Minutes of the
NIU Board of Trustees
Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee Meetings

June 2, 2000

This particular committee meeting was also the last for Student Trustee Nolan Davis, Chair Boey announced, although he will be attending the full Board of Trustees Meeting on June 15, he said. Nolan, you have been a delight and a pleasure to have as a member of this committee, and you have been a great help. Whatever you do in the future, the Chair said, I do not doubt that you will be very successful. We will miss your great insight and the attributes you bring to this committee. Very best wishes to you for whatever you do in the future. Chair Boey also recognized the incoming Student Trustee, James Barr. 

The Chair mentioned that this meeting was being held in the hometown of Vice Chair of the Committee, Barbara Vella. Later on in the agenda, he said, we will hear about an exciting new initiative for Rockford involving NIU's College of Law. The agenda also includes a summary of major findings of the annual program review, requests for new specializations in current programs, new off-campus degree authority and a request to delete an existing emphasis within a program. There is a proposal for an amendment to the university Constitution, the Chair said, and the Board has to approve constitutional changes. We will also hear an update on the NCAA certification process.

At this point, Chair Boey said, I would like to turn this meeting over to Vice Chair Vella, and ask her to chair this meeting.

Acting Chair Vella said thanked Chair Boey and said, this is a beautiful facility, and we are grateful to Northern, our legislators and the Governor for having this facility here. We hope that NIU's presence continues to grow in the Rockford area, because we really need your presence here. I am glad to see so many representatives here from the university, Acting Chair Vella said, and I would like to welcome the deans of the university and the new Executive Secretary of the University Council, Dan Griffiths. She recognized the University Advisory Committee members, Dan Gebo and Sue Ouellette. Acting Chair Vella asked the Committee Liaison, Interim Provost Lynne Waldeland, to proceed with the university report.

Trustee Vella, it is a pleasure to be here in Rockford, your home territory, Dr. Waldeland said, especially because our agenda today includes an item regarding an exciting new initiative for Rockford. I am pleased to add my welcome to President Peters and I look forward to his leadership of the university. I would also like to thank Nolan Davis for his service. It has been a pleasure working with you, Nolan. You have kept the tradition of distinguished Student Trustee membership on this Board alive, she said. I have known James Barr since he was a freshman. He is a young man very dedicated to service. He used to meet with me once a month prior to going to the Student Advisory Committee of the IBHE. I wondered then if, as a freshman, he was this involved, what he would do when he was a senior. Now we know. I would like to recognize the fact that this is Sue Ouellette's last meeting as a member of the University Advisory Committee, Dr. Waldeland said. She has served well for the last three years. Thank you very much for your service, Sue.

Dr. Williams mentioned at the Finance Committee Meeting this morning that the Provost's Office is working on the budget requests that were endorsed this morning dealing with program priorities, Dr. Waldeland said. We do not have a report on those requests in today's agenda; but as Dr. Williams indicated, we are proposing budgetary requests within the guidelines that were approved this morning and will be submitting them to the IBHE on July 1. They are in process now, and the Board will receive a full report at its September meeting. We are asking for new funds in specific areas that will enhance undergraduate education, diversity, technology and the university's outreach to new audiences and new locations.

Dr. Cassidy reported that four specializations were being recommended for endorsement by the Committee. The first two specializations were proposed within the Master of Public Health degree, which is housed in the School of Allied Health Professions in the College of Health and Human Services. She recognized the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services, James Lankford. She said that the proposed specializations in the M.P.H. degree are a Specialization in Health Services Management and a Specialization in Health Promotion. The field of public health is very broad and concerned with many aspects of the health of communities and societies; it studies things such as how diseases are transmitted, sanitation and other environmental factors that affect health, how diseases affect populations and how health care services are managed and delivered. Because public health issues are so broad, preparing students for this field can be approached in several different ways. Some students want to develop expertise within a particular area of public health, and others want to be generalists and have a broader knowledge of the field. NIU's program in public health has offered both of these approaches to students, Dr. Cassidy said, by offering what we call focus areas. We have had three focus areas: general public health, health promotion and health services management. What we are asking, she explained, is that the two focus areas be converted to specializations. One of the important reasons for requesting this is that the job market within public health is very specialized and agencies are increasingly seeking specialists within the field of public health. A notation indicating a specialization on transcripts will make graduates more competitive in the job market. Students who complete the specialization in health promotion will be qualified to work in many settings that offer programs teaching people how to maintain their own health and how to use health services effectively to stay healthy. Students who complete the Health Services Management Specialization will be qualified to work in health care organizations, Dr. Cassidy said. Both specializations are based on a set of core courses that prepare students with the basic knowledge and skills essential to the practice of public health. All will take courses that include research methods, community health planning and epidemiology and participate in an internship. The students will then elect 15 semester hours of specialized courses within the specialization they choose. The School of Allied Health has faculty with the expertise to teach the courses for the specializations, and they have the resources necessary to offer them. In addition, they have identified a need for these two specializations within the service region of Northern Illinois University.

