action items presented at the meeting included the FY00 salary increment guidelines; the FY00 nonappropriated capital budget; the Holmes Student Center Café renovation project; furniture, fixtures and equipment as part of the Stevenson Hall renovation project; and a lease agreement with the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. The Committee also received annual routine renewals of purchases and contract renewals for items such as the Northern Star, International Programs expenditures and authorization for Physical Plant recycling services. These items appeared in the President's Report for final action by the Board.

Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee
Committee Chair George Moser gave the report for the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee. He reported that Kathy Swanson briefed the Committee on actions taken by the General Assembly, which recessed after a week of overtime session. After one of the most active sessions in recent history, public universities received a significant increase in the general revenue budget, with Northern Illinois University receiving a 4.87% increase above the 1999 base. In addition, with the help of Speaker Madigan, Northern passed the only piece of procurement exemption legislation dealt with by the General Assembly this year. That legislation will enable NIU's Continuing Education not-for-credit instruction to be negotiated. This represents much needed relief from the Procurement Code for the stability and maintenance of the university's noncredit instructional programs. Planning funds were included in the budget for the expansion of the Hoffman Estates Education Center as well as almost $5 million to complete repairs on the Engineering Building. The Committee also heard a report on the university's 1998 Compliance Audit. This audit contained only two material findings, both of which have since been eliminated. Copies of the 1998 Compliance Audit were distributed to the Committee members after the Board of Trustees Meeting.

I have chaired the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee since my appointment to the Board under Governor Edgar, Trustee Moser said. During this time, we have accomplished a great deal: a special and unique development authority for 250 acres of land contiguous to the west side of the campus; retaining the income funds at the university level instead of sending them to Springfield; a very specialized and much needed exemption to the Procurement Code for our noncredit instructional programs; legislation to allow trustees to continue serving in their official capacities until reappointed or replaced; an unparalleled increase in the university's budget of almost 5% for Fiscal Year 2000; capital funding for many projects on campus, including Altgeld Hall, flood control and planning funds for the Hoffman Estates expansion, to name a few. In addition, because of this Committee's emphasis on audit compliance issues, Trustee Moser said, we have gone from 24 findings when we took over jurisdiction of the university's audits in 1994 to one finding in 1997. The two findings for this year were eliminated. We are the only university board of trustees that has examined the audit process closely, and our efforts show the results.

With the start of the new fiscal year on July 1, Trustee Moser said, the Board will make routine changes to the committee structure and the leadership of the committees. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues on the Board for the opportunity to serve as Chair of the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee.

Illinois Board of Higher Education
President La Tourette reported that the Board of Higher Education met on June 7 at Waubonsee Community College. The highlight of the meeting was the arrival of the Governor to sign the Century 21 legislation, which involves technology connections being developed across the state to provide up-to-date communications systems for the delivery of instruction and other kinds of programs. There were a number of legislative leaders in attendance from the region. Because of that event and the fact that the Board invited Sir John Daniel, the Vice Chancellor of the British Open University System, a number of agenda items were deferred to the August 24 meeting. The President said Sir John Daniel provided a very good overview of the Open University and was available for a two-day period to consult with members of the Board of Higher Education staff and various groups that came onto the Waubonsee campus to meet with him.

Certainly, the development of the British Open University has been very impressive, President La Tourette said, and it appears that they now serve about 160,000 students. There are some issues of comparability in terms of developing a similar system in the United States, although an effort is being made to do so. One of the things I do not think the audience understood is that most of the 160,000 students are only taking one or two courses, the President explained, so it is quite different from the impression one might have when talking about the largest university in the world being 160,000 students. That might be 30,000 full-time equivalent students by U.S. standards. Also, figures were mentioned on the cost of delivery of this education, which appear to be very low; however, no one followed up to ask whether or not that included the developmental costs, which are very large when putting good programs on line. Also, President La Tourette continued, the comparisons made between the cost per student of the British Open University and costs in the United States certainly did not appear to me to be comparing apples and apples, because there must have been a heavy loading in of the costs experienced by students attending private schools in the United States. So, there are some similarities here, but there are many dissimilarities, including the fact that students who graduate from the English public education system are substantially more prepared to undertake on-line learning than American students. Dr. Kaplan, who was involved with the British Open University for two years when it was initiated, mentioned to me that the English educational system is extremely difficult throughout the early years, President La Tourette said, as opposed to the U.S. system, which is relatively easy until the baccalaureate and master's levels are reached. So, there is a different student population there and a different level of preparation for students to be able to get on line and have an effective learning experience. Overall, the President said, the presentation certainly made us all aware of how successful their system has been in the context of their environment.

After Sir John Daniel completed his presentation, President La Tourette said, the Executive Director of the Board of Higher Education asked him to comment on the development of technology and technology delivery in Illinois. Sir John Daniel thought that we had made very good progress, particularly with the introduction of the Century 21 system. The Executive Director asked Sen. Rauschenberger, who also attended the meeting, for comments. The Senator followed with a few remarks, including the comment that the system of higher education in Illinois was decrepit. This means, the President said, that the universities have a lot of educating to do since Senator Rauschenberger is the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Among the items deferred to the August 24 meeting was the selection of a site for the multiuniversity center in Lake County.

University Civil Service Merit Board
Trustee Myles said that the Civil Service Merit Board met on April 22, the same date as the last meeting of the Board of Trustees, so he was unable to attend that meeting. It was reported that the Merit Board overturned a termination at the University of Illinois, and the University of Illinois had hired a law firm to try to overturn the Merit Board's ruling. Trustee Myles said he would be watching the outcome to see if it could be precedent setting.

