Minutes of the

NIU Board of Trustees

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS, STUDENT AFFAIRS

AND PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

September 1, 2004

The meeting was called to order by Chair Robert Boey at 9:10 a.m. in the Clara Sperling Sky Room of Holmes Student Center.  Acting Recording Secretary Barbara Rice conducted a roll call of Trustees.  Members present were Trustee Barbara Giorgi Vella, Student Trustee Eric Johnson and Chair Boey.  Also present were Committee Liaison Ivan Legg, President John Peters and Board Parliamentarian Kenneth Davidson.  With a quorum present, the meeting proceeded.

Confirmation of Open Meetings Act notification compliance was given by Board Parliamentarian Ken Davidson.

Student Trustee Johnson made a motion to approve the agenda.  It was seconded by Trustee Vella.  The motion was approved.

It was moved by Trustee Vella and seconded by Student Trustee Johnson to approve the minutes of the June 2, 2004 meeting.  The motion was approved.

Let me start the meeting by addressing two very sad items, Trustee Boey said.  The first is that the members of this committee wish to express our condolences to Trustee Siegel for his son, Aaron Siegel, who died recently.  Let the record show that our deepest sympathies and our hearts go out to Trustee Siegel.  Secondly, we also wish to send our condolences to Sharon Mimms, whose father died Sunday evening.

We have one item on today’s agenda for action and five information items.  The action item is the approval of a very important administrative appointment — a new vice president for student affairs.  The other five information items include two program issues, the budget request for Fiscal Year 2006 and the Fiscal Year 2004 University Performance Report, formerly known as the Results Report.  I also call your attention to Agenda Item 7.c. that recognizes faculty who were granted emeritus status having retired from the university in good standing.  Agenda Item 7.e. identifies faculty and staff who are receiving professional excellence awards.  It is always a pleasure to recognize those individuals who provide the margin of excellence that makes NIU a peer among peers.  The recipients of the awards have been invited to join us today for lunch.  And our last item details the results of NIU’s faculty and staff efforts to acquire external funding for research, public service and instructional projects during the past year.

University Advisory Committee Representatives have not yet been appointed for this Committee.  They will be chosen at the next meeting of the University Council, so we look forward to having them attend our next committee meeting. 

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 the Board of Trustees Bylaws.  Mr. Davidson noted that no requests for public comment had been received.

Agenda Item 7.a. – Appointment of Vice President for Student Affairs

I must say that I have waited nine months to do this, Provost Legg said, and it is a great pleasure to make our recommendation to the Board for our new vice president for student affairs.  It was a very comprehensive, thorough search.  We interviewed a number of candidates, and I am convinced we have picked the best person in the country who was available for this job, and it is a real pleasure to have him here.  Brian Hemphill held the vice chancellor for student affairs and dean of students position at the University of Arkansas, another research‑extensive university with a large population base of undergraduate and graduate students like NIU’s.  So, the fit was very good in addition to the fact that his qualifications are excellent.  Dr. Legg introduced Dr. Hemphill and invited him  to make comments at this point.

It is truly an honor to be joining the NIU family, Dr. Hemphill said.  What has been assembled is a dynamic leadership group, and I am really looking forward to being here, being a part of this community and helping to bring Dr. Peters’ vision to life.  He has laid out a clear vision for this institution.  And in student affairs, we are going to be very much dedicated to addressing and working toward that vision as we look at retention, student learning and numerous other initiatives.  I am very excited to be here, and thank you.

I would like to add our welcome, Trustee Boey said, both our Committee and I welcome you to the university.  The moment you were appointed, I received an e‑mail from Provost Legg who was very excited.  Welcome, it is good to have you on board.

The university recommends that the Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Personnel Committee endorse this request to appoint Dr. Brian Hemphill as Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Legg said, and ask to forward it by means of the President’s Report to the Board of Trustees for approval at its meeting on September 23.

Chair Boey asked for a motion to approve the appointment of Dr. Brian Hemphill as Vice President for Student Affairs.  Trustee Vella so moved, seconded by Student Trustee Johnson.  The motion was approved.

Agenda Item 7.b. – Fiscal Year 2006 Programmatic Budget Requests

Every year we have a programmatic budget request that automatically takes place, Dr. Legg said.  It is money for special needs in the university such as faculty and specialty areas, diversity issues or other related matters.  As you know, for the last three years, we have been undergoing budget cuts, so it is an exercise with no results.  We have done it again this year, and it has been modified slightly over the past three years. 

