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

September 6, 2000

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

Before we begin, Chair Vella continued, I would like to point out a major development for this university through its description in the Carnegie Classification System. Previously NIU was classified as a Doctoral I institution. This was the third level of institutions, following Research I and Research II. Institutions were placed in those categories almost entirely on the basis of their external funding. The new classification system no longer uses external funding as a criterion for its categories. It focuses, instead, on the range of programs and the number of graduates. I am very pleased and proud to say, Chair Vella stated, that NIU is now in the most comprehensive category, Doctoral Research Extensive. To be in this category, the university must (1) offer at least 15 doctoral programs and (2) award a minimum of 50 doctoral degrees in a year. Northern now joins the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois University, University of Chicago and Northwestern University in this top category, "most comprehensive." This category constitutes 3.8 percent of the total colleges and universities. I have been told that the Carnegie Foundation does not want these categories used as rankings, she said, but it is hard not to feel that we are now in the top category. More important, I am glad that the new classifications recognize the teaching and the preparation of new professionals that go on in all these programs, something for which we are well regarded. This is not to say that the Board will not continue to be interested in the university’s success in pursuing external funding for research and other activities. I look forward to the report today on the faculty and staff’s accomplishments in obtaining grants and other external funding during the last fiscal year, the Chair concluded.

Chair Vella recognized University Advisory Committee members Dan Gebo, Dolly Jones who is a new member of UAC, Judy Burgess, and Dan Griffith, University Council Executive Secretary, and welcomed them to the meeting.

The Carnegie classification is very good news indeed, President Peters commented, and it is probably overdue. But it does raise the bar for us, so our expectations have to be set higher in terms of the quality of our graduate and professional programs and the level of external funding.

Before I begin, Interim Provost Lynne Waldeland said, I would like to acknowledge the service of Ron Simmons as Associate Provost during his two years at Northern. Associate Provost Simmons died suddenly on July 3, 2000. His special expertise and commitment was retention, and the university is going to continue the retention activities that he began. The university is fortunate to have a very experienced and highly regarded individual who has agreed to serve as Interim Associate Provost until we are ready to conduct a search for a permanent associate provost. Robert Wheeler has been at the university since 1972, serving as a Professor of Mathematical Sciences and for the last two years as Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Bob is not at this meeting yet today because he is, coincidentally, chairing a meeting on retention issues; but I will introduce him to you before the end of the meeting.

Three faculty were selected to receive the Presidential Research Professorships. They are selected by a faculty committee chaired by the Associate Provost for Graduate Studies and Research. Those selected were Gerald Blazey from the Department of Physics, David Kyvig from History, and Susan Vogel from the Department of Literacy Education.

Three faculty members are selected annually for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Awards. There is a nominating committee composed of students; then the nominees are reviewed by the Committee on Excellence in Undergraduate Education. The award recipients this year are Don Hardy from the Department of English, Ayhan Lash from the School of Nursing, and Ronnie Wooten from the School of Music.

Four people are selected each year from the operating staff for Outstanding Service Awards. There is a nomination process that involves the Operating Staff Council. The four recipients this year are Tadson Bussey from Publications; Joanne Ganshirt, a staff secretary in the University Honors Program; Mireya Pourchot, a publicity promotion specialist in Cooperative Education; and Connie Rumer, a staff secretary in the Department of Economics.

Four supportive professional staff are also selected. This also involves a nomination process with the Supportive Professional Staff Council. The award winners this year are Lori Bross, a research associate in Psychology; Deborah Haliczer, Director of Employee Relations in Human Resources; Mary Obrzut, Assistant Dean for Law Career Services and Development in the College of Law; and Dan Olson, Director of Anatomy Laboratories in Biological Sciences.

I served on the Presidential Teaching Professor Selection Committee until recently, Chair Vella said, and I was very impressed by the level of scholarship, teaching, research and service, all the publications and the high caliber of individuals that we have here at Northern. I am glad that we can recognize all of them today. The Chair and the Committee members extended their thanks to all of the award winners.

I would like to add my congratulations to all of you, Dr. Waldeland said, and thanks for all that you do for the university and for its students.