Northern Illinois University Foundation
Mr. Michael Malone announced the promotion of Ms. Melanie Magara to Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs. One of the satisfactions that come with a long tenure at a university is watching the evolution and growth of people and programs. Occasionally, the growth of a program and new personal responsibilities gather sufficient weight to warrant formal recognition, he said, and this is the case with our public affairs program at NIU. When Melanie Magara arrived at Northern five years ago, the President and I gave her the formidable task of building a proactive public affairs program at the university. Ms. Magara's promotion to Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs, effective immediately, Mr. Malone said, is recognition of how far we have come in so short a time. Her staff, Joe King, Pat Erickson, Jennice O'Brien, Paolina Milana and Tom Parisi, are consistently finding new ways to promote Northern through stories about the university's people, programs and events. New relationships with regional and national reporters have paid off in increased positive coverage for Northern and its programs. Over the past three years, Melanie and her staff have significantly broadened the Public Affairs role to include web communications, video production, coordination of multimedia displays and individualized media training for Board and staff. Under Melanie's leadership, Public Affairs has consistently worked to find new ways to tell the NIU story to a larger audience. Ms. Magara also serves as NIU's official spokesperson and works with the President, the Board and senior administrators to help formulate and communicate NIU's position on key issues. I have great faith in her and the entire Public Affairs staff, Mr. Malone said, and ask that you join me in congratulating her and them on a job well done. Chair Boey congratulated Ms. Magara and said that the members of the Board all owed her a deep debt of gratitude. Personally, he said, you know you have been a great help to me, especially at times when I have picked up the phone and asked for help on drafting some sort of a speech for an occasion. You have been of great service to me and to the members of the Board, so congratulations for a job well done and on your promotion. Trustee Moser said that he is always impressed with what Ms. Magara does and added his congratulations. She is not only a good speechwriter, he said, but she is a hard worker and her accomplishments are many. Trustee Siegel said that he had worked very closely with Ms. Magara in the first year and a half of the Board's existence and thanked her for everything. He added his congratulations on a job well done as well as for her promotion. 

Mr. Malone then introduced Mr. Dick Boardman, Chair of the NIU Foundation Board of Directors, who gave the NIU Foundation report.

I am happy to report that in the first year since the restructuring of the Foundation Board, Mr. Boardman said, our directors are engaged as never before. I have been a director for 13 years, and there has never been such meaningful involvement as in this past year. The working committee structure is functioning well, and there have been many very positive activities. I think this puts the Foundation Board in a very strong position to be of service to the university in the selection process for the next university president, he said. We offer our assistance in any way the Board of Trustees feels is appropriate to secure the best possible candidate to be Northern's next president.

The Foundation Board is beginning to discuss a five-year strategic plan for the development program. Preliminary discussions have occurred with members of the development and finance committees. I am excited about where we are going, Mr. Boardman said, and look forward to working hard to get us there. One of the priorities for the Foundation Board is to assist the College of Education in raising $400,000 during the next two years for its school-university partnership program in order to match $400,000 from an anonymous donor.

Lastly, Mr. Boardman said, I would like to share some fiscal year-end projections with you. I am delighted to report that we will once again have a record-breaking year. We believe we will close the year with more than $675,000 in gifts received through the telefund program for colleges and departments, an increase of 64% over last year. At the same time we brought the telefund program in-house, we made a philosophical shift from raising unrestricted support managed by the Foundation to raising funds designated for specific programs managed by the deans and the department chairs. The shift in strategy limits the Foundation's role in providing direct support to the academic programs except through strategic initiative and opportunity grants. This has also been a better year for major gifts. Highlights include the $400,000 anonymous challenge pledge, a new $250,000 commitment for the College of Law, a $1.9 million software gift-in-kind brought to the College of Engineering, and a number of small gifts and several large gifts to be announced soon. We will surpass our goal of $6 million for total gifts received this year compared with $5.4 million last year, Mr. Boardman reported. In fact, we expect to exceed the all-time high of $6,090,128 in 1995.

All in all, things are going very well and moving in a very positive direction. The critical objective now is to successfully attract talented new staff to fill some vacancies, Mr. Boardman said, as well as begin to grow our development team in order to succeed with our five-year plan.

I have served as volunteer member of the Alumni and Foundation Boards for over 20 years, Mr. Boardman said, and I want you to know that I feel that Mike and Mallory and their staff are the most professional group I have ever had the pleasure of working with over that span of time. I believe the division is in good hands. On behalf of the Foundation Board of Directors, I want to thank you for your interest and your support.

Before joining the Board of Trustees, I also sat on the Foundation Board of Directors, Chair Boey said, and it was a great experience serving with Dick on that board. As a result, I have a very deep appreciation for the efforts and all the good that the Foundation does for the university. Under Mr. Boardman's leadership, and under restructuring, it has now become an organization very similar to the Board of Trustees in the sense that it is committee driven. I agree with you that there are a lot of exciting days ahead, he told Mr. Boardman. Thank you for coming today.

Chair Boey announced that the Executive Session would not be very long. We have some important things to discuss in the second half of the meeting, he said, including the election of officers of the Board of Trustees. The Chair 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 as applicable: personnel matters as generally described under §2(c)(1) of the Open Meetings Act, property matters as generally described under §2(c)(5) and (6) of the Open Meeting Act, executive session minute matters as generally described under §2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act. Trustee Moser so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. A roll call of the Trustees to recess to Executive Session was unanimous.

Agenda Items 8.a.(1) through 8.a.(11) are actions that have been recommended by the Finance and Facilities and Operations Committee. 