The third specialization, Dr. Cassidy said, is a specialization in Orientation and Mobility within the Master of Science in Education degree program in Special Education. Dean Alfonzo Thurman, Dean of the College of Education, is also with us today at this meeting. The current Master of Science in Education degree program in Special Education offers students an opportunity to specialize in one of several areas within the field. The creation of a new Specialization in Orientation and Mobility will prepare students to take a national certification exam that is offered by the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Such specialists work with children and adults in a number of settings, and they focus their work on assisting visually impaired persons to become independent in their environment by teaching them how to use optical, electrical and other devices to increase their mobility. They also teach safety techniques inside and outside of the home. This specialization shares a set of courses with existing specializations; courses in the specialization include 21 semester hours of advanced concepts in mobility and orientation and a practicum. Up to this time, students have been able to elect course work in orientation and mobility under the umbrella of another specialization, Blind Rehabilitation, Dr. Cassidy reported, but this arrangement has caused confusion for students and for employers alike. The specialists in blind rehabilitation and specialists in orientation and mobility are eligible for different certifications. They have different professional responsibilities and often work in different settings. We are asking that this new specialization be created so the notation identifying the students' expertise will be included on their transcripts. The faculty in the Department of Teacher Education with expertise in special education currently offer all the courses needed for this new specialization.

The last specialization recommended for endorsement is the Specialization in Bioinformatics, to be offered within the Master of Science degree program in Biological Sciences in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Dr. Cassidy said, and she recognized the dean of the college, Dr. Fred Kitterle. Bioinformatics is a rapidly growing specialization that integrates knowledge from computer science, chemistry and biological sciences. Probably the most widely know work in this specialty is the human genome project in which scientists around the world are participating in mapping the entire genetic structure of human beings. This work has already led to advances in the identification and treatment of diseases and is paving the way to developing methods to prevent diseases and their devastating effects on the lives of individuals and their families. The Specialization in Bioinformatics will prepare graduates to work in this exciting and emerging field by providing them with the skills to analyze and compare these genomes, and this ability to make comparisons will lead to further discoveries about basic life processes. The specialization is comprised of core courses in biostatistics, chemistry and biology. The students would then take courses in bioinformatics, recombinant DNA, laboratory techniques, genetics and elective courses in the biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, computer science and mathematics and statistics. The faculty at Northern have the expertise to teach courses required for the specialization, and the courses are routinely included in the academic schedules of the contributing programs.

No additional costs are associated with the creation of any of these specializations because all use courses that already exist and are taught on a regular basis. All of the specializations have been approved through the regular curricular processes and have the concurrence of the Provost. The university asked that the Committee endorse these specializations and ask the President to forward this request in his report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its June 15 Board Meeting.

I would like to just underline the point Dr. Cassidy made about why we are able to say no new resources are needed, Dr. Waldeland said, because I would not want Board members to think that we can infinitely expand our offerings. These are arrangements of existing courses. The benefit of having them classified as specializations is that they go on the students' transcripts so that their expertise is more visible, and they can be more easily found in the catalog. They are all located within a specific degree program in which a student must already be enrolled. Effective this year, Dr. Waldeland said in answer to a query from Dr. Peters, after Board approval of specializations, the university reports new specializations to the IBHE on an annual basis.