Agenda Item 6.b. - Requests for Degree Authority at Off-Campus Sites
Assistant Provost Virginia Cassidy stated that the university was seeking approval to offer two degrees at off-campus sites. Both requests are for degree programs that will be offered in Region 3, which is the West Suburban Consortium, and both degrees are health related. The first request was for the Master of Public Health degree offered by the School of Allied Health Professions located in the College of Health and Human Sciences. This degree program provides students with skills in leadership, problem solving, planning and promoting change in public health and health care service systems. Students completing this degree will be prepared to contribute to the improvement of health in individuals and populations in the communities and the agencies they serve. The degree itself is comprised of core courses, courses within a specialty and an elective. The core courses include content that encompasses health care planning, delivery and management, epidemiology and statistics, the behavioral and social aspects of public health, environmental health and an internship or a demonstration project. The remaining courses, to meet degree requirements, are taken in health promotion or in health services management. Students are also approved to take elective courses as part of their degree requirements. This request to offer the MPH degree is timely and will accomplish several goals, the first of which is to serve the needs of working professionals in Region 3 who want to advance their knowledge and skills in public health. The second goal is to help support the health communities initiative that is occurring in DuPage County, Dr. Cassidy said, and the third goal is to assist in meeting the increased need for community health services in and around the Naperville area. NIU faculty will deliver the courses at the off-campus site, and the School of Allied Health Professions plans to offer these courses in the evenings and on weekends to accommodate the needs of the students who are working professionals. The requirements for the degree off campus will be the same as the degree requirements on campus. It is estimated that between 25 and 30 students per year will enroll in the program. Students completing this degree at the off-campus site in Region 3 will have regular contact with academic advisors in the School of Allied Health Professions. They will be able to access library resources both on campus and at other sites via the Internet and access other support services important to students.

The second request, also for Region 3, Dr. Cassidy said, was for the Baccalaureate of Science degree with a major in Nursing offered by the School of Nursing, which is also housed in the College of Health and Human Sciences. This request is targeted specifically at students who are already registered nurses. They have an associate degree and are now seeking a baccalaureate degree with a major in nursing. The School of Nursing has a long history of serving this population of nurses both on campus and at off-campus sites in the Fox Valley and in Rockford. This proposal to offer the degree in Region 3 is consistent with regional and statewide needs to prepare registered nurses with the skills necessary to function in changing and complex health care environments. The School of Nursing conducted a needs assessment in Region 3. The assessment revealed that the health care agencies in the region reported that the majority of the nurses they were employing had an associate degree, but the institutions were interested in helping the nurses complete their baccalaureate degrees. In addition, the staff nurses working in the agencies also indicated a high interest in completing a baccalaureate degree, but only if it met several criteria, which included being in a convenient location, being offered at convenient times and that the degree completion activities would enable them to continue their employment as registered nurses. The School of Nursing will offer the courses for this baccalaureate degree in Region 3 with the exception of one course, which is a health assessment course. This is a laboratory course that requires specialized equipment, space and facilities. Therefore, that course will be offered on campus. This is consistent with how the baccalaureate degree is offered at other sites in Rockford and in the Fox Valley. However, all the remaining courses, including those in health alterations, research methods, community health nursing, nursing leadership, seminar and professional nursing, and clinical development will be offered at off-campus sites in Region 3. The faculty in the School of Nursing who are full- or part-time on campus and also faculty who have taught as adjuncts for the school at off-campus sites will be involved in delivering the program in Region 3. These students will also have access to advisement services, other resources and library access in the region that will support them in the completion of their degree program. As you know, Region 3, which encompasses DuPage County, is the most rapidly growing region in the state. The university believes that it can expand its service to the region by increasing access to these high quality health programs for working professionals and help to meet regional needs for a better-educated work force. Both of these objectives will help NIU fulfill its mission and will contribute to the fulfillment of the state goals for higher education. Neither of these degree programs requires additional state resources for their delivery, Dr. Cassidy said. Tuition and fees will cover the costs.

Living in the Naperville area, I know that it is an understatement to say that there is a tremendous healthcare need, Trustee Sanchez commented, and I am glad to see it is NIU that will be filling the gap we have in DuPage County.

The university recommended that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse these requests for off-campus degree programs in Region 3 and ask that the President forward them by means of the President’s Report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its September meeting later in the month. Chair Vella asked for such a motion. Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Sanchez. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.c. - Fiscal Year 2002 Programmatic Budget Requests
In June, when the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee met, Dr. Waldeland said, the agenda included a Board item on NIU’s Fiscal 2002 budget guidelines. At that time, there was a section that mentioned the program priority requests in the budget, and we indicated at that meeting that we would provide more detail at this fall meeting. The program priority requests section of the budget is a small piece. The largest part of the budget, of course, goes to personnel. There is a regular line in the state budget for library support, she said, and then there are items like deferred maintenance, and sometimes other areas that we try to pursue. There is also the capital budget. The programmatic budget is a place where universities have the opportunity to seek new funding. But I need to emphasize to you how much that new funding must be sought within the constraints of state priorities, Dr. Waldeland said. The IBHE is the agency that reviews these requests and approves them, or not, and forwards them, inevitably at a reduced dollar amount, to the legislature and the Governor. The expectations of the IBHE are that these budget requests will address one of the six goals of the Illinois Commitment. On top of that, in April of each year, the IBHE staff issues a document called "Setting the Context for Fiscal 20__ Budget Development." In that document, they make clear what particular areas that address the Illinois Commitment they are prepared to fund in a given year. So it is a fairly strategic process that the university has to undergo trying to interpret the expectations of the IBHE and match that up with things the university needs.

I want to walk you very quickly through our specific requests this year, Dr. Waldeland said:

New Faculty in Professional Programs: The first one, New Faculty in Professional Programs, builds on the statement of the IBHE that it continues to be interested in funding positions in computer science and management information technology. Because of downsizing we have gotten to dangerously low levels of faculty staffing in several areas where the level of staffing is going to cause problems in terms of service to students, she said, but also in terms of meeting accreditation standards. So, we have pursued tenure-track faculty positions in areas where those shortages are most dramatic and most serious -- accountancy, engineering, science and math teacher preparation, music, computer science and management information technology.

Instructional Technology Support: Every year, for as long as I can remember, Dr. Waldeland said, we have been asking for technology support. At first we were asking for computers, and now it is for Internet capability and faculty training and so forth. This year, we hope to continue to add to our budget for installing smart classrooms. Also, a substantial part of our request is to increase the server capability that would allow us to offer Internet programming. We also requested funds for faculty training.

University Writing Center: Dr. Waldeland explained that the university received new state money back in the eighties to have some activity in writing across the curriculum. I am pleased to say that through many budget cuts the funding for that activity has been protected. It is not very much funding, and it basically allows us to have one person in charge of the activity with some graduate assistantship help. In our current Writing Across the Curriculum Director, we have a very experienced specialist who knows what a really first-rate writing center on a campus might look like, and he has drawn a plan for us. There has been considerable universitywide support for it. The only problem is that there is not enough university funding to operate such a center, Dr. Waldeland said. So, we are using the fact that we have the expertise and we have the will and the commitment of the university to try to have a much-expanded level of support for our students in writing, and we are approaching that through the only source for new programmatic funds that we have, and that is this program priority request.

Teacher and Administrator Preparation and Professional Development: This item is related to the first one, Dr. Waldeland said. It would have been possible to include the request for elementary education faculty in the general new faculty and professional programs area. However the need there is particularly severe and it ties to the goal of the Illinois Commitment that deals with K-12 education. So it seemed strategic to pull that request for new positions out and associate it specifically with one of the goals that is not otherwise directly addressed.

Undergraduate Mathematics and Science Enhancement: We have an undergraduate request every year. This year, she said, we have built on a discussion that was fostered last year by Associate Provost Simmons and several of the faculty committees which focus on undergraduate programming. Those committees had an almost yearlong dialogue about math and science performance, success rates and teaching, and they talked about what needed to change in order to improve students’ success. It seemed helpful to build on all of that investigation and analysis and request funding that would allow the math and science departments to put in practice some of the things that had been identified through that process.

Continuous Quality Improvement in Academic and Student Affairs: Two years ago we asked for money for program assessment and received good public recognition along with a recommendation for full funding. But because of the way the budget worked out, we ended up with very little money with which to address assessment activities. So, we asked for some again last year, and, again, the IBHE was supportive, and we received some funds but not what we needed. This year, we initially had decided that maybe we should not ask again. Then, the IBHE said in April that a really important priority this year is assessment. We have been taking the lead on that, Dr. Waldeland said, so, we thought we should go back again this year, since we had already been publicly recognized as the school that was sort of leading the way here. We certainly know what we will do with this funding if we receive it, she said.

Maintaining Faculty and Staff Excellence: This item came as a suggestion from Senior Vice President Eddie Williams. He has been trying to figure out a way for us to expand the salary support level for the university. Studies show that we have lost faculty, we have downsized. The percentage that we have downsized since 1990 in tenure and tenure-track faculty is 15.8 percent. We are finding it hard to replace faculty in some fields in particular because our salaries are not as competitive as they need to be to compete with other schools that are looking at the same people we are. So Dr. Williams came up with the percentage figure he thought we should request for salary competitiveness. Our argument in the proposal to the IBHE is that there are certainly disciplines in which we are more significantly behind our benchmarks than others, Dr. Waldeland said. It is a long shot, but it does let us get this issue on the table.

Technology Commercialization and Economic Development: Our Technology Commercialization Office, was started back in the eighties, Dr. Waldeland said, with DCCA funding. Since that funding ended, the university has supported it on its own. We have had some success in recent years in being able to commercialize faculty discoveries. With some additional funding, that office could support more faculty and bring marketable discoveries and inventions along faster. This directly addresses goal one of the Illinois Commitment, which is economic development.

I am certainly impressed with everything that you have listed here, Dr. Waldeland, particularly a couple of things, Chair Vella said, and one is the university writing center. As a mother, as a citizen and as a former teacher, the Chair said, I know that written expression seems to be a problem for some of the young people. So, I feel that a focus at the university on written expression is very important. Also, she said, I am very happy to see more teacher preparation and administration preparation and also to see some of it offered to Rockford public schools. We have issues in Rockford as you probably are aware. As a resident of that area, I am glad to see any cooperation between Northern and the public school system.

As I mentioned briefly in the item, Dr. Waldeland said, the College of Education has offered an academy for people who want to prepare for principals roles. They had some short-time funding for that, and I believe there is more demand. So that Is one of the things we will be able to do if we receive some of this funding.

Agenda Item 6.d. - 2000 Budget Results Report
The next item is a brief report of certain highlights of the year 2000 Results Report. Dr. Waldeland said all Board members had received copy of the report, and asked anyone else who would like to have it to contact her. She stated that there is also a copy of the Results Report on the Internet. This is the second year of preparing this report for the IBHE.

Dr. Virginia Cassidy stated that the results report submitted to the IBHE this year is the second of its kind that the university has prepared to inform the Board of NIU’s contribution to the state master plan for higher education known as the Illinois Commitment.

Briefly, the Illinois Commitment contains six goals that address economic growth in the state, teaching and learning, the affordability of a college education, increased access to education and the diversity of citizens in the state who complete education programs, high expectations for student learning and the quality of academic programs and improvement in institutional productivity, cost-effectiveness and accountability.

Dr. Cassidy then talked about the IBHE process and highlighted some of the items reported by NIU in its FY00 Results Report. Last year when the IBHE first requested a Results Report, one of the things they asked the universities to report on was a best practice. Most of the universities in the state reported on a financial or economic best practice rather than an academic best practice. This year the results report requirements were changed, she said, and institutions were asked to provide an example of an economic or financial best practice as well as an academic best practice. NIU selected its Speech and Hearing Clinic as an example of its academic best practice this year. The clinic was chosen because of its long history of interweaving the teaching, research and service missions of the university into its activities. These activities are summarized in the Board Report and are explained in further detail in the full Results Report.

NIU also reported its efforts to modify the reporting requirements associated with the passage of the Tax Relief Act of 1997, which created the HOPE and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits. The tax credits were reported as an example of NIU’s best financial practice. This activity, in particular, results in a substantial cost savings not only for Northern Illinois University but also for other institutions of higher learning in the state and across the nation. So, we are very proud of our leadership in that activity, Dr. Cassidy said, and we are happy to report it to the Board of Higher Education.

Last year after the IBHE received all of the Results Reports from the individual universities across the state, the IBHE staff wrote a report they called the Statewide Results Report, and in it they extracted information and examples of what the individual institutions had reported as significant contributions to the fulfillment of the goals of the Illinois Commitment. But they also reported what they perceived to be continuing issues in areas that needed further attention in relation to each of the six goals of the Illinois Commitment. So, this year in preparing our results report, Dr. Cassidy continued, we went back to that statewide analysis and identified what the issues were and the areas needing further attention. The report was organized around those issues and areas within the context of each of the six goals, and those were incorporated as our plans for contributions that the university would make to the Illinois Commitment in the next several years. In addition to that, she said, we also had to report on the plans we laid out last year in our first Results Report. Included in the summary were examples of the kinds of activities that had been initiated or completed last year and how those contributed to the fulfillment of the state goals.

The other thing that the higher board has asked for within the Results Report, Dr. Cassidy said, is that institutions report on any funding they have received from the program priority requests that Dr. Waldeland just talked about. She talked about the ones requested for FY02, but we also imbedded the progress on how we had allocated funds from those program priority requests into the Results Report submitted this year. In this Results Report, we included information on the continued installation of smart classroom technology, the hiring of faculty in programs preparing students for careers in information technology and the health professions, some expansion of our assessment activities and our progress on deferred maintenance projects. In the letter that accompanied the submission of this year’s Results Report, the President indicated his satisfaction with the comprehensiveness of the university’s contribution to the state goals in FY99 and the university’s plans to contribute to those goals in the next two years.

Among those plans are some things that I would like to highlight for you just very briefly, Dr. Cassidy said. They include the creation of additional certificates at the undergraduate and graduate levels, the promotion of alternative teacher certification, the implementation of new partnerships with primary schools in our region, our plan to maintain a graded tuition plan to increase the affordability of education for our students. We also plan to continue to offer an extended orientation for new students coming to campus; to expand tutoring, supplemental instruction and advisement services for students; to expand assessment initiatives; to recruit and retain critical faculty and staff; and to continue to fund deferred maintenance projects.

As a component of the program review redesign process, the universities were also asked by the IBHE to include an addendum to our Results Reports that provided the higher board with the university’s findings from the programs that were reviewed by the Academic Planning Council in the year 1999-2000. A summary of those reviews was provided to the committee in its report book and in a report at the June 2 meeting of the AASAP Committee. At that time, we reported on the programs in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, and the baccalaureate degree in Journalism, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, and the Center for Burma Studies. Findings on all of those programs in these two centers were included in this year’s Results Report. We anticipate, based on the reporting of these program review findings and its analysis of this year’s Results Report, that the IBHE staff will continue to refine the reporting of the program review process and its criteria for submission of institutional results reports. Both of these activities are emerging as new IBHE staff try to develop activities that will add value to our assessment activities and provide the IBHE with the information they need to fulfill the oversight role that has been delegated to them through the legislative process. So we do anticipate seeing new requirements or some modifications of these reporting activities next year for both the program review activities and our Results Report.

I know this is a very long and involved process, Chair Vella said, and that a lot of people have to contribute to the findings in this report. I know you and your staff have worked very hard on this report and did a wonderful job. I think we have a lot to be proud of.

I would like to thank Virginia Cassidy, in particular, who takes responsibility to coordinate this, Dr. Waldeland said. We also appreciate the help of Anne Kaplan, who tries to get the information from units other than the Division of Academic and Student Affairs. It is a good planning tool, and the thing that we appreciate about it is that it is a very positive report. The old productivity report was more a defensive report.

Agenda Item 6.e. - Fiscal Year 2000 External Funding for Research, Public Service and Instructional Projects
Dr. Jerrold Zar, Dean of the Graduate School and Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Studies, made this report. It is always a pleasure to report on the successful efforts of our faculty and staff who are at the forefront of their respective fields, Dr. Zar said. It is very typical for major universities to seek and to obtain funds from external agencies to help support their research, their public service and their instructional activities. By doing so, our faculties and staff engage in these productive activities to an extent far greater than would be possible using university funding alone. And external funding also enables many students, graduate and undergraduate, to gain educational experience along with financial support.

At Northern Illinois University, the amount of funding for externally sponsored grants and contracts has increased each year for many, many years. The data for the last five fiscal years are shown in a graph and in a table in the agenda materials. For Fiscal Year 1999-2000, Dr. Zar reported, external awards secured by NIU faculty and staff totaled $34.8 million. This is an increase of $2.6 million, or an increase of 8.0 percent over the previous fiscal year. Eight percent is typical of the annual increases we have seen at NIU for many years. What kinds of projects are supported by this external funding? Of last fiscal year’s external awards, 28 percent were for research projects, 36 percent for public service projects, six percent for instructional projects and 30 percent for other activities, primarily student support. As to the sources of sponsored projects, the pie chart and table included in the Board materials show that last year’s awards came mostly from federal agencies, a total of 44 percent or nearly $35 million from federal agencies, followed by state agencies with 28 percent and corporations with 14 percent.

I think it is noteworthy that our faculty and staff have been successful in acquiring increased amounts of grant and contract monies from federal and state agencies, Dr. Zar commented, even in the face of much increased competition for such funds, and even with the budgetary constraints of many funding agencies. NIU faculty and staff benefit greatly from these external monies in that they significantly supplement the university’s internal resources. In turn, those served by the faculty and staff also benefit. Business firms benefit as do professional organizations and governmental agencies that have their important goals addressed by the projects executed with their financial support. Students are direct beneficiaries of externally funded instructional activities. But in addition, many graduate and undergraduate students are hired to work on research, public service and instructional projects. Thus the students benefit from this source of income as well as from the rich intellectual experience this kind of involvement provides. I have been emphasizing, as I always do, that the acquisition of external funding is the result of the capabilities of our university’s faculty and staff. They are the ones who conceive the projects that are important and creative enough to attract government, corporate or other sponsorship. They are the ones that write the grant proposals. They are the ones who deserve the credit for bringing to NIU over $150 million over the last five years. In order to assist our faculty and staff colleagues in their continual quest for external funding, the university does provide substantial support and encouragement.

We maintain an Office of Sponsored Projects whose expert staff assists in the acquisition and interpretation of sponsored guidelines, in the formulation of grant and contract budgets, and in the preparation of grant proposals and contractual agreements. Dr. Zar recognized Linda Schwarz, Director of the Office of Sponsored Projects. Once a grant or contract is obtained by the university, the university’s Office of Grants Fiscal Administration establishes and oversees an account and assists in the preparation of reports to the sponsor. The director of that Office of Grants Fiscal Administration, is Larry Sallberg, who also introduced several members of his office staff: Julie Weber, Cindy Barnes, LaRonda Thuestad and Fran Norris.

When faculty and staff projects involve the creation of intellectual property -- patents or copyrights -- as they often do, the university’s Technology Commercialization Office assists in securing evaluations, legal protection and royalty-paying agreements for these results of NIU creativity. Provost Waldeland has previously referred to the office of Technology Commercialization, he said, saying that we would like to enlarge its activities for the benefit of the university and for economic development in the region. We currently have about a dozen innovative technologies that were developed at NIU for which patents have been obtained or are being sought. Once we receive patent protection, the Technology Commercialization Office seeks industrial firms who wish to license the invention for manufacture and marketing, thus benefiting those firms, enhancing economic development and bringing royalty income to the inventors and the university. The director of the Technology Commercialization Office is Donald Colbert.

I hope this brief summary has given you an idea of the energy, creativity and success with which Northern Illinois University faculty and staff have pursued external funding to supplement considerable abilities as research scholars, public service providers and instructional innovators, Dr. Zar concluded.

Trustee Boey asked if, with the new Carnegie designation, the university could expect more external funding. Dr. Zar said yes, to the extent that the image of the university is enhanced nationally by that designation. Trustee Boey noted that as a matter of history, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences traditionally has the most funding and asked if that was a trend. Dr. Zar replied that it was a reflection of two things. One is that LA&S is the largest college on campus by far, so it has the most faculty and staff. But also, the availability nationally of external funding for academic enterprises varies tremendously by discipline with the most being available for the sciences. So, in as much as the sciences are in that college, and all of our science departments are rather well developed, all with Ph.D. programs with very good faculty, he said, that certainly helps LA&S achieve that kind of success.

Dr. Waldeland thanked Dr. Zar and the staff of the Office of Sponsored Projects and Grants Fiscal for all the support they provide to faculty and staff and units on campus in securing this external funding.

At this point, Dr. Waldeland introduced Dr. Robert Wheeler, the new Interim Associate Provost.

Agenda Item 6.f. - Collective Bargaining Agreements
There are eight bargaining units on campus, Steve Cunningham reported, and every fiscal year we reopen contracts and enter into either a full contract or salary reopener negotiations with each of the bargaining units (unless we are into a multiyear contract, in which case we do not reopen). The three bargaining agreements before the Board were with the Fraternal Order of Police Telecommunicators unit; the Teamsters, auto mechanics and motor vehicle operators in the Transportation Department; and the Operating Engineers, Heating Plant personnel located in the Physical Plant facility. Mr. Cunningham said the university requested Committee endorsement of these agreements prior to going to the full Board of Trustees for approval later in the month. Chair Vella asked for such a motion. Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Barr. The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 6.g. - Fiscal Year 2001 Increment Summary Report
Mr. Cunningham reported a five percent total salary increment for FY01 for the second year in a row. The budget recommendations mentioned by Dr. Waldeland earlier would provide for at least that level in FY02. We have a very active merit program at Northern, Mr. Cunningham said. We also have market issues and, finally, the cost of living to deal with. So we have three competing priorities that we try to work with a satisfy with respect to our increment programs. This year, we have a three percent basic merit increase and another two percent for retention of critical faculty and staff which was allocated in accordance with college plans and divisional plans and on the basis of merit, work responsibilities, long-term merit and critical retention, and market issues, he explained. There is a very good, normal distribution around the mean of five percent.

Agenda Item 6.h. - Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources
Dr. Waldeland mentioned that the possibility of this center was first discussed about a year ago. She then asked Dr. Anne Kaplan, Vice President for Administration, to introduce this item. I want to take this opportunity to give you a little bit of history on this project, Dr. Kaplan said. The Affirmative Action and Diversity Resources initiative goes back about five years to a University Council task force on committee restructuring, which called for a social justice coordinating committee which would incorporate the several campus commissions and committees dealing with diversity issues. That coordinating committee spent the year of 1996-97 conducting an extensive campus survey on diversity issues and concerns and on the expectations of various campus groups. Then in the fall of 1997, the social justice coordinating committee issued a report with recommendations on how this institution should proceed at this point in its history. Among the recommendations was a very strong recommendation that a great deal of emphasis be given to training on diversity issues. In the fall of 1997, in an attempt to respond to the growing demand for training, the university submitted a budget request seeking new funding for what we call workforce development. A little funding was received for the proposed program, she said, but we received a very generous add-on of one-time funds from Senator Emil Jones for construction of a center that would house the planned, but yet unfunded, expanded training, mentoring and mediation activities. In the next two falls, 1998 and 1999, the workforce development proposal was resubmitted and some operating funds were eventually acquired. Last fall, our first center director, Liz Ortiz, was hired, and work was begun in earnest to pull that program together. There have been a lot of people over a relatively long period of time who had something to do with this initiative; the University Council committee; the task force members; the campus groups who offered advice; Kathy Buettner for her work in Springfield; certainly Senator Jones for his support; and the people in Finance and Facilities who have been trying to complete this construction since we got the money, and then, of course, the staff in Human Resource Services, who will make it all a reality. And Steve I will let introduce those staff.

Before I introduce the staff and Director Ortiz, Mr. Cunningham said, I want to talk a little more about the strategy behind the program. Higher education is and should be a leader with respect to diversity. It is through higher education that we prepare the workforce to participate in the economy of the future, and one of the key characteristics of the economy of our society and of high performing organizations will be diversity. Diversity in the work place of the future will be essential and fundamental to organizational performance. This is the theme that is moving our program forward. Integrating diversity is a very central feature of the performance of the university. Students should experience a faculty and staff who are themselves diverse, who are comfortable with diversity, and who understand diversity, and that is largely the goal of our program. Because of the number of different constituencies, it is difficult in the university setting to develop this into a program that is well defined and able to deliver results. That is what we intend to accomplish with this program over the next several years. We see affirmative action and diversity evolving from a recognition of social justice through affirmative action programs in a compliance model in the sixties and seventies, he said, and now further as a basic feature of organizational performance. And that is the key philosophy behind our program. It is an advanced initiative in terms of the number of components, the size of the staff, its institutional mission. It is a program that will be very important with our regional engagement philosophy, and it is also one that I think will bring Northern a lot of recognition in the future, he concluded.

Mr. Cunningham then introduced the Director of Diversity Resources, Elizabeth Ortiz, and asked her to introduce the program staff and talk a little bit about their different activities.

I would like to go over a few of the statistics that came out of the 2000 advanced census data report, Ms. Ortiz began. Estimated growth rate for Illinois in the year 2000 is Caucasian, 1%; African American 8.6%; Asian, 15.8%; Latino, 41.1%; and Native American, 42.3%. When you look at these numbers, she said, you realize that the state of Illinois changing as well as the rest of the country, and I believe that our diversity resource program is poised for success for four reasons. (1) NIU is proactive. We are on the cutting edge in making diversity the new paradigm. Our new model is visionary and ahead of its time in higher education. (2) Leadership commitment. NIU talks the talk and walks the walk. We have a new center, staff and resources allocated to this initiative. (3) Diversity is a strategic premise. It is part of our goals and plans for the future. It is part of the fabric of NIU. (4) It has broad-based support. We are working with NIU constituency groups, giving diverse groups the voice and the ability to get their concerns to the decision making table.

Ms. Ortiz then introduced the Diversity Center staff who were present: Karen Baker, Assistant Director for Compliance and Investigations; Phinette Maszka, Coordinator of Research Policy and Analysis; and Diane Tyrell, Coordinator of EEO and Search Administration. Aquanette Charleston, who was unable to attend the meeting, is Coordinator of Networking, Recruitment and Training. This staff and this initiative were in place before I came here, Ms. Ortiz said, and they have worked hard to make diversity happen at NIU.

I would like to mention six strategic goals that we at the center would like to accomplish in the first three years, Ms. Ortiz said. (1) establish clear, concise, written nondiscrimination policies; (2)  open up lines of communication with internal NIU constituencies; (3) improve faculty and staff retention; (4) create a welcoming environment on campus; (5) assist in recruitment of a diverse faculty and staff; (6) establish core diversity workshops, which will be strongly recommended for all new NIU employees. And that includes sexual harassment, nondiscrimination policies, cultural diversity, training in sensitivity and search procedures. Now keep in mind, this is a very complex initiative. It takes many people working together to make this happen, and it will be all of NIU that makes diversity happen. Thank you.

Mr. Cunningham also introduced a few other people who are working in the program. Dr. Admasu Zike, our associate in Academic Affairs, works on a wide variety of faculty issues and strategic planning for our program. Karen Baker and Deborah Haliczer, Director of Employee Relations, help coordinate training and customized resolution systems for the many issues that come to the diversity resources program involving employee relations issues. Ken Davidson is our associate for legal issues. So, we have a program that contains the traditional compliance aspects, Mr. Cunningham said, but is going further, much further, to make this an essential part of the organization.

I am proud to see Northern involved in this, Chair Vella said, and to hear the word proactive. It is a wonderful way to approach problems like this, and we look forward to the opening of the center and being able to see it.

This is a great program, President Peters said, and it is a model. Last week, I went personally to thank Emil Jones for the funding. He is a strong supporter of NIU because of our work in this area. This program also has my solid support.

During the search committee sessions, especially in the beginning, Trustee Boey said, if the word diversity was mentioned once every meeting, it was mentioned a hundred times. I am glad to see that we are finally putting some teeth to that.

When other institutions of higher education are not only shunning but sometimes openly putting down diversity initiatives, Trustee Sanchez added, I think it is incredibly exciting that this university is creating the paradigm for diversity initiatives.

There being no Other Matters, Chair Vella asked for a motion to adjourn. Trustee Sanchez so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel. The motion was approved. The meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms
Recording Secretary