Agenda Item 8.a.(1) - Fiscal Year 2000 Nonappropriated Capital Budget
The Year 2000 nonappropriated capital budget represents a very aggressive program, President La Tourette said, but it is within our resources. A summary of the projects to be pursued this year appeared on page 25 of the meeting report. The summary included projects totaling slightly over $5 million devoted to replacing roofs, bringing facilities up to date, remodeling and the installation of smart classrooms. Approval of this FY00 nonappropriated capital budget was requested. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(2) - Homes Student Center Cafe Renovation
This is an area that involves a very large number of students, the President said, and it is the students who would like to bring this facility up to date. They have recommended that the fees necessary to carry out this renovation be included in the FY00 student fees. The Board approved the fees associated with this facility in April. The President requested Board approval to proceed with an estimated $830,100 renovation. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the Holmes Student Center café renovation. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(3) — International Programs Contract (Renewal)
The International Programs contract is an annual renewal item. NIU has over 800 students involved in international programming at over 40 sites around the world. International programming collects the funds from the students who participate in the program. The Board's approval would authorize the university to make the required expenditures from those funds. This is basically a pass-through, President La Tourette said, allowing the university to set a budget limit of $3 million to cover the receipt of these funds and their disbursement to support the programs operated by International Programs. The university requested approval of the International Programs contract renewal. Chair Boey asked for such a motion. Student Trustee Sosnowski so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(4) - Northern Star Printing and Delivery Service Contract
This item for the printing of the Northern Star as well as its delivery to the campus is also a contract that the university presents to the Board every year. This is the first year of a new contract with an additional option for two one-year renewals. The successful bidder was Castle Communications. A contingency was added, and the total amount requested for approval was $310,000. President La Tourette explained that this financing comes from funds that are generated primarily by advertisements in the Northern Star. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the Northern Star printing and delivery service contract. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(5) - Printing Services Equipment Lease
This item is for the lease of equipment for Printing Services. The charge per unit of paper is extremely low because this is a very efficient, high-speed system. This is a very cost-effective project that provides for a capability of 1.9 million copies a month. The cost at the margin beyond the 1.9 million copies is about .003 of a cent. The university asked Board approval of the first year of this five-year equipment lease item. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the Printing Services equipment lease. Trustee Moser so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(6) - Material Distribution Center - Miscellaneous Commodities, Parts and Services
This item covers commodities, parts and services needed by the Material Distribution Center. There is a continuing need for parts and service on a broad range of mechanical and electrical systems to maintain the campus. This request was for open orders with two suppliers that would allow the university to purchase these materials on an as-needed basis. One order was for $330,000, the other for $270,000. Both are funded through the Material Distribution Center auxiliary enterprise operations. Approval of the Material Distribution Center miscellaneous commodities, parts and services item was requested. Chair Boey asked for a motion. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(7) - Physical Plant Recycling Services
The recycling services effort involves a universitywide program for the recycling of paper, cans and glass as well as other items. Receptacles have been placed in various areas in each building on campus to allow for the separation of these items and their appropriate collection and recycling. Midpoint International's was a very competitive bid at $300,000. This includes the entire campus, President La Tourette said, the academic buildings, the administrative buildings and all of the other buildings that fall under auxiliary enterprises. The university asked Board approval of this item. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the physical plant recycling services. Student Trustee Sosnowski so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(8) - North Central Regional Educational Laboratory - Naperville Facility Lease
This is a lease with NCREL for 30,000 square feet in the NIU Naperville facility. As you will recall, President La Tourette said, the Naperville project will house this federally funded laboratory along with NIU's Business and Industry Services. There is an opportunity for a very synergistic relationship between the two organizations. The combined use of the facility by these units is very cost effective because it allows them to pay rent at a reasonable cost per square foot. At the same time, the President said, it makes it possible for NIU to construct a building of the size that will be needed for the future. Chair Boey asked for approval of the NCREL lease at NIU Naperville. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(9) - Stevenson Hall Renovation - Phase II — Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment
Furniture, fixtures and equipment are needed to complete the two south towers in Phase II of the Stevenson Towers renovation project. President La Tourette reminded the Board that the funds originally designated for renovating and equipping had to be used to complete the remodeling of the building. At that time we also reported to you that we would identify the extra $2 million needed for the furniture and fixtures, and this is the request for that authorization. The building is expected to be open by January 2000. Chair Boey asked for approval of the Stevenson Hall renovation, Phase II, furniture, fixtures and equipment request. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(10) - Bond Resolution in Furtherance of Previous Authorizations of the Board
This bond resolution authorizes the bond financing necessary to build the convocation center. This is a legal detail that must be presented to the Board so the university can carry out the necessary work, President La Tourette said, and have the necessary authority to proceed with bond financing. Chair Boey asked for such a motion. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Myles. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.a.(11) - Fiscal Year 2000 Salary Increment Allocation Guidelines
Some time ago, President La Tourette said, the Board recommended that the university try to improve its salaries for the year 2000 and make them more competitive with the peer groups the university uses as a standard. They include the peer groups selected by the IBHE as well as the Mid-American Conference and the institutions that comprise NASULGC. This request is for a five percent increase on the average, which will be funded by a three percent base increase granted by the General Assembly, a one percent additional increase granted by the General Assembly for critical faculty and staff, and a match of one percent by the university. This is something that we have discussed and have been pursuing for some time, the President said. Five percent will be relatively large compared to what we have had on the average in the last several years. We all wish it could be larger, but this does represent a step in the direction of improving our salaries for both faculty and staff. He noted that the total increase will be administered within three different groups — instructional faculty, exempt employees and monthly Civil Service employees — and that all of these administrations will be based on merit rankings of the employees. In answer to a question from Chair Boey, President La Tourette said that the average increase since the Board of Trustees' inception probably ranged from just over four percent to five percent in comparison to a number of years when it was just a little above three percent. Chair Boey said that the currently requested increase is consistent with the Board of Trustees' wish to bring NIU in line with appropriate national salary levels. The Chair asked for a motion to approve the FY00 salary increment allocation guidelines. Student Trustee Sosnowski so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Items 8.a.(12) and 8.a.(13) were reviewed and forwarded by the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee.