Acting Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the Specialization in Health Services Management and Specialization in Health Promotion within the Master of Public Health, the Specialization in Orientation and Mobility within the M.S.Ed. in Special Education, and the specialization in Bioinformatics within the M.S. in Biological Sciences. Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.b. - Request for Degree Authority at Off-Campus Sites
Dr. Waldeland said, the university must request off-campus degree authority for locations that are outside NIU's region. We used to have to request degree authority by each community college district, Dr. Waldeland said, so we brought a great many more of these requests to the Board. Now the state has organized Illinois into ten larger regions. Fortunately for NIU, Rockford and Hoffman Estates are included in NIU's region, so, any program that we wish to offer at those locations can be offered without additional IBHE approval. Areas such as DuPage and Lake Counties, Chicago and other sites in which we have an interest and where we now have activity and expect to continue to have activity are in other regions, so you will continue to get requests for new programs in these areas. Dr. Waldeland asked Dr. Cassidy to present the request for degree authority at off-campus sites.

We are requesting endorsement of off-campus degree authority requests for two programs, Dr. Cassidy said. Both of these degree programs have been offered on the main campus at DeKalb for a number of years, and our goal in requesting off-campus degree authority is to make these programs available to working adults who would not otherwise be able to take advantage of a graduate program. The first request is to offer the Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology Degree in Region 10, which is Chicago. This degree program is offered by the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment. Dr. Cassidy recognized Dr. Gary McConeghy, chair of that department. As you know, instructional technology is a rapidly growing field that has exploded with the expansion of the capabilities of the Internet and the World Wide Web. The doctoral degree in instructional technology is a degree that prepares teachers, administrators, library media specialists and technology coordinators to use and expand the capabilities of electronically mediated information in a variety of settings, including schools, libraries, colleges and universities, and in corporate training. For several years, the university has successfully offered the Master of Science in Education degree program in Instructional Technology in Chicago. So far, more than eighty students have completed the master's degree program, and these students are now seeking opportunities to advance their knowledge by completing a doctoral degree. The demand for individuals with advanced skills in information technology is also rapidly outdistancing the supply, and the demand is expected to increase for at least the next decade. So, the plan to offer the doctoral degree in instructional technology is a timely one. The doctoral degree builds on the knowledge and the skills that the students have acquired in the master's degree and prepares graduates to create new applications for instructional technology and to conduct research in the field of instructional technology. The degree requires 63 semester hours beyond the master's degree and includes courses in research methods and statistics, advanced courses in instructional technology, application development and a dissertation.

The second degree program for which we are requesting off-campus degree authority, Dr. Cassidy continued, is the Master of Science in Management Information Systems offered by the College of Business. This is another very timely request given the focus on information technology. In the Management Information Systems program, the emphasis is on its application to business. This master's program includes courses that emphasize the analysis of business problems, the use of technology to solve those problems, and the creation of best practices for technological applications in business and industry. The demand for individuals with advanced training in this field also exceeds the supply, and the demand is expected to increase by 56 percent by the year 2005 when it is estimated that there will be a need for more than 800,000 professionals in the field of Management Information Systems. The plan to offer the degree program in Region 3, which includes DuPage County, is very appropriate because this suburban area is the home of numerous corporations whose employees would seek opportunities to develop their skills in the field of Management Information Systems. The program requires 30-semester hours of course work in business systems analysis, database management, computer operating systems, telecommunications, decision support systems, information systems management and electives. The program will be offered at NIU-Naperville. Tuition and delivery fees will fund both of these programs, so no additional resources are needed to deliver them at the proposed off-campus locations. The university recommended that the Committee endorse both of these requests and ask the President to forward them in his report to the Board for approval on June 15.

Regarding the Ed.D. degree program, 30 hours of the 63 are in research. Wouldn't this be more like a Ph.D. program, Trustee Siegel asked, or is it a Ph.D. program in the guise of an Ed.D? Dr. Cassidy replied said that the Ed.D. in Instructional Technology focuses on research with applications in education. Dr. Waldeland noted that the College of Education is currently working on definitions that would distinguish a Ph.D. program from an Ed.D. program. That would be necessary in the event that the college wanted to propose a new Ph.D. program.

