Minutes of the

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

September 20, 2001

The meeting was called to order by Chair Manuel Sanchez at approximately 9:05 a.m. in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of Holmes Student Center.  Recording Secretary Mimms conducted a roll call of Trustees.  Members present were Trustees Robert Boey, Myron Siegel, Gary Skoien, Barbara Giorgi Vella, Student Trustee Alex Alaniz and Chair Sanchez.  Not present was Trustee George Moser.   Also present were Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson and President John Peters.  With a quorum present, the meeting proceeded.

Confirmation of Open Meetings Act public notice compliance was provided by Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.

Chair Sanchez proposed that President’s Report No. 28 action Agenda Items 9.a.(3), 9.a.(5), 9.a.(6), 9.a.(7), 9.a.(8), and 9.a.(9); receipt of Information Items 9.b.(4), 9.b.(5), 9.b.(7), 9.b.(8), 9.b.(9), 9.b.(10), 9.b.(11), 9.b.(12) and 9.b.(13); and Information Item 9.c.(1) and walk‑in Information Item 9.c.(2) be moved to a consent agenda.  Trustee Siegel made a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended.  Trustee Skoien seconded the motion.  The motion was approved.

It was moved by Trustee Boey and seconded by Trustee Vella to approve the minutes of the June 21, 2001 Board of Trustees Meeting.  The motion was approved.

Chair Sanchez welcomed every to the meeting of the Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University.  It is my first time doing this, he said, and I am quite thrilled about it.  This morning, we will be hearing reports on many of the big issues that face our university:  finances, buildings, programs and policies.  And just as we have done for the past six years, he said, we will make decisions that will affect members of our campus community for years to come.  This is a responsibility that all Trustees take seriously.  As the title Trustee implies, we hold this university "in trust" for the people of the state of Illinois.  I mention this today because of the events of September 11.  It has given all of us cause to reflect on the various roles we play and the responsibilities we bear.  In this room alone, we have individuals with the responsibility of teaching future generations and to help make sense of last week's senseless tragedy.  In this room we have people with connections to our U.S. military charged with developing a response to the attack on our country.  In this room we have dedicated staff keeping this university running and tending to the needs of those touched by these events.  And in this room, we have students preparing for leadership roles in the years ahead.  Each and every one of us holds some critical responsibility in trust for the rest of our society.  In the end, perhaps this is the one lesson we can take from the events of September 11, that our lives are inextricably intertwined with the lives of every other member of our society and, indeed, with those of people around the world.  Clearly, the actions and reactions of our own campus community give us all reason to feel proud.  I note, in particular, the sensitive and responsible manner in which our students, faculty and staff have conducted themselves over the past week and a half and the heartfelt expressions of sympathy and spiritual connection with the victims and their families and the actions taken to alleviate pain and suffering.  For these and for many other reasons, I would like to express, on behalf of the entire Board of Trustees, our pride in the response of the NIU community.  In keeping with that spirit of remembrance, I would like to request, if you will bear with me, a moment of silence before we proceed with our meeting.  [A minute of silence was observed.]  Thank you.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be hearing some excellent news today about fall enrollment figures, the Chair said.  When I received the Northern Star edition reporting those figures and the phone calls that followed, it was very exciting, and I hope you are as excited as the Trustees are about those figures.  I would like to exercise the Chair's prerogative to comment on just a couple of aspects of that report.  First, the overall numbers looked very good.  President Peters and Provost Legg tell me that this year's numbers are particularly impressive given the slight demographic downturn we experienced.  Elsewhere in the state, the numbers were not as impressive as at NIU, and I think that is a tribute to the fine work of our faculty and staff and of our recruitment efforts.  Three things jumped out at me when I saw these latest enrollment figures.  First, we have a significant increase in our graduate student numbers, and that is a tribute to our growing reputation in a number of high‑demand fields.  I also note that we have seen an increase in the number of honors new freshmen.  It is another "quality" indicator that we can feel good about.  And finally, I see that this fall we have the largest‑ever Hispanic freshman class.  It is purely coincidental, but that does not happen by accident.  The word is out that NIU is a welcoming place for Latinos, the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group.