Agenda Item 8.a.(12) - Request for a New Minor
A minor in Productivity within the Bachelor of Science in Technology Program was requested. This program has been identified as being needed for the employment and operation of American manufacturing, which must maintain a competitive position in the world economy. This request is very timely relative to helping manufacturing, President La Tourette said, particularly since the Chicago area is one of the two or three major manufacturing centers in the nation. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the request for a minor in Productivity within the Bachelor of Science in Technology Program. Trustee Moser so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel. The motion was approved. 

Agenda Item 8.a.(13) - Transfer of Tenure and Tenure-Track Location for Faculty in the College of Education
This item is associated with the reorganization of the College of Education. The transfer of the tenure and tenure-track location of faculty to reflect this new organization is requested, President La Tourette said, because we are moving from four to seven departments. We have reorganized the faculty so as to focus on the issues that will be important for the next decade or so as we move into the 21st Century. One of those is teacher preparation, which has become a major national issue as well as a major state issue. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the transfer of tenure and tenure-track location for faculty in the College of Education. Trustee Moser so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

University Reports Forwarded from the Board Committees

Agenda Item 8.b.(1) - Financial Systems Implementation State Report
We have moved now through the first phase of our financial system, President La Tourette said, and everything is a go as of July 1 of this year. We have had a very successful implementation of this very large and complex system. We have had a great deal of work on the part of the staff that goes well beyond the 40-hour week over a long period of time. We are moving on now to the second phase of the project. Then, within a year, hopefully, the President said, we will be moving on to the human resource part of this project so that ultimately there will be three new integrated systems: the financial system, the human resource system and the student system. We are making very good progress, and I want to emphasize the fact that the staff has done a tremendous job of moving this project forward.

Agenda Item 8.b.(2) - Work Order System Implementation Status Report
President La Tourette summarized the progress on the work order system implementation. This system will be up and running on July 1, 1999. Again, he said, this has been a very successful implementation of a new system that the university needs in order to operate on a cost-effective basis and to provide the information and reports that are needed not only for the Board of Trustees but for all of the state agencies and other offices to which the university must provide information.

Agenda Item 8.b.(3) - Semiannual Progress Report of Active Capital Projects with a Budget Over $100,000
This item explained all of the capital projects currently underway, those projects that are being supervised by the Capital Development Board and those that are being supervised by the campus. The university received almost $5 million to address and correct problems that occurred during the construction of the Engineering Building. The President expressed his appreciation to Kathy Swanson and Eddie Williams for their efforts and perseverance. Dr. Williams worked with a whole host of construction firms and also with the CDB and the design firm to identify the problems and deal with them in a way that will allow us to solve them once and for all. Ms. Swanson spent time in Springfield getting the CDB to coordinate with the university. This project may even be viewed as a model, in a sense, the President said, in the way it will be jointly supervised by the university and CDB. A CDB project with the university having a sort of joint supervisory authority is a first. So, by pulling all of these resources together, and with the amount of money being allocated, the President said, hopefully, we can make the dirty clean room clean and solve the circulation problems, the roof problems and a number of other major problems in the building.

Agenda Item 8.b.(4) - Periodic Summary Report of Transactions
The Board has delegated authority to the President to approve projects up to $250,000 without Board approval. The university reports projects costing between $100,000 and $250,000 to the Board. This report listed 12 such projects approved by the President totaling just over $1.9 million.

Agenda Item 8.b.(6) - Update on the Governor's Illinois FIRST Proposal
President La Tourette emphasized that the $12 billion Illinois FIRST program did not include higher education. Ms. Swanson indicated earlier that items were added only through legislative member initiatives. So, the President said, as Mr. Burkhart indicated this morning, this was one of the missed opportunities of higher education in the whole legislative process. Not just Northern, but all of higher education, perhaps, could have done better because at one point there were lists circulating which indicated that perhaps the universities would receive between $400 and $500 million of Illinois FIRST projects, but the political clout was not there to do that.

Agenda Item 8.b.(7) - Federally Funded Police Positions
In 1994 President Clinton signed the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act which created a partnership between the federal government and local police jurisdictions to improve and increase the number of officers that would be available to a local jurisdiction.  This community policing concept received support from the federal government.  As a result of that, President La Tourette said, local municipalities and police jurisdictions could apply for a federal grant to support additional police officers under a 75:25 percent split, with the 75 percent coming from the federal grant.  The position would be supported for three years at that level.  At the end of the three-year term, the local jurisdiction would take over the full salary of the position.  Chief John Pickens submitted a request for a grant from the federal government to assist Northern Illinois University with its public safety office.  As a result of three grant requests filed in 1996, 1998 and this year, NIU has received a total of $450,000, which has enabled the university, over that three-year period, to hire six additional police officers.  It is an excellent program, the President said, and, because of it, we are able to offer student patrol services and night escort services for students.