As I understand it, Trustee Boey said, from year to year this is above and beyond the standard budgeting process.  This is how our budget is actually increased in the areas that have nothing to do with salary increases, Provost Legg said.  It is new money we requested that gets lines in our budget.  At this point, these requests have not been funded.

These are priorities, President Peters said, that will go to the IBHE as we begin the appropriated part of the budget process.  Then those the IBHE recommend go to the Governor’s Office around November or December.  It has been pushed back the past two years, so we will hear about these requests probably in January or February.  For the past three years, we have received no programmatic improvement money because we have been in a budget‑cutting situation.  And this year, for 2005, we have a flat budget.  So, while this may be a wish list, it is a set of priorities that is needed, with which we have been consistent for the past three or four years.

This is the state appropriated General Fund budget, President Peters explained.  These requests have not changed much in the last three years.  The focus is on our need for faculty in high demand areas, which is extremely important to us now with our current enrollments.  In the Finance Committee later this morning, we will approve the 2006 capital request – and 2005 has not been acted on yet.  Apparently, the state 2005 capital requests will be considered in the Veto Session in November.  So, we are really about a year behind already.  This is the part of the budget building process where you set your priorities, whether they are programmatic, capital, salary, whatever.  It goes to the IBHE, to the Governor, and from the Governor to the legislature.  So it is the beginning of a long cycle.

Agenda Item 7.c. – 2003‑2004 Faculty Emeritus Recognition

The faculty emeritus status of our retirees is an annual report that we make to the Board at this time of year.  They must be in good standing for this recognition to be given to them.  A luncheon will be held today to recognize these retirees.

Just a comment to faculty, President Peters said, the emeritus status is more than honorific.  It is a recognition that they have been part of a university and the academy.  It represents years of hard work, of scholarship, of teaching and service, and it is a badge of honor.  And the people on this list are well known to generations of students.  There are individuals here who cannot be replaced, even if we had the funds to replace people at the senior level.  That is why this item on the programmatic list, mission‑critical faculty, is linked to this.  It is the other side of the coin.  We cannot continue to be a great institution if we do not replenish the professoriate.  This is a major issue across the United States at public universities.  The need is there, the resources are not there.  So, this is a very dangerous situation for American higher education, because unless we can get new faculty at various levels into our higher education system, we are risking an awful lot.

I should point out that we are fortunate at times to be able to hire back as part‑time faculty some of our emeritus faculty who have been outstanding in their teaching mission, Provost Legg added.  And, especially at these times, when we are so short of resources, we have taken advantage of that particular vehicle for providing faculty.

This emeritus designation is indeed a well deserved and very flattering designation, Chair Boey said, both for the names on this list and all the others we saw in the past.

Agenda Item 7.d. – Fiscal Year 2004 University Performance Report

The University Performance Report is actually an outcome of the Programmatic Budget Requests, Dr. Legg said.  If we are given money, they want to know how well we do with it.  This was previously called the Results Report.  And it is, again, under the direction of Virginia Cassidy.

In reply to a query from Trustee Vella, Dr. Cassidy said that no specific feedback on this report is received from the IBHE.  At its December meeting, the IBHE prepares a statewide report.  And in that report they excerpt pieces from the performance reports of different institutions – the public universities, community colleges and the private institutions.  There are notations in the statewide report about some of the initiatives on which we have reported.  The IBHE also includes information about state level initiatives that the IBHE has undertaken in that statewide report.  It has not been my experience that the report has been used as a devise for the allocation of funds, Dr. Cassidy continued. 

When they look at the budget priority requests, as the President indicated, it is in our discussions with the IBHE staff that we have an opportunity to actually talk with them about those budget priorities.  Any information that would be included in the performance report related to the budget priorities would be about outcomes.  So in the past when we have received funding, we have incorporated into this report what we have done with the additional funding that we received.

The answer is a qualified no that the IBHE does not use our Performance Reports in the allocation of funds, President Peters said.  But that does not mean that it is not an important activity for us.  Therefore, we do it right and do it well.  Virginia does it beautifully, and that is a lot of work.  Secondly, I think the IBHE commissioners appreciate it.  They look at and read most of them, and they will comment on it.  So there is an indirect effect there.  And thirdly, I think it works its way through the budget priorities because the base budgets are basically a straight line percentage of our base budget.  There is not a lot of differentiation that goes on across universities.  So, if our base budget is $100 million and the increase is two percent of that, we get two percent just like Urbana will get two percent of $300 million.