Acting Chair Vella clarified that this is the same program that is on campus as well as off campus. Dr. Waldeland said yes and asked Dr. McConeghy to comment on the delivery of the program.

Presently, Dr. McConeghy said, we have been offering master's cohorts for the Chicago public schools at various locations around the city. We have used the Madill Technology Center because of the technology resources. We can offer courses anywhere that there is sufficient technology support. The problem with some of the schools is they just do not have the proper facilities.

Student Trustee Davis asked if there would be a problem with the IBHE since this is NIU's first doctoral offering in the City of Chicago. Dr. Waldeland said she did not believe this one would be a problem. She said that she is very proud of the efforts of the instructional technology faculty in moving into Chicago with the master's program in instructional technology. The Chicago public schools came to NIU's instructional technology faculty and asked if they would offer the program. We started on a pilot basis in the Ryerson School, she said, and moved on to other schools. We were so successful that the Chicago Public Schools joined us in a request to the IBHE for citywide authority. Now, the people who have completed the master's want to go to the next level. The IBHE, has indicated that all Colleges of Education should help the schools in Chicago, and we have a good record of doing so. Dr. McConeghy said ours is the only doctoral program in instructional technology in the state.

Acting Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the request for degree authority at the off-campus sites mentioned. Student Trustee Davis so moved, seconded by Trustee Skoien. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.c. - Request to Delete Existing Emphasis
As part of ongoing program evaluation, we sometimes decide that an undergraduate emphasis or specialization has served its purpose, Dr. Waldeland said, and we then proceed to eliminate it. In this case, we are requesting permission to delete one of the emphases in an existing undergraduate degree program. She asked Dr. Cassidy to present the request.

Dr. Cassidy said that the university wished to delete an emphasis within the Bachelor of Science in Education program in the Department of Physical Education. The emphasis to be deleted is Emphasis 3 in Physical Education/K-12 and 6-12 Teacher Certification and Dance Education, Dr. Cassidy reported. The faculty has determined that this emphasis no longer meets the needs of its students well. The faculty believe that students would be better served by completing one of the other two emphases offered in the department for their teacher certification in physical education and then electing the minor in dance education also offered in the department. The students who are already enrolled in this emphasis will be able to complete it. As of this date, she said, there are only three or four still in the program. The department will not allow other students to enroll in the emphasis, and it will be removed from the catalog. This deletion will not reduce resource requirements for the department because the courses in this emphasis are still needed by the other emphases and the minor. This deletion has been approved through the regular curricular processes and has the concurrence of the Provost. The university recommended that the Committee endorse this request and ask that the President forward it in his report to the June 15 Board of Trustees Meeting.

Acting Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the request to delete Emphasis 3 in Physical Education/K-12, 6-12 Teacher Certification/Dance Education within the B.S.Ed. in Physical Education. Student Trustee Davis so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.d. - Correction of Tenure and Promotion Department
This item corrects an error in this year's tenure recommendations. About a year ago, the university submitted a request to move the location of tenure for the entire faculty of the College of Education from the former four departments to seven new departments. There was an error in this year's tenure and promotion recommendations reported at the last meeting. Judith Rabak-Wagener, who was in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education when she began her career at Northern and during the tenure decision, is now assigned to the department of Counseling and Adult and Health Education. The university requests Board approval to correct the tenure location of this faculty member. Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Davis. The motion was approved.

Trustee Siegel asked the record to reflect that as of 2:00 p.m., no new people had entered the room.

Agenda Item 6.e. - Amendment to the Northern Illinois University Constitution
Dr. Waldeland said she would present this item. Dan Griffiths, who is the new Executive Secretary of the University Council, chaired the committee on Rules and Governance which was charged with the review of this matter for the University Council, was available to give additional information or clarification.