Agenda Item 8.b.(8) - Reorganization of the College of Education
President La Tourette called the Board's attention to the fact that when he and Kathy Swanson were in Washington, they met with the government representative of AASCU, who shared with them a new report entitled The Call for Teacher Education Reform. This is a very important national and state issue. There will be a need for about 2.1 million new teachers in this next decade because, of the 3 million or so teachers we now have, about two-thirds will retire. Not only is AASCU making this a high priority, but in surveys of the public and of business leaders conducted by the Board of Higher Education, teacher preparation was the number one item. So, in part, what we are trying to do here is strengthen our College of Education to prepare the future teachers. The President then asked Dr. Lynne Waldeland to make a few comments on the College of Education reorganization.

Dr. Waldeland said the first programmatic inquiry of a broad-based nature that came from this Board of Trustees when it was formed in 1996 was a question about the College of Education and preparation of teachers generally. There was a sense on the Board that the College of Education, which had once been extremely renowned, probably did not have quite that same image today. There were some good reasons for this, including new competition in the area. But there was a strong sense on the part of the Board that we needed to look at what we were doing in terms of preparing teachers and other school personnel. When Dean Alfonzo Thurman was hired, the Board gave him a mandate to restore and revitalize the College of Education, she said, and he has proceeded to move in that direction. During this past year, the College of Education has been working toward a reorganization. Actually, Dr. Waldeland said, we have been engaged in discussions about focus and mission and some new directions for the College of Education for more than a year. During the spring semester, the college engaged in conversations about a new departmental structure, and the dean proposed that the former four departments become seven. The general layout of those departments was described in Agenda Item 8.b.(8).

There are maybe five main goals that are expected to come from this reorganization. First and foremost, Dr. Waldeland continued, is a much-strengthened focus on teacher education. The college has made a commitment to have teacher education be the clear and defining primary mission of all that it does. A second goal is to achieve synergies that are not now in evidence, both among programs and among faculty. Programs have been moved into conjunction with each other by virtue of the movement of the faculty who deliver them, she said, and there is a hope that the placement of the programs and the faculty where they are will result in some new developments, some rethinking and some fine tuning. Another goal, which is important in recruiting students, is visibility. The current four departments did not have very descriptive titles, except for physical education, which has retained that name. Some of our strongest programs were buried under nondescript titles, Dr. Waldeland said, and I think part of the goal has been to name departments in such a way that potential students will not have trouble finding out if Northern offers a specific program. A fourth goal for the coming year is curricular review and revitalization. In order to carry out a reorganization, there is a lot of infrastructure work that has to be done, including the action the Board took at this meeting to transfer tenure to these new departments. The goal for the coming year would be that the faculty in the new configurations will engage in dialogue about the existing curriculum and come up with ideas about ways in which, perhaps, it should be changed, and, perhaps they will come up with ideas about new programs. The last goal, Dr. Waldeland said, is probably one related to all of the others — better communication. There is a reduction of layers of administration implicit in this organization, and the hope is that there will be much better communication within the college within these departmental units, among these departmental units and, ultimately, within the university, as well as a better university understanding of what each of the departments is doing. Dr. Waldeland noted that the Graduate Council agreed to make the seven titles working titles at this point and return for final action on the proposed titles in the fall.

Ms. Kathy Swanson, Executive Director for State and Federal Relations, stated that she and President La Tourette were in Washington for the last two days. During the meeting with the AASCU leadership, they talked extensively about the issue of teacher preparation programs on a national level and, particularly, at a state level in Illinois. One of the things I wanted to draw to the attention of this Board and the college campus, Ms. Swanson said, is that on April 1 of next year, all institutions, nationwide, with teacher preparation programs will be required to participate in an annual reporting procedure to the state government. That information will be included in a state report that will then be sent on to the Secretary of Education in Washington on the ability of our individual programs to meet certain predefined goals, which are still being discussed and will be set in Washington. AASCU has had extensive input into that process. However, the final decision on the goals for those programs and the evaluation criteria by which the programs will be assessed will be set by the Secretary of Education. Ms. Swanson thought those goals would be coming out in early fall. The university will have several months to comply and produce its first report. From that point on, we will be judged accordingly, Ms. Swanson said, so when President La Tourette mentioned that teacher preparation issues are very important on a national level, he was very kind in his assessment. There is a tremendous concern on the part of the U.S. Congress, the Secretary of Education and the state legislatures all across the nation, as well as in our own state legislature, and I think we need to be very cognizant of that, she concluded.

President La Tourette gave copies of the AASCU statement on this issue to Board members. Extras were to be given to the Provost for distribution in the College of Education. Adding to Ms. Swanson's remarks, the President said the thinking here is much more stringent than the typical NCATE standards and the kind of accreditation review that NCATE carries out. The first statement made was "Urge the closing of teacher education programs that are unable to achieve the recommended reforms within five years." We have to be aware of the fact that things are moving fast, the President said, and we really need to carry out, in a logical fashion, the reorganization of our college to achieve the objectives that Dr. Waldeland has articulated. At the same time, I recognize that the college is being asked to make a major change. In looking back on the history here, President La Tourette said, in the 1970s there was a tremendous drop-off in the demand for teachers. In response to that, the college shifted its focus more to the graduate level to provide support for in-service teachers and administrators. Over the years, the university has developed some very fine graduate programs, and we do not want to have those deteriorate. Now, it has to shift back to a focus on teacher preparation because of the urgent national and state needs. This is a very difficult task, but it is one on which we have to move. It is on top of us. It is that much of a crisis, the President said, and I think we have been moving and must continue to move with deliberate speed.