But I think where it does have an impact is in the granting programs, the President said, because the various higher education grant programs and cooperative programs are based on proposals and an assessment of the importance of the area and the quality of the proposal.  I have noticed that we receive funding in areas of our strength that are reflected in the results report.  So, I am trying to make the best of a situation.  That is frustrating.  It is frustrating for our own departments and our academic program reviews.  They spend a lot of time doing the reviews, and they are never too sure about the outcome, although they are used here.

I think you have to do them, Trustee Vella said, and I know they are a lot of work.  But the exercise is good because it reminds you of where you are going, and where you were and where you want to be.

In reply to a question from Chair Boey, Dr. Cassidy stated that when the guidelines for the internal reviews of our programs are developed, we ask questions about the ways in which the programs, the faculty and the departments contribute not only to the fulfillment of the university’s mission, but ways in which they are contributing to the goals of the Illinois Commitment.

Agenda Item 7.e. – Professional Excellence Awards for Faculty and Staff

Faculty and staff are the heart and soul of the university, Provost Legg stated.  Without them we have no university.  This item is a strong statement about the faculty and the associated staff, because over the year, we give out awards to faculty and staff in various forms.  At this time of year, we always recognize them, and they will be recognized at the luncheon at noon.  The list of the faculty receiving these awards is included on the agenda.

There are a number of different kinds of awards.  The presidential award involves a five‑year period of time with financial support and release time during that five‑year period and a salary increment, which stays with them at the termination of their presidential appointment.  They still keep a professorial appointment beyond that, but the name changes.

The Presidential Research Professors eventually receive a permanent title, which is Distinguished Research Professor, that stays with them as along as they are at the university.  The same is true for Presidential Teaching Professors.

Agenda Item 7.f. – Fiscal Year 2004 External Funding for Research, Public Service and Instructional Projects

This is a critically important item, Dr. Legg said, particularly when we are now in such a tight resource situation.  Our ability to attract outside support for our mission of research, teaching and outreach is extremely important.  Over the years we have shown a steady growth in this area.  In presenting this item to the Board, it is customary for the vice president of research to give a brief report on the past year’s achievements.  Dr. Rathindra Bose, Vice President for Research, will give that report.

I am truly honored to report the outstanding performance of our faculty, Dr. Bose said.  I would like to give you some highlights and perhaps tell you the directions in which we are heading.  If we are going to advance this institution and be a premier research institution, we have to have multiple sources of revenue.  One of those sources is the externally funded contract.  The $40 million loss of state support to Northern Illinois University has impacted us a great deal.  Yet, faculty have exhibited enormous resiliency in obtaining more grant money.

The total amount of funding the university requested for a variety of proposals was over $100 million.  And the amount of funding we received was around $49 million.  The total number of proposals declined compared to last year, but the total funding was increased so that our success rate has gone up.  In fact, if you compare the total dollars, there was a seven percent increase over last year.  And that seven percent increase is without any of the significant earmark money that President Peters and Kathy Buettner bring in over the years.  The new funding is coming from sources such as the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy and other places from which we previously had not received much funding.  Looking at Awards by Source on page 13, Federal funds totaled over $25 million, with state funds totaling over $9 million, plus additional funding from other categories including corporate and other awards.

Referring to distribution by colleges, Liberal Arts and Sciences is doing a phenomenal job and the College of Education is closely behind.  But the other colleges have taken leading roles and the culture is being transformed as we move forward.  By percentage, 52 percent of our total funding comes from federal agencies and only 19 percent from the state agencies.  This is a decline in the state of Illinois.  In other states across America, normally 25 to 33 percent of the total research investment comes from the state, and we are far behind. 

There are six departments featured here and one, I am proud to say, is the Department of Physics.  A new Ph.D. program was initiated a few years ago, and that investment is paying off.  The new faculty and the new doctoral program are leading the charge.  And this funding is not federally earmarked funding.  The other departments are Teaching and Learning, Psychology and ETRA, Biological Sciences and Communicative Disorders.

President Bush has a council called the President’s Counsel of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).  PCAST made a presentation to Congress in February 2004.  Their goal is to strengthen resource and development capacity by increasing investment in fundamental research in science and technology.  President Bush accepted this recommendation.  This slide came from the Alliance of Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA), of which NIU is a member.  Health sciences have received significant funding the last five years, and, in fact, NIH’s budget has doubled.

The presentation from ASTRA pointed out specific areas that are very important to Northern Illinois University – manufacturing, energy, environment and national security applications – and some of the emerging opportunities in the nation in which NIU has been active, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology.  Homeland Security is a new source of funding, and we need to work with the agencies to make America secure through research projects. 

There is a new buzz word in Washington that we call convergence technology, Dr. Bose said.  I am not going to dwell on that, but if any of the Board members would like more information, I can share that with you later.  America is the world leader in technology.  There are around a quarter of a million jobs in the U.S. related to the semiconductor industries.  The university also plays an important role.  Last year, there were 4,000 university‑created technology companies, and those companies employed over a million people.  Annual sales from those university‑created companies were over $232 billion.  This is another slide from ASTRA which shows an ad about the radio waves discovered many years ago with the inventor saying that “I do not believe that the wireless waves I have discovered will have any practical application.”  You can judge that now.  And, Bell Labs in 1975 had the opportunity to patent a license for cell phone technology, but the consultant they had said it was not going anywhere, so they dropped it.

I just want to conclude with how important research and graduate education is.  The top 100 universities or top 50 research universities in the United States are chosen by the total research expenditure in the institution; national academy membership, faculty awards, noted by professional societies; number of doctoral degrees the university has awarded; number of postdoctoral appointees; SAT scores and the national merit list.

Let me close by saying that I am delighted to work with my colleagues.  I know that we are holding the ground in the face of declining research faculty appointments.  At the same time, we have also lost employees from our division and we have to process many more applications and respond in a timely manner under the leadership of Linda Schwarz.  We have a wonderful staff, and we have absorbed more work.  One of the areas we are behind in is technology transfer.  I am working with Phyllis Light to take care of that issue as soon as we can, because that is our societal connection with the public sector, and that technology‑transfer connection brings private sectors and industries.  That is important when the university relays its mission to politicians, whether in Springfield or Washington.

NIU is one of only 94 research‑extensive institutions in the country.  Others in Illinois include the University of Illinois, Southern Illinois, Northwestern and the University of Chicago.

Dr. Bose has been with us for a year, President Peters said, and one of the things that Provost Legg and I wanted to accomplish was to bring someone in of national stature who could focus our research and graduate studies efforts.  Dr. Bose has done a remarkable job in cooperation with the deans, department heads, research scientists and engineers as well as our scholars.  We cannot forget the scholarly and artistic side of our enterprise.  One of the things that has made it difficult is the decline in state resources.  We have done very well.  What we could have done with normal state budgets would have been truly amazing because there are only so many hours in the day for a faculty member to write proposals, to do classroom instruction, to do nonclassroom activities, thesis advisement, doctoral dissertations, plus all the other things faculty are expected to do.  It is going to get worse from the state point of view, because some of the HECA money that came through the IBHE that seeded, particularly, our science is gone.  What I am encouraging the other presidents and chancellors of the state universities, as well as our privates, to do is to actually do something the University of Arkansas has done and that is a major analysis of the impact of the research universities on the economy and the quality of life in a state.  Every dollar the state or federal government invests in research turns over several times.  It creates a better life.  It creates jobs.  It creates economic activity.  So, this is very shortsighted if we do not invest.

The other thing is that, from our own perspective, there are certain kinds of research activity we cannot do and support with state dollars or base budgets, the President said.  That must be supported by external funding.  And that is why we put such a premium on this.  Had we been in normal times, we would have ratcheted up the focus on external funding.  The other side of that is what we have done for economic development in the region in partnership with business and industry.  We are becoming a reliable and sought‑after partner for small, midsize and large businesses in the region.  The other thing we must maintain is partnerships and the strong relationships that we have developed with two national labs that happen to be in our backyard – FermiLab and Argonne, because we do not have the scientific infrastructure, the instrumentation, the critical mass of researchers to invest several hundred million dollars in a center for nanotechnology or a major center in convergent technologies.  It is a defining characteristic of NIU in addition to all the other things we do.  I want to thank the deans, Provost Legg, Vice President Bose and our researchers for the good work they are doing.

Chair Boey said that the next Committee meeting would be announced at a later date and members will be notified.  The next full Board Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 23, in the Clara Sperling Sky Room.

There being no Other Matters, Chair Boey adjourned the meeting without objection at 9:52 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon M. Mimms

Recording Secretary