I would like to announce that on November 9, we are going to be sponsoring at NIU‑Naperville the first ever conference on Shaping Education Policy for Latinos in Illinois.  This is a project I dreamed about during my early years on the Board, and one that I want to make a hallmark of my tenure as Board Chair.  We will be featuring speakers from around the country addressing a variety of topics centered around increasing the pipeline of Latino students going to college and helping them succeed once they get there.  My thanks to Kathy Buettner, Melanie Magara, Liz Ortiz, George Gutierrez, Michael Gonzales and others for making this happen.  It has long been a dream of mine to make NIU a recognized center statewide and nationally for this important discussion.  You will be hearing more about this event soon by mail and through our future website.  Our brochure has been finalized and will be going out, thanks to Melanie Magara, no later than tomorrow.

Finally, on a personal note, I had the privilege this week of speaking at NIU’s Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month celebration, which Dr. Legg and other members of the administration were nice enough to come and join me at, where I met a number of impressive young people who are extremely serious about their education and very committed to celebrating their heritage within the larger context of the NIU campus community.  A week to the day after the attacks in New York and Washington, I was struck by how these young people are able to keep alive their unique cultural heritage, while still identifying themselves strongly as Americans.  We can do this, here at NIU and throughout our nation.  We can be both different and alike in fundamental ways.  The events set in motion by last week’s attacks will focus new attention on the widely varying nature of American identity.  I pray that this campus community will continue to contribute in a positive way to that national discussion and that NIU can be a model for the celebration of multiple cultures within a single, tolerant, unified family of learners.

Chair Sanchez recognized UAC representatives Dr. Suzanne Willis, Dr. Dan Griffiths, Dr. Dolly Jones, Dr. James Lockard, Ms. Jenine Povlsen and Ms. Judy Burgess.  Dr. Willis said that Provost Legg had asked her to organize an ongoing university response to the events of last week.  We had our first organizational meeting about that yesterday, she said, and we will be having an ongoing series of a variety of events and discussions.  We will publicize these as widely as possible.  I am hoping to attract not only the university community but the wider community as well, and all of you will be welcome at any and all of these events.

The Chair asked Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson if any members of the public had registered a written request to address the Board in accordance with state law and Board of Trustees Bylaws.  Mr. Davidson noted that no timely requests had been received for public comment at that Board meeting.

Executive Committee

There was no report from the Executive Committee.

Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee

Committee Chair Barbara Vella reported that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee met on Thursday, September 7.  One action item regarding bargaining agreements was forwarded for approval at today's meeting.  They have been ratified by the unions and have been placed on the consent agenda.  I would also like to highlight two of our university information reports, she said.  We had a spirited discussion on the Alumni Survey report given by Virginia Cassidy.  The Board found the information very useful and has given her more direction on refining that information and presenting it to us on an ongoing basis.  We also honored the professional excellence awards for staff and faculty.  And at a luncheon in their honor, we had a lively and interesting discussion with all of them.

Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee

Committee Chair Robert Boey reported that the Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee also met on Thursday, September 7.  At that meeting, the Committee considered and approved the following action items:  Fiscal Year 2003 appropriated and nonappropriated capital budgets, Fiscal Year 2002 internal budget, North Forty utility tunnel budget, Holmes Student Center ADA upgrades, delivery fees for the Alternative Teacher Certification Program and off‑campus graduate programs in computer science, and Document Services printing paper.  The Committee also received information items including the Fiscal Year 2002 increment summary report, 2001 annual reports and the capital activities report.  All these are included in the report to the Board for approval.

Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee

There was no report from the Legislation, Audit and External Affairs Committee.

Illinois Board of Higher Education

President Peters reported that he attended the regular meeting of the Illinois Board of Higher Education held on Tuesday, August 21, at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois.  Among the action items and reports that were dealt with that day was the acceptance of the report on access and diversity, which is called "Gateway to Success:  Rethinking Access and Diversity for a New Century."  There had been a series of open fora and discussions on that report, and it was accepted.  Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of that report was a recommendation that all high school students in Illinois take a college preparatory curriculum.  A second item of interest was a decision on the part of the Illinois Board of Higher Education to join with the Knight Higher Education Collaborative to hold a roundtable on important higher education issues in Illinois, which is scheduled for October 2001.  There was board endorsement for that, and members of the higher education community, including members of our boards of trustees, will be invited to that.

A very important item for Northern Illinois University was the acceptance of this year's recommendations for the disbursement of $19.6 million in grants under the Higher Education Cooperation Act, called the HECA grants.  I am pleased to report that Northern Illinois University has received approximately nine direct grants totaling almost a half a million dollars, the President said, plus we join with other universities and community colleges in several other grants.

The last item of significance was a report, which is mandated, on full‑time faculty and civil service salaries at Illinois colleges and universities, the President reported.  There was good news to report about the funds that the state could provide us this year for salary increments, and we will be reporting on that a little bit later in our meeting.  Despite the efforts that have been made on the part of State of Illinois, which have been substantial in the past two years, average faculty salaries at community colleges and at universities have fallen behind a bit.  So this is a matter of some concern to all of us.

Universities Civil Service Merit Board

Trustee Vella, who is Board of Trustees liaison, represented Northern Illinois University at a meeting in Normal, Illinois on Wednesday, September 6.  Discharge proceedings were considered against four individuals who were part of the Civil Service System – three from the University of Illinois at Chicago and one from the University of Illinois at Normal.  Also, the UCSMB internal budget was approved.

Northern Illinois University Foundation

Ms. Mallory Simpson, President of the NIU Foundation, gave the Foundation report.  The annual meeting of the NIU Foundation Board of Directors was held on September 7.  Chair Sanchez attended the Board of Directors meeting and extended the greetings of the Board of Trustees and the appreciation of the Trustees for the work that the Foundation Board is doing, and Ms. Simpson told Chair Sanchez that this was well received.  We very much appreciate your taking the time to do that, she said.  Trustee Boey was also in attendance as the Trustee liaison and a member of the Foundation Board.  We were also delighted to have Dennis and Stacey Barsema attend their first board meetings.  At that meeting, five new members of the Board of Directors were elected, moving us closer to our diversity objectives of race, ethnicity, geographic, professional and gender representation on our board, Ms. Simpson said. 

Ms. Simpson gave a few highlights of the Foundation's fiscal year end.  A printed report entitled "Our Foundation Year in Review" was given to each of the Trustees.  Total gifts received during last fiscal year were $27,244,000, which was an increase of 125%.  Also received through the Foundation was income of nearly half a million dollars from Pepsi and our credit card revenue.  Total revenue to the Foundation was $27,734,000.  In addition to that receipted, she said, we recorded about $4.3 million in new multiyear pledge and bequest expectancies.  So, our total activity was just slightly more than $32 million, a very good year indeed.  We received $894,000 through our annual fund.  After four years of dramatic increases through our Telefund program, we hit a little bit of a plateau.  We grew only five percent last year, as we had expected we would.  During the summer, we had an extensive electronic analysis of our annual fund program and our donor database so that we could understand better what our strengths and weaknesses were.  As a result of that, we are implementing several new strategies that will help us do a better job of segmenting and targeting our constituencies.  Key to continued growth of our annual fund really is retaining the donors that we have worked so hard to acquire and getting other donors up to the thousand dollar gift level or above.

The Foundation managed to hold steady on our endowment market value despite poor investment performance nationally, as you well know, through a combination of comparatively good investment performance and new gifts to endowment.  We closed the year at $20.5 million, down slightly from $20.7 million last year.  Other development program successes last year included implementation of our new donor recognition program, first direct mail pieces to educate our constituency about bequests, and huge strides in prospect analysis and research, which has resulted in many hundreds of new prospects who appear to have good potential for gifts of $25,000 or more.  As you know, we are playing catch‑up.  We have a lean staff, so we have worked very hard to carefully target prospects so that we can apply our precious resources appropriately to those people that we think will have the most promising results.  So far this year we have received 729,500 gifts.  Our annual fund is lagging somewhat behind last year at this time.  We did suspend calling for nearly a week in light of last week's activities.  We resumed on Monday and have been very carefully monitoring the responses.  Things appear to be normal there.

Our Donor Recognition Dinner is October 5 is Oakbrook, Ms. Simpson said, and all Board of Trustees members should have received an invitation.  Chair Sanchez, I am delighted to see you on the RSVP list.  It means a lot to our donors to have the presence of Trustees.  It really signals an acknowledgement and appreciation to the commitment they are making to the university.

We have received a new $100,000 pledge from steel drum manufacturer, Les Trilla.  He had just completed his $100,000 pledge for scholarships and has made a new $100,000 commitment, and we are delighted about that.

Finally, Ms. Simpson said, I wanted to close with just a few observations about giving in light of economic conditions, our national tragedy and potential for a state of war.  During the last six months to a year, we have seen a slight slowdown in gifts to higher education across the country.  Universities that are involved in campaigns at this point are finding that there is some delay in donors making new major gift commitments.  That is probably in consideration of the softer economy.  My staff and I have compiled some very detailed information to look at giving patterns during times of recession and during times of war, so that we kind of have a sense of what the impact might be on us where we are, giving patterns in general and higher education specifically.  We have every intention to go full steam ahead with all of our programs, she said.  We have so many new relationships to build and to begin, that we intended to focus on that and continue to watch the conditions to see how people are responding with major gift decisions.  We anticipate that there will be some shift, hopefully short‑term.  There has been such a huge philanthropic response to events of last week that people are giving to aid organizations, and perhaps there will be a shift away from higher education.  We hope that will be short‑term.  I think we really need to get out there strongly with our case for the support of higher education.  Chair Sanchez, I think, spoke very well to that in his opening remarks, Ms. Simpson said.  Universities have a role to play in times like these, and we need to connect those dots so that we protect our place among our constituencies' giving priorities, and I think we have got a very strong case to make.

All of the Trustees are incredibly impressed by the strength of the Foundation and its staff, Chair Sanchez said, and the efforts that have produced these kinds of results.  We are all indebted to you for the fine work you do on a daily basis.  Frankly, he said, I think NIU's Foundation has created the paradigm for the state if not for the rest of the country, and even in these hard economic times.  Thank you for your continued splendid efforts.

Thank you, very much, Ms. Simpson said, we do, indeed, have a very strong Foundation Board, and they are very committed and working hard.  It is good to have your comments to share with them.

Chair Sanchez asked for a motion to close the public meeting to conduct an executive session to discuss the following subjects authorized by the Illinois Open Meetings Act:  collective bargaining matters as generally described under §2(c)(2) of the Open Meetings Act, property matters as generally described under §2(c)(5) and (6) of the Open Meetings Act and self-evaluation, practices and procedures or professional ethics as generally described under section 2(c)(16) of the Open Meetings Act. 

Trustee Skoien so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  A roll call vote of the Trustees to recess to Executive Session was unanimous.

Because Chair Sanchez had to leave, Vice Chair Gary Skoien reconvened the public meeting of the Board of Trustees at approximately 10:55 a.m.

Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the items placed on the Consent Agenda, which included President's Report Number 28 Action Items 9.a.(3), 9.a.(5), 9.a.(6), 9.a.(7), 9.a.(8), and 9.a.(9); Information Items 9.b.(4), 9.b.(5), 9.b.(7), 9.b.(8), 9.b.(9), 9.b.(10), 9.b.(11), 9.b.(12) and 9.b.(13); and Information Item 9.c.(1) and walk‑in Information Item 9.c.(2) to that consent agenda.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Alaniz.  The motion was approved.

The Vice Chair asked Mr. Davidson to briefly identify the items being considered for the Consent Agenda and said they would be followed by an opportunity for discussion before the vote.

Mr. Davidson stated that the action items proposed for the Consent Agenda of President's Report No. 28 were:  Fiscal Year 2002 Internal Budget, an action item; Holmes Student Center - ADA Upgrades - Capital Project Approval, an action item; Off‑Campus Delivery Fee for Graduate Programs in Computer Science, an action item; Delivery Fee for the Alternative Teacher Certification Program, an action item; Document Services Printing Paper, an action item; Collective Bargaining Agreements, an action item.  Information items proposed for the Consent Agenda of President's Report No. 28 were:  Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Report on Cash and Investments; Quarterly Summary Report of Transactions in Excess of $100,000; Fiscal Year 2003 Programmatic Budget Requests; Fiscal Year 2001 University Results Report; Annual Survey of Undergraduate Alumni; Vision 2001-PeopleSoft Human Resource Information Services System Implementation; Professional Excellence Awards for Faculty and Staff; Annual IBHE Report on Underrepresented Groups; Fiscal Year 2001 External Funding for Research, Public Service and Instructional Projects; Summary of Grant and Contract Awards; and Twin Lights Affiliation Agreement.

University Recommendations Forwarded by the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.a.(3) – Fiscal Year 2002 Internal Budget

Agenda Item 9.a.(5) – Holmes Student Center - ADA Upgrades - Capital Project Approval

Agenda Item 9.a.(6) – Off‑Campus Delivery Fee for Graduate Programs in Computer Science

Agenda Item 9.a.(7) – Delivery Fee - Alternative Teacher Certification Program

Agenda Item 9.a.(8) – Document Services Printing Paper

Agenda Item 9.a.(9) – Collective Bargaining Agreements

Consent Agenda items.

University Reports Forwarded from the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.b.(4) – Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Report on Cash and Investments

Agenda Item 9.b.(5) – Quarterly Summary Report of Transactions in Excess of $100,000

Agenda Item 9.b.(7) – Fiscal Year 2003 Programmatic Budget Requests

Agenda Item 9.b.(8) – Fiscal Year 2001 University Results Report

Agenda Item 9.b.(9) – Annual Survey of Undergraduate Alumni

Agenda Item 9.b.(10) – Vision 2001 - PeopleSoft Human Resource Information Services Implementation

Agenda Item 9.b.(11) – Professional Excellence Awards for Faculty and Staff

Agenda Item 9.b.(12) – Annual IBHE Report on Underrepresented Groups

Agenda Item 9.b.(13) – Fiscal Year 2001 External Funding Research, Public Service and Instructional Projects

Consent Agenda items.

Items Directly from the President

Agenda Item 9.c.(1) – Summary of Grant and Contract Awards

Agenda Item 9.c.(2) –Twin Lights Affiliation Agreement

Consent Agenda items.

Items Directly from the President

Agenda Item 9.c.(1) – Summary of Grant and Contract Awards

Consent Agenda item.

Agenda Item 9.c.(2) –Twin Lights Affiliation Agreement

Several months ago, President Peters said, Trustee Myron Siegel, informed me of a company that was involved in the development of some interesting interactive video training models, and we arranged for a presentation.  I was very impressed with this company and their product, interactive video models designed to assess leadership and leadership skills in the workplace.  Over the last few months, there have been some fundamental discussions.  Today, we are pleased to announce an affiliation with NIU and this company called Twin Lights.

I am pleased to be able to announce the significant opportunity that NIU has undertaken, Trustee Siegel said, the results of many months of discussions and negotiations that culminated in a contract being signed this week with Twin Lights.  Several months ago, the Twin Lights people contacted me through my regular business channels, and I quickly saw an opportunity that was unique for Northern and Twin Lights.  Twin Lights is an entity formed by some nationally known developers of cutting edge gaming technology.  Twin Lights is a digital media company that has developed a cutting‑edge e‑learning model using proprietary assessment, training and mentoring programs delivered through interactive video reality‑based training, role playing and curricular‑based education systems.  The military as well as many Fortune 100 companies have already expressed an interest in this technology, and there are significant negotiations going on with those groups.  This technology could vault NIU to the forefront in e‑learning, not to mention the potential financial benefit to NIU.  I want to personally thank George Moser for his assistance and Chair Sanchez for his continued support of this opportunity.  After consultations with then chair George Moser and President Peters, Trustee Siegel said, I began working on this project with Dr. Anne Kaplan, Dean David Graf of the College of Business and Mr. George Shur, the University General Counsel.  Both President Peters and Anne Kaplan recognized the potential for this project, and Dr. Kaplan took this on as a personal mission.  Dean Graf also saw the opportunity and was able to gather faculty support and excitement for the project in the College of Business.  Mr. Shur deftly worked through the contractual terms with Twin Lights legal counsel, resulting in a win‑win agreement. To tell you more about this agreement, Trustee Siegel said, I will ask George Shur to explain the contract terms.  Then I would like Anne Kaplan and Dean David Graf to tell us what they see from their perspectives.  Finally, Rita Zimmerer from Twin Lights is here to give us a short presentation about this technology.

This is a unique opportunity for Northern and for Twin Lights to provide cutting‑edge educational software that can be used in our classrooms at Northern, Mr. Shur said, and, hopefully, can be expanded for use elsewhere throughout the country.  This is the type of entrepreneurship and the type of town‑gown cooperation which the Governor and the legislature has for a number of years encouraged in institutions of higher education in Illinois.  As Trustee Siegel indicated, this is a win‑win agreement.  The university is not required to expend any of its resources, but will work very closely with Twin Lights in exploring external funding for the project.  The university, through its College of Business, will provide consultative services and assist in the testing of the product as it comes on line.  Clearly, this will be a benefit to our College of Business and eventually other components of the university.  We trust it will also be of benefit to higher education in general and to all methods of training throughout the country.

I would like to reiterate thanks on behalf of the Board for everybody at the university involved in this, Vice Chair Skoien said, and particularly to Trustee Siegel for bringing this to the university.  It sounds like a great opportunity for us.

You will be relieved to hear I am not going to explain interactive video to you, Dr. Kaplan said.  However, I can tell you that when the President and I went out to Naperville to meet with Ms. Zimmerer to see this presentation, we both immediately wanted to play.  We wanted to compete on our leadership skills and push the buttons to go down one path or another and see how it would all work out.  On the other hand, neither of us is in the business of teaching business, so we very quickly decided that we needed to get an assessment from faculty in the College of Business.  That is why we brought in Dean Graf, who is here to tell you a little bit about how his faculty reacted.  It seemed to us that if this was something that faculty in the College of Business were interested in, she said, we would have a nice synergy of opportunities going when we open what we hope will be a cutting‑edge business facility.  And if we have a cutting‑edge business curriculum to go with it, that would be a very nice mix.

One of the things that we have been looking for over the years is a fruitful alliance between two organizations in the sense that both organizations benefit by working together, Dean Graf said, and this one is truly going to work that way.  First of all, from a pedagogical standpoint, the students are sure to benefit from the product being created here because it is a new way of learning.  But at the same time, it is a new way of teaching and a new way of developing materials.  So, it has a double effect and a very positive effect for both students and faculty at the same time.  The other thing it does for the College of Business and for NIU is it puts us in a leadership position by being able to tell other institutions around the country that we are at the forefront of developing these kinds of materials.  I do not plan to describe all that to you, because we have something better, we actually have a demonstration of what we are talking about.  I have to change the old phrase a little bit by saying "a video is worth a thousand words," the Dean said, because we are going to do something based on a CD and the product that is being developed.  Dean Graf introduced Ms. Rita Zimmerer, CEO of the U.S. headquarters of Twin Lights.

Everybody has talked about the product that Twin Lights has been working on actually for two years, Ms. Zimmerer said.  This product came about by thinking in terms of how we can train and educate the children of today.  If you think of children and the students and the freshmen coming into the universities today, they have been playing video games most of their lives.  This means that they have been learning in an interactive venue.  They are visual.  Working out of a textbook does not necessarily excite them as much as we would like it to.  So, after two years of working on this, I had the pleasure of talking to Trustee Siegel, and, in about 20 minutes, he saw very quickly the opportunity for the university, looking at the curriculum and where we are going in the millennium in training and educating students.

The first thing I will show you, Ms. Zimmerer said, is an introduction to the product itself.  I want you to think in terms of you as the CEO.  This is your game.  You are going to play it and experience what is going on in a major corporation.  This corporation is a very large pizza retailer that has over 50,000 employees worldwide.  They ship billions of dollars of pizza.  What we have done is give the students what they like and are very familiar with – pizza.  So, the name of the company is Pacini's Pizza.

This is pretty much what the actual product and the course will be about, Ms. Zimmerer said, being a CEO.  We spent a long time coming up with what we call a training model.  Looking at leadership, and at the events that have occurred over the last couple of weeks, we now need leaders more than ever.  What we do not do in defining leaders is begin at an early age – begin to assess people and whether or not they have the competencies it takes to be a leader.  What we are going to do in this course is show people what their competencies are and where they are going to work with these competencies.  They are going to understand what competencies it is necessary to have to be a leader.  All these competencies will be within the product.  Then we will actually train them with the skill sets in this product and see how they react to the outcome of what is going on within the corporation itself.  Students will sit in front of a computer themselves and work through thinking like and being a CEO.  There are actually five games; each one of them is a challenge.  We will be developing these five games with the faculty so that it corresponds to the course work here at NIU, Ms. Zimmerer said.  Everybody at Twin Lights really appreciates all the help and effort and everybody who was responsible for bringing us together as partners.

Agenda Item 9.a.(9) – Collective Bargaining Agreements

President Peters asked Steve Cunningham to brief the Board on the university's latest contract settlement.  We have added a fourth contract to Agenda Item 9.a.(9), which is the Instructors collective bargaining agreement.  Mr. Cunningham said it had been ratified by the bargaining unit.  The University Professionals of Illinois represent about 150 Instructors.  This is a landmark agreement in terms of the history of NIU with its Instructors, he said.  It is a five‑year, closed agreement.  The appointment standards, terms and conditions, salaries, evaluation criteria, workload, credit unit equivalencies and other provisions of the contract establish a model for higher education with respect to the administration of part‑time and temporary faculty.  The IBHE has a task force that we participate in on this issue, Mr. Cunningham said, and the parties involved deserve recognition for working together to have a very good contract. 

I was going to say a good bit about the events of last week, President Peters said, the way this campus responded and how proud I am of our faculty, students and staff.  But I will forego that because I will be saying something extensive about that on October 4 at the State of the University Address.  But we are all very proud, as Manny Sanchez indicated, of the way the campus rose to that tragedy.

University Recommendations Forwarded by the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.a.(1) – Fiscal Year 2003 Appropriated Capital Budget

Every year at this time, President Peters said, we submit to the IBHE capital budget items for their review and consideration in the state budget process.  The capital requests are of two forms:  regular capital projects consisting of over a million dollars that require considerable planning and phasing and construction, and the other component is the capital renewal category – repair and renovation projects estimated at over a hundred thousand dollars.  On page 11 is a list in priority order of capital projects that have been submitted this year.  Number one on our capital list is a request for planning money of over $1.2 million to renovate the Stevens Building, which is the home of theatre and anthropology.  We recently toured that building with representatives from the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and last year, we had our local state representatives view that building.  In total, that will be a $16 million project.  It is quite significant and vitally needed.  Number two on the priority list is an appropriation of approximately $5 million for furniture and equipment to complete the privately funded Barsema Hall.  We have received a lot of support from IBHE and others in state government so far on this project, the President said, and we hope to receive it.  As a result of the gift from the Barsemas, the university will be able to begin the renovation of Wirtz Hall, which needs it desperately, so we can house the College of Health and Human Sciences there.  After Board of Trustees approval, the FY03 capital budget request will be submitted to IBHE for consideration and inclusion in the statewide 2003 IBHE capital budget recommendation.  Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the FY03 appropriated capital budget.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 9.a.(2) – Fiscal Year 2003 Nonappropriated Capital Budget

The table on page 17 gives a list of the projects the university would like to include in the nonappropriated capital budget projects, Dr. Peters said.  They are basically renovation and renewal and rehabilitation projects.  Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the FY03 nonappropriated capital budget.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 9.a.(4) – North Forty Utility Tunnel - Capital Project Approval

In March of this year, the Board approved the construction of a North Forty utility tunnel and set a budget of over $642,000, President Peters said, and we have moved ahead with that project.  However, the university is requesting Board of Trustees authorization to establish an adjusted new total of $887,600 for construction of the utility tunnel from the existing tunnel at the Engineering Building sufficient to reach Barsema Hall.  This represents an increase of $245,600 over the original approval level that can be funded from existing capital renewal funds.  The university further requests approval to execute professional service agreements, construction contracts and issue work orders as necessary to design and construct the utility tunnel, Dr. Peters said.  Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve of the North Forty Utility Tunnel Project.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey.  The motion was approved.

University Reports Forwarded from the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.b.(1) – Fiscal Year 2002 Increment Summary Report

This increment summary report is basically in accordance with the increment summary guidelines passed by the Board and the wonderful budget that the state provided us for salary increments, President Peters said.  We followed those guidelines and distributed increments to our employees in the three categories listed in the table for faculty with promotion increases, 6.4%; FLSA exempt employees, 6.0%; nonexempt civil service, 6.0%.  For the university, the total averaged almost 6.2%.  We are all very grateful to the state for that fine budget year.

Agenda Item 9.b.(2) – Fiscal Year 2001 Annual Report on Capital Activities

The next item I want to bring to your attention, President Peters said, is an outstanding report required by the Board of Trustees on five years review.  The FY01 Annual Report on Capital Activities is a thorough review of our capital projects by source and type, meaning whether they were from the state, the Capital Development Board or whether they came from our revenue bond funds or from other private funds.  All you have to do is walk around the campus to know that we have a considerable number of capital projects underway.

Agenda Item 9.b.(3) – Fiscal Year 2001 Report of Tuition and Fee Waivers

This is a report we must file on tuition and fee waivers annually, Dr. Peters said.  It is filed by category, those that are mandatory, which are required by state statute or other agreements, and those waivers that the institution chooses, for its best interests and educational interests, to provide.  This has been relatively stable over time and well within the IBHE guidelines and our own guidelines.

Agenda Item 9.b.(6) – Huskie Stadium Turf Replacement Update

What we're passing out is just a little thank you, said Bob Albanese, Assistant Vice President for Finance and facilities.  This project was something we had a real short timeline to complete.  We received Board approval in March, began the project in April and completed it in June.  Normally, projects do not move along that fast a track.  If you will look in the bags you just received, you will see what we would like to refer to as a conversation piece.  It is a representation of the turf that is now in Huskie Stadium.  We have heard some rave reviews from our football team and even some of the opponents that have come in and played on this turf, he said.  It is really state of the art.  And it is nice to see that we can get a project like this done in this timeframe, beginning in March and having it ready to go by the end of June.  We really appreciate the Board's support.  I would also like to remind the university community that this Saturday evening we will be unveiling our upgraded video and sound system at the stadium.

On behalf of the Board, Vice Chair Skoien said, I would like to thank you for this.  I think we can all truly say we do not have one of these and that we will have a cherished place for them.  By the way, for those of us who were down at the UI and saw that tremendous football game, I think we are going to get some good use out of this turf this year.

The Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University, which was established as an independent board of governance, came into being in January 1996.  It is traditional for boards of trustees to have a lapel pin struck that is dignified and appropriate to commemorate their governance, President Peters said, and it signifies when worn that you are a member of the Board of Trustees.  It is exclusive to members of boards of trustees.  Not even Dr. Williams or Dr. Legg or I can have one.  All current, past and future members of the Northern Illinois University Board of Trustees will receive these pins, and we hope you will wear them with pride.  The whole community thanks you for what you do for NIU and our students, faculty and staff, he said.   Congratulations to all of you.  Thank you, this is very touching, Trustee Boey said, because it is truly a valuable recognition on the part of the university.  All that we do, we do because we wish to put the university in its strongest position ever.

President Peters reported he had just received the one‑page summaries of the various colleges by the deans from the Provost, and that they will be distributed to the Board members in the next few days. I think that these are going to be very helpful in our understanding of the various colleges on campus, Trustee Boey commented.

The next regular Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 6, in the Sky Room of Holmes Student Center.

Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to adjourn.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.  The meeting was adjourned at approximately 12:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms

Recording Secretary