Agenda Item 8.b.(9) - 1999 Faculty Emeritus Recognition
Following upon the discussion we had in January with the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee, President La Tourette said, we are presenting people who are receiving emeritus status. Following the recommendation of the Chair, those people retiring with Presidential Research professorships have been identified. Each year a list of this sort will be published. When the list is published and presented to the Board, those people who are designated on the list will be able to officially use the title of emeritus — e.g., professor emeritus, associate professor emeritus, or Presidential Research Professor Emeritus.

Agenda Item 8.b.(10) - 1998-99 Program Review Summary
President La Tourette complimented Dr. Waldeland and her staff on the great job they did on putting this year's program review together. We have a very stringent and demanding review process. Programs that were no longer viable have been closed down. Programs that have slipped have been reoriented. Programs that are judged to be very good have been somewhat redirected in order to address emerging needs. Though it takes a great deal of time and effort, the President said, it is very important to the university to continue the program review process and to keep our programs up to date as we encounter changing needs and new demands placed on us by the external world.

Items Directly from the President

Agenda Item 8.c.(1) - Collective Bargaining Agreement
This is a very good three-year contract negotiated with the instructors, the President said. The contract includes one year that has already passed, and there is general agreement that progress has been made toward addressing the issues that involve our instructors. The instructors do fill a very important role in the university, with around 60 of the 130 members being critical to our core programs in areas such as math, English and speech. President La Tourette noted that the contract is consistent with both the guidelines established last year by the Board and the guidelines just established for salary implementation. Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the collective bargaining agreement with the University Professionals of Illinois (UPI), Local 4100. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 8.c.(2) - Tenure Appointments
These three tenure recommendations are brought to the Board separately, President La Tourette said, because they are recommendations for three faculty members who are joining us in very key appointments. The recommendations are to grant tenure to Dr. Eliakim Katz as a professor and chair of the Department of Economics, Dr. Kyuil Kim as a professor and chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering, and Dr. Clifford R. Mirman as an associate professor and chair of the Department of Technology. Both of the engineering people have very substantial academic and industrial business credentials. It is extremely important that our college continue to have a very high percentage of its faculty with significant industrial experience, the President stated. Chair Boey asked that each of the recommendations be changed to read " …Board of Trustees approve the decision…" instead of "…Board of Trustees endorse the decision.…" The Chair then asked for a motion to approve the three tenure appointments. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

Agenda item 9.b. - Executive Session Minutes Release
The Chair recommended that the Board approve the release from confidentiality of the specified sections of the Executive Session Minutes as reviewed and advised for December 10, 1998 and January 14, 1999. Those sections, if any, that are still subject to confidentiality, together with sections from subsequent meetings, will be considered again in approximately six months. The Chair asked for a motion to release the stated sections of Executive Session Minutes. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Trustee Moser. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 10.b. - President's Performance Evaluation
In Executive Session, Chair Boey stated, the Board discussed the review of Dr. John La Tourette's performance for the last year. It was the unanimous consensus of the Board of Trustees that he has done a very good job. The Chair then asked for a motion to approve a 6% increase in President La Tourette's base salary effective July 1, 1999. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Sosnowski. The motion was approved.

I would like the record to note, Trustee Siegel said, that on all the increases that have been granted to Dr. La Tourette since the establishment of this Board, on every one of them, the President has argued against it. I think that it should be noted that we have done what was appropriate after review, in spite of President La Tourette's arguments against some of these increases. Chair Boey said it should be clear that the President's arguments were always for less, not more.

Agenda Item 10.c. - Student Trustee Resolution
Chair Boey presented the outgoing Student Trustee with a resolution from the Board.

        WHEREAS Joseph Sosnowski was selected by his constituents at Northern Illinois University to represent their interests and has faithfully served the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University as its fourth Student Trustee; and
        WHEREAS in said position, Mr. Sosnowski capably discharged those duties and responsibilities while at the same time keeping in mind the interests of all of the people of the State of Illinois in addition to the well-being of Northern Illinois University; and
        WHEREAS Mr. Sosnowski has demonstrated devotion to, cooperation with and support for the Board, Northern Illinois University, and the faculty, staff, and student personnel of same; and
        WHEREAS the Board of Trustees and Northern Illinois University have received the benefit of his helpful insights which have been of special worth; and
        WHEREAS the Board of Trustees wishes to officially express its appreciation for the many far-reaching contributions by Mr. Sosnowski to all of the above-mentioned interests of this Board, 
        NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, in formal meeting herein assembled, extends its grateful appreciation to Mr. Joseph Sosnowski for his outstanding and loyal service.
        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this RESOLUTION be presented to Mr. Sosnowski and a copy of this document be placed in the official files of this Board as a part of the permanent record of the great State of Illinois and as a lasting tribute to the performance and accomplishments of Mr. Joseph Sosnowski. 
        Adopted in a regular meeting assembled this 17th day of June, 1999.

Student Trustee Sosnowski made the following comments:

It has been a privilege to serve with my fellow Board members. In the past year, we have accomplished quite a lot. We definitely prepared Northern Illinois for the new millennium by addressing the needs of a more culturally diverse student body with different departments on campus and buildings, such as the Equity Center and University Resources for Latinos, that are now or about to be under construction. We have helped moms and dads who wanted to go back to school, and who have young children, to work around their schedules. Ground was just broken for the new campus Child Care Center. And let us not forget the convocation center, which will definitely help lead Northern Illinois University into a very bright future. I look forward to coming back in a couple of years and looking at the campus and seeing how much it has changed and how much better Northern will be progressing.

When Steve Kovacs left this position, he put it simply saying, "One day I'd like to come back to a Board very similar to this with the type of professionals who sit on it and not just be an appointed student, but a full-fledged Board member appointed by the Governor." It would be an honor to reach that status. My fellow Board members are a very professional group, very dedicated to Northern, very dedicated to promoting Northern, not just in the region but in the country. We owe a lot of the work we have done in the past year to the leadership of President La Tourette. He has simply been a remarkable person, a remarkable leader. He has done a remarkable job, and he will definitely be missed. I want to wish him the very best as he enters a new phase in this life. Who knows what he will be doing as he galavants across Arizona, but I know he will definitely be affecting people in a very positive way as he has done with us. I want to thank the Board members, the university and all the administrators and students I have worked with over the past four years. It has really been a privilege to serve on this Board. Thank you.

Chair Boey thanked Student Trustee Sosnowski for those kind words and said he had been a great help to the Board all year.

Agenda Item 10.d. - Oath of Office Administered to New Student Trustee
Chair Boey then asked the new Student Trustee, Andrew E. Anderson, to come forward for the administration of the Oath of Office. He took his seat on the Board of Trustees effective July 1, 1999.

I, Andrew Anderson, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the State of Illinois and the laws thereof and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of Trustee for the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University to the best of my ability.

I would just like to say how honored I am to be in this position. It is kind of an experimental phase combining the Student Association President and Student Trustee positions, and I am looking forward to it. Finally, I would just like to thank Mr. Joe Sosnowski on behalf of the Student Association and the students of this university for his years of service with the Student Association and as a member of this Board. Thank you.

It is important to note the time commitment that the Chair of this Board makes, Trustee Siegel remarked. You sacrifice your business and personal life. There never seems to be enough time to deal with the never-ending issues, which constantly come up. Had I once not served as Chair, I would certainly question one's sanity both before the start of the term as well as at the conclusion of the term. Bob, I hope that everyone understands and appreciates the commitment you made to NIU by serving as Board Chair these past two years. It is not an easy job. The money stinks, but the compensation in satisfaction is great. Thank you.

Chair Boey thanked Trustee Siegel for his very gracious remarks. He went on to say:

And so it is, my two terms as Chair of the Board of Trustees will expire at the end of this month. Personal time and energy level and the Board of Trustees Bylaws dictate that it is time for a new Chair. Allow me to make a few observations about the last two years at NIU. First, I want to thank my fellow Trustees, by telling you how much I appreciated your support during my tenure. I want to express my appreciation to the wonderful NIU staff who make me look much better than I deserve as Chair. The people in the President's Office, the Finance and Facilities Division, Academic and Student Affairs, Legislative Affairs, and Development and University Relations have all been wonderful to work with. My successor will find himself well-served by these quality people. I hope they know how valuable they have been in providing their services to this Board and this university. I want to thank President John La Tourette. Thank you, John, for your vision, your creativity, your determination and your unwavering commitment to education at NIU. I believe that the successes we celebrate here today reflect each of those elements. You have been a pleasure to work with, and I wish you well in this coming transition year. I will save my accolades on all of your accomplishments for a separate appropriate time.

As we move forward, I believe it is important to take a minute and reflect back on how far we have come. The last two years have seen major project initiatives, many more than in past decades combined. The massive revitalization of our Physical Plant, and particularly, our West Campus, represents the outcome of many long hours of discussion about the future of this university. The investments that we have made in these quality of life improvements will pay back many times over in happier more satisfied students and prospective students. It is all about marketing and competition and student life. I am happy to say that the integration of in-class and out-of-class experiences have never been more productive. We are viewing our students as whole people and serving their needs accordingly rather than struggling to reach across artificial boundaries to solve their problems. Our enrollment has stabilized during the last two years and is on the upswing. Private giving has also increased over the past two years and with it our ability to fund special programs and attract talented students and faculty. The list of building projects that we have overseen, approved and, in some cases, even dedicated, is long and growing longer: the renovation of Altgeld Hall, dedication of the Engineering Building, Faraday West, Latino Center, Child Care Center, Diversity Center, the renovation of Stevenson Towers and other major West Campus projects. All of those got underway or went through significant planning and approval processes during these past couple of years. I am particularly pleased to have been in this position at the time when this Board finally, after so many years, approved the convocation center.

NIU, over the past few years, has also strengthened its regional presence. We have seen our Hoffman Estates campus filled to capacity and plans developed for a new and larger facility there. Our Rockford site continues to grow and play an important part in the life of that large community. The announcement of plans for our new Naperville site generated excited phone calls from students anxious to know when they could attend classes there. The NIU brand name is in high demand, and that is perhaps the most gratifying reward for our service on this Board.

I can go on with the list of accomplishments, but I think I would rather just conclude with this thought. The university is and always has been about learners who come here for knowledge and those who help them to obtain it. I have been and always will be guided by one thought in every major decision regarding the university, and that is, "What is best for NIU?" It is an honor to be part of this process, and I thank you for the opportunity to serve you in this way. Many thanks again for all the help you have given me. Thank you.

And now we come to the election of officers beginning on July 1, 1999, Chair Boey said. Allow me the privilege of making this motion to elect the following slate of officers — by acclimation would be my preference:

     Chair: George Moser
     Vice Chair: Myron Siegel
     Secretary: Manny Sanchez
     Fourth Member of the Executive Committee: Robert Boey
     University Civil Service Merit Board: James Myles

May I have a second to my motion by acclamation that these will be the Board officers beginning July 1, 1999. Student Trustee Sosnowski seconded the motion. The motion was unanimously approved.

President La Tourette made a presentation to Chair Boey and stated the following:

We have established a tradition of recognizing the Chair at the time he or she leaves office, and I certainly cannot add much to Bob's comments. He has been very committed to this university. He has followed the dictum that he mentioned to think about the university and the needs of our students first. And he followed very well in the tradition established by Myron Siegel, who served as the first Chair. This has been a marvelous experience for me that I wish this university could have had many years ago. And I know Dr. Monat would have wished the same thing, because it has made a tremendous difference not only for the university leadership but I really believe for our students, our faculty and staff, and for the university as a whole. So, Bob, I wanted to thank you and recognize you for your service. It has been a marvelous couple of years. On behalf of all of us, let me present you with this memento of your chairship with warmth and feeling and with appreciation.

Trustee Moser also made a presentation to Chair Boey.

I would like to express, on behalf of the Board and Northern Illinois University, great appreciation for everything you have done. As a memento of your efforts on the West Campus, we put together a collage, and we would like to present that to you as well. Thank you, Bob.

Chair Boey accepted the gifts and said:

Thank you so much. It has been a long day and I just want to end it this way. It has been really truly a wonderful experience. I cannot say enough about my experience with staff. And, above all, I cannot say enough, as I said in my remarks earlier, about John La Tourette. My only regret during this two years is that his retirement occurred on my shift. I keep telling him, wait another year and let somebody else worry about your retirement, but he would not listen. It truly has been a pleasure. It is an experience that you cannot buy. You can only go through it and then experience it. And, as Myron Siegel said, unless you have gone through it, you do not know the feeling. But above all, the idea that you have made perhaps a slight contribution to this great university — no money can buy that feeling for you. You have to experience it. And I have been given this rare privilege of being able to experience a little bit of it. Thank you all so much.

Chair-Elect Moser made the following comments:

Thank you, fellow trustees, for the vote of confidence you have given me with this new position. I have two very tough acts to follow: First, Myron Siegel, who, as our very first board chair, pulled us together and helped establish the traditions and procedures that we use today; and secondly, Bob Boey, who has served us so ably for the past two years, presiding over a tremendous growth period at NIU. Bob and Myron, I will do my best to continue the traditions of service and dedication which you have begun, and will call on your wise counsel many times, I am sure, in the weeks and months ahead.

When this Board was created three and a half years ago, the NIU administration acted as a bridge between the old form of governance and its replacement in this Board of Trustees. Now we are a strong, well-established group, and we find ourselves playing a similar role — this time we're acting as the bridge between one administration and the next. Without a doubt, the search for the new president to replace John La Tourette will be the single most important act of leadership this Board has undertaken since its creation. In choosing a new president, this Board will be making clear its vision and aspirations for Northern Illinois University in the new millenium. Fortunately, we are working from a position of strength, thanks to the leadership of John and his administrative team. The next NIU president will be assuming leadership of a very strong and well-positioned institution.

In my previous position as chair of the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee, I had the opportunity to see firsthand how NIU has ascended to a position of statewide leadership. Legislative changes that have benefited all of Illinois higher education over the past three years have largely originated on this campus.

The special development bill that allows us to develop land on the west part of our campus is another example of our success in Springfield. The only piece of reform legislation passed by the General Assembly this spring was a bill that we sponsored to ease some restrictions in the year-old state procurement law. These are just a few examples of NIU’s strength in one arena with which I am familiar — the state legislature — now I can assure you that similar strengths exist in every university venue.

I believe our goals for the coming year are fairly well prescribed by the groundwork we’ve laid to date. I’ll just mention a few:

• We must expand our campus master plan to include development of the west campus area. Discussions with developers must begin this year to assess interest in that project, and I would like to see us develop and distribute RFP's — Requests for Proposals — within the next twelve months. 
• We must initiate planning for Phase 2 of the residence hall redevelopment project. It is clear from the success of the Stevenson remodeling project that this is the direction we must continue to pursue to improve the quality of life for our undergraduates. 
• We must successfully open our Naperville facility this year. I would ask that our administration develop a unifying identity plan for all four of our regional sites in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Oregon and Rockford. These sites are NIU’s physical presence in the region. With the addition of our Naperville site, we will attain a reach that requires greater thought about image and identity issues. 
• On this campus, we must see to completion several important capital projects for which we have already received funding: the Altgeld Hall renovation, construction of the Convocation Center and final completion of the Engineering Building.
• For the year 2001, we must aggressively pursue funding for the Library buildout, the Stevens Building renovation and the campus chiller project.
• In addition to building and repairing physical structures, our goals must include building and expanding relationships. To this end, I suggest we pursue the following: 
  • Establishment of a Public University Trustees’ Association. The combined strength of trustees from around the state could be brought to bear on critical issues that affect us all. 
  • A political action ambassadors program that makes use of our considerable alumni strength in support of key issues affecting the life and health of Northern Illinois University. 
  • An increase in the synergies between and among the various external relations areas at Northern. We have, without a doubt, some of the best staff anywhere in these areas. I would like to see us continue to invest in these key areas of government relations, public affairs, marketing, alumni affairs and fundraising.

Finally, we must continue to pursue the highest possible academic quality and access to our programs with the appropriate concern for cost to parents and students. All of our talk about buildings and legislation and new programs are really centered around the simple theme of service to students. We must never lose sight of that priority, and we must always be guided by what is best, in the long run, for those whom we serve.

Once again, I thank all of you for your support, and ask that you continue to provide me and my fellow trustees with your help and counsel in the challenging year ahead. Thank you.

Chair Boey entertained a motion to adjourn. Trustee Myles so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel. The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 1:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary