Minutes of the

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

December 5, 2002

The meeting was called to order by Chair Manuel Sanchez at approximately 9:10 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 Catherine Adduci, Robert Boey, George Moser, Myron Siegel, Gary Skoien, Student Trustee Jesse Perez and Chair Sanchez.  Not present was Trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella.  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.

Subsequent to the printing of the Board Reports, Chair Sanchez said, three information items were added.  Agenda Item 9.b.(2), the Semiannual Progress Report of Active Capital Projects With a Budget Over $100,000; Agenda Item 9.b.(3), Quarterly Summary Report of Transactions in Excess of $100,000; and Agenda Item 9.b.(4), Quarterly Report of Investments.   Also, two action items were added to the agenda under the Chair’s Report:  Agenda Item 10.c., Intergovernmental Agreement on the Metropolitan Planning Organization and Agenda Item 10.d., Board Officer Service Recognition Resolution.  The Chair asked a motion to add these items to the meeting agenda.  Trustee Moser so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey.  The motion was approved.

After discussion with President Peters and a review of the printed Revised Agenda before us, Chair Sanchez said, I propose the creation of a Consent Agenda that would immediately precede the President’s Report for today’s meeting and move President’s Report No. 33 Action Items 9.a.(1), (2) and (3) and our receipt of Information Items 9.b.(1), (2), (3) and (4) and 9.c.(1) to that Consent Agenda.  Trustee Adduci made a motion to approve the meeting agenda as amended.  Trustee Siegel seconded the motion.  The motion was approved.

It was moved by Trustee Moser and seconded by Trustee Adduci to approve the minutes of the September 19, 2002 Board of Trustees Meeting.  The motion was approved.

Good morning to everyone, Chair Sanchez said, it is a pleasure for me to be here today at our last full Board meeting of 2002.  Some of you may ask what I do – where has the year gone?  I cannot believe that 11‑plus months of this year have already passed, and the holidays are here.  It seems like just yesterday we were talking about the new millennium and the year 2000.  Now we are almost two years beyond, and I am awed by how quickly it has gone.

This has truly been a year of great accomplishments and great challenges, he said, and I would like to invoke the Chair’s prerogative for just a few moments to comment on both.  The year 2002 has been, in many ways, the year of dreams realized and dreams delayed.  We have seen NIU become the university of choice for a growing number of talented young people as 2002 marked NIU’s largest‑ever single‑year enrollment increase – and that bears repeating, the single‑year largest enrollment increase.  Why is that more important today than ever with respect to what is happening in Springfield and the change in the administration?  Because, for the last six years, thanks to a law that was passed, the Income Fund is controlled individually by each of the public higher education institutions.  Frankly, we must do everything possible to see that that can never be undone and returned to the old way, where you had to collect the tuition, send it to Springfield and then the following year have it appropriated back to you.  Think of the nightmare we would have here with this kind of increase in enrollment if we still had to rely, not on the tuition that’s actually paid for the increased enrollment this year, but deal with last year’s tuition because it was what had been appropriated for this year.  That would wreak havoc on us, particularly given the budgetary constraints we are already facing.  And now, I heard as recently as this week, the deficit is going to approximately $3 billion.  I just wanted to interject my position as Chair of NIU on that particular position.  It will be articulated in many venues, including those that control this state.

We have seen a former NIU student come back to campus to open a magnificent new building that bears his and his spouse’s names – Dennis and Stacey Barsema.  We have seen thousands of students pour into our beautiful new convocation center for parties, concerts and sporting events.  We have seen long‑time faculty honored with the award of federal research grants that build and equip state‑of‑the‑art facilities for their important work.

We have even cheered ourselves hoarse over a scrappy football team that lost five star players and still found ways to win – both on and off the field.  I see Cary Groth is here and I see people from Intercollegiate Athletics, the coaching staff and some of the players.  What a great weekend.  There was all this big play about it, and it met, if not exceeded, expectations.  In terms of victory, maybe not.  But, in terms of pride, absolutely.  Pride was omnipresent that weekend, whether you were in that football stadium or east, north, or west of there tailgating.  I can say that for the 32 years since I left this institution, I have never seen such a return of pride to DeKalb as we saw that weekend.  The weekend culminated with the basketball game and then the wrestling match.  Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was here for that weekend and the wrestling match, the first wrestling match I have ever witnessed.  When I left that Sunday afternoon, that 40‑minute ride seemed like the shortest ride ever, because I was floating.  I was just so proud of what this university had accomplished and more excited about what the future has ahead for NIU and its students, faculty and staff.  We are really blessed.  And if we continue to receive the support from our alumni and from other benefactors, there is no reason that sense of pride cannot visit this campus on a regular basis.  I cannot tell you, from the heart of an alum, class of 1970, how proud I was of that weekend.  Thank you all for making it that, particularly for this old alum.

We have had many reasons to celebrate in 2002, and I am confident that we will continue to find exemplary people, programs and stories in 2003.  What makes much of this so amazing to me is that it all happened against a backdrop of nearly unprecedented financial constraints.  Budget cuts, budget give‑backs, budget rescissions and worsening budget forecasts have been the order of the day since this time last year.  President Peters sent out e-mails and notes universitywide to keep everyone abreast of the current budget situation, although I do not know where John has time to do anything besides revising, on almost a monthly basis, the cuts that need to be made.  And yet, one year later, I am amazed at how Eddie Williams and his staff have found ways to pay for the exemplary academic program that we have and maintain the exemplary faculty and the management team that we have.  The Trustees could not be prouder of what we have been able to do under incredibly difficult budgetary constraints.

As a Board, we have done all we can to lobby for NIU support.  The best we can say is that things could be worse, that we have held the line, that we have told the NIU story in Springfield, and we believe we have done what we can to mitigate the impact.  I believe we have made a difference, but we also know that is little comfort to dedicated faculty and staff who have foregone salary increases and who continue to be asked to do more with less.  We are extremely grateful to the NIU community for its patience, understanding and generosity of spirit in these difficult times.  If we needed those strengths in 2002, we are certainly going to need them again in 2003, for the news out of Springfield is about worsening deficits, disappointing revenues and ever-increasing budget shortfalls.  Some estimates go as high as $3 billion that will have to be made up, at least in part, by further cuts.

I know I speak on behalf of my fellow Trustees when I say that we are very impressed with the manner in which our president, John Peters, and his staff have readied the university for these difficult times.  More than a year ago, John set forth a series of budget guidelines for the campus community, and they have served us well through the ensuing months.  Dr. Eddie Williams and his staff have similarly maintained a strong and determined hand in managing our way through the crisis, and we have the utmost faith in their ability to continue this important stewardship.

These are uncertain times, to be sure.  We have a new Governor taking office next month, and new leadership in the both the House and the Senate.  I know Rod and Patty Blagojevich very well, and count them among my friends.  I know our Governor-elect to be a strong advocate of education at all levels, and I believe that NIU will fare well under his leadership.  There are other Trustees on the NIU Board who have similar if not stronger relationships with the governor‑elect.  However, there were certain press releases, frankly, that discomfited some of us, and I am hoping that that was more political language used in the thick of a very tough race.  And I am hopeful that this new governor and his staff will do the right thing for higher education.

We have, not just a good story, but a great story to tell.  We are responsible, effective managers of state resources.  We have the lowest administrative costs of any public university in the state.  Our research and public service programs provide direct, tangible benefits to the people of this region, and our graduates are doing great things with their NIU degrees.  We need to keep our focus in the weeks and months ahead, and continue to provide the best possible education for our 25,000 students.  We live and work in the third‑largest metropolitan region in the United States, and our role in that region is growing in importance. 

We Trustees feel very privileged to serve NIU, and we will continue to do our part in the coming year to provide the guidance and support this institution and its students deserve.

On behalf of the entire Board, I would like to reiterate our thanks to the NIU faculty and staff for their excellent work this past year.  On a personal note, I would like to thank my fellow Trustees, who have been there for this past year and a half under my chairmanship.  It has really been a resource that I never have a chance, publicly, to share, but it is one of which I want you to be aware.  This is the best Board of Trustees, not just in this state, but, I submit to you, in the country.  We at NIU are privileged to have the leadership that we have.  And when push comes to shove, this Board is one.  We speak as one, and we will continue to speak as one, no matter what party or what governor is in Springfield.  I just want to conclude by saying, again, that I am one very proud 1970 alum, and thank you for giving me the honor of chairing this Board.  Thank you.

I want to really thank you for those comments and for the support of the Board, President Peters said, and we hope that we can continue to have your trust as we try to remain the best stewards possible of this great educational enterprise.  Chair Sanchez made reference in his remarks to looking forward to working with Governor‑elect Rod Blagojevich.  Not many people know this, he said, but recently, Manny was named by Governor-elect Blagojevich to serve on the Higher Education Committee of his transition team.  That’s an honor, not only for our Board Chair, but also for this university.  If you gauge Manny’s remarks, I think you understand why I feel confident that our case will be made to this transition team.  Congratulations, Manny, we know you will bring valuable perspective to those discussions and that you will represent your alma mater with distinction.  Chair Sanchez thanked President Peters for his remarks. and said we will make this happen with the help of the State and Federal Relations staff.

The Chair welcomed University Advisory Committee (UAC) representatives Dr. Suzanne Willis, Dr. Paul Loubere, Dr. William Tolhurst, Dr. Jim Lockard, Ms. Beverly Espe and Ms. Sara Clayton.  I am very pleased and heartened to hear of your relationship with the Governor‑elect, Dr. Willis said, and I am looking forward to having higher education take its proper place in the priorities of the new administration.  You know, of course, that the faculty does not see all that goes on behind the scenes, so we are kind of scrambling and trying to do as much as we can with what we have.  Particularly since we are at this point in the semester – the last week of classes with final exams next week – the faculty is kind of frazzled.  And the news out of Springfield, for the most part, is not helping.  But we certainly are doing our best.  We love NIU as much as anyone else does.  This is our life and our careers, and we are giving it our all.

Well, we are the beneficiaries of that Dr. Willis, Chair Sanchez said, and thank you for the kind words and support.  President Peters will introduce head football coach, Joe Novak and certain football team players.  But before he does, the Chair said, when I talk about pride, I could not resist.  I had to get out of my seat and personally shake the hands of each of these players because so much of the pride I was talking about within that football stadium was engendered by their activities.  And when I see that it is complimented by your activities off the field, just by your presence and the way you carry yourselves, he told the football team representatives, it is another heartfelt statement of pride, and you really carry the NIU banner very nicely.

Thank you, Mr. Chair, Dr. Peters said, this is a lot of fun and pride for me also.  I would like to introduce our special guests.  Head football coach Joe Novak is here with us today, and he has brought a number of players for us to meet.  Not only did this year’s team succeed in terms of what they did on the field, but they also succeeded in rekindling, as Manny has said, a tremendous amount of fan interest in NIU football.  It was not just that they won games but that they played so hard and with such spirit.  Saturdays at Huskie Stadium was the place to be this fall.  As a matter of fact, over 140,000 Huskie fans attended our games this year.  That is an average attendance for our home games this year of 21,000, which puts us just behind Marshall and Toledo in our league.  That is attributable to the team and the excitement they cause there.

The young men Joe has chosen to introduce this morning are among the eleven – yes, I said eleven – NIU players who were chosen All-Mid‑America Conference Players of the Year, the President said.  That has got to be some kind of a record.  Six of those eleven were First Team picks.  In both categories, NIU led the league.  We are proud of these players and what they have been able to accomplish this year.  Without further ado, I will ask our head Huskie, Coach Novak, to come forward and say a few words.

It is a real treat to be here this morning, Coach Novak said, and to bring some of the players from our football team.  It was an exciting year.  I had the opportunity to come here last year, and we talked about championships and a championship game.  I was hoping to be practicing today, and not here in this capacity.  But we came up just a little bit short.  However, we have here today our first team All Mid‑American Conference Players, and five who made second team Mid‑American Conference.

Coach Novak introduced the players from the football team. The seniors were:  Timmy Vincent, an offensive tackle from Galena; Larry Williams, a linebacker from Dunbar High School in Chicago; and Vince Thompson, a defensive back corner from St. Rita High School in Chicago.  The underclassmen were:  Danny Sheldon, who was named Specialty Team Player of the Year for leading the country in punt returns, is from Burlington; Mike Turner, from North Chicago was second in the country in rushing this year with 1,900 yards; Randy Drew was a corner from Milwaukee who had a great year with seven interceptions and led the conference in interceptions; and Travis Moore from Eisenhower High School in Chicago, defensive end, first team.

I just had the opportunity this week to sit down and interview all our players, the coach said.  Another thing I know you will all be proud to hear is that our three seniors are right on track to graduate here in the very near future.  Our four underclassmen are also right on track toward graduation.  It was a fun, exciting year.  We certainly appreciate the support we had from the students, the community, the alumni and the faculty and staff.  It was a great fall season.  That Bowling Green game, I have been around coaching for a long time, and I have been around some bigger arenas than that day, but I have never been around a more electric crowd.  And that was something that really helped bring our football team up.

The thing that is exciting to all of us is that of our 11 All‑Conference Players, seven of them are coming back next year.  So I think we are looking forward to some more positive things.  We certainly appreciate what our senior players have done.  These three seniors were all fifth‑year kids who were the last group that remembers our losing streak.  So, as of today, we no longer have to talk about that any more.  But those players saw the end of it, and they are the ones that helped bring this program up to the point where it is right now, very competitive in this league.  And I know how much it adds to a campus and a community when you have that type of excitement.  Thanks so much for having us today.  Thanks for your support.  We look forward to coming back in the future.

I have one more thing to announce, President Peters said, tomorrow morning, out of Cleveland, Ohio, the MAC conference will name Joe Novak Coach of the Year.

I would just say this, Coach Novak said, these students have said it better than I can all year.  When you listen to Mike Turner talk after our games, the first thing out of his mouth is his offensive line, and the team members that are helping him get the numbers that he has.  Certainly, we are proud to accept that award.  We all know it is a staff and a team.  There are no individual awards in this game.  When you have 112 players, 10 coaches, a training staff and all that, it is a team effort, and I certainly appreciate that.  But we accept it on behalf of our team.  So, thank you, very much.

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.

There was no report from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Illinois Board of Higher Education

There was no report from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Universities Civil Service Merit Board

There was no report from the Illinois Universities Civil Service Merit Board.

Northern Illinois University Foundation

Before I defer to the president of the Foundation to give this report, Trustee Boey said, I would like to make a comment.  This is the first time in seven years that both the Finance and Facilities and Academic Affairs Committees did not meet.  This reflects the economic times that we are going through.  It really brings home the point that there is no money to spend.

The Foundation, too, is coming off an exceedingly busy fall period of donor and prospect events that began in August, Ms. Mallory Simpson, President of the NIU Foundation said, and will carry through next week with a small dinner for major prospects in New York City preceding the Alumni Association’s theater event in New York City.  Included this fall were the Barsema Hall dedication activities and receptions prior to each home football game, as well as the opening basketball game in our new convocation center.  Also, our donor recognition dinner was held on October 4, which featured Foundation award recipients Bill Nicholas, Bob and Gena Beck and family and Shore Bank, and a surprise appearance by the Huskie Marching Band.  In addition, Foundation committees and the entire Foundation Board met as part of its annual meeting and dinner on November 8, and four new directors were elected:  Dean DeBiase, Chairman and CEO of Startup Partners in Lake Forest; Tom Kubik, President of MK Systems in Oakbrook; Richard Ryan, former president of DeKalb Agriculture, now Monsanto; and Tim Struthers, President of Castle Bank.  It is a very strong class of new directors.  Board action on November 8 included the appointment of several new committee chairs and a first‑time ever collective goal for the board of directors for annual fund gifts.  They have set a very ambitious goal for themselves as a board in its entirety.  Each year, the board is getting stronger and more involved in the development process, and we look forward to our continuing collaboration with the Alumni Association.  Our third joint meeting of executive committees will be held on January 24, preceding the Alumni Association’s major event at the Art Institute.

For the first time in recent history, Ms. Simpson reported, our giving is behind our pace of last year.  We had predicted that would be the case, and it is in keeping with national standards, she said, but I am not feeling very good about it.  Total gifts to date are $1,432,000 compared to $1,662,000 last year at this time.  In 2001, giving was flat across the country.  It was the second lowest year in giving nationally since 1959.  The lowest was 1987.  However, there was a little growth, but when adjusted for inflation, giving was down 2.3 percent.  The average drop during a recession period is about negative 1.1 percent, so the drop last year was a little sharper than during an average recession.  The Ohio University Foundation has a very comprehensive and strong, well‑established development program.  The president of their Foundation and I were talking this week, and he said, “I’ve been telling people that we’re working a hundred percent harder and raising about 50 percent less money.”  So, this is a tough environment for everyone.  Education received 15 percent of the total nationally in 2001, second only to religion.  About $53 million of that was in scholarship funds for victims of September 11 casualties.

Giving typically recovers to prerecession rates within one to two years after the end of a recession.  So, what do we do in this environment?  We really have to focus on laying the groundwork, which is building relationships with as many potential donors as possible.  This is the basic work of any major gifts program in any environment.  We have made huge progress this past year in getting to know new prospects.  These efforts have included the President, senior administration, deans and staff participating in these events.  I want to express my appreciation to everyone who has been involved in these events and made the time to participate, Ms. Simpson said, and I specially want to thank you Trustees.   Many of you have been participants in Foundation programs this fall.  It makes such a big difference to our guests to have you there and to be able to rub elbows with the people who are the governing board of their university.  So, thank you for that.

In addition to building relationships at events, Ms. Simpson continued, staff made roughly 360 personal visits with prospects last year.  This is an unprecedented number at NIU.  It is a very good start, but we are just scratching the surface.  I also brought a part of our team to introduce to you today.  They are not physically as large as the football team, but they are probably as competitive.  It is our entire major gifts team.  I say entire, because when you see how many there are, you will know that for a major university, it is a fairly small but very dedicated group, and I am proud of them all.  Nora Clark is our gift officer assigned to Liberal Arts and Sciences.  She has been with the development team for two and a half years.  Paul Crawford is our all‑university major gift officer.  He has been with us for nearly a year.  Donna Mack is our major gift officer assigned to the College of Business.  She has been with us one month.  Tim Stedman is our major gift officer assigned to Athletics.  He, too, is coming up on his one‑year anniversary.  So, it is a group that is working very hard and really making a difference.  Ms. Simpson also introduced John Bass, Director of Gift and Estate Planning at NIU.  It takes a huge amount of effort to get people to turn out for these events.  But we are getting repeat business and people are having a great time.  There has been a palpable change in the dynamic at some of our last events in the fall.  There is a great spirit of camaraderie, of people connecting with each other and enjoying talking with each other as well as with the university people who are present.  So we are going to keep doing these things, keep focusing on the fundamental work, and when the economic conditions improve, we will have many new individuals who will want to make major commitments to NIU.

I have given a copy of the Foundation Year in Review, highlighting some of the board’s activities as well as the annual report to donors, to each Trustee.  I always like to close with several major commitments.  We have received $50,000 in new charitable gift annuities from William and Marcia Harper.  Tim Stedman and Nora Clark have been involved with those.  We had a $250,000 pledge from KPMG to name the accountancy suite in Barsema Hall.  We have a $150,000 pledge from Abbott Laboratories Fund to name a tiered classroom in Barsema Hall.  Dean Graf was instrumental in both of those along with John Bass.  And, we have received a $50,000 gift from Ralph and Gloria Dickerson to the College of Law in memory of their daughter Marcia.

I want to personally thank Mike, John, Nora, Paul, Tim, Donna and, of course, our president, Mallory Simpson, for the fabulous job you have done, Chair Sanchez said.  I really am thrilled with the prospect that an improved economy and this continuing winning program will produce results for NIU.  And I predict that a year from now, Mallory, you are going to be telling an even greater and more exciting story.

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:  personnel matters as generally described under §2(c)(1) and (3) of the Open Meetings Act, property matters as generally described under §2(c)(5) and (6) of the Open Meetings Act and Executive Session Minutes matters are generally described under §2(c)(21) of the Open Meetings Act.

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

Vice Chair Gary Skoien reconvened the public meeting of the Board of Trustees at approximately 11:07 a.m.

Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve the items placed on the consent agenda earlier in the meeting.  They include President’s Report No. 33 Action Items 9.a.(1), 9.a.(2), 9.a.(3), and our receipt of Information Items 9.b.(1), 9.b.(2), 9.b.(3), 9.b.(4), and 9.c.(1) to that consent agenda.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Adduci.  The motion was approved.

I would like to begin my report by echoing the comment of Chair Sanchez with respect to NIU budget issues, President Peters said.  We are all painfully aware of what has happened over the past year and share a certain apprehension about the gloomy economic forecast for the coming year.  Yet, the lasting impression I take away from 2002 at NIU is that of a campus community that came together and stayed together in the face of tremendous challenges.  I am extremely impressed and extremely proud of the way our faculty and our staff have worked to keep budget problems from affecting the quality of education we provide our students.  I have every faith in these same people to carry on with those same values and commitment in the coming year, and I thank them for their faith, resilience and fortitude.

Earlier this morning, we took a moment to celebrate some student accomplishments on the football field, Dr. Peters said, and those of you who know me well understand that I have tremendous respect for our student athletes who carry a huge responsibility on their shoulders in terms of the university reputation and juggling their practice and study for a successful academic career.  While those students and their mentors receive most of the press, I never want to miss an opportunity to hold up other types of heroes and accomplishments at NIU.  I am thinking of individuals whose accomplishments tend to be in the classroom, in the laboratory and in the public service realm.  This week, we announced NIU’s nominees for the prestigious Lincoln Laureate awards as well as the winner of the NIU portion of this competition.  The Lincoln Laureate award is a statewide competition that honors college students who have demonstrated excellence both in and out of the classroom.  I would like to share a little about three of these students who could not be with us today.

Lucas Harris of Loves Park is a double major in Meteorology and Applied Math.  He was named Outstanding Junior in Meteorology this year and won the NIU Math Contest two years in a row.  Lucas participated in the prestigious Argonne National Laboratory summer internship program this year.  He is very active in residence hall governance.  And he served on the NIU Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Task Force Committee.

Julia Jaywar of Westchester is an Honors student majoring in Corporate Communication.  She is here on full academic scholarship and is a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, and this year was named NIU’s Cooperative Education Student of the Year.  She participated in the Walt Disney World College Program internship this summer and was a feature columnist for Teen Scene magazine.

The winner of this year’s competition, NIU’s Lincoln Laureate for 2003, President Peters announced, is Shannon Finlayson of Glendale Heights.  Listen to what this young lady has done so far in college.  It is truly amazing.  Shannon is a Mathematics Education major who has already earned a Computer Science degree last year.  For her senior capstone project, as part of her Honors program, Shannon created a web‑based program to help high school students succeed in math.  “I tried to help them take learning into their own hands,” she says.  With a near perfect grade point average herself, Shannon has excelled outside the classroom as well.  She raised $2,000 for Habitat for Humanity; worked as a Habitat volunteer building houses for the poor; helped with fundraisers for AIDS and Multiple Sclerosis; served on the state board of the Illinois Education Association student program; and was selected by Microsoft to spend last summer as a software test engineer testing/revising software to be released by Microsoft in the coming year.

While I have had to abbreviate these descriptions and the number of students who were nominated, the President said, these outstanding students are by no means alone as representatives of NIU’s student body.

We have a tough year ahead with many challenges, Dr. Peters concluded.  As we wrestle with difficult choices in the coming months, I know that each of us will return to our commitment to NIU’s students as the ultimate guide for our decisions.

University Recommendations Forwarded by the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.a.(1) – Finance and Facilities Altgeld Consulting

Agenda Item 9.a.(2) – Center for Governmental Studies Web Portal‑User Interface

Agenda Item 9.a.(3) – Physics Department Research Equipment

Consent Agenda Items.

Agenda Item 9.a.(4) – Request for a New Degree Program

President Peters asked Provost Ivan Legg to present this item and the recommendation to the Board.  This recommendation is to change a degree from the master’s level in the Specialization in Audiology to a doctoral level program, the Provost explained.  This is an absolute must if NIU is going to retain its commitment to producing audiologists.  The conversion is necessary because the organization that represents audiology and speech and language met in 1997 and decided that the complexity of the background students need to become audiologists had exceeded the expectations for a master’s level performance.  As a result, they recommended an audiology doctorate.  The audiology doctorate encompasses the increased amount of training and in‑field experience these students must have before they become audiologists.  For universities that offer audiology programs, the national deadline to make this conversion is 2012.  We are beginning the conversion now to be sure that we have it done by the deadline, Provost Legg said.  Again, I want to stress that if we do not do it, we will no longer be in the business of producing audiologists.  It is important to note that our program, if approved, will be the only public university audiology program in the northern part of Illinois.  In addition, by looking at our resource base, we can rearrange our resources in such a way that it will not cost additional money to make this conversion.  The university recommends that the Board of Trustees approve the program for a new Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) in the department of Communicative Disorders.  Vice Chair Skoien asked for such a motion.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Adduci.  The motion was approved.

University Reports Forwarded from the Board committees

Agenda Item 9.b.(1) – Higher Learning Commission Accreditation Update

Agenda Item 9.b.(2) – Semiannual Progress Report of Active Capital Projects with a Budget Over $100,000

Agenda Item 9.b.(3) – Quarterly Summary Report of Transactions in Excess of $100,000

Agenda Item 9.b.(4) – Quarterly Report on Investments

Consent Agenda items.

Items Directly from the President

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

Consent Agenda items.

Agenda Item 10.a. – Proposed Board of Trustees Meeting Dates for 2003

This proposed schedule will enable us to meet our statutory obligation to conduct a regular meeting in each quarter of the year, Vice Chair Skoien said.  He asked for a motion to approve the proposed schedule.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Adduci.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 10.b. – Executive Session Minutes Release

The Illinois Open Meetings Act requires public bodies to review the minutes of their executive sessions on a semiannual basis and determine what parts of the minutes they should make available to the public because they no longer require confidential treatment.  Upon review and advice of the Board’s Parliamentarian, who is also our Corporation Legal Counsel, Vice Chair Skoien said, I recommend that the Board approve release from confidentiality of the specified sections of the Executive Session Minutes noted in action Item 10.b.  Those sections that are still subject to confidentiality together with the sections from subsequent meetings will be considered again in six months.  Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to approve this Executive Session Minutes release as stated.  Trustee Siegel so moved, seconded by Trustee Boey.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 10.c. – Intergovernmental Agreement on the Metropolitan Planning Organization

At our last meeting, Vice Chair Skoien said, we discussed the impending formation of a regional metropolitan planning organization (MPO).  The last census showed that the DeKalb/Sycamore area has increased in population to more than 50,000 people, thanks, in no small part, to the population at NIU.  The population increase is significant, because it now qualifies DeKalb/Sycamore as an urbanized area.  As such, the federal government mandates that the region must establish an MPO to ensure that local jurisdictions are approaching transportation planning in a comprehensive and coordinated fashion.  A number of Trustees have expressed this Board’s strong belief that NIU must be represented as a full voting member of the MPO’s policy committee, which will be the leadership and decision‑making arm of the MPO.  I am happy to report that by a unanimous vote of the City of DeKalb, City of Sycamore and DeKalb County, NIU has been elected to one of eight voting memberships on the policy committee.  I would like to thank the Trustees for their leadership and strong advocacy in ensuring that NIU be given its rightful place at the table for this important discussion of local transportation issues.  It is clear that transportation planning is a vital concern for the university as we move forward in the development of the campus.  I would also like to thank the local elected officials for acknowledging the fact that NIU is a significant stakeholder in this issue and providing the means for us to participate in the process in a meaningful fashion.  Ensuring appropriate access and safety throughout the region for our students, faculty, staff and visitors is tremendously important, and we are pleased to be working with our local elected officials in this regard.  Our President, John Peters, is joining the Mayors of DeKalb and Sycamore along with the DeKalb County Board Chairman and a representative of the Illinois Department of Transportation as the voting members of the policy committee.  All decisions regarding priorities for transportation planning will be made by this group.

An intergovernmental agreement establishing the MPO as the DeKalb/Sycamore Area Transportation Study has been drafted by the consensus of the proposed policy committee members.  Today, Vice Chair Skoien said, the Board is being asked to approve this intergovernmental agreement so that the MPO can be formally approved by the current Governor and the work of the MPO can begin.  The Vice Chair asked for a motion to approve the proposed agreement as stated in action Item 10.c.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Perez.  The motion was approved.

I just want to thank Mayor Sparrow for his efforts on our behalf in forming this committee, Trustee Siegel commented.  I would also like to thank the local press for its fine coverage of this item at our last meeting.  I just want to add that I have attended some of the organizational meetings, President Peters said, and we are definitely a full partner.  I also want to thank the Board for supporting us and the students who have strongly supported this as well.

Agenda Item 10.d. – Board Officer Service Recognition Resolution

Agenda Item 10.d. contains a resolution honoring George Shur, our retiring Second Assistant Secretary and University General Counsel, Vice Chair Skoien said.  A copy of this resolution has been included in the Board Report.  The Vice Chair asked for a motion to approve the resolution.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel.  The motion was approved.

George, Trustee Siegel said, it has been a pleasure to work with you these past nine years.  Anyone who could get a job leaving here on a cruise ship, I have to give them credit.  Congratulations and good luck to you and Martha.

I am delighted, Trustee Boey said, that George and Martha are going to be staying in the DeKalb area.  But, above all, for those of us, like Myron, myself and some of the other Trustees who were here initially, we remember well the times that George had to guide us through some very difficult paths, and you did it well, George.  And you certainly have shown that you have learned your way around, because, as Myron says, who else can get a cruise job for three months sailing the Pacific, going to Hong Kong and wherever else you are going.  It is a wonderful, well‑deserved job, and we know you are going to enjoy yourself.

I have had the pleasure of working with you for the last four and a half years, Vice Chair Skoien said.  But I also have a personal thanks for George.  George’s roommate from college was the ambassador to Indonesia, and he arranged for my brother‑in‑law to come to the U.S.  So, I would like to thank you for that.

George Shur made the following comments:

Thank you, very much, members of the Board of Trustees.  Thank you, especially, for being, as Manny Sanchez indicated, not only the best Board of Trustees in the state, but quite probably, one of the best boards of trustees in the entire country.  One of the things that your Corporation Counsel and Parliamentarian, Ken Davidson, and I do is go around and meet other people in our positions at other campuses, and they are pretty careful about telling us about the inner workings of their boards.  But I think Ken will agree with me that we get the definite feeling that we are very lucky here.  All you have to do is look around at the other boards in the state of Illinois to know that we have a functional board.  We have a board which is supportive of the institution and its students, its faculty, its staff and its administration.  We have a board that cares enormously about this university.  And all you need to do is watch Manny Sanchez acting as a cheerleader, not only here at Board meetings but at athletic events and cultural events and such.  And Manny is just one of all the Trustees who have done that over a period of years.

I need to thank some people, and I will thank a lot of them.  I would rather thank as a group those people with whom I worked for a number of years.  I am not going to tell you how long I have been at Northern, but suffice it to say, I was around before Myron Siegel.  But, I have been very fortunate to work with some wonderful presidents – Bill Monat, John LaTourette and now John Peters – and some really spectacular colleagues in Lowden Hall and elsewhere in the administration.

DeKalb is our home, we are going to remain here, and we hope to remain active on a volunteer basis in Northern’s activities.  Thank you, very much, for this honor.  I am very grateful.  I want to congratulate Ken Davidson for his being named as the new General Counsel at NIU.  You are fortunate that Ken has been here for a number of years and before that with the Board of Regents.  He is skilled, he is knowledgeable and he is a good guy.  As I told Ken, I will be very glad to help any time I can.  But, remember that I am going to be on a voyage halfway around the world.  Ken will be great, and you will love working with him.

I just want to close by saying that I am going on a voyage and not a cruise.  This is an educational enterprise.  I am going to be the assistant dean, and I am told that my day will be very long and very hard.  However, I do not want any of you to feel sorry for me.  Thanks, very much.

Yesterday, we had a wonderful reception send‑off for George and Martha, President Peters said.  And, I must admit, I failed in my Board charge to reject his retirement.  And at one point, when we had a rather heated discussion about it in my office several months ago, I said, “George, why don’t you chill out and take a slow boat to China.”  Never did I realize that he would take me up on that.  Best wishes to you, George.  You have made a difference here.

George, thanks for all of us, Vice Chair Skoien said.  And, Ken, congratulations and welcome.  We are all happy that you are going to be succeeding George in this role.

I want to raise an issue to the Board about academic program enhancement and instructional technology fees, Trustee Siegel said.  The strength of the university is encased in the quality of its academic programs and the ability to preserve and enhance the academic experience within the context of student demand, new technologies and advancement in instruction and instruction delivery.  As a result, the university must investigate all avenues that will provide the support necessary to effectively meet this challenge.  I am asking, therefore, that the Board of Trustees direct the university to explore specific recommendations regarding the preservation, strengthening and, particularly, enhancement of the NIU academic experience, especially given advancing technologies in instructional techniques and delivery.  The university should work with the Board Chair or his designee to prepare an appropriate financial structure that supports such recommendations.  This is not an action item, but it would be, essentially, a directive from the Board, and I ask that the Board Chair consider it as a directive to the President and the administration.

I certainly concur with Trustee Siegel on this matter, Trustee Boey said.  We already have endured two budget cuts and there is no question in all our minds that the third one is coming, and the question is how big.  It is not whether it will happen or not.  And at the end of the day, it is all about available money or perhaps money not available to serve our students.  The reputation of NIU is quality instructional programs, and we are talking about enhancement of these programs.  So we need to be vigilant, and we need to be proactive in moving forward on our own to see what options are available to us to ensure that we can continue to maintain and enhance our academic programs and the instructional technology.

As Student Trustee, Jesse Perez said, educational quality is top priority to me.  It affects students while they are here and beyond after they graduate from college.  It keeps us competitive in the workforce, and that is the reason that we are here.  So, I consider that to be my highest priority as Student Trustee.

I just want to echo my support along with my colleagues, Trustee Adduci said.  I also believe it is important for us to maintain and enhance our stance on instructional technology.  It needs to be the best.  So I am in support of the university exploring recommendations in this area.

President Peters, I think you have a sense of the direction of the Board, Vice Chair Skoien said.  I will convey that to Chair Sanchez, and we will go from there.  We will get started on that right away, President Peters said.

Vice Chair Skoien announced that the next meeting of the Board of Trustees is scheduled for Thursday, March 20, 2003.*

There being no Other Matters, Vice Chair Skoien asked for a motion to adjourn.  Trustee Boey so moved, seconded by Trustee Siegel.  The motion was approved.  The meeting was adjourned at approximately 11:33 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms

Recording Secretary

*This date was later changed to Wednesday, March 19, 2003.