During this past year, Dr. Waldeland reported, the Rules and Governance Committee of the University Council received a request to make a change in the Constitution in regard to the voting of members of the university administration. The make-up of the University Council is prescribed in the representation of faculty, which must be 51 to 60 percent; the representation of students, which must be 25 to 30 percent; and the apportioning of representatives of the Operating Staff, the Supportive Professional Staff and the university administration. Deans are not considered part of the faculty in this calculation. One of the last official acts of former Provost Carroll Moody was to change the title of the Director of University Libraries to Dean of the University Libraries. A result of that change was a request that the Dean of the University Libraries be made a voting member of the University Council. There is correlation between the role of Dean of the University Libraries and that of the deans of the instructional colleges, she said, in that some staff of the university libraries hold faculty status and tenure. While the committee was working on this change, which involves a recalculation of representation, it noticed that the position of Vice President for Student Affairs, a position that has not existed since 1996, remained on the membership list. At the time the Board was first seated, one of its recommendations to the President was to reduce the number of direct reports. After a considerable analysis, there was a consolidation of units on the campus. Business and Operations and Finance and Planning were consolidated into one division, and Academic Affairs and Student Affairs became a single division. This recommendation is to change in item 2.41 in the Constitution to remove the reference to the Vice President of Student Affairs and add the Dean of University Libraries. Also, the word "ex officio" is to be removed in 2.42.

There was long consideration at the University Council of the fact that when there was a Vice President for Student Affairs, the person in that role had a vote. Although the title no longer exists, the job still does. It is now an Associate Provost for Student Services. It is very important that the role be represented and be at the table for deliberations. For example, as a result of the merger, the Associate Provost for Student Services now sits as a member of the Council of Deans. The Associate Provost and the Assistant Provost for Student Services meet as members of the Provost's staff. We are trying to do a great many things that make it very clear that academic and student services staff work together. The alternative of adding a faculty member to the University Council does not work. The numbers of faculty on the University Council from each college are proportionate to the numbers of faculty in the colleges. So, to reach proportionality, it might mean adding more than one person; however, there can be no more than 60. The compromise proposed was that the Associate Provost for Student Services be named as a member that would always be a presidential appointment. The language used to say "three (3) additional members of the university administration to be designated by the President." That was changed to four and the Associate Provost for Student Services added by name. That change will probably be made even clearer by separating it into its own article, she said, so that the intent of preserving the role and influence of the person who is the leader of the student services side of the Academic and Student Services Division is clear. That change is not before you, Dr. Waldeland said, because the Board does not approve the Bylaws. However, Board Regulations do state that the Board must approve constitutional changes. Drs. Waldeland and Griffith said that the Bylaws have already been amended to include the title of the position.

It has also been noted that the language now in the Constitution is not precisely correct in that the "ex officio nonvoting members" include the associate provost and three additional members of the university administration, Dr Waldeland said. Since the President may appoint different administrators, the last three are not ex officio. Recently, the President has appointed the associate provost, the senior vice president for finance and facilities and the vice president for administration. Trustee Siegel asked if the Bylaws would be changed. Dr. Waldeland stated that a separate line would list the ex officio nonvoting member, who would be the Associate Provost for Student Services, and then a new line would be added for the other nonvoting representatives. Trustee Siegel asked Dr. Gresholdt if that was agreeable. I understand the context in which the dean of libraries' position changes the structure, Dr. Gresholdt replied. I think it is important for the Student Services component to be present and represented at the table in addressing issues that come before the University Council since our unit really is involved with the out-of-class lives of students and adds that perspective to discussions. Dr. Peters asked Dr. Gresholdt if he was satisfied that this gave him the platform Student Affairs needs to have an influence on policy. Dr. Gresholdt answered that it definitely gives Student Services that presence. I believe that it is desirable to have the vote on the University Council, he said. However, I understand the context in which things were changed; it does not appear that there were alternatives at the time. I am comfortable with the fact that Student Services will be guaranteed a presence at the University Council. 

Acting Chair Vella asked for a motion to approve the amendment to the Northern Illinois University Constitution. Trustee Skoien so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey. The vote was as follows:

        Trustee Boey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Yes
        Trustee Siegel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Present
        Trustee Skoien. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yes
        Student Trustee Davis. . . . . . . . . . Yes

The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.f. - 1999-2000 Program Review Summary
This information item is always on the agenda for the late May or early June meeting, said Dr. Waldeland. It is the culmination of a yearlong process of intensive program evaluation that is carried out at the university. In this past year, Dr. Waldeland said, we evaluated the programs in the visual and performing arts as well as the B.A. and B.S. in Journalism. Until this year, these have been done on a schedule set by the IBHE. From now on universities will be able to set their own schedules. She asked Virginia Cassidy to present the summary of the year's program reviews.

Dr. Cassidy presented a very brief summary of the program reviews. During 1999-2000, the Academic Planning Council reviewed one degree program in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, eleven degree programs in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and two centers. All of these degree programs and the two centers are listed on the first page of the item in your books. Although the Academic Planning Council reviewed eleven programs in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, Dr. Cassidy noted that three of those summaries for the programs in the School of Theatre and Dance are missing. That information will be included in the summary in the full Board report on June 15. The Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science in Journalism is a cost-effective program that enrolls and graduates approximately 20 percent of undergraduate students in journalism in state universities in Illinois. The students in the major are prepared with a broad set of skills including writing, editing reporting, the use of technology and public relations. The graduates are successful in finding employment, which is enhanced by the numerous opportunities for internship experiences, including working on the Northern Star.

For the programs in the Visual and Performing Arts, Dr. Cassidy explained, it is important to note that all of the programs in this college and the schools in which those programs are housed participate in a wide variety of external programming and public service activities. These activities are so integrated into the work of the faculty and the experiences of the students, she said, that sometimes it is difficult to discern where public service leaves off and teaching and learning begin. The region and the university are well-served by the number and the diversity of the musical and theatrical performances and the art exhibitions that the schools in the college offer each year. In addition to all of these activities, each of the schools contributes courses to the general education requirements for baccalaureate degrees, which provide all of our undergraduate students with experiences and exposure to information and knowledge related to the visual and performing arts. Each of the schools in the college is fully accredited by its professional accrediting organization, an indicator of excellence within each of the disciplines.

The School of Theatre and Dance offers three degree programs, a Bachelor of Arts degree and two professional degrees, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts degree. During the review period, the name of the school was changed from the School of Theatre Arts to the School of Theatre and Dance. This name change better reflects the programs offered in the school. Alumni from the programs in the School of Theatre and Dance are very successful in securing employment in the theater and theater-related areas, including performance, scenic design and directing, and they are very satisfied with the programs that are offered by the school. Two concerns identified in the review of the School of Theatre and Dance are the limitations of space available to the school for it to store its scenic collection and the condition of the theater located in the Stevens Building where many performances take place. The University has placed the renovation of the Stevens Building on its capital projects list. Renovations in the building are anticipated to commence within the next few years.

The School of Art offers five degree programs, a Bachelor of Arts in Art, a Bachelor of Arts in Art History and a Master of Arts Degree, and two professional degrees, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and a Master of Fine Arts in Art. In addition to meeting the requirements for its accreditation, the School of Art assesses its programs in a way that is unique from many other programs in the university. They have developed a process whereby they invite external professional reviewers to campus on a regular basis to validate the quality of the programs and its components — the work the students are doing, the curriculum, the facilities, etc. During the current review period, these reviewers unanimously rated the programs as good or excellent. The school has been very vigilant in managing the costs of its programs and its program enrollments and maintaining the currency of its curriculum to meet the changing needs in the disciplines. Its alumni have been successful as artists and in finding employment in arts-related fields.

The School of Music offers three degrees programs, the Bachelor of Arts in Music and two professional degrees, the Bachelor of Music and the Master of Music. It also offers a post-master's Performer's Certificate, which is the only such certificate offered by the public universities in the state. During the review period, the school consolidated five separate master's degrees into a single Master of Music degree. This master's program and the performer's certificate attract students from across Illinois as well as students throughout the United States and international students. The school is very successful in recruiting women and minorities to its degree programs, and its alumni are successful in obtaining employment related to their degrees. They express a high level of satisfaction with the programs.

The Academic Planning Council also reviewed two research and public service units. In this review cycle, Dr. Cassidy said, we reviewed the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for Burma Studies. The Center for Southeast Asian Studies is an interdisciplinary unit that offers a minor in Southeast Asian Studies for undergraduates and a concentration in Southeast Asian Studies for master's and doctoral students. The center has seen a steady growth in the enrollments in its minor and in the concentration, and has been very active in expanding its outreach activities to provide learning experiences for elementary and secondary teachers and students. In addition, the center publishes two scholarly journals on topics of interest to Southeast Asian scholars. As a result of the high quality of its activities and significant outreach to increase awareness and understanding of Southeast Asian cultures and peoples, the center has been designated as a national resource center by the United States Department of Education. This designation is accompanied by significant federal funding to support the center's activities. The center director has recently been notified of the renewal of the center's designation as a national resource center and three additional years of funding from the Department of Education.

The Center for Burma Studies was created more than a decade ago and is unique in the United States. The center has oversight of the Burma collection, which is comprised of library materials, a map collection and a collection of more than 800 pieces of art and artifacts. This center contributes to the minor in Southeast Asian Studies, supports courses in Burmese language and also publishes a professional journal, The Journal of Burma Studies. It also contributes to the cultural enrichment of the region and the university, through the exhibition of its art collection.

Summaries of these reviews will be reported to the IBHE in the university's results report that will be submitted on August 15. The university has a practice of thorough review of its programs, Dr. Cassidy said, because we believe it is important for the department, the colleges and the entire campus to know about the quality of the programs we are offering our students. The review cycle is eight years, the maximum cycle designated by the IBHE. That is one of the things the IBHE has not changed, she said, although they have given us leave to shorten the cycle if we so choose. However, given the number of programs we offer, Dr. Waldeland said, it is about all we can manage.

Acting Chair Vella turned the meeting back over to Chair Boey.

Agenda Item 6.g. - Zeke Giorgi Legal Clinic
This item reflects an exciting new initiative for the university, the College of Law and Rockford, Dr. Waldeland said, and that is the opportunity to create a new off-campus legal clinic here in Rockford. She then asked Dean LeRoy Pernell to describe the project.

This is a very exciting venture for us, Dean Pernell said. Approximately two years ago, the faculty at the College of Law met to discuss its mission as a law school. We came out of that meeting with a recommitment to a number of principles. One of those involved enhancing the skills training of our graduates, recognizing that a significant percentage of our law graduates are going out into immediate practice environments. Approximately a little over a year ago, the Deans' Planning Statements were developed. In the document, the deans of this university put forth the commitment of the university and colleges to service the various communities where it is present. With those ideals in mind, we began talking about the ability to give our students hands-on clinical experience. Students can work with actual clients in live case settings pursuant to what is called the 711 Rule (Supreme Court Rule 711) in this state, which allows students who have completed two-thirds of their legal education and are certified by the Supreme Court to appear under supervision in various cases. Making use of that 711 status, law schools all across this state and under similar provisions in other states provide clinical education as a meaningful part of the educational package. Clinical education has been endorsed throughout the legal profession and has been long encouraged not only by the Bar Association but by the law school associations. Approximately a year ago, we began the process of taking a really close look at our ability to establish a legal clinic on behalf of the law school. About that time, we also had conversations with the Zeke Giorgi Committee, with whom we have had a magnificent relationship over the years in terms of raising scholarship funds for students entering the law school, Dean Pernell said, and also in talking about a further commitment of the law school to the Rockford area. All these things came together in a proposal that we look at the possibility of establishing a legal clinic in the Rockford area that would both recognize the commitment of Zeke Giorgi as an individual to issues of public service as well as provide our law students with an important exposure to a wide range of legal experiences in an urban setting that needs the services the students can provide.

As we began to put this proposal together, the Dean continued, we were very pleased to obtain the enthusiastic support of not only concerned persons in the community, but also political leadership in the community and throughout the state. Most recently, with the assistance of the Speaker of the House, Mike Madigan, we were able to obtain funding to establish a legal clinic in honor of Zeke Giorgi that would allow the law school to provide this experience in the Rockford community. We anticipate establishing a facility on a lease basis in downtown Rockford, Dean Pernell said, in which we will intake cases and house staff attorneys. We anticipate up to two staff attorneys who will have the responsibility of supervising students in their case handling and also have professional responsibility for the cases that are taken. These cases will be connected to various practica offered at the law school in DeKalb as part of the students' regular course load. 

We are still in the very early planning stages for the implementation of this clinic. We are looking at a three-year commitment in funding to establish this clinic. Including funding for both the facility leasing and the operational costs for the clinic, we have received $495,000. Some additional funding is anticipated for the next two years. Obviously, one of the jobs we have ahead of us as we put this clinic into existence is also to establish funding for it on a more permanent basis. The support of not only the state legislature but also the city has been important, and we have had enthusiastic support from the city. I have established a working committee of the faculty to plan over the summer. We would imagine that most of the cases we receive and assign to students will be referred to us through existing organizations such as Prairie State and the Public Defender, but we will also have walk-in clients as well, as well as referrals from other agencies. We will look towards the type of cases that first have an instructional value, secondly, provide services in areas where the clientele might not ordinarily be able to obtain legal representation. I want to thank all the people who have been involved in making this a real possibility, and I look forward to using this as a vehicle not just for the education of our students, but also as a vehicle for the university to have an even more meaningful presence in the Rockford area. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

Chair Boey thanked Dean Pernell for his leadership on this matter and said, I think you have just described an exciting project. It is a wonderful addition to Northern's involvement in Rockford. It is very appropriate to name this facility in honor of the late State Representative Zeke Giorgi, father of Trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella. Trustee Vella thanked the university for naming the center after her father. He was a strong proponent of education, she said, and I am thrilled that Northern will have this facility here. I know he would be proud to have this clinic named after him. It is going to help people that have needs but not money, and that is what his office was all about here in Rockford. So, I am grateful to you, Dean Pernell, Kathy Buettner, Representatives Scott and Madigan, and the other representatives that helped, and Mayor Box and all the other people who worked on it.

Trustee Siegel asked about the permanent funding sources for the law clinic. At this point, Dean Pernell said, we are not certain of what those sources will be. We are looking at a number of different options. One of the things built into our description and into the budget concept is that one of the persons we hire will have grant-writing capability, and it will be his/her responsibility during this three-year window to seek out funding for beyond that three-year period. I have been very encouraged that since the announcement of this program there have been a number of individuals through the Rockford community that have begun to talk in terms of funding beyond year three. So, I think the potential is very strong.

I can tell you from personal experience that the 711 program is a great one, Trustee Siegel said. It provides an excellent opportunity to law students to get some limited practice. I actually practiced under the 711 program out of John Marshall, he said, and by the time I graduated law school, I had tried well over 500 cases and a couple of jury trials, which is something you do not normally get. So, the training is beneficial, and it will increase the marketability of our students dramatically, especially if we are going to have ten to fifteen students involved out of a graduating class of roughly a hundred, that is a pretty good proportion. Dean Pernell stressed that one of the main purposes of clinical education is to provide an opportunity to teach students something about professionalism, about relations with clients and about service to the community. There is nothing that substitutes for the live experience in doing that.

I think this is a great idea, Student Trustee Davis said, because it connects public service and education. This is one of the best ways to build our relationship. I commend you on getting funding from somebody else to pay for it, even though it will be a lot of work for you and your college. This is exactly the kind of thing universities should be doing long-term, he said, because these kinds of opportunities for real world professional development are what will separate great universities from Internet universities down the road. Dr. Waldeland added her thanks to Kathy Swanson Buettner for her extensive efforts in getting the legislative leadership involved in the funding. And she thanked Eddie Williams, in advance, she said, for what I know is going to be a challenge in selecting an appropriate location for the clinic.

Agenda Item 6.h. - NCAA Certification Progress Report
Dr. Anne Kaplan, Vice President for Administration, said that four committees had worked very hard for about a year and a half on what seems to be a good self-study report. The peer review team coming in, chaired by Hoke Smith, retiring president at Towson University, is an excellent one. The staff in Intercollegiate Athletics are about as well prepared for this as it is possible to be, she said.

The Chair asked for a motion to adjourn. Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Skoien